Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal

by Keith Yandell and Harold Netland

I recently received a copy of  Buddhism: A Christian Exploration and Appraisal.  One of the reasons that I wanted to read it was because I know so little about Buddhism. To be perfectly I don’t know many, in any, Buddhists.  So I am not able to learn about Buddhism from friends.  So I did the next best thing, I found a book on it.  I was not disappointed with this book either.  Yandell and Netland do a superb job of overviewing Buddhism.  I have read several other shorter works on the topic of Buddhism, and this blows them all out of the water!

Yanhdell and Netland help the reader better understand Buddhism by overviewing the history of Buddhism, explaining the development of Buddhism  (including the different branches of Buddhism), detailing the doctrines of Buddhism, and finally comparing the differences between Christianity and Buddhism.

The final section, which compares Christianity and Buddhism, was the most helpful to me for two reasons.  First, I know Christian doctrine so when the authors compared Buddhism to Christianity it gave me some categories that I could use to better understand Buddhism.  Second, the authors provide some very helpful information with respect to evangelism. As the authors put it,

The Buddha or the Christ?  The dharma or the gospel? These are not simply variations on a common theme, or different ways of expressing the same spiritual insight. The choice here is between two radically different perspectives on reality, on the nature of the human predicament, and the way to overcome it.

For anyone looking to learn more about Buddhism, and the differences between buddhism and Christianity this is a very helpful book.  I would highly suggest it.

I. A Response of Unbelief (vv. 2-3)

a. The people respond with their mouths to Jesus

In verse 2 Mark tells us that “on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue….”  This was not all that amazing since it was standard procedure to invite a visiting Rabbi to speak in the synagogue.   However, this is where things started to go bad the last time that Jesus was in Nazareth.  As Mark tells us, things were not very different this time around.  In response to Jesus’ teaching “many who heard him were astonished. First Mark tells us that they were astonished at Jesus’ teaching.  You might say that their mouths were hanging open as Jesus talked.  This could be a good thing or a bad thing.  Their mouths could have been open because they were amazed and really impressed with Jesus.  Or, their mouth could have been open because they were amazed and they couldn’t believe that this guy was serious.  Unfortunately, the latter is true in this case.

When the people finally collected themselves and began to speak it was clear that they were absolutely shocked that Jesus was claiming to have any kind of authority over them.

Mark tells us that they were saying ‘Where did this man get these things?  What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?  And are not his sisters here with us?’”  In these two verses the people respond to Jesus with their mouths.  We can’t be certain about this, but it may have even been the case that the people interrupted Jesus message and would not even allow him to finish.  Whatever the case may be, the words coming out of their mouths reveal that they were not pleased with Jesus’ teaching.

One of the ways that the people voiced their displeasure with Jesus was by questioning Jesus’ public ministry:

1.  “Where did this man get these things?”

-the “things” is the content of Jesus teaching

-he was not schooled like the other rabbis

-his teaching was new and authoritative

-He was “messing” with their religious system with things like forgiveness and grace (cf. 2:7-17)

2. “What is the wisdom given to him?”

-this question is very similar in its goal to the last question

-essentially the people are calling into question his authority

-they refused to recognize God as the source of his wisdom, they wanted to know another human teacher that could give him credibility

3. “How are such mighty works done by his hands?”

-they had to acknowledge to miracles because everyone had seen it firsthand

-they still refused to acknowledge God as the source of his power and authority

-they may have even been implying demonic power (cf. 3:22)

These people called Jesus’ public ministry into question, but to be honest with you there was not much room for criticism.  His healings could not be disputed, and no one knew the Scripture better than He did.  So, the people turned to what they knew about Jesus to criticize Him.  Specifically, they turned to his family history to discredit him:

1. “Is not this the carpenter?”

-a carpenter was like a handy man

-he was not a Rabbi who a received official schooling

-this was another attempt to discredit Jesus’ teaching

2. “…the son of Mary…”

-it is interesting that they didn’t say son of Joseph

-it is pretty certain that Joseph was dead at this point, however the normal protocol would have still been to mention his name

-it is probably meant to be a slam on Jesus referring back to his “pre-marital” conception

-in other words, “this guy is an illegitimate child, he can’t be a teacher!”

