by David K McMillin

Created on: January 11, 2010   Last Updated: January 12, 2010

During Jesus' time on earth he displayed a distinct lack of concern over which class of society an individual belonged to: rich, poor, young, old, male, or female, it did not matter. Mark 5:21-34 makes it very clear that neither social standing nor financial status, which usually go hand in hand, mattered to him. What did matter to Jesus was the elimination of the barrier between God and man, the purpose for which he was sent.

Mark 5:21-34 opens up with Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, approaching Jesus and falling down at Jesus' feet to plead for the life of his little daughter. He is a man of both importance and means and at least a little known since the text makes note of his name. It should also be noted that despite all he owns and the position he holds he still needs to ask a traveling miracle worker to come to his home and lay hands on his daughter. It does not appear that Jesus hesitated or lectured the man about his wealth or position he just went to do as was requested.

While walking down the road a crowd of people were bumping and jostling each other, probably trying to get close to Jesus, including a woman who was bleeding and had been for 12 years. The bleeding appears to be one of those feminine things and according to the Law of Moses, any woman who was bleeding (having her period) was considered unclean and had to wait for her time to be over before she could either be with her husband or more importantly enter the temple. “When a woman has a discharge of blood for many days at a time other than her monthly period or has a discharge that continues beyond her period, she will be unclean as long as she has the discharge, just as in the days of her period” -Lev 15:25 (NIV)

This unnamed woman spent every last cent she owned to fix the bleeding but none of the experts of the day could heal her. Apparently the experts only made the problem worse. The woman in her desperation sought out Jesus and in fear of his rejection, touching that which is unclean to a Jew is serious business, touches Jesus from behind in hopes that she would not be noticed but that she would be healed. Jesus was never fooled by this financially and physically broken woman, who had to remain separated from both man and God.

After a short comical discourse with his disciples about bumping around in a crowd the unnamed woman fearfully comes forward and falls down at Jesus' feet, just as Jairus did, believing that Jesus would be very upset with her for making him unclean and possibly take back her healing. Jesus does not see a woman who has made him unclean but a woman who needed to be restored into fellowship with the living God and a woman who at least came to Jesus because she believed he could help her.

Jesus treatment of both Jairus, a rich powerful man who had access to the temple, and the unnamed physically and financially broken woman who is being kept separate from God as equal and needing restoration. This same principle applies to us as well. If we are to walk in the dust of Jesus we must also treat each individual as equal, whether they are rich or poor, employer or employee, president or custodian, man or woman, old or young, they all need to have what separates them from fellowship with God removed. Jesus purpose was to remove the separation between man and God in the case of the woman we find Jesus doing just that.

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