Ashe Alliance Church
Sunday Service 01.11.26
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  • All Creatures Of Our God And King
  • How Great is Our God
  • Lord I need You
  • Hear us From Heaven

  • Main Idea

    Faith confirms that delays are not denials and that Jesus has a purpose for every story of pain.
    Have you ever walked through a season of suffering so long, so silent, that you began to wonder if God saw you at all—if your prayers were just echoing into the void?
    Today, we meet a woman who felt exactly that… for twelve long years. But her story reminds us: just because God is silent doesn’t mean He is absent—and no season of pain is wasted in His hands. She thought her story was hers alone—twelve years of suffering, isolation, and shame. But as it turns out, her story was only one thread in a much larger tapestry that God was weaving. Because while she was quietly reaching for healing, another desperate plea was unfolding—a synagogue leader’s daughter lay dying. Two daughters. Two desperate situations. One Savior who is present and active.

    Passage

    Mark 5:21–43 CSB
    21 When Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the sea. 22 One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet 23 and begged him earnestly, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she can get well and live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against him. 25 Now a woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years 26 had endured much under many doctors. She had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. 27 Having heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothing. 28 For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I’ll be made well.” 29 Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30 Immediately Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my clothes?” 31 His disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing against you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32 But he was looking around to see who had done this. 33 The woman, with fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 34 “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be healed from your affliction.” 35 While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the teacher anymore?” 36 When Jesus overheard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe.” 37 He did not let anyone accompany him except Peter, James, and John, James’s brother. 38 They came to the leader’s house, and he saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 They laughed at him, but he put them all outside. He took the child’s father, mother, and those who were with him, and entered the place where the child was. 41 Then he took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum” (which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up”). 42 Immediately the girl got up and began to walk. (She was twelve years old.) At this they were utterly astounded. 43 Then he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this and told them to give her something to eat.

    Another Sandwich

    This is sandwich number 3 of 9 in Mark’s gospel. The story of Jairus’ daughter is split in half, and the story of the woman with the 12-year issue of bleeding is inserted in the middle. As we have discussed before, these two stories have clear messages on their own, but certain key themes are accentuated when they are put together, and these will be the core focus of today’s sermon.
    First, we will look at the layers of the sandwich, then we will zoom in on the key themes.

    I - Top Layer - Jairus Approaches Jesus

    Location- Back to the western side of the Sea of Galilee, likely in or near Capernaum.
    Jairus - Synagogue leader. A prominent and revered figurehead in the community. In Mark, Jewish leadership generally opposes Jesus’ ministry. He is essentially swimming against the current of his contemporaries.
    The approach - Instead of opposing Jesus, he came to Jesus, much like the demon-possessed man. In humility and belief in Jesus’ authority, Jairus fell at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to heal his dying daughter. This shows:
    His extreme need
    His belief in who Jesus is and what He can do, casting himself at Jesus’ feet physically and at Jesus’ mercy spiritually
    Jesus’ reach, as seen in the contrast between an obscure pagan Gentile and a prominent Jewish religious leader (both of whom will be contrasted with the nameless Jewish outcast).
    Then, Jesus agrees to go to Jairus’ house to help the girl, noting the growing crowd pressing in around Him.
    In moments of desperation, Jairus shows us where true hope is found—not in status or reputation, but at the feet of Jesus. His humble approach reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of grace, and Jesus welcomes all who come to Him in faith—whether prominent or forgotten, respected or rejected. When your crisis hits and your strength fails, where will you turn? Who will you run to?