3. “…brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon?  And are not his sisters here with us?”

-these were the half siblings of Jesus, the children of Mary by Joseph

-the point is that Jesus was no better than his siblings

-“he is nothing special; why should we listen to him?”

As we look at how the people responded with their mouths it is safe to assume that they were jealous of Jesus public notoriety.  Furthermore, it is clear that they rejected the authority that he claimed to possess.

The only ideal place to minister is where God has place you now.

A paraphrase from an Eric Alexander sermon

With the launch of Logos 4.0 things have been very busy at logos.com.  I am saving up for my upgrade now which makes the free bible give away that logos is doing even better.  Here is the information:

Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.

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Introduction (v. 1):

Sometimes it is very easy to get caught up in the everyday routines of life, so caught up that we take things for granted.  Whether it is having 3 meals a day, a beautiful sunrise, or the love of our family, we all have a tendency take things for granted.   Unfortunately the same thing is true when it comes to Jesus.  Because we are so familiar with things about Jesus we often take them for granted.  In fact, some people are so familiar with what they think Jesus is that they are unwilling to accept who Jesus really is.  This is the problem that we are going to see as we look at Mark 6:1-6:

He went away from there and came to c his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And d on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and e many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 f Is not this g the carpenter, the son of Mary and h brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And i they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, j “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And k he could do no mighty work there, except that l he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And m he marveled because of their unbelief.

In this passage Mark is not only transitioning into a new account, but He is also transitioning into an entirely new section of his gospel account.  Over the last chapter Mark has been highlighting the power of Jesus.  Based on these passages it would be easy to forget about the opposition that Jesus was dealing with (cf. 3:6).  But that opposition had not gone away.  Despite these displays of power there were still many who rejected his authority.  In fact, this kind of rejection was probably all too common for Mark’s Roman audience.  Thus, Mark recorded this account to help us understand this rejection, and to warn us not to make the same mistake that these people made.

Mark introduces this account by telling us that Jesus, “went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.”  Here we find Jesus leaving the area of Capernaum, where he had been ministering, and returning to his hometown of Nazareth.  This was not the first time that Jesus had been to Nazareth.  In fact, the last time that Jesus had been back home ministering things did not end well.  Luke 4:16-31 tells us that the people became so outraged at Jesus that they tried to kill him.[1] Additionally we know that Jesus own family came from Nazareth to Capernaum because they thought Jesus had lost his mind.  To say the least, Jesus was not very welcome in His own home town.

Despite the cold reception Jesus still went back to His hometown.  This time, however, things were a bit different.  The last time he was in Nazareth he was launching his ministry, and was relatively unknown to those outside of this small town.  This time he was returning as a very popular teacher.  He even had a group of disciples return with him.  My guess is that the people were very interested to see Jesus again, and to see if anything had changed since the last time he was in town.  As we go deeper into this passage what we are going to see is that nothing has changed.  The people of Nazareth respond to Jesus in unbelief again, and this time Jesus responds to their unbelief.

Thus discouragements, properly sustained and carefully improved, become our most fruitful sources of eventual encouragement….

Charles Bridges
The Christian Ministry
p. 17

Sometimes the “eventual” part of this seems as if it will never arrive, however it is usually a lot closer than we think.  Maybe not in terms of an actual change in our situation, but certainly in terms of a sanctifying effect on our attitude.

Usually I try and keep the book reviews that I do on this blog limited to newer books, or books that a lot of people have not already written on.  However, today I am breaking the rules.  Today I want to take a look at The Word of God in English by Leland Ryken.  I want to do this for a couple of reasons.  First, I have the review on file. Second, I think  it is important that we all re-think our views on English Bible translations.  It is so easy to get caught up in the marketing tactics that publishers use to try and get us to by the version that they print (by the way I don’t blame them, they are trying to run a business).  We need take a step back and think critically about what English Bible we are using.  Ryken, although I don’t think he gets everything right, helps us to critically think through this issue.

