Mission Grounded in Rejection

Below is a rough translation and some preliminary comments regarding Mark 6:1-13, the Revised Common Lectionary gospel lesson for the 7th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B. As usual, your comments are welcomed. 

This reading is comprised of two stories – the rejection of Jesus in his hometown (vv.1-6) and the sending of the twelve (vv. 7-13). Mark connects them in vv.6-7, by having Jesus leave his hometown and go around teaching to the surrounding villages, then sending the twelve to go out as well. I find it best to consider each story in its own right, then to consider them as a couplet. Interestingly, the second story – of the twelve’s mission – actually concludes in 6:30-31: “The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught.He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.’ For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.” Like Jesus, the disciple were doing and teaching. Like Jesus, they needed a deserted place to get away from the crowds and for restoration. And, in my mind, that is the point of this whole pericope – those who follow Jesus are invited to be like Jesus, by participating in the Reign of God at hand. 

At the bottom of this post is a Prayer of Thanksgiving and Prayers of the People that one might use for communion litany. Blessings.

¹ Καὶ ἐξῆλθεν ἐκεῖθεν, καὶ ἔρχεται εἰς τὴν πατρίδα αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἀκολουθοῦσιν αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ. 

And he left there, and is entering into his hometown, and his disciples are following him. 

ἐξῆλθεν: AAI 3s, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs

ἔρχεται: PMI 3s, , ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs

ἀκολουθοῦσιν: PAI 3p, ἀκολουθέω, 1) to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant,  accompany him  2) to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple

1. “And he left there” is a reference to Jairus’ house, where Jesus has just raised a 12 year old girl to life. Within that story, he had healed a woman who had been suffering for 12 years. In the next story, he will send out the 12. 

² καὶ γενομένου σαββάτου ἤρξατο διδάσκειν ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ: καὶ πολλοὶ 

ἀκούοντες ἐξεπλήσσοντο λέγοντες, Πόθεν τούτῳ ταῦτα, καὶ τίς ἡ σοφία ἡ 

δοθεῖσα τούτῳ καὶ αἱ δυνάμεις τοι αῦται διὰ τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ γινόμεναι; 

And Sabbath having come he began to teach in the synagogue; and hearing many were incensed saying, “Where these things and this wisdom which has been given to him and the powerful deeds which are happening through his hands?  

γενομένου: AMPart gsn, γίνομαι, 1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being  2) to become, i.e. to come to pass, happen

ἤρξατο : AMI 3s, ἄρχω, 1) to be chief, to lead, to rule

διδάσκειν : PAInf, διδάσκω, 1) to teach 

ἀκούοντες : PAPart npm, ἀκούω, 1) to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf  2) to hear 

ἐξεπλήσσοντο: IPI 3p ἐκπλήσσω, amazed, to be exceedingly struck in mind 

λέγοντες: PAPart npm, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 

δοθεῖσα: APPart nfs, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage 

γινόμεναι:  PAPart afp, γίνομαι, 1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being  2) to become, i.e. to come to pass, happen

1. There is something about the crowd’s actions in vv.2-3 that evoke a reaction from Jesus in v.4. It causes me to wonder what the implications of the verb ἐκπλήσσω might be. Most translations say that the crowd was “amazed” (NIV) or “astonished” (KJV, ESV), or “astounded (NRSV) at what they were hearing. Mark uses ἐξεπλήσσοντο four other times. Here are the NRSV translations: 

Mk.1:22 - They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Mk. 7:37 - They were astounded beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.’

Mk. 10:26 - They were greatly astounded and said to one another, ‘Then who can be saved?’

Mk.11:18 - And when the chief priests and the scribes heard it, they kept looking for a way to kill him; for they were afraid of him, because the whole crowd was spellbound by his teaching.

2. Is ἐκπλήσσωa good thing? Does it have negative connotations? Or, is it a neutral term in itself, taking its shade of meaning from its context? I lean toward the latter and am hearing it negatively here because Mark immediately says that the people were ‘scandalized’ by what Jesus said. The word is comprised of the prefix  ἐκ, meaning ‘out’ and the root πλήσσω, meaning ‘to strike.’ While being ‘struck out of one’s mind’ is one way to put it, hence ‘astounded,’ it can also mean this, according to thebible.org’s lexicon:  to strike out, expel by a blow, drive out or away; to cast off by a blow, to drive out; commonly, to strike one out of self-possession, to strike with panic, shock.

3. If the home crowd is incensed, the questions that follow can take on a challenging, not inquiring tone, like, “What the hell is he saying? How does he come to be able to do these things? Isn’t he that carpenter kid of Mary’s?” etc. 

4. Michael Turton, citing Donahue and Harrington, points out that the reference to the powerful deeds done ‘through his hands’ sounds complimentary until one sees that Jesus is called a ‘craftsman’ (or ‘carpenter’) in the next sentence, a reference to one who works with one’s hands. See Turton’s commentary.

³ οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τέκτων, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς Μαρίας καὶ ἀδελφὸς Ἰακώβου καὶ 

Ἰωσῆτος καὶ Ἰούδα καὶ Σίμωνος; καὶ οὐκ εἰσὶν αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ ὧδε πρὸς 

ἡμᾶς; καὶ ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ. 

Is this not the craftsman, the son of Mary and brother of James and Justus and Judah and Simon?  And are not his sisters here with us?  And they were scandalized in him.

ἐστιν (2x): PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

εἰσὶν: PAI 3p, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

ἐσκανδαλίζοντο: IPI 3p, σκανδαλίζω, 1) to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which  another may trip and fall, metaph. to offend

1. There is quite a bit of family information here that shows above all else that these really are Jesus’ own people who know him and his family well. 

2. The ‘son of Mary’ phrase, however, could be loaded. Perhaps Joseph is dead and one does not speak of the dead. Some have suggested that ‘son of Mary,’ instead of ‘son of Joseph and Mary,’ is a jab at the dubious story Jesus’ surrounding Jesus’ birth. Mark never mentions that story, so I find this unconvincing. The interpretive challenge of translating the crowd’s words is to try to capture the meaning and tone, which requires some speculation. 

3. We have met Jesus’ family already in Mark’s story. Mark 3:21 says, “When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.’” Then, in 3:31, “Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him.” 

4. I think “craftsman” captures the comparison to the deeds happening “through his hands” in v.2. 

⁴ καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ 

πατρίδι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς συγγενεῦσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ. 

And Jesus was saying to them, “No prophet is without honor except among his hometown and among his relatives and among his house.”  

ἔλεγεν: IAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 

ἔστιν: PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

1. While I typically translate ἐν as ‘in,’ it seems that ‘among’ fits better here. 

2. The idea that a prophet has no honor in the hometown or among one’s own people is not a quote from the OT. Most commentators say it seems to be a proverbial expression that has its origins elsewhere. What does Jesus mean by saying it? (Or, if you will, what does Mark mean by having Jesus say it?) It is a backhanded way of identifying Jesus as a prophet? Is it a forehanded way of aligning these folks with the long history of those who rejected the prophets? 

3. Mark does not mention the name of the town in this story. Mark identifies Jesus as being from Nazareth in 1:9. Then, he says in 2:1 that when Jesus returned to Capernaum it was reported that he was at home. [Incidentally, Matthew 4:12-13 says, “Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the lake, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,” followed by Matthew’s characteristic display that this move fulfilled what was written in the OT.]  