    II - Middle Layer - The Chronically Ill Woman

    The story of Jairus is interrupted by another story of extreme need, and, as in the story of Lazarus, it is an intentional delay that results in the death of a loved one.
    The woman— We don’t know her name; we only know her situation. She has been dealing with a constant flow of blood (likely menstruation) for twelve years. The issues this has brought upon her are much like the heartbreaking details of the leper. Or simply remember what the extreme isolation of COVID quarantine was like.
    social outcast
    ceremonially unclean
    banned from public temple worship
    shamed by the requirement to announce herself in public places or society’s assumption of hidden sin
    poor and destitute, having spent all of her money on failed doctors
    loss of marital intimacy if married, possibly divorced
    having suffered for 12 years, she was hopeless until Jesus came
    Risky business - And let’s not overlook the risk she was taking by being in public unannounced.
    Not announcing makes her a lawbreaker
    She makes everyone she touches unclean
    She could have infected Jesus and negatively impacted His ministry (assuming she thought He was a mere human teacher)
    The approach -she came in from behind through the crowd, risking everything to touch Jesus’ clothes and be healed. This could also reflect a common superstition of that day, in which clothing or objects belonging to anointed people were believed to have inherent power or anointing. (That seems to be the case toward the end of chapter 6.)
    The exchange
    She was healed (Jesus’ purity transfers, not her ailment)
    Jesus sensed power leave Him, and He asked who had touched Him. Whether or not He was actually aware of who it was, the point is that her faith was effectual (and maybe Jesus wanted to dispel superstition as well?).
    She fearfully admits - her fear compels her to act in faith.
    Jesus graciously responds.
    Daughter - Greek word sozo, which can be physical healing, and/or spiritual. Where once she was an obscure Jane Doe, now she is a daughter in God’s family!
    Faith (or conviction about who Jesus is) - “Faith, confident trust, derives its value not from the one who expresses it, but from the object in which it rests.” Grassmick, John D. 1985. “Mark.”In The Bible Knowledge Commentary.
    Peace - shalom - peace with God, inner peace given by the Prince of Peace.
    This woman teaches us that faith doesn’t require visibility, status, or certainty—only full trust in the right Person. For twelve years, her pain defined her identity, isolated her from community, and drained her resources, but one desperate moment with Jesus redefined her future. Her healing shows us that when we come to Christ—fearful, broken, and empty-handed—He will respond… His power overcomes our impurity, and His peace replaces the pains of our past. The suffering that once marked her life did not have the final word; Jesus did. Neither does ours.

    III - Bottom Layer - Jairus’ Daughter Raised

    While the narrative for Jairus pauses for Jane Doe’s restoration, Jairus’ daughter passes away. People from his house arrive and give Jairus the awful news, advising him to leave Jesus alone. What more could He do?
    Help, not hindrance - the woman’s restoration was not a hindrance to Jairus’ faith. It served as a visible reason to continue seeking Jesus’ help, not to eliminate the possibility of it. In response to the news, you can almost see Jesus pointing to the restored woman (who is no doubt on her knees praising God) when He says, “Don’t be afraid (or stop fearing). Only believe.” She was an object lesson for him. Jairus’ fear of losing his daughter is compelling him to lose faith (which is the opposite of the woman’s actions).
    You never know how God is using your story to benefit others.
    Ignore the naysayers. When they arrive, Jairus’ family, friends, and likely professional mourners are there (that was normal back then). As Jesus approached, He said she was asleep, not dead (though sleep is a standard NT illusion for death). Jesus was likely foreshadowing the temporary nature of her recent death. Though He was trying to teach everyone a Kingdom lesson, they didn’t like His approach and mocked Him for it. Instead of addressing them directly, Jesus simply removed them from the room so He could do His work.
    This would have been a powerful lesson for His inner circle to ignore the opposition’s words and let God’s power do the talking for you.
    The dead raised - Only allowing His inner circle of three disciples and the girl’s parents to remain, Jesus speaks softly yet authoritatively to the young girl, and when He does, she comes back to life. Then He cares for her physical state further by instructing her parents to give her food.
    This moment forces every disciple to answer a question: Will you trust Jesus when hope seems gone? Jairus must move from believing Jesus can heal to believing He can raise the dead. Fear says, “It’s over—don’t trouble Him anymore.” Faith says, “If He is who He says He is, then even death is not final,” and that nothing is impossible with God. Jesus shows that delays are not denials and that opposition—whether mocking voices or well-meaning counsel—must never drown out His word. Faith is the antidote to fear because Jesus is Lord not only over sickness but over death itself. And just as He raised this little girl, He promises resurrection life to all who believe, even when what looks final is only temporary (1 Corinthians 15).