Leland Ryken’s purpose for writing The Word of God in English is straight forward.  The very first line of the preface states that “this book has as its purpose to define the translation principles that make for the best English bible translation.” (9)  Ryken articulates these principles in part by evaluating the plethora of English bible translations currently available.  From the beginning he makes it clear that in his opinion “only an essentially literal translation of the bible can achieve sufficiently high standards in terms of literary criteria and fidelity to the original text.” (10)  This statement contains the two primary criteria that Ryken looks at when evaluating English translations: literary excellence and fidelity to the original text.

The primary impetus for this book was “a seismic shift in translation theory and practice [which] occurred in the middles of the twentieth century.  Up to that point, most English bible translations had operated on the premise that the task… was to reproduce the words of the original in the words of the receptor language.” (13)  This all changed with “Eugene Nida, who championed his theory of ‘dynamic equivalence.’” (13)  This new theory was quite a bit different than the former emphasis of accuracy to the original text.  Ryken defines it as “a theory of translation based on the premise that whenever something in the native-language text is foreign or unclear to a contemporary reader, the original text should be translated in terms of a dynamic equivalent.” (18)

As Ryken shows at length, the transition that occurred moving toward a dynamic equivalence approach to English Bible translation has created quite a few problems.  As Ryken states, the chief problem with dynamic equivalent Bibles is that “they arrogate to translation something that should be left to interpretation and commentary.” (26)  Or, to put it another way, they often interpret the original text for the reader instead of conveying it for the reader to interpret.

The thoroughness and straightforwardness of this book make it an important contribution to the field of English Bible translation.  With rare exception Ryken thoroughly defines his terms, makes his argumentation clear, uses a vast number of vivid illustrations, and consistently provides specific examples.  Additionally, he is straightforward and pointed in his criticism of specific bible translations and the entire dynamic equivalence theory.  In chapter seven Ryken makes it clear that how one translates the original text is ultimately and ethical issue.  “A translation is not exempt from ordinary ethics of publishing, with its cornerstone of putting before the reader what an author wrote as accurately as possible.  It hardly needs to be added that this ethical claim has unique weight when the author in question is God.” (137)

One weakness in this book is Ryken’s tendency to emphasize literary excellence over fidelity to the original text.  This does not necessarily mean that Ryken values one over the other, however there are times in the book when he certainly emphasizes one over the other.  For instance, in chapter 17 Ryken speaks quite a bit about “tone” and “memorability.”  His point is that most modern day translations are lacking in both and for this reason “have given us a Bible that is less exalted than the original.” (270)  The problem with this is twofold.  First, Ryken compares the modern day bibles to the King James Version rather than the original.  He simply does not deal with the “tone” or “memorability” of the original.  Secondly, tone and memorability are subjective criteria for evaluating translations.  These are minor points that demonstrate a minor flaw in an excellent book.Leland Ryken. 

Bibliographical Information:

The Word of God in English: criteria for excellence in bible translation.  Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002.  336 pp.

Loving God is being so satisfied in God and so delighted in all that he is for us that his commandments cease to be burdensome.

John Piper, The Legacy of Sovereign Joy, 58.

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 h Then came one of i the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and j lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and k thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman l who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 m And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her n disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that o power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, p your faith has made you well; p go in peace, and be healed of your n disease.”

35 While he was still speaking, there came from q the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why r trouble s the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing [5] what they said, Jesus said to q the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except t Peter and James and u John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus [6] saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, v “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but w sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he x put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 y Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, z arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And a he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

II. Jesus’ power over death. (vv. 35-43)

The first aspect of Jesus’ power that we see in this passage is Jesus’ power over sickness.  The second aspect that we see is Jesus’ power over death.

To see this point we need to jump back into the story.  While all of this was going on with the woman Jairus was just standing there waiting for Jesus to get to his daughter.  He knew that her condition was worsening, and that things had already reached a critical point.  Then came the news that no father wants to hear…

…word came from Jairus’ house that it was too late.  The girl was dead.  V. 35 says, “While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”

Can you imagine poor Jairus as he heard this news?  Additionally, the messengers (probably family members) were not very tactful in relaying the message.  They literally told him to stop hassling the teacher.  The probably viewed what he was doing as an embarrassment, and they may have even been upset that Jairus was gone for his daughters last moment.  In short, they didn’t see the point in bothering Jesus anymore.  Sure, he could heal a woman.  But there was no way that He could raise someone from the dead.  Or was there?  These thoughts had to be running through Jairus’ mind when Jesus spoke up and addressed the situation in verse 36.

v. 36 tells us that Jesus heard the report, but he paid no attention to it.  The word here could mean “overhearing” or “ignoring.” Either way it is clear that Jesus did both.  He paid no attention to the messengers.  Instead He immediately addressed the fear the Jairus was dealing with.  And he provided him with the solution to this fear: faith.