⁵ καὶ οὐκ ἐδύνατο ἐκεῖ ποιῆσαι οὐδεμίαν δύναμιν, εἰ μὴ ὀλίγοις ἀρρώστοις 

ἐπιθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας ἐθεράπευσεν: 

And he was not able to do any powerful deeds there, except laying on hands he healed a few sick folk.  

ἐδύνατο: IMI 3s, δύναμαι, 1) to be able, have power whether by virtue of one's own ability and  resources, or of a state of mind, or through favorable  circumstances, or by permission of law or custom 

ποιῆσαι: AAInf, ποιέω, 1) to make  1a) with the names of things made, to produce, construct,  form, fashion, etc.

ἐπιθεὶς: AAPart nsm, ἐπιτίθημι, 1) in the active voice  1a) to put or lay upon

ἐθεράπευσεν: AAI 3s, θεραπεύω, 1) to serve, do service  2) to heal, cure, restore to health 

1. This sentence literally reads ‘not able to do no powerful deeds,’ but the double negative does not equal a positive in Greek. 

2. I’ve always thought this was an interesting observation – he couldn’t do anything, you know, except heal a few sick folk. But, other than that, he couldn’t do anything! 

⁶ καὶ ἐθαύμαζεν διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν. Καὶ περιῆγεν τὰς κώμας κύκλῳ 

διδάσκων. 

And he was amazed at their unbelief.  And he was going around the surrounding villages teaching.

ἐθαύμαζεν: IAI 3s, θαυμάζω, 1) to wonder, wonder at, marvel  2) to be wondered at, to be had in admiration

περιῆγεν: IAI 3s, περιάγω, 1) to lead around, to lead about with one's self  2) to go about, walk about 

διδάσκων: PAPart nsm, διδάσκω, 1) to teach  1a) to hold discourse with others in order to instruct them,  deliver didactic discourses 

1. Now, it’s Jesus’ turn to be amazed at them. θαυμάζω is a different term from ἐκπλήσσω in v.2.

2. The implication is that the crowd’s reaction in vv.2-3 was a reaction of unbelief, which, however proverbial, is amazing in itself. 

3. I use the word “surrounding” because the adjective κύκλῳ carries the meaning of going in circles. Added to that is the prefix περι from “going around” (περιῆγεν), which also means ‘around.’ I think having ‘around’ then ‘surrounding’ picks up on this redundancy of ‘round’ words. The point of the redundancy seems to be that Jesus is not teaching or sending the twelve in villages around his own town, but not in his own town. 

⁷ καὶ προσκαλεῖται τοὺς δώδεκα, καὶ ἤρξατο αὐτοὺς ἀποστέλλειν δύο δύο, 

καὶ ἐδίδου αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν τῶν πνευμάτων τῶν ἀκαθάρτων: 

And he calls to the twelve, and began to send them two by two, and gave to them authority of the unclean spirits;

προσκαλεῖται: PMI 3s, προσκαλέομαι, 1) to call to  2) to call to one's self  3) to bid to come to one's self 

ἤρξατο: AMI 3s, ἄρχω, 1) to be chief, to lead, to rule

ἀποστέλλειν: PAInf, ἀποστέλλω, 1) to order (one) to go to a place appointed  2) to send away, dismiss

ἐδίδου: IAI 3s, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage

1. Jesus sends the disciples to go out and take authority over the unclean spirits, to be amazing, to embody and to participate in the reign of God at hand. See my comments under “My Babble” below for more. 

⁸ καὶ παρήγγειλεν αὐτοῖς ἵνα μηδὲν αἴρωσιν εἰς ὁδὸν εἰ μὴῥάβδον μόνον, μὴ 

ἄρτον, μὴ πήραν, μὴ εἰς τὴν ζώνην χαλκόν, 

And charged them, that they would take up nothing onto the way except a staff only, not bread, not a bag not money in the belt, 

παρήγγειλεν: AAI 3s, παραγγέλλω, 1) to transmit a message along from one to another, to declare, announce  2) to command, order, charge 

αἴρωσιν: PASubj 3p, αἴρω, 1) to raise up, elevate, lift up  1a) to raise from the ground, take up: stones  1b) to raise upwards, elevate, lift up: the hand  

1. The verb παραγγέλλω (charged) is interesting. The root αγγέλλω is the stem of a lot of ‘proclamation’-type words, including ἄγγελος (angel) and εὐαγγέλιον (evangelism). 

⁹ ἀλλὰ ὑποδεδεμένους σανδάλια καὶ μὴ ἐνδύσησθε δύο χιτῶνας. 

but binding sandals and not wearing two tunics. 

ὑποδεδεμένους: PerfMPart apm, to bind or tie under with ὑπό (a) in middle to bind under one's feet, put on shoes (this specific meaning occurs only in Mar 6:9. Eph 6:15)

ἐνδύσησθε: AMSubj 2p, ἐνδύω, 1) to sink into (clothing), put on, clothe one's self

1. So far, we do not know what, exactly, Jesus is calling the twelve to do. We know how they were organized, empowered, simplified, and dressed. 

¹⁰καὶ ἔλεγεναὐτοῖς, Οπου ἐὰν εἰσέλθητε εἰς οἰκίαν, ἐκεῖ μένετε ἕως ἂν 

ἐξέλθητε ἐκεῖθεν. 

And he was saying to them, “Wherever you would enter into a house, there remain until you would leave there.

ἔλεγεν: IAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak 

εἰσέλθητε: AASubj 2p, εἰσέρχομαι, 1) to go out or come in: to enter  1a) of men or animals, as into a house or a city

μένετε: PAImpv 2p, μένω, 1) to remain, abide  1a) in reference to place  1a1) to sojourn, tarry  1a2) not to depart  

ἐξέλθητε: AASubj 2p,εξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs

¹¹ καὶ ὃς ἂν τόπος μὴ δέξηται ὑμᾶς μηδὲ ἀκούσωσιν ὑμῶν, ἐκπορευόμενοι ἐκεῖθεν ἐκτινάξατε τὸν χοῦν τὸν ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν ὑμῶν εἰς μαρτύριον αὐτοῖς.

And whatever place might not receive you or might not listen to you, leaving there shake the bottom dust of your feet into a witness to them. 

δέξηται: AMSubj 3s, δέχομαι, 1) to take with the hand  1a) to take hold of, take up, 2b) to receive or grant access to 

ἀκούσωσιν: AASubj 3p, ἀκούω, 1) to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf  

ἐκπορευόμενοι: PMPart npm, ἐκπορεύομαι, 1) to go forth, go out, depart

ἐκτινάξατε: AAImpv 2p, ἐκτινάσσω, 1) to shake off so that something adhering shall fall

1. The pronoun, “them” (αὐτοῖς) in the last phrase is in the dative case, which is usually translated ‘to’ or ‘with’ something. Almost every translation goes with ‘against,’ which is possible, but which is usually set off with a separate preposition. 

2. I think translating the εἰς as “to” or “against” is an interpretive issue, and not strictly a translation issue, which goes to the heart of what Jesus is telling the twelve to do. If Jesus were intending “against,” the instruction sounds like a demonstrative way of saying, ‘You reject me, I’ll reject you.” But that seems contrary to how Jesus typically operates. If this were a way of providing a testimony ‘to’ them, it would fit the spirit of not taking anything along for the journey. The twelve are not being sent out to benefit or exploit. They go out with authority over unclean spirits and receptive to hospitality. If there is no offer of hospitality, they demonstrate that they are not there to take anything – not even the dust – that is not freely given.

3. The two older translations that I consult along the way – Young’s Literal Translation of 1862 and the King James Version of 1611, have an addition to this verse: “verily I say to you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom or Gomorrah in a day of judgment than for that city.” 