    IV - Sandwich Theology

    Similarities
    Gender. Both people who need a miracle are females.
    Status. Both females are nameless, showing their low social status.
    Helpless. Both people are in need of a miracle and helpless to produce a solution to their problem. They both need Jesus.
    The number 12. The woman had been bleeding for 12 years. Jairus’ daughter was 12 years old. Together, the twelve years point to a complete period of suffering and a complete span of life that Jesus restores, hinting that he is renewing all of God’s people, not just two individuals. twelve commonly signals the completeness of God’s people (twelve tribes of Israel; twelve apostles), therefore, many interpreters see the double “twelve” as a quiet suggestion that these two daughters embody Israel itself—unclean and dying—whom Jesus, the Messiah, has come to cleanse and raise.
    Status in the Kingdom. Jesus calls the woman “daughter.” Jairus’ daughter is also referred to as “daughter.” Together, they form a unified theological picture of how Jesus restores God’s family: one is literally a daughter in a Jewish household, the other becomes a daughter of Jesus by faith, and the parallels between them deepen that family-of-God theme. When seen side by side, they show how Jesus’ saving power reaches both the center and margins of Israel, cleansing impurity and conquering death to gather a whole people to himself… restoring to life and purity to all His people, not just two isolated individuals.
    Purity. Both were considered unclean. According to Levitical law, a woman during her menstrual cycle (Leviticus 15:19-23) and a corpse (Numbers 19:11-15) were both considered unclean, and physical contact would have been forbidden.
    Differences
    Gender. Jairus is a male. The woman is a female, and the distinction in their genders is apparent in the stories.
    Influence. Jairus holds an influential position in the Synagogue. He is respected and authoritative in the community. The woman is lowly and an outcast because of her menstrual hemorrhage. Her only identity is her shame. Jairus has enough prestige to ask Jesus to come to his house, and his presumption is not disappointed, for Jesus goes with him. The woman can claim none of these.
    Approachability. Jairus approaches Jesus openly, face-to-face, because of his prominence, but the woman approaches discreetly from behind.
    The Key Points
    The first lesson is about faith. There is a trajectory of faith in this passage: Humility, desperation, and dependence are the drivers of faith, and acting in faith is what casts out fear and doubt.
    Despite her lowly position, the woman shows greater faith. Her fear of being found out or punished for lawbreaking only fuels her faith. She will stop at nothing to reach Jesus. The outcome: "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace." Meanwhile, Jairus' daughter dies, and he loses faith that anything more can be done. His messengers seem to think so when they say, “Why trouble the Master any further?” Upon hearing this news, Jesus must remind Jairus, “Do not fear, only believe.” His faith wavers.
    The point of the intermingled stories is that Jairus, though a prominent religious leader, must have the kind of faith the woman has, an anonymous outcast. Through the joined story, it embraces the broad spectrum of potential believers, from respected leader to marginalized sufferer. These contrasts underline that Jesus’ restoring power is for both the powerful and the powerless, both the center and the margins of God’s people. The previous story… His salvation reaches beyond the covenant people of Israel to the most marginalized and pitiful gentile! Faith in Jesus can transform fear and despair into hope and salvation. It is a powerful lesson for Jairus, and for us today.
    The second concerns God’s sovereign work in our shared stories. Read as one unit, the stories portray Jesus as the one who makes the unclean clean and the dead alive, crossing purity boundaries (touching a bleeding woman; taking a dead girl’s hand) to restore people as  children (daughters in this case) in God’s family. The intertwined timing suggests that no story is isolated: Jairus’ plea becomes the occasion for the woman’s healing, and the woman’s “interruption” becomes the crucible in which Jairus learns deeper trust, hinting that God often weaves individual crises into a larger redemptive pattern.
    The third concerns Jesus’ supremacy over sickness and death. When physical contact was established between Jesus and the woman with the flow of blood / Jairus’ daughter, it should have made Jesus unclean. However, instead of making Jesus unclean, as it should have, Jesus both healed them and made them clean.

    🔥 Application:

    Act in Faith, even in the suffering.
    If Jesus truly is the Son of God—supreme over sickness, sovereign over death, and full of mercy toward the desperate—then you can trust Him with your pain, your delay, your fear, and your future. Like the bleeding woman and Jairus, you are part of the spectrum of people He came to save—forgotten or favored, outcast or esteemed.
    So don’t let fear win. Don’t believe the delay means denial. Come to Him in faith. His timing is perfect, His power is limitless, and His grace is personal. What feels like an interruption may be the very miracle someone else needs—and your story may be the object lesson someone else clings to when hope seems lost.
    ➤ Reflect/Act: Where are you tempted to stop believing because of delay, disappointment, or discouraging voices—and what would it look like today to keep trusting Jesus anyway?

      • Mark 5:21–43CSB

  • Is He Worthy
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Ashe Alliance Church
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