It is not easy to drive out fear.  The only way to do so is by putting your faith in the power of God.  This principle was true for Jairus, and it is true for us today.  Jesus knew that Jairus was afraid, and He knew that faith was the only solution.  This is why He commanded Jairus to replace his fear with faith.  Jesus had allowed Jairus to see a glimpse of His power when He healed the woman, and now He was calling for Jairus to put his faith in that power.  Do you see how Jesus was stretching and growing the faith of Jairus through these circumstances?  Jesus was using His power to help Jairus’ faith, and He does same thing with us today.

In v. 37, after addressing Jairus’ fear, Jesus just kept moving forward with the plan to heal this girl as if nothing had happened. The only difference now was that as he got closer to the house he got rid of the crowds.  With the exception of a few key witnesses Jesus would not allow anyone to follow.

-          It would have created a scene/frenzy

-          It would have been insensitive to bring that crowd into a grieving household

-          These three were Jesus’ inner circle, and they would be tasked with recounting this story after Jesus’ resurrection—which is exactly what happened with Peter.

When Jesus arrived at Jarius’ house in v. 38 He saw a scene that would have been common.  Along with the grieving family there were professional mourners.  Matthew tells us that there were even flute players there making a commotion (Matt. 9:23).  The flute player would hit every sour note possible, and if you have ever been to a beginners flute class you know how horrible that sounds.

When Jesus arrived he was not all that found of it either.  In v. 39 Jesus rebuked these mourners because He knew that this girl’s death was not final.  As one author put it, “Real death is separation of the soul from God, not the body from the soul.  In this sense, her dead body was asleep, and Jesus would bring it back.”[1] In other words, she was not dead in the ordinary sense of the word and Jesus knew it.  Now we cannot blame the people for not knowing what Jesus knew.  However, in v. 40 we see that they certainly did not believe Jesus when He tried to explain it to them.  In fact, they were not even solemnly mourning.  People mourning the death of a little girl don’t laugh.  This is part of the readon Jesus kicked them out of the house.  This left only the girls parents, Jesus, and the three disciples with the girl.

What follows in vv. 41-43 is so vivid that it clearly comes directly from Peter who was there.  He even remembers the exact Aramaic phrase Jesus used.  Jesus clearly demonstrated His power and there were two results:

1. The girl was raised to life.  She walked around and even needed food.  Here we see evidence of Jesus’ power over death.
2. The people were amazed.  Jesus allowed them to see the power of Jesus.  He could have healed this girl before she died, or even from a distance.  But he allowed all of this to happen so that they would see His true power.  (However, He was still trying to prevent a frenzied response from those who did not care about His message.)  In this we see why Jesus His power the way that He did.

Commenting on this verse on commentator remarked, “His power cannot be fathomed; nor his compassion measured.”[2] This is the kind of Lord that I want to follow.  Jesus is God. He is all powerful and benevolent.  He is the one who created life in the very beginning, and He is the one who has power over it now.  He even has complete power over death. This means that He is powerful enough to resurrect those who have died physically, but even more importantly it means that He has the power to resurrect those who have died spiritually.  EPHESIAN 2:1-10 explains this for us:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Conclusion:

In this passage Mark makes it clear that Jesus has power over human frailty.  He has power over sickness, and he has power over death.  Some might ask why he doesn’t use it to heal more people.  Why do some get sick and some die?  But it is clear in this passage that Jesus uses His power for the spiritual good of His people.

-          Remember, God uses trials. James 1.

