Mk. 5:24. Jesus went with him. And a great multitude followed Him, and pressed upon Him.
Mk. 5:25. A certain woman, who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years,
Mk. 5:26. had suffered much from many physicians, spent all that she had, and received no benefit, but rather grew worse, –
Mk. 5:27. having heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment, for she said:
Mk. 5:28. If I but touch His garments, I shall be made well.
Mk. 5:29. And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the disease. After the miracle over the demoniac, the Lord performs another miracle — He raises the daughter of the ruler of the synagogue. For the Jews who witnessed the event, the Evangelist also mentions the name of the ruler of the synagogue. He was a man of half-faith: by falling at the feet of Christ, he shows himself to be a believer, but by asking Him to come, he reveals a faith not of the kind it should be; he ought to have said: "only speak the word." Meanwhile, on the Lord's way, the woman with the flow of blood is also healed. This woman had great faith, because she hoped to be healed by the Lord's garment alone; and for this she received healing. In a figurative sense, understand this also concerning human nature. It was suffering from a flow of blood, because it was producing sin, which is the murder of the soul and which sheds the blood of our souls. Our nature could not receive healing from many physicians, that is, neither from the wise men of this age, nor even from the Law and the prophets. But it was healed as soon as it touched the garment of Christ, that is, His flesh. For whoever believes that Christ became incarnate is the one who touches His garment.
Mk. 5:30. At that same time Jesus, having perceived in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and said: Who touched My clothes?
Mk. 5:31. The disciples said to Him: You see that the crowd is pressing upon You, and You say: "Who touched Me?"
Mk. 5:32. He looked around to see the woman who had done this.
Mk. 5:33. The woman, in fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.
Mk. 5:34. And He said to her: Daughter! Your faith has saved you; go in peace and be healed of your disease. Power goes out from Christ not in such a way as to change place; on the contrary, it is communicated to others and at the same time remains in Christ without diminution, just as the lessons of teaching both remain with the teachers and are imparted to the students. But see how the crowd pressed upon Him from all sides, and yet not one of them touched Him; on the contrary, the woman, who did not press upon Him, touched Him. From this we learn the mystery that of people occupied with a multitude of worldly cares, no one touches Christ: they only press upon Him; on the contrary, whoever does not press upon Jesus and does not burden his mind with vain concerns, that person touches Him. But why does the Lord reveal the woman? First, in order to glorify the woman's faith; second, in order to arouse faith in the ruler of the synagogue that his daughter also will be saved; and also in order to free the woman from her great fear, for she was afraid as one who had stolen a healing. Thus the Evangelist also says: "she came in fear and trembling." Therefore the Lord did not say, "I have saved you," but "your faith has saved you; go in peace," that is, in rest. The meaning of these words is this: be at peace, you who until now have been in sorrow and distress.
Mk. 5:35. While He was still speaking this, they come from the ruler of the synagogue and say: your daughter has died; why do you still trouble the Teacher?
Mk. 5:36. But Jesus, having heard these words, immediately says to the ruler of the synagogue: do not be afraid, only believe.
Mk. 5:37. And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.
Mk. 5:38. He comes to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and sees a commotion and people weeping and wailing loudly.
Mk. 5:39. And when He had come in, He says to them: Why do you make a commotion and weep? The girl is not dead, but sleeps.
Mk. 5:40. And they laughed at Him. But He, having put them all out, takes with Him the father and mother of the girl and those who were with Him and enters where the girl was lying.
Mk. 5:41. And taking the girl by the hand, He says to her: "Talitha cumi," which means: Girl, I say to you, arise.
Mk. 5:42. And the damsel arose straightway and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they who saw it were overcome with great amazement.
Mk. 5:43. And He strictly charged them that no one should know of this, and said that something should be given her to eat. The people of the ruler of the synagogue regarded Christ as one of the ordinary teachers, which is why they asked Him to come and pray over the girl, and in the end, when she died, they thought that He was no longer needed after her death. But the Lord encourages the father and says: "only believe." Meanwhile, He does not allow anyone to follow Him except the three disciples, because the humble Jesus does not wish to do anything for show. At His words, "the girl is not dead, but sleeping," they laugh; this was permitted so that afterward they would have no pretext to say that she had been in a faint and that it was no wonder if He raised her. On the contrary, they would convict themselves by their own testimony of His raising one who was truly dead, since they had even laughed at His words that she was not dead but sleeping. The Lord takes her by the hand in order to impart strength to her, and He commands that she be given something to eat in order to confirm that the resurrection was a real event and not an imaginary one.