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/5:21/ When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. /5:22/ Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet /5:23/ and begged him repeatedly, "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." /5:24/ So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.

[see vss. 25-34 below]

/5:35/ While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" /5:36/ But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." /5:37/ He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. /5:38/ When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. /5:39/ When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." /5:40/ And they laughed at him. Then 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. /5:41/ He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" /5:42/ And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. /5:43/ He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

= Matt 9:18-19, 23-26
/9:18/ While he was saying these things to them, suddenly a leader of the synagogue came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live." /9:19/ And Jesus got up and followed him, with his disciples.

[see vss. 20-22 below]

/9:23/ When Jesus came to the leader's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, /9:24/ he said, "Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. /9:25/ But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. /9:26/ And the report of this spread throughout that district.

= Luke 8:40-42, 49-56
/8:40/ Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. /8:41/ Just then there came a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue. He fell at Jesus' feet and begged him to come to his house, /8:42/ for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying. As he went, the crowds pressed in on him.

[see vss. 43-48 below]

/8:49/ While he was still speaking, someone came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer." /8:50/ When Jesus heard this, he replied, "Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved." /8:51/ When he came to the house, he did not allow anyone to enter with him, except Peter, John, and James, and the child's father and mother. /8:52/ They were all weeping and wailing for her; but he said, "Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping." /8:53/ And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. /8:54/ But he took her by the hand and called out, "Child, get up!" /8:55/ Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat. /8:56/ Her parents were astounded; but he ordered them to tell no one what had happened.

(2) Mark 5:25-34 = Matt 9:20-22 = Luke 8:43-48

5:25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. 5:26 She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. 5:27 She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 5:28 for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." 5:29 Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 5:30 Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" 5:31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" 5:32 He looked all around to see who had done it. 5:33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. 5:34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

= Matt 9:20-22
9:20 Then suddenly a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years came up behind him and touched the fringe of his cloak, 9:21 for she said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be made well." 9:22 Jesus turned, and seeing her he said, "Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well." And instantly the woman was made well.

= Luke 8:43-48
8:43 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years; and though she had spent all she had on physicians, no one could cure her. 8:44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his clothes, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. 8:45 Then Jesus asked, "Who touched me?" When all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds surround you and press in on you." 8:46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; for I noticed that power had gone out from me." 8:47 When the woman saw that she could not remain hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before him, she declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 8:48 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace."

Lectionary

ECUSA & RCL: Year B, Pentecost 3
RC: Year B, 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

advanceWORD: Proper 8B

 

Biblical Parallels

Leviticus 15:25-31

15:25 If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness; as in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. 15:26 Every bed on which she lies during all the days of her discharge shall be treated as the bed of her impurity; and everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her impurity. 15:27 Whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. 15:28 If she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count seven days, and after that she shall be clean. 15:29 On the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest to the entrance of the tent of meeting. 15:30 The priest shall offer one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering; and the priest shall make atonement on her behalf before the LORD for her unclean discharge. 15:31 Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness, so that they do not die in their uncleanness by defiling my tabernacle that is in their midst.

Synagogues in pre-70 CE Galilee?

The existence, form and influence of synagogues in the galilee during the life time of Jesus is disputed, along with the presence of Pharisees there in Jesus' time.

On synagogues, see Donald Binder's Second Temple Synagogues web site.

On the Pharisees, see Mahlon Smith's summary in the CrossTalk archives.

 

John Dominic Crossan

Marcus J. Borg

In Conflict, Holiness and Politics in the Teachings of Jesus, Borg cites the story of the healing of the woman with the vaginal bleeding in his discussion of holiness as transforming power:

... in the teachings of Jesus, holiness, not uncleanness, was understood to be contagious. Holiness—the power of the holy, of the sacred—was understood as a transforming power, not as a power that needed protection through rigorous separation. (p. 147)

[as with Jesus touching the leper] ... the same transformation of the understanding of holiness underlies the account of the healing of the woman with a discharge in Mark 5:25-34. Her condition rendered her and all that she touched unclean (Lev. 15:25-30). yet when she touched Jesus' garment, it was not uncleanness that was transferred but rather "power went forth" from Jesus (5:30) and she was healed. (p. 148)

Jesus Seminar

The commentary in The Acts of Jesus (pp. 80-83) outlines the Seminar's reasons for affirming (with a Pink vote) the historicity of the healing of the woman with a discharge, but only gave the healing of Jairus' daughter a Gray assessment.

John P. Meier

Meier [Marginal Jew II,710 & 787] concludes that the historicity of neither story can be affirmed.

E.P. Sanders

In The Historical Figure of Jesus (pp. 144-45), Sanders does not indicate any historical judgment on these two stories.