Questions for Discussion
Bobby Warrenburg - April 30, 2023
A Disciple's Healing
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Read: Mark 5:21-43:
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 Then came one of 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 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 thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman 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 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that 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, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
35 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?” 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he 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 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, 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 he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat. (ESV)
- Many godly people described in the Bible had to wait a long time before God gave them what he promised them or what they were asking for. If you’ve experienced something like this in your own life, share what this waiting time felt like for you.
- In retrospect, do you have a sense of why God might have had you wait so long? Did the waiting bring any positive results? If so, what were they?
- Read 2 Peter 3:8: But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.What is Peter communicating here? How might this help you in a time of waiting?
- Jairus was an important person who seemed to be doing everything right, and yet his daughter died, because of Jesus’s delay. What can we learn from this story for our own lives?
- Talk about some of the ways that the woman with the flow of blood had suffered because of this health issue.
- Why did Jesus feel it was important to stop and talk with this woman after she had already been healed, even though the delay caused Jairus’s daughter to die before Jesus got there?
- Read verse 34 again and talk about the significance of Jesus’s words to this woman.
- Back in the Garden of Eden, Satan began the lie that “God can’t be trusted. He doesn’t really care about you.” What are some things that help you when Satan tempts you to think this way?
- Verses 41 and 42 show that Jesus is both amazingly powerful and amazingly kind. How does Jesus’s approach to this little girl impact how you feel about concerns that are weighing on your own heart today?
- What did you sense God saying to you through this message?
