Why Bother the Teacher Anymore?
Mark 5:21-33
21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around him while he was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at his feet. 23He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him. 25And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” 31“You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.
- What are the connections between these two stories?
- What does this story say about God answering our prayers?
- What is a situation that has passed in your life that you have stopped praying to God about?
- Have you given up on praying to God to intervene in your life?
Going Deeper:
- Luke 8:40-56 Parallel Story in Luke
- Luke 18:1-8 The Parable of the Persistent Widow
- John 11:1-44 The resurrection of Lazarus
TODAY'S PREACHER
Michael Pitzer is Director of Senior High Ministries