-          ILL: Terminal Illness points someone back to Jesus (i.e. Job)

-          Think about the people in this story.  If the woman had not been sick she would have never known Jesus.  If the girl had not died then Jairus would not have grown in his faith, and been “amazed” at Jesus.

So as we debate national healthcare, and try to process all the tragedies of human frailty we must always remember that Jesus has power over sickness, and over death.  And He benevolently uses that power for the spiritual good of His people.

[2] Hendricksen, 215.

Here we are reminded that no matter who you are human frailty will affect your life, and you will need the power of Jesus. In this passage we see two aspects of Jesus’ power over human frailty:

1. 1. Jesus’ power over sickness. (vv. 21-34)
2. 2. Jesus’ power over death.  (vv. 35-43)

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 h Then came one of i the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and j lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and k thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman l who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 m And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her n disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that o power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, p your faith has made you well; p go in peace, and be healed of your n disease.”

35 While he was still speaking, there came from q the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why r trouble s the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing [5] what they said, Jesus said to q the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except t Peter and James and u John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus [6] saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, v “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but w sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he x put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 y Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, z arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And a he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

I. Jesus’ power over sickness. (vv. 21-34)

The first aspect of Jesus power that we see in this passage is Jesus’ power over sickness.  We see this aspect in vv. 21-34.

In verse 21 we see that Jesus and His disciples were returning from a short stay on the other side of the Sea of Galilee (vv. 16-18).  Mark does not tell us exactly where this took place, but there is little doubt that they were returning to their home base of Capernaum.

When they did arrive back home the response of the people in Galilee was very different from the people on the other side of the Sea of Galilee.  The Gentiles on the other side of the sea had literally kicked Jesus out of the region.  However in Galilee the level of excitement over Jesus was still very high. When word got out that Jesus was back it did not take very long for a massive crowd to assemble around Jesus.

You need to understand that this was not the orderly “everyone standing in a single file line” kind of crowd that we might be used to This crowd created the same kind of chaotic, frenzied, and dangerous situation that caused Jesus to use a boat for a pulpit (4:1), and to leave the region (4:35).  The entire crowd was clamoring to get close to Jesus.    However, in v. 22 Mark tells us that something caused this crowd to quiet down, “Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet…”

This man coming to Jesus was a prominent man.  This is evidenced by the fact that he was able to navigate the crowd and get to Jesus.  But also, because Mark tells us that he was “one of the rulers of the synagogue.”  This particular title means that he was not a priest or a professional Pharisee.  This was a lay position. ILL: Chairman of the Elder Board.  This meant that he was a very well respected man in the community; that is why everyone knew that his name was Jairus

Despite this man’s respected status Mark tells us that Jairus came and fell at Jesus’ feet!  We might not get how unbelievable this is, but in an honor society this was unheard of.  In fact that people in the crowd were probably embarrassed for Jairus.  ILL: Bad Singer.  But we see why Jairus did this unthinkable thing in v. 23.

There we see that Jairus “implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” Here we see why Jairus was acting this way.  He was desperate.   Literally the phrase used here could mean that this girl was “at death’s door.”[1] Luke adds to the desperation of Jairus when he points out that this was his only daughter (Lk 8:42).

Ultimately Jairus’ daughter was sick, and he was willing to humiliate himself if that was what it took to save her.  This is not all that surprising.  However, what is surprising about this plea is that Jairus recognized the power of Jesus.  Jairus was a part of the official religious group that was persecuting Jesus.  Jesus had been in his synagogue causing a commotion, and teaching controversial message.  Plus, Jairus was the ruler of the synagogue not Jesus.  Yet, when he was in his deepest hour of need he turned to Jesus.

This act on the part of Jairus should not be taken as an act of complete faith in the person of Jesus.  He was simply desperate.  However, Jairus did recognize that Jesus has power over human sickness.  As the story unfolds we will see that Jesus will take this little measure of “unsaving faith” in Jesus’ physical healings and grow it into something far more profitable.  Verse 24 shows us how Jesus began to do this, “And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.”  Jesus’ response to Jairus is quite remarkable.  He simply goes with Jairus.  However, Jesus was not the only one to go with Jairus.  The entire crowd went as well!