4. So, continuing the thought of v.9, n.1, the twelve have been empowered with authority over unclean spirits, they’ve been instructed on what to wear, what not to depend on, and how to be a guest to both the hospitable and inhospitable. They have not been told anything specific to say. But, as the next verse suggests, they do say something. 

 ¹² Καὶ ἐξελθόντες ἐκήρυξαν ἵνα μετανοῶσιν, 

And having gone out they preached in order that they might repent, 

ἐξελθόντες: AAPart npm, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs

ἐκήρυξαν: AAI 3p, κηρύσσω, 1) to be a herald, to officiate as a herald  1a) to proclaim after the manner of a herald

μετανοῶσιν: PASubj 3p, μετανοέω, 1) to change one's mind, i.e. to repent  2) to change one's mind for better, heartily to amend with abhorrence  of one's past sins

1. Given Mark’s penchant for using pronouns without clear antecedents, some translations make this “that all might repent.” The noun is implied in the 3^rdperson voicing of the verb “repent.” 

2. The verb, μετανοέω, literally means “change of mind.” This is the second and last time the verbal form of this word is used in Mark’s gospel, the first being Jesus’ words of 1:15, following the arrest of John. Mark also uses the nominal form, μετάνοια twice: In 1:4 with reference to John the Baptist; and 2:17, where Jesus says, “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” 

¹³ καὶ δαιμόνια πολλὰ ἐξέβαλλον, καὶ ἤλειφον ἐλαίῳ πολλοὺς ἀρρώστους 

καὶ ἐθεράπευον.

and were casting out many demons, and were anointing with oil many sick folk and were curing them. 

ἐξέβαλλον: IAI 3p, ἐκβάλλω, 1) to cast out, drive out, to send out  1a) with notion of violence  1a1) to drive out

ἤλειφον: IAI 3p, ἀλείφω, 1) to anoint

ἐθεράπευον: IAI 3p, θεραπεύω, 1) to serve, do service  2) to heal, cure, restore to health

1. It seems to me that this is what Mark envisions the followers of Jesus to be doing. (I think whoever added the longer ending to Mark’s gospel has this in mind as what the disciples did after the resurrection, however embellished they described it.) 

My Babble:

For the interpreter, this week’s lexicon has two stories, each of which has meaning in its own right. Then, as a couplet, they show that when Jesus is rejected among his own folk, the twelve are empowered to go and bear the message, as well as to cast out demons and to heal. This rejection-leading-to-new-ministry is the same pattern of 1:14-15 when Jesus began his ministry after the arrest of John. (I would argue that this is part of the resurrection motif of Mark, but that is a larger topic for another day.)  

Another issue that arises here is that if the message of repentance is a change of mind, what does it call one to change from and change to? 

First, I will address what I believe Mark sees one changing to. 

My guess is that the most popular answer to this question would be to say it is a call to believe in Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior. That would certainly be an appropriate response if one has Romans 10:9-10 in mind, for example. However, in Mark’s gospel there are reasons for approaching the question differently. One of those reasons is that when Jesus is preparing the twelve for this mission, he does not tell them to preach about him, and that is not what they preach about. Rather than preaching about Jesus, they preach with Jesus, one could say, that repentance is necessary. 

In my own reading of Mark, I think it is an incredibly important moment when Jesus sends the twelve out preaching repentance. It relates to my somewhat-developed opinion of the so-called ‘messianic secret’ in Mark. The phrase “messianic secret” attempts to name a motif that certainly is central to Mark’s gospel – the repetitive ‘don’t say anything’ moments right where we don’t expect them. For me, however, it is not so much a secret as a re-direction. By attempting over and over to make Jesus ‘the Messiah,’ people were missing the point of his message, which was that the Reign of God was present and that they all were invited to participate in it. As long as they had the Messiah to embody the reign, they were missing the participation part. To ‘follow’ is not to point to, observe, marvel, coronate, or even profess. It is more about joining along, taking up the message, indeed taking up the cross that is central to the message, and “believing” by living in the present reign of God. It is healing the sick, delivering those who are oppressed, etc. In other words, I don’t think the “messianic secret” is a literary device by Mark, but a theological point that Mark saw Jesus trying to re-direct his message away from himself and toward following-as-participating. 

So, yes, repentance can be reconciled with turning from something and turning to following Jesus as Lord and Savior, but for Mark the act of following is more participative than propositional, more ‘take nothing with you but …’ than ‘confess with your mouth and believe in your heart.’ 

Regarding the question of what one is to change from: One possibility is to interpret it vis-a-vis the Roman Empire – an interpretation that is warranted not only by the realities of 1^stcentury Galilee, but because Mark himself brackets the story of the disciples’ journey with the ghastly story of King Herod killing John the Baptist who also preached repentance. (vv. 7-13 and 30-31 are the bread; vv. 14-29 is the meat of this Markan sandwich.) I find it a great development in my lifetime that the Roman Empire has moved from the background to the foreground of NT studies. That, however, is another huge topic for another day and one that is ably addressed by others far better than I.  

Liturgical Addition:

Prayer of Thanksgiving

God of life and love: You have created a world and it is good. From the crashing waters and gentle breezes of our earth, to the farthest reaches of unexplored multiverses, you have established a home of astonishing diversity. We are especially thankful today for our nation, as we celebrate the denunciation of tyranny and the declaration of freedom. 

ONE: We join our voices with saints from all ages and throughout all the earth, saying, 

ALL: Holy, holy, holy Lord! God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory! Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 

 

 Prayers of the People 

Throughout your world, there are women, men, and children anxious about their daily bread, desperately seeking shelter and safety, longing for the joy of community and hope. We pray for victims of our crass dedication to violence, species that are imperiled by our exploitation, and those whose ability to dance their joy or love their lovers are threatened in the name of religion. We pray for those whose joys and concerns we carry within…. 

We pray for our nation, that we the people will be a community of hope, joy, and grace. 

We pray especially for a revival of love and sharing throughout our world, where enemies become friends, despair becomes hope, and competition becomes sharing.  

 

Begging Believers and Scorning Skeptics

Mark 5:21-43

 

Below is a rough translation and some preliminary comments regarding Mark 5:21-43, the Revised Common Lectionary gospel reading for the 6^th Sunday after Pentecost, Year B. I have a rumination about a Girardian approach to this text that you can find here.

 

This text is comprised of two stories, an inner story and an outer story, each of which involves the illness of a woman/girl. The way these stories are presented are a Marcan habit of ‘bracketing’ or ‘sandwiching’ one story within another. It seems, when this happens, that the meaning of each of the stories enlightens the meaning of the other. I will refer to the story of the woman with the flow of blood at the ‘inner’ story and the healing of Jairus’ daughter as the ‘outer’ story. I have occasionally marked a word in red to see repetitions that may connect the stories and will note those at the end. 

 

Now, my unsolicited opinion: I think the bleeding woman deserves her own moment, and Jairus’ daughter deserves her own moment, and that the two stories together deserve their own moment. I think the next time I preach on this text it will be a three-part series. One reason is that I think the bleeding woman’s heart-breaking story gets lost in the story of raising a child from death. The woman does not need us marginalizing her, because she’s been marginalized for too long already. She is physically beset with illness and economically deprived as a result. Many of us have seen the cycles that someone with a lingering illness (or lingering grief) goes through, of care, pity, annoyance, and so forth. After a while people even write her off as “always being sickly.” Yet she is also more than her illness. She’s a daring fighter, who has not given up on living and is even willing to do something desperate. Mark gives us something about her and her character that screams for our attention and I think we ought to give it. 

