Mark 5:28

The Healing Touch of Jesus · Mark 5:21–43
Read Mark 5

Translations

Modern
For she kept saying, “If only I touch His garments, I will be healed.”
Traditional
For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
Literal
For she was saying, “If I shall touch even His garments, I will be saved.”
Latin
…dicebat enim: Quia si vel vestimentum ejus tetigero, salva ero.

Interlinear

Greek
English
For she kept saying, “If only I touch His garments, I will be healed.”

Notes

The woman's faith led her to believe that touching the clothing that Jesus was wearing would heal her, and it happened right away (5:34).

As Jesus heads to Jairus's home, followed by a large crowd, Mark introduces a woman in the crowd who suffers from constant bleeding. This condition not only harms her health but also makes her ceremonially unclean. This prevents her from participating in normal community life (see Leviticus 15:25–27). She is an example of the faith that Jairus should have.

Two healing miracles are connected by the need for faith (5:34, 36). The story of Jairus’s daughter begins, then the account of the woman with constant bleeding comes in the middle (5:25–34), and then the story of Jairus’s daughter continues. This pattern places the two stories together and connects them (see Mark Book Introduction, “Literary Features”). During the delay caused by the woman’s healing, Jairus’s daughter died (5:35–43).

The three miracle stories in this section are connected by:

  • a shared location (the Sea of Galilee),

  • the presence of the disciples,

  • the use of a boat, and

  • a common theme, "Who is this" (4:41).

Theme notes and profiles

Elisha

Events

Parallels

Matthew 9:18–26 Luke 8:40–56

Glossary

Bible, Manuscripts and Text of the (New Testament) Blood, Flow of Heal, Healing Hemorrhage Jairus Life Mark, Gospel of Miracle Ruler of the Synagogue

Topics

Faith in Christ, Exemplified Hemorrhage: A Woman Suffers for Twelve Years Jairus: Daughter of, Restored to Life Jesus, the Christ: Miracles of Heals the Woman with the Issue of Blood Jesus, the Christ: Raises to Life the Daughter of Jairus Miracles of Jesus, in Chronological Order: Cures the Woman with the Issue of Blood Sickness: Christ Healed: Through the Touch of his Garment