Can you imagine how frustrating this must have been for Jairus?  Jesus has agreed to come heal your dying daughter, and all these people are just slowing him down.  And then, all of a sudden, things come to a complete standstill in v. 25.

v. 25-26 – In this midst of this crowd was a woman in great need.  We do not know a lot about this woman, she certainly was not as well known as Jairus.  But Mark does tell us some key details about this woman:

-she had a discharge of blood. This was not only a trying medical condition, but it also made her ceremonially unclean (Lev. 15:25-27).  We don’t know this specifically about this woman, but many times this condition would lead to the husband leaving the wife because she could not produce children. This condition would have prevented her from normal social relationship. She was not even technically supposed to be in this crowd of people.

-she had this condition for twelve years.

-she suffered much under many physicians. She had been to many doctors seeking a cure, but none had been able solve her problem.  From a human standpoint her condition was incurable.

-she spent all of her money trying to find a cure. Medical care was no less expensive in the ancient world, and all the doctors and treatments that she had tried cost her all that she had.

-her condition was worsening. Not only was she not getting better, she was getting worse.

Mark’s vivid description of this woman highlights the point that from a human perspective this woman’s situation was hopeless.  The frailty of human life had taken everything from her, and she was at the end of her rope. But there was one more option…

vv. 27-28 – She had heard of Jesus, and she thought that if she could just touch His garment she might be healed.  This woman, just like Jairus, recognized Jesus’ power over sickness.  This is why she snuck through the crowd and touched the hem of Jesus’ garment.  She, like Jairus, had a small measure of faith that Jesus would take and grow, and he did this first by healing her.

In verse 29 Mark tells us that as soon as this woman touched Jesus she was healed.  Rather than Jesus becoming unclean from this woman, this woman was made clean by Jesus.  This reveals that He clearly has power over even the most serious of human sickness.  He was able to immediately heal her, and she immediately felt the effects of that healing.  After all that she had been through, she finally had relief and Jesus knew it.

In v. 30 Mark tells us that Jesus felt the power going out from him, and asked who had touched him.  This question seems strange to me.  There were a lot of people crowding around to touch him.  In fact, the disciples were puzzled by this as well.  In v. 31 “his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

In other words, there are lots of people touching you!  But Jesus knew that there was one person in particular that he needed to address. This is why he asked the question, and why he continued looking for that person in v. 32.  He was not ignorant of what was going on.  Jesus knew that this person had genuine faith that needed to grow.  He wanted give this woman something more than just physical healing.  He wanted to give her further blessing by providing the opportunity to have personal communion with Him.  You might say that Jesus was drawing this woman to himself by seeking her out.  He wanted her faith to grow, and for her to have the opportunity to praise Him.

While Jesus was looking for whoever it was that had touched him, this woman was the only one in the crowd who had any idea what was going on.  She knew that she was the one that Jesus was looking for, and it is interesting how she reacted in v. 33.

She reacted with “fear and trembling.”  She is probably afraid because she felt like she was healed without permission, and she is a woman, and she would have to make her unclean status known publicly.  She was afraid, but there was something that outweighed he her.  It was Jesus.  What we see here is that Jesus used his power to help this woman change her focus from the healing to the Healer!  The result was that this woman fell down before Jesus and told him everything!  Jesus gave this woman the opportunity to live out Psalm 50:15:

and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

In v. 34 Jesus responds to the woman and reveals that not only is He all powerful, but He is also benevolent.  He is loving, and involved in our everyday lives.  He affectionately calls her daughter.  He also commends her faith.  He says that was her faith that made her well.  This is interesting because the word here literally means “saved.” Jesus may have used this word because the woman had been saved from her physical condition.  But I don’t think that it is a stretch to say that Jesus has more in mind here that just physical healing.  By drawing this woman to Himself, and interacting with her in this way, Jesus was going beyond the physical realm to benefit this woman spiritually. In fact, even if it is not clear in this passage, the rest of the bible makes it clear that Jesus is more interested in our spiritual well-being than our physical well-being.

So, Jesus had the power to heal this woman physically, and He used that power to help her faith to grow. This miracle should do the same thing for our lives.  It should cause our faith and love for Christ to grow.