I’ve studied Mark 5 over the past 9 months off and on believing that there was deeper meaning, but not really able to see or understand.. This passage holds the account of Jarius' daughter interwoven with the story of the woman with the bleeding. It’s told in 3 of the 4 gospels showing the significance that this miracle had in Jesus ministry. At surface level, it’s easy to see that the number 12 is significant. The girl on death’s door is 12 years old and the woman has been bleeding for 12 years, so essentially the woman has been bleeding as long as this little girl has been alive. 12 is the number of government, administration, or in this case, symbolizing a generation.
The woman with the bleeding is the only case in scripture that documents Jesus healing without being first asked. Every other healing, someone sought Jesus out asking and then waiting for His response/action. The woman was an outcast from her society, forbidden from entering large crowds because of her condition making her ceremonially unclean. She wasn’t able to go out and hear Jesus preach so she had to rely on the accounts of others, only hearing of His preaching and message. Yet still she went out in faith, fully trusting that He had the ability to make her whole. Something this woman heard about Jesus caused her to receive His healing. We are much the same because we cannot physically see or hear Jesus like those who walked with Him while He was alive as a man. We hear about Jesus through the Word of God (the Bible) and choose to believe what we hear (faith) accepting His blood as the atonement for our sins and His love becoming a daughter of the King. The woman got the courage to reach out and touch Jesus because she heard about His grace. She believed in His Word more than she believed in the law, which would have held her housebound, unable to step outside and meet Him.
When the woman reached out, she touched the hem/tassels (tzitzit) of His prayer shawl (tallit), an item of clothing worn by all Jewish men symbolizing the “healing in His wings” from Malachi 4:2. They were a reminder of God’s commandments and promise of a Messiah who would bring healing and restoration to God’s people. They acted as a family seal because each one was woven differently and identified to whom the wearer belonged. Aside from this woman not being able to touch anyone because she was considered unclean, in Jewish culture women were not allowed to touch men outside of their family, so by reaching out this woman was claiming to be part of Jesus' family. In return, He called her “daughter”.
By attaching her healing to her act of touching him (“Who touched Me?”), Jesus signaled to his disciples and the crowd that she had touched His authority, that her uncleanliness changed to purity, that her status had changed, and her identity changed to daughter. It would have been so easy to put faith in the tassels themselves, but Jesus makes it very clear she touched the Father through Him. She received healing because of her faith. Where are you putting your faith? Where is your healing coming from?
During refinement, we walk through the fire one step at a time. We are tested, our faith is tested, through the circumstances we face every day. It reminds me of when God revealed himself as Jehovah Rapha in Exodus 15. The Israelites found themselves wandering and the only water they found was bitter. God provided and changed that bitter water to sweet, healing their bodies and ridding them of the Egyptian parasites that needed to be expelled. God provided bitter to sweet, water from a rock, manna from heaven, and shoes that didn’t wear out throughout their wandering in the wilderness in Exodus. Every single need was met while they escaped slavery and wandered 40 years in the barren desert. They only had to open their eyes to see, step out in faith, and trust God to do what He says He will do.
The delay in healing the woman allowed for the passage of time that took Jarius' daughter through the threshold of death. In response to the news that the girl was dead, Jesus only said “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.” Have you ever struggled with fear? Fear is something we are all familiar with. It has the ability to wrap us up in a chokehold and strangle our faith. When we surrender our fear to our Abba Father, He turns it into something beautiful… Faith… connecting it to others through the woven threads of our lives. Stepping out in faith is where we see powerful moves of the Holy Spirit. It is in those acts of faith where the sick are healed and the dead come to life.
When they reached Jarius' home, Jesus sent everyone away except Peter, James, and John (who’s names signify that the law is replaced by grace) and the girl's parents because He would not allow for any doubt or denial to enter into that household. He touched her, taking her hand, and said “talitha cumi” which means “little girl, arise.” Essentially He says to her as he restores her life, “My little lamb, it’s time to get up”. Immediately the girl got up and started walking because she was 12 years old. She was on the brink of 13, the age of maturity in Jewish culture. She was ready for something to eat (not drink) and able to walk because she was entering into adulthood.
The words talitha cumi are fascinating because most of the New Testament is written originally in Greek while this phrase is Aramaic. “Talitha” is an endearing term, similar to the name “daughter” that Jesus extended to the woman who touched His hem. Talitha is the feminine form of “talith” which points to His tallit, His prayer shawl, the one the woman touched to receive healing. He literally is saying “little girl under the tallit, arise!” He was figuratively placing His prayer shawl, His garb of pure white linen, His righteousness, over her covering her from head to toe and extending His authority by raising her from the dead. He says the same thing to us. Little girl, rise up! No longer are you bound to death. Daughter, no longer are you bleeding and unable to bear new life. When we choose to accept Jesus as our Savior, we can trade our filthy rags for His righteousness (Isaiah 64:4). Because of His sacrifice we are already cleansed and righteous and pure before God making us able to hear and receive His healing.
As a church, it’s time to get uncomfortable. We must let go of our own self effort and performance, stepping away from our traditions and comforts into bold Godly faith. We must simply hear and receive, claiming our healing by the power and blood of Jesus, and then stand up and walk. We must allow Him to transform our hearts and restore our senses through the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell the goodness of the Lord. The girl and the woman found healing by coming to Jesus. He responded to their faith and revealed that He is Abba, our Daddy. He is Jehovah Rapha, our Healer. He is Jehovah Tsidkenu, our Righteousness. He is Yeshua Jesus, our Savior. Jesus is the only One who can lay His righteousness over us making us pure, taking our hand to overcome death, and truly satisfying our spiritual hunger, giving us the strength to run in His calling.
You are a daughter of a King, not a daughter of a broken home. Your past does not define you. Your previous cycles do not define you. Your past sins are forgiven and generational curses broken. You get to walk in the freedom of His power every single day. Remember… to find security and well being, dwell in the shadow of the mountain of strength (God). Join together (bind) with Him and your life will experience renewal producing much fruit, physical and spiritual. Remember my Love. Remember my Grace. Remembering… this is the antidote to fear. Hide His Word in your heart and you will gain the ability to remain steadfast walking in faith through the storms and wilderness.
Through the touch of Jesus we have been given gifts to impact those around us. 2 Timothy 1:6-9 tells us “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us not a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self control (sound mind). Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in the suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of His own purpose and grace, which He gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began.” This power (dunamis- miraculous activity, strength) and love (agape- the all encompassing love of God) is the same power and love that left Jesus to heal the girl and woman. It is the same power that we have in the Holy Spirit to go forth in His power and authority, sharing His love with those around us (Acts 1:8).
It is time for us to cast off fear and, by the wind of the Holy Spirit, fan into flame the ember of our hearts. He will bring forth the fire that spreads into revival when we choose to step out in faith and walk in our calling. He has made us, intricately woven and carefully constructed, for a purpose. For such a time as this. You may consider yourself a failure or an outcast… abandoned, rejected, unclean, unloved. But God calls you “My daughter”. You can accept yourself just as you are because when you abide in Him, you are covered by His righteousness. You become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) and all the old has passed away. You have an ember inside of you that is ready to be fanned into flame. So my sisters in Christ, daughters of the King, talitha cumi. Arise and walk in the Way.