 

Here's what my three-part series will look like. 

Part One: The Woman with Incredible Faith. I have decided to call her "the bleeding woman" no longer, because it is no longer her illness that defines her. 

Part Two: A Parent's Desperate Plea. Jairus is in that dance where no parent ever wants to be, but far too many parents find themselves. Whether its because of war, famine, poverty, gang violence, illness, disease, etc., there are few things more heartbreaking than a desperate parent's plea. Sometimes that plea comes by a hospital bed; sometimes at a border crossing. 

Part Three: Sophie's Choice and Gospel Abundance. Mark is messing with us here. While Jairus' plea is urgent and time is of the essence, Jesus takes the time to find out who - in the massive crowd - touched him. And he hears her story - in v.33 she tells him "the whole truth." Imagine Jairus tapping his feet, too solicitous to interrupt but too desperate to wait kindly. In fact, Jairus' worst nightmare seems to come true - they waited too long and now it is too late. It would seem that Jesus had a choice - rescue the girl or deal with the woman. That's scarcity thinking. Jesus heals both. That's abundance. Again, the link to the Girardian approach to this story is informing this third part.

 

And finally, I haven't said very much about the "Scorning Skeptics" in my title. They come in all shapes and sizes - from the disciples' snarky answer to Jesus' inquiry about who touched him to the mourners who laugh at Jesus' declaration and whom Jesus boots out of the room. We know the disciples well and expect more of them; this crowd is here today and gone tomorrow, but who among us does not think death is death and not sleep? I'd also throw in the medical establishment and the culture of pursed lips that people with chronic illness often encounter. Or the folks who think a suffering child is an indication of failed parenting. Our culture adores success and vitality so much that we add layers onto suffering with our own kind of scorn. That's part of what convicts me in this text.

 

Okay, enough! On with the text! 

 

 

²¹Καὶ διαπεράσαντος τοῦ Ἰησοῦ [ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ] πάλιν εἰς τὸ πέραν συνήχθη 

ὄχλος πολὺς ἐπ' αὐτόν, καὶ ἦν παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν. 

And with Jesus having crossed [in the boat] again to the other side, a great crowd was squeezed together with him, and he was alongside the sea.  

διαπεράσαντος : AAPart gsm, διαπεράω, 1) to pass over, cross over, i.e. a river, a lake

συνήχθη : API 3s, συνέχω, 1) to hold together  1a) any whole, lest it fall to pieces or something fall away from it  2) to hold together with constraint, to compress  2a) to press together with the hand  2a) to hold one's ears, to shut the heavens that it may not rain  2b) to press on every side  2b1) of a besieged city  2b2) of a strait, that forces a ship into a narrow channel  2b3) of a cattle squeeze, that pushing in on each side, forcing  the beast into a position where it cannot move so the  farmer can administer medication

ἦν : IAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

1. I say ‘with Jesus having crossed’ because ‘Jesus’ is in the genitive case; ‘a great crowd’ is the main subject in the nominative case. 

2. Putting the return journey into a genitival phrase, making it a dependent clause, is all the more significant when one considers that the outgoing journey was the focus of an entire story, a storm, a miracle, and a teaching moment.  

3. The word “squeezed” (συνήχθη) could be translated “gathered,” but because the tightness of the crowd will factor into the inner story, I am trying to bring out the issue from the start. Note the definition possibilities above. They seem to get more and more extreme. 

4. This crowd squeeze was the problem that faced Jesus before his trip across the sea, which was solved by boarding the boat and teaching from there (4:1). 

 

²²καὶ ἔρχεται εἷς τῶν ἀρχισυναγώγων, ὀνόματι Ἰάϊρος, καὶ ἰδὼν αὐτὸνπίπτει πρὸς τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ 

And one of the leaders of the synagogue arrives, named Jairus, and having seen him falls at his feet, 

ἔρχεται : PMI 3s, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

ἰδὼν : AAPart nsm, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know

πίπτει : PAI 3s, πίπτω, 1) to descend from a higher place to a lower  1a) to fall (either from or upon)  1a1) to be thrust down  1b) metaph. to fall under judgment, came under condemnation  2) to descend from an erect to a prostrate position. 

1. Jairus, despite the crowd squeeze, seems to be able to get access to Jesus. It is left unsaid whether he was able to bypass the crowd and get backstage because of who he was, because he has people on hand, or because he was so desperate and grief stricken that normal rules of distance and patience went out the window. 

2. I’m wondering about how Mark tells these stories, with respect to Jesus’ agency. The minute Jesus docked on the ‘other side’ of the sea, he was confronted by a man and his “Legion” of demons. Here, we have no sense of where Jesus intends to go, what Jesus intends to do, or anything – just that he landed and here is Jairus. At this point in the story, Jesus does not seem to be making decisions, but offering himself to whatever emergency or need confronts him first. I think that will be important as this story continues to unfold.  

3. I do want to point out that when the man with the Legion of demons came to Jesus, Mark uses the verb ὑπαντάω, not ἔρχομαι. Uπαντάω can carry more of a confrontational tone according to lexicons. So, perhaps I’m overplaying the parallels here. But, Jesus does say that the man with the Legion of demons, having seen Jesus, falls at his feet. 

 

²³καὶ παρακαλεῖ αὐτὸν πολλὰ λέγων ὅτι Τὸ θυγάτριόν μου ἐσχάτως ἔχει, 

ἵνα ἐλθὼν ἐπιθῇς τὰς χεῖρας αὐτῇ ἵνα σωθῇ καὶ ζήσῃ. 

And beseeches him repeatedly saying, “My daughter is nearing her end, so having come you may lay your hands on her in order to be made whole and live.”  

παρακαλεῖ : PAI 3s, παρακαλέω, 1) to call to one's side, call for, summon  2) to address, speak to, (call to, call upon), which may be done in  the way of exhortation, entreaty, comfort, instruction, etc.  2a) to admonish, exhort  2b) to beg, entreat, beseech 

λέγων : PAPart nsm, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain 

ἔχει: PAI 3s, ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold  1a) …  3) to hold one's self or find one's self so and so, to be in such or  such a condition

ἐλθὼν : AAPart nsm, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

ἐπιθῇς : AASubj 2s, ἐπιτίθημι, 1) in the active voice to put or lay upon 

σωθῇ : APSubj 3s, σῴζω, 1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction  1a) one (from injury or peril)  1a1) to save a suffering one (from perishing), i.e. one  suffering from disease, to make well, heal, restore to health

ζήσῃ: AASubj 3s, ζάω, 1) to live, breathe, be among the living (not lifeless, not dead) 

1. The word I translate as “beseeches” (παρακαλεῖ) can mean many things, but the repetition and posture of falling at one’s feet suggests that this man is desperate. And, we’ve seen this verb repeatedly already in this chapter – vv. 10, 12, 17, 18. The Demons beg, and beg, the crowd begs Jesus to leave, the restored man begs Jesus to let him come along. I cannot help but to hear this verb as more than just asking, even ‘asking really hard’ if that’s what ‘begging’ implies. There also seems to be an edge of ‘demanding,’ perhaps not in the sense of issuing orders, but of not taking ‘no’ for an answer. (It was also the verb describing the man with leprosy in 1:40.) 

2. The word “nearing” (ἔχω) is typically translated as ‘to have’ or ‘to hold,’ although it can indicate one’s condition as that which one is holding. 

