Context and Narrative Overview
The passage brings together two intertwined miracles of Jesus as recorded in Mark 5:21–43. First, Jairus, the synagogue ruler, urgently implores Jesus to heal his critically ill twelve-year-old daughter. As Jesus makes His way to Jairus’s house, a woman suffering from a mysterious hemorrhage for twelve years slips through the crowd and touches Jesus’ garment, believing that such faith would heal her. Immediately, she is healed, prompting Jesus to pause and seek out the one who touched Him. After affirming her faith and healing, Jesus resumes His journey, only to receive word that Jairus’s daughter has died. Undeterred, He tells Jairus to “only believe,” enters the house, rebukes the mourners for doubt, and raises the girl from death with the Aramaic words, “Talitha kumi” (“Damsel, arise”).

1. The Juxtaposition of Two Desperate Parties
Throughout the Gospels, the preacher notes, we frequently see contrasts between those who have and those who have not—rich and poor, righteous and sinners. In this chapter, however, both Jairus (wealthy and respected) and the bleeding woman (poor, ostracized, ceremonially unclean) share a common desperation: no human remedy remains for either.

• Jairus’s Plight: As synagogue administrator, Jairus holds high social status and access to resources, yet his daughter lies “at the point of death.” He falls at Jesus’s feet, pleading that Jesus lay hands on her.
• The Woman’s Plight: Her chronic condition has left her destitute—she has spent all she had on physicians and only grown worse. Ostracized under Jewish purity laws, she cannot even worship in the temple. Driven by desperation, she resolves to touch Jesus’s garment, believing in its power.

This parallelism underscores that in the face of true need, social standing and wealth offer no advantage—only desperate faith can access divine mercy.

2. Jesus’ Sovereign Prioritization and Compassion
Rather than hurrying to Jairus’s side—whose daughter’s life hangs by a thread—Jesus stops for the bleeding woman. The preacher highlights the seeming “malpractice” from a purely earthly viewpoint: an ER physician would attend first the acute case (Jairus’s daughter) before the chronic one. Yet Jesus, the “Great Physician,” intentionally pauses to minister to the woman.

• Divine Timing vs. Human Timetables: Jairus waits anxiously, knowing any delay could be fatal. Jesus models perfect compassion by not being hurried by human urgency, reminding us that God’s timing is sovereign and trustworthy, even when it conflicts with our deadlines.
• Crossing Cultural Barriers: The woman’s touch would render Jesus ceremonially unclean, yet He allows it and publicly affirms her worth—addressing her as “Daughter.” This is the only instance in the four Gospels where He uses that term, signifying her adoption into God’s family through faith.

3. Faith as the Means of Healing
When Jesus sends the woman away, He emphasizes: “Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.”

• Not the Garment, but Faith: Though she believed in the power of touching His clothes, Jesus clarifies that it was her faith in Him that healed her.
• Identity in Christ: By calling her “daughter,” He incorporates her into the Kingdom—her faith grants her new status, cleansing her from seven years of marginalization under purity laws.

4. Jairus’s Test of Belief
As Jesus resumes to Jairus’s house, a messenger announces the girl’s death, advising Jairus not to “trouble” Jesus further.

• “Only Believe”: Jesus responds with words of assurance—“Be not afraid, only believe.” The preacher stresses the immense challenge this poses: Jairus must trust beyond all evidence, believing hope remains even when circumstances appear hopeless.
• Selective Discipleship: Jesus permits only Peter, James, and John to accompany Him—underscoring that true faith sometimes calls for exclusion of external voices and focusing on trusted witnesses.

5. Confronting Death and the Power of Christ
Arriving at the home, Jesus faces a professional mourning spectacle—hired mourners and musicians wailing over the girl’s death.

• “She is not dead, but sleepeth”: Jesus reframes death as sleep, provoking ridicule. Yet His sovereign word—“Talitha kumi”—overcomes even death.
• Tenderness and Authority: By taking the girl’s hand and addressing her in affectionate Aramaic (“my little girl, arise”), Jesus demonstrates both paternal tenderness and sovereign authority over life and death. The preacher likens this to a parent’s gentle awakening, emphasizing that in Christ, death is no more terrifying than an ordinary slumber.

6. The Number Twelve and Divine Design
The preacher wrestles with the coincidence that both suffer for twelve years—one beginning life and one ending in crisis at the same age. Though church fathers offer no consensus, this symmetry suggests God’s overarching sovereignty: He weaves beginnings and endings into His redemptive plan (echoing Joseph’s trials, Job’s sufferings, and Romans 8’s assurance that “all things work together for good”).

7. Theological and Practical Applications
From this dual miracle, the preacher derives several firm conclusions:

1. Do Not Judge God by Your Timelines: Our impatience does not reflect His disregard; rather, God’s purposes exceed our schedules.
2. Christ Values Every Believer: At the cross, status distinctions vanish; whether ruler or outcast, every soul is precious, and Christ extends salvation impartially.
3. Faith Exceeds Expectation: Both Jairus and the bleeding woman received far more than they dared hope—physical restoration and eternal identity as God’s children.
4. Death Is Conquered: For those who hold Christ’s hand, death is transformed into a temporary sleep (prefiguring resurrection hope).

8. Invitation to Trust and Waiting
The sermon closes with an exhortation drawn from the hymn “Does Jesus Care?” reminding believers that Christ is intimately acquainted with every grief and that waiting on Him is not wasted time. The preacher challenges us: why rush the One who calmed storms, cast out demons, and conquered death? Instead, be still, trust Him, and let Him work out wonders beyond our expectations.

Summary Reflection
By interweaving these two narratives, Mark—and this sermon—demonstrates Jesus’s compassion for both urgent and chronic need, His sovereignty over life, and the centrality of faith. In every season of desperation, believers are called to trust rather than hurry, recognizing that the same Lord who raises the dead also embraces outcasts, granting them healing and new life through faith.