And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

                                                                                                                        Mark 5:34 

It really is two stories in one. Jesus swarmed by a crowd of people. A man named Jairus seizes the opportunity to speak to Jesus on behalf of his daughter. Upon seeing Jesus, he falls at his feet and implores Him to come and lay hands on her. You see the little girl, just twelve years of age, was sick and dying. This man recognized the power of Jesus to save his daughter and that is what led him to approach the Savior. Jesus agrees to go with him and they set out on their journey.

Here is where the story takes a different turn. While traveling to Jairus’ house, another person is also seeking the power of Jesus. This woman is described as having a severe health issue. She had dealt with a hemorrhage for twelve years. She had tried everything including seeing just about every physician available. She spent all of her money in an attempt to find healing and relief but through it all she only grew worse. So she lived in her suffering. Then she heard about Jesus. Consider her thought: 

For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” 

                                                                                    Mark 5:28

She believed that if she could get close enough to Christ and touch Him, that her ailment would be gone. It’s important to appreciate the faith of this woman. She was believing for something before it ever happened. That’s what faith does. It allows us to see the reality before the reality comes into being. This is the power of Christ in our lives. We live by faith. This is not just blind faith in which there is no basis for it to exist. This is faith in a Person. As we walk with Jesus daily, our faith grows stronger as we see Him work in every aspect of our lives, even in the little things. And here is the best part of living by faith. It is all given to us by the grace of God because He loves us. We don’t have to earn His favor. He acts on our behalf, even when we don’t deserve it.

This woman knew, with certainty, that if she could just touch Jesus, she would be healed. As she approached Jesus, she reached out and took hold of his garment. She immediately knew that she was healed of her affliction. Jesus knew it too because He was aware that someone had touched Him and that His power has gone forth. So He asked, “Who touched My garments?” She was quite frightened knowing that she needed to confess that it was she that had touched Him. She fell before and told Him the truth. Don’t miss the beauty of Jesus’ response, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.” Jesus was not angry with her, quite the contrary. Jesus blessed this woman identifying her faith as the catalyst for her healing. “Go in peace and be healed” could very well be some of the most affectionate and beneficial words any of us could every hear spoken.

I hope you haven’t forgotten about Jairus, the man that had originally implored Jesus to come with him on behalf of his daughter. After the healing of the woman, even while Jesus is still speaking, they are met with some bad news. Consider the following report:

While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?” 

                                                                                                                       Mark 5:35 

What if you had gotten that report? Would all hope have been lost? Any human reasoning would suggest that it was too late. Maybe if Jesus hadn’t spent so much time with the woman that He healed, He would have made it in time. Nevertheless, it’s obviously too late so why bother Jesus anymore? But here is Jesus’ response:

But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” 

                                                                                                                         Mark 5:36

Jesus calls for the man to not be afraid. He instructs him to “only believe.” Notice that Jesus never tells the man that his daughter is alive or will soon be healed. He merely instructs him to release his fear and believe. We cannot overstate these keys to unleashing the power of Jesus in our own lives. Jettison fear and embrace faith. This is what Jesus instructed the man to do. And what was the result?

Jesus enters the man’s home and announces that the little girl is not dead but rather asleep. Those that had gathered in the house laughed at Him. Again, human reasoning took over and they just could not wrap their minds around the fact that the little girl could still be alive. Jesus took the parents and some of His companions and entered the room. Jesus took the child by the hand and said, “Talitha kum!” which translated means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” The girl got up and began to walk around. Jesus ordered them to keep it a secret and instructed them to give the girl something to eat.

Two healings perform by the power of Jesus. It needs to be noted here that when the woman spoke of touching Jesus and “getting well,” she was literally saying that if she could touch Him she could “be saved.” This is the same thing that the man indicated when he asked Jesus to lay hands on his daughter that she might “get well and live.” Literally he was saying, “That she might be saved and live.” The word used for healing (as in an affliction) is the same word used to describe salvation of the soul to eternal life. I personally believe that the woman and the man’s daughter were both healed of their afflictions and saved to eternity at the same time. Physical and spiritual healing: this is the power of Jesus!

Will you only believe and experience the saving power of Christ?