3. Even though Jairus seems a desperate man, I’m noticing that he does not use the imperative voice with Jesus. When he says, “Come,” it is an aorist participle and even when using the 2^nd person for “lay your hands on her” he uses the subjunctive voice. 

4. The word “made whole” (σῴζω) is rich with meaning. It is the word that is often translated as “save,” but that has become such a ‘religious’ term connoting the afterlife that the richness of its meaning is often obscured. It would be accurate and simpler to say “healed” here, but I want to keep the larger sense of this word apparent. 

 

²⁴καὶ ἀπῆλθεν μετ’ αὐτοῦ. Καὶ ἠκολούθει αὐτῷ ὄχλος πολύς, καὶ 

συνέθλιβον αὐτόν. 

And he went with him.  And a great crowd was following him, and pressed in on him.   

ἀπῆλθεν : AAI 3s, ἀπέρχομαι, 1) to go away, depart 

ἠκολούθει : IAI 3s, ἀκολουθέω, 1) to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant,  accompany him 

συνέθλιβον : IAI 3s, συνθλίβω, 1) to press together, press on all sides

1. Again, like v.21 but using a different verb, Mark emphasizes the pressing crowd in the outer story, which is a factor in the inner story. By now we know it was really, really crowded. 

2. At this point in the story, Jesus is accompanied by the big crowd and presumably all of the disciples. That changes starting in v.37. 

 

²⁵καὶ γυνὴ οὖσα ἐν ῥύσει αἵματος δώδεκα ἔτη 

And a woman, being in a discharge of blood for 12 years

οὖσα : PAPart nsf, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

1. This verse should not be set apart as a separate verse from vv.26 and 27, because vv. 25 and 26 have a string of participles, with the main verb (touched) not appearing until v.27. See the comment below v.27 for why I think this matters. 

2. Most translations say that she ‘had’ a flow of blood, which does capture the meaning, but literally it reads that she is ‘being in’ a flow of blood for 12 years.

3. Leviticus 15:19-24 addresses how a woman who has “her regular discharge of blood” can be cleansed from her impurity. Then, vv. 25-30 speak to this:
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, for all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness; as in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. 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. Whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes, and bathe in water, and be unclean until the evening. If she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count seven days, and after that she shall be clean. On the eighth day she shall take two turtle-doves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 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.

A constant discharge would mean constant impurity, in my reading. 

 

²⁶ καὶ πολλὰ παθοῦσα ὑπὸ πολλῶν ἰατρῶν καὶ δαπανήσασα τὰ παρ' αὐτῆς 

πάντα καὶ μηδὲν ὠφεληθεῖσα ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον εἰς τὸ χεῖρον ἐλθοῦσα, 

and having suffered much by many physicians and having spent all that she had and not having benefitted but having gone from bad to the worse,  

παθοῦσα : AAPart nsf, πάσχω, 1) to be affected or have been affected, to feel, have a  sensible experience, to undergo  1a) in a good sense, to be well off, in good case  1b) in a bad sense, to suffer sadly, be in a bad plight  1b1) of a sick person

δαπανήσασα : AAPart nsf, δαπανάω, 1) to incur expense, expend, spend  2) in a bad sense: to waste, squander, consume

ὠφεληθεῖσα : APPart nsf, ὠφελέω, 1) to assist, to be useful or advantageous, to profit 

ἐλθοῦσα: AAPart nsf, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

1. Participles abound. See below v.27. 

2. Mark only uses the word for suffer (πάσχω) 3x. The last two are when Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer and die (8:31 and 9:12). 

 

²⁷ ἀκούσασα περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, ἐλθοῦσα ἐντῷ ὄχλῳ ὄπισθεν ἥψατο τοῦ 

ἱματίου αὐτοῦ: 

having heard about Jesus, having gone into the crowd she grabbed his garment from behind; 

ἀκούσασα : AAPart nsf, ἀκούω, 1) to be endowed with the faculty of hearing, not deaf

ἐλθοῦσα : AAPart nsf, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

ἥψατο: AMI 3s, ἅπτω, 1) to fasten to, adhere to  1a) to fasten fire to a thing, kindle, set of fire 

1. Here is why I think vv.25-27 ought to be one, long sentence. Yes, this unfortunate woman did have a flow of blood for 12 years. But, to put that description into a self-standing sentence (as NRSV and NIV do with v.25) is to define her in a singular way, which is not how Mark tells the story. She had been living with a flow of blood for 12 years, but she also suffered at the hands of physicians, she also spent all of her money to address it, she also did not benefit but went from bad to worse. AND, she heard about Jesus and she went into this pressing throng of people – to grab his garment. She is as defined by her determination as by her suffering. That is the value of respecting Mark’s string of participles and being patient for the main verb. After all that she suffered and did, she grabbed his garment. 

2. Jairus, “having seen Jesus” knelt and begged; this woman “having heard about Jesus,” grabbed his garment. 

 

²⁸ ἔλεγεν γὰρ ὅτι Ἐὰν ἅψωμαι κἂν τῶν ἱματίων αὐτοῦ σωθήσομαι. 

For she was saying, “If only I may grab even his garment I will be made whole.”  

ἔλεγεν : IAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

ἅψωμαι : AMSubj 1s, ἅπτω, 1) to fasten to, adhere to  1a) to fasten fire to a thing, kindle, set of fire

σωθήσομαι: FPI 1s, σῴζω, 1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction

1. We don’t know why this woman has come to this conclusion, but her intent and determination seem to be what Jesus calls her saving faith in v.34. I wonder if by grabbing Jesus’ garment she makes Jesus unclean. 

2. This woman also uses the word σῴζω to speak of her hope, like Jairus in v.23. 

3. TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR PREACHY MOMENT: Walter Rangerin’s story “The Ragman” comes to mind often for me when reading Mark. I think one reason Jesus spent time in the wilderness after his encounter with the man with leprosy at the end of c.1 is because he was ritually unclean and the man went around telling everybody about it – so Jesus could not enter the cities that he had intended on visiting. I think, in the previous story of the man with the Legion of demons, Jesus takes on the man’s rejection (gets “monsterized” in my language) as the townspeople – who had previously tried to bind the man with demons – beg/demand him to leave. And here, I believe Jesus becomes unclean in order to make whole the woman who is perpetually unclean (and ill!). Jesus is, in one sense, the Ragman who is taking on others’ suffering to release them. 

 

²⁹ καὶ εὐθὺς ἐξηράνθη ἡ πηγὴ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτῆς, καὶ ἔγνω τῷ σώματι ὅτι 

ἴαται ἀπὸ τῆς μάστιγος. 

And immediately the spring of her blood was dried up, and she knew in the body that she was healed of the scourge.  

ἐξηράνθη: API 3s, ξηραίνω, 1) to make dry, dry up, wither  2) to become dry, to be dry …  2c) of fluids

ἔγνω: AAI 3s, γινώσκω, 1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel  1a) to become known 

ἴαται: PerfPI 3s, ἰάομαι, 1) to cure, heal  2) to make whole  2a) to free from errors and sins, to bring about (one's) salvation

1. The verb for ‘healed’ (ἴαται) has the same root at the word for ‘physicians’ (ἰατρῶν) in v.26. 

2. The word I am translating as “scourge” can refer literally to a whip and metaphorically to a plague, according to thebible.org. Mark uses it here and in v.34 of this story, as well as in 3:10 of folks who came to Jesus for help. In Acts 22:24 it is used specifically for the torture of scourging. 

3. We don’t have to know how the woman was able to perceive her healing and skepticism is well warranted by the skeptic, I suppose. But, when we set that aside and just imagine that this woman, drained of blood and money and everything, now perceives that the long scourge is over, what an amazing moment. 

 

³⁰καὶ εὐθὺς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐπιγνοὺς ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἐξ αὐτοῦ δύναμιν ἐξελθοῦσανἐπιστραφεὶς ἐν τῷ ὄχλῳ ἔλεγεν, Τίς μου ἥψατο τῶν ἱματίων; 

And immediately Jesus, having recognized in himself power having exited out of him, having turned around in the crowd was saying, “Who grabbed my garment?”  

ἐπιγνοὺς: AAPart nsm, ἐπιγινώσκω, 1) to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly  1a) to know accurately, know well  2) to know  2a) to recognise

ἐξελθοῦσαν: AAPart asf, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs

ἐπιστραφεὶς : APPart nsm, ἐπιστρέφω, 1) transitively  1a) to turn to  1a1) to the worship of the true God  1b) to cause to return, to bring back

ἔλεγεν: IAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

ἥψατο: AMI 3s, ἅπτω, 1) to fasten to, adhere to  1a) to fasten fire to a thing, kindle, set of fire 

1. Like verses 25-27, this verse has a string of participles (recognize, exited, turned) followed by the main verb (saying).

2. Mark reifies the healing power of Jesus in this story. Whatever it is, it is something that can go out of Jesus without his willing it, but he can sense it actually leaving his body. There is also a kind of physicality that is odd, because the woman’s intent and action was to touch his garment, not Jesus himself. 

3. Jesus perceived the healing flow leaving his body just as the woman perceives the healing of the flowing scourge in her body. This is the cool part of the story. 

4. I do want to note that when Jesus turns and addresses the crowd, he takes back the agency of his actions. He was met immediately by Jairus and regardless of whatever his intentions were it seems that the urgency of Jairus’ daughter suddenly scripted Jesus’ actions. Then, the woman grabs his garment and his healing power goes out of him, with no reference to Jesus’ will or intent at all. Others are determining his actions and even his location. Until now. Now, he stops – as urgent as Jairus may be – he stops and turns and inquires. 

 

³¹καὶ ἔλεγον αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ, Βλέπεις τὸν ὄχλον συνθλίβοντά σε, 

καὶ λέγεις, Τίς μου ἥψατο; 

And his disciples were saying to him, “You see the crowd pressing you, and you say, ‘Who grabbed me?’”

ἔλεγον: IAI 3p, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

Βλέπεις : PAI 2s, βλέπω, 1) to see, discern, of the bodily eye

συνθλίβοντά : PAPart asm, συνθλίβω, 1) to press together, press on all sides

λέγεις: PAI 2s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

ἥψατο: AMI 3s, ἅπτω, 1) to fasten to, adhere to  1a) to fasten fire to a thing, kindle, set of fire 

1. The verb here for the “pressing” crowd is different from συνέχω that I translated as “squeeze” in v.21, but it is the same verb that Mark uses in v. 24. 

2. Regarding the disciples’ effrontery, it is a wise guiding principle, when speaking to someone who is not stupid, to act as though what s/he has said is not stupid. Yet, the disciples’ question seems almost derisive. (More below) 

3. When Mark uses the imperfect past tense instead of the simply aorist, I think we should not let the brevity of his storytelling imply brevity of the event he is describing. I think the encounter with the man with a Legion of demons, as well as this argument with the disciples, may be taking longer than we realize.   

 

³²καὶ περιεβλέπετο ἰδεῖν τὴν τοῦτο ποιήσασαν. 

And he was looking around to see the one who had caused [it].  

περιεβλέπετο: IMI 3s, περι, around + βλέπω, to see, discern, of the bodily eye

ἰδεῖν : AAInf, ὁράω, 1) to see with the eyes  2) to see with the mind, to perceive, know (MD: “Identify”?)

ποιήσασαν: AAPart asf, ποιέω, 1) to make  1a) with the names of things made, to produce, construct,  form, fashion, etc.  1b) to be the authors of, the cause

1. “the one” is feminine. It could be ‘she’ who had caused it and it might indicate that Jesus was not completely in the dark over who it was. Or, it might be that the narrator knows “the one” is a she, but not yet Jesus. 

2. Again, the imperfect past tense implies that the urgency of getting to Jairus’ house is put on hold as Jesus looks around in a huge pressing crowd. 

 

³³ ἡ δὲ  φοβηθεῖσα καὶ τρέμουσα γυνὴ , εἰδυῖα ὃ γέγονεν αὐτῇ, ἦλθεν καὶ 

προσέπεσεν αὐτῷ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀλήθειαν. 

Yet the woman having feared and trembling, having known what had happened in her, came and fell to him and said to him the whole truth.  

φοβηθεῖσα: APPart nsf, φοβέω to strike with fear, scare, frighten. Middle or passive as here, to be put in fear, take fright

τρέμουσα: PAPart nsf, τρέμω, 1) tremble  2) to fear, be afraid

εἰδυῖα: PerfAPart nsf, εἴδω , ἴδω, an obsol. form of the present tense, the place of which is supplied by ὁράω. The tenses coming from εἴδω and retained by usage form two families, of which one signifies to see, the other to know.

γέγονεν: PerfAI 3s, γίνομαι, 1) to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being

ἦλθεν: AAI 3s, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

προσέπεσεν: AAI 3s, προσπίπτω, 1) to fall forwards, fall down, prostrate one's self before

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

1. For “having feared” φοβέω  – the disciples “feared exceedingly” in c.4 during the storm; the people in Geresa “feared” when they saw the man who had the Legion in his right mind, and in the next ‘storm at sea’ story Jesus will say to the disciples “Do not fear.” Most importantly, Jesus will say those words to Jairus in v.33. 

2. Jairus (πίπτω v.22) and the woman (προσ/πίπτω v.33) both fall before Jesus. 

3. She tells her story. “The whole truth” or “all the truth” implies a time-taking moment of storytelling. Meanwhile, Jairus … (looking at his chronometer)

 

³⁴ ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῇ, Θυγάτηρ, ἡ πίστις σου σέσωκέν σε: ὕπαγε εἰς εἰρήνην, καὶ 

ἴσθι ὑγιὴς ἀπὸ τῆς μάστιγός σου. 

Yet he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace and be healed from your scourge.   

εἶπεν: AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

σέσωκέν: PerfAI 3s, σῴζω, 1) to save, keep safe and sound, to rescue from danger or destruction

ὕπαγε : PAImpv 2s, ὑπάγω, 1) to lead under, bring under  2) to withdraw one's self, to go away, depart

ἴσθι: PAImpv 2s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

1. Jesus addresses the woman as “daughter” (Θυγάτηρ). Jairus uses the diminutive form (θυγάτριόν) to refer to his daughter. 

2. Interestingly, Jesus did not tell her to go and present herself to the priest or offer sacrifices. He commands her to go in peace because she is healed. Done.

 

³⁵ Ἔτι αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος ἔρχονται ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀρχισυναγώγου λέγοντες ὅτι Ἡ 

θυγάτηρ σου ἀπέθανεν: τί ἔτι σκύλλεις τὸν διδάσκαλον; 

As he was speaking they came for the ruler of the synagogue saying, “Your daughter died; why trouble the teacher any more?” 

λαλοῦντος: PAPart gsm, λαλέω, 1) to utter a voice or emit a sound  2) to speak  2a) to use the tongue or the faculty of speech

ἔρχονται: PMI 3p, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

λέγοντες: PAPart npm, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

ἀπέθανεν: AAI 3s, ἀποθνήσκω to die out, expire, become quite dead

σκύλλεις : PAI 2s, σκύλλω, 1) to skin, flay  2) to rend, mangle  2a) to vex, trouble, annoy  2b) to give one's self trouble, trouble one's self

1. I like how the lexicon from thebible.org says the meaning of ἀπέθανεν is “become quite dead.” I’m thinking of Billy Crystal’s character Miracle Max in “The Princess Bride” and remembering that “mostly dead” is always an option. On a more serious note, before the invention of stethoscopes or the ability to image brain waves, the question of whether one is truly or permanently dead was always a real one. We’re not forgetting that this young girl was “nearing her end” in v.23 when this story began. 

2. It bears noting also that when Jesus arrives in v.39, he will declare her not to be “quite dead,” but sleeping. 

3. It seems a bit harsh to announce to Jairus his daughter’s death and then immediately make the issue at hand ‘troubling the teacher.’ But, when we situate this in a pressing crowd, with all of the commotion that implies, perhaps they are just trying to change the tone from the circus to a more private moment. 

 

³⁶ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς παρακούσας τὸν λόγον λαλούμενον λέγει τῷ ἀρχισυναγώγῳ, Μὴφοβοῦ, μόνον πίστευε.

But Jesus having paid no heed to the word that they were speaking, says to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, but believe.”  

παρακούσας: AAPart nsm, παρακούω, 1) to hear aside  1a) causally or carelessly or amiss  2) to be unwilling to hear  2a) on hearing to neglect, to pay no heed to  2b) to refuse to hear, pay no regard to, disobey 

λαλούμενον: PPPart asm, λαλέω, 1) to utter a voice or emit a sound  2) to speak

λέγει : PAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

φοβοῦ: PMImpv 2s, to strike with fear, scare, frighten; in the Middle voice, to take fright. 

πίστευε: PAImpv 2s, πιστεύω, 1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in  1a) of the thing believed  1a1) to credit, have confidence

1. The verb παρακούω can mean “overhearing” (as most translations seem to prefer) or “to pay no regard,” as I prefer. If this is a robust translation, think of how the phrase “having paid no attention to the word they were speaking” could lead to all manner of sermons. What would it look like simply to ignore the ramblings of the fear of death and to believe? 

2. The verb “believe” is the verbal form of the same word as “faith” in v.34, just as “fear” is the same verb of the woman’s fear when Jesus asked, “Who touched me?” 

 

³⁷καὶ οὐκ ἀφῆκεν οὐδένα μετ' αὐτοῦ συνακολουθῆσαι εἰ μὴ τὸν Πέτρον καὶ Ἰάκωβον καὶἸωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰακώβου. 

And he did not permit anybody to accompany with him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.  

ἀφῆκεν: AAI 3s, ἀφίημι, 1) to send away  1a) to bid going away or depart … 2) to permit, allow, not to hinder 

συνακολουθῆσαι: AAInf, συνακολουθέω, 1) to follow together with others, to accompany

1. This sentence literally reads, “did not permit nobody” but two negatives don’t make a positive in Greek.

2. It is curious how Mark identifies “John” as the brother of James. From reading the book of Acts and growing up in circles where it is assumed that the gospel of John was written by the apostle, “the disciple whom Jesus loved,” I grew up assuming that the early church knew precisely who John was. In my mind, if any of them was the one needing identification it would be James, especially since there are two of them in the “12 Disciples” song. In Mark’s gospel John is “the disciple whom people need a little help identifying. This may be another case where Mark’s audience is important. 

3. It is also curious that Jesus only takes the three with him to this house. When he gets to the house he will throw everyone out except the mother, father, and these three. See v.40, n.4 below for my wild speculation as to why. 

4. From the storytelling point of view, the pressing crowd has been overwhelming so far and may have impeded Jesus’ pace far more than his encounter with the faithful daughter whose faith makes her whole. Now, it seems that Jesus can actually control this madness and make everyone back off. Again, the agency seems to have flipped from Jesus being mostly passive to Jesus’ own determination of things. 

 

³⁸καὶ ἔρχονται εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ ἀρχισυναγώγου, καὶ θεωρεῖ θόρυβον καὶκλαίοντας καὶ ἀλαλάζοντας πολλά, 

And he was coming into the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and watches lament and weeping and loud wailing,

ἔρχονται: PMI 3p, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

θεωρεῖ: PAI 3s, θεωρέω, 1) to be a spectator, look at, behold  1a) to view attentively,

κλαίοντας: PAPart amp, κλαίω, 1) to mourn, weep, lament  1a) weeping as the sign of pain and grief for the thing signified  (i.e. for the pain and grief) 

ἀλαλάζοντας: PAPart amp, ἀλαλάζω, 1) to repeat frequently the cry "alala" as soldiers used to do on entering into battle  2) to utter a joyful sound  3) to wail, lament 

1. Again, vv.38-39 is a series of participles before one gets to the main verb, “says.” 

2. It seems to me – based on the emphatic description of the wailing, the quick change of tone in v.40, and the way that Jesus throws out the wailers – that this description is more of a spectacle of mourning than the genuine grief we saw when the father fell at Jesus’ feet and begged. 

3. The word ‘watching’ (θεωρεῖ) is transliterated into English as ‘theory.’ It is more than just seeing; it is a way of taking in the significance. ‘Lament’ is a noun, while ‘weeping’ and ‘wailing’ are participles. 

 

³⁹καὶ εἰσελθὼν λέγει αὐτοῖς, Τί θορυβεῖσθε καὶ κλαίετε; τὸ παιδίον οὐκ 

ἀπέθανεν ἀλλὰ καθεύδει. 

and having entered he says to them, “Why are you lamenting and weeping?  The child is not dead but sleeps.”  

εἰσελθὼν: AAPart nsm, εἰσέρχομαι, 1) to go out or come in: to enter  1a) of men or animals, as into a house or a city  1b) of Satan taking possession of the body of a person 

λέγει : PAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

θορυβεῖσθε : PPI 2p, θορυβέω, 1) to make a noise or uproar, be turbulent  2) to disturb, throw into confusion  2a) to be troubled in mind  2b) to wail tumultuously

ἀπέθανεν: AAI 3s, 

καθεύδει: PAI 3s, καθεύδω, 1) to fall asleep, drop off to sleep  2) to sleep  2a) to sleep normally  2b) euphemistically, to be dead 

1. The word “sleeps” (καθεύδω) can be used as a euphemism for death, but here is in contrast to it. (This is not the same word in John 11:11-12, referring to Lazarus’ death as ‘sleep.’)

2. On the face of it, this seems a bit of an unfair question. To the mourners (or to those who called them in to mourn) this child just died. That happens sometimes.  

 

⁴⁰καὶ κατεγέλων αὐτοῦ. αὐτὸς δὲ ἐκβαλὼν πάντας παραλαμβάνει τὸν πατέρατοῦ παιδίου καὶ τὴν μητέρα καὶ τοὺς μετ’ αὐτοῦ, καὶ εἰσπορεύεται ὅ που ἦν τὸ παιδίον: 

And they were jeering him.  But having thrown all of them out he takes the father of the child and the mother and the ones with him, and entered the place where the child was;

κατεγέλων: IAI 3p, καταγελάω, 1) to deride (Lit: say against)

ἐκβαλὼν: AAPart nsm, ἐκβάλλω, 1) to cast out, drive out, to send out  1a) with notion of violence 

παραλαμβάνει: PAI 3s, παραλαμβάνω, 1) to take to, to take with one's self, to join to one's self  1a) an associate, a companion  

εἰσπορεύεται: PMI 3s, εἰσπορεύομαι,v 1) to go into, enter  1a) of persons  

ἦν: IAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

1. In this scene, Mark has used 3 different verbs that could be rendered ‘enter’: ἔρχονται εἰς (v.38) in the middle voice; εἰσελθὼν (v.39) as a participle; and εἰσπορεύεται (v.40) in the middle voice. I don’t know what that means, but it is curious. 

2. καταγελάω can mean to laugh, but to be clear, they are laughing at, not with, him. Does the quick turnabout from lament to jeering imply that the lament of this crowd was disingenuous? Or, it is indicative of intensity, when feelings can go from one extreme to another? My sense is that Jesus, or at least Mark as the storyteller, is not terribly sympathetic to the mourners. 

3. In keeping with the many parallel elements of the inner and outer story, I hear the disciples’ question to Jesus in v.31 as a form of jeering as well. 

4. In keeping with my comment in v.37, n.3, first Jesus limits the number of disciples that he will allow to accompany him – much less the crowd that seems to be pressing him everywhere he goes until that point. Now, he throws everyone else out of the house. If there is a relationship between these two acts of limiting the number of folks to witness this moment, it might be that Jesus doesn’t want or need the kind of negativity that others would bring. I can’t imagine anyone wanting the jeering mourners around, but the other disciples have also just answered Jesus’ inquiry of “who touched me?” with an almost derisive voice. I don’t know if Peter, James, and John were less derisive, but the others of the 12 were not invited to this moment, nor were the mourners.  

 

⁴¹καὶ κρατήσας τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ παιδίου λέγει αὐτῇ, Ταλιθα κουμ, ὅ ἐστινμεθερμηνευόμενον Τὸ κοράσιον, σοὶ λέγω, ἔγειρε. 

And taking the hand of the child he says to her, “Talitha kumi,” which is translated “The Maiden, I say to you, arise.”  

κρατήσας: AAPart, nsm, κρατέω, 1) to have power, be powerful  1a) to be chief, be master of, to rule  2) to get possession of  2a) to become master of, to obtain  2b) to take hold of

λέγει : PAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

ἐστιν: PAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

μεθερμηνευόμενον: PPPart nsm, 

λέγω: PAI 1s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain

ἔγειρε: PAImpv 2s, ἐγείρω, 1) to arouse, cause to rise

1. The phrase Ταλιθα κουμ is curious. Thebible.org says Ταλιθα is an Aramaic word for the feminine Hebrew term טליתא, which means “maiden.” And it says κουμ is a Greek transliteration of the feminine form of the Hebrew imperative קומי, meaning, “arise.” There are a few occasions when Mark presents the words of a dialog in a way to indicate their original language, and then translates these terms. It could be that these occasional offerings and explanations of the spoken words (as opposed to the Greek written words) were part of the oral tradition of this story, but it seems much more likely to me that they are the narrator’s insertions upon writing the stories. If nothing else, they raise questions of who Mark’s audience is and what they might or might not know of these terms without his explanations. 

2. Wherever the explanations derived, one wonders how they add to the story. Would this story have a different effect if it simply depicted Jesus as saying, “Little girl, arise,” in Greek just like all of the other dialogs are in Greek?

 

⁴²καὶ εὐθὺς ἀνέστη τὸ κοράσιον καὶ περιεπάτει, ἦν γὰρ ἐτῶν δώδεκα. καὶ 

ἐξέστησαν [εὐθὺς] ἐκστάσει μεγάλῃ. 

And immediately the maiden arose and walked around, for she was 12 years.  And they were astonished with great astonishment [immediately]. 

ἀνέστη: AAI 3s, ἀνίστημι, 1) to cause to rise up, raise up  1a) raise up from laying down  1b) to raise up from the dead

περιεπάτει: IAI 3s, περιπατέω, 1) to walk  1a) to make one's way, progress; to make due use of opportunities  1b) Hebrew for, to live 

ἦν: IAI 3s, εἰμί, 1) to be, to exist, to happen, to be present 

ἐξέστησαν: AAI 3p, ἐξίστημι, 1) to throw out of position, displace  1a) to amaze, to astonish, throw into wonderment  1b) to be amazed, astounded  1c) to be out of one's mind, besides one's self, insane

1. The significance of 12 years seems – within this bracketing of two stories – to align the span of the young girl’s life with the bleeding woman’s suffering ordeal. 

2. The phrase “they were astonished with great astonishment” (ἐξέστησαν ἐκστάσει μεγάλῃ) is worth a close reading.

A. The subject “they” is implied in the verb, which is 3^rd person plural. But, to whom does it point? Given the fact that Jesus put the mourners out, it seems to be referring to the father, mother, and 3 disciples, both here and in v. 43. 

B. ἐξέστησαν and ἐκστάσει are essentially the same word, ἐξίστημι – with ἐκστάσει being a nominal form and ἐξέστησαν being a verbal form. The prefix, ἐξ, means “out,” and the root ίστημι means “to stand.” Literally ἐξίστημι means “to stand outside” oneself. The nominal form is transliterated into English as “ecstasy.” It can also refer to insanity, such as in the charge against Jesus in Mk. 3:21. 

C. I added the preposition “with” because the phrase “ἐκστάσει μεγάλῃ” is in the dative case. 

D. the fact that the term ἐξίστημι is used redundantly, along with the intensifying adverb “great,” (μεγάλῃ), could mean that the folks in the room are going bonkers right now. 

3. Some variants add the second ‘immediately’ (εὐθὺς) of this sentence. 

 

⁴³καὶ διεστείλατο αὐτοῖς πολλὰ ἵνα μηδεὶς γνοῖ τοῦτο, καὶ εἶπεν δοθῆναι 

αὐτῇ φαγεῖν. 

And he charged them repeatedly in order that nobody would know this, and said to give to her to eat.  

διεστείλατο: AMI 3s, διαστέλλομαι, 1) to draw asunder, divide, distinguish, dispose, order  2) to open one's self i.e. one's mind, to set forth distinctly  3) to admonish, order, charge

γνοῖ: AASubj 3s, γινώσκω, 1) to learn to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel 

εἶπεν  AAI 3s, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain 

δοθῆναι : APInf, δίδωμι, 1) to give  2) to give something to someone  2a) of one's own accord to give one something, to his advantage 

φαγεῖν: AAInf, ἐσθίω, 1) to eat  2) to eat (consume) a thing  2a) to take food, eat a meal  3) metaph. to devour, consume 

1. Given the general madness going on in the room, Jesus seems to have to make this charge of silence repeatedly. 

2. I like how Jesus gets all doctory and reminds them that this gal needs some food. It is a delightful addition to the story, because it would be easy to think that if Jesus can just raise up the dead then surely they can be raised full and complete, without hunger or need. And yet, she is not raised as a non-human of any sort, but as a person whose needs must be met. It’s almost a warning for them not to treat her like a strange alien being but to remember her humanity. 

3. Mark uses the verb διαστέλλομαι four other times after this use: 

Twice in 7:36 “Then Jesus charged them to tell no one; but the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.” 

In 8:15 “And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out—beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’” 

And in 9:9 following the transfiguration, “As they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one about what they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.”

 

 

I have marked some linguistic connections between the outer story and inner story in red.  

- Knowing γνοῖ (v.43) in the outer story and knowing ἔγνω (v.29) and recognizing ἐπιγνοὺς (v.30) in the inner story.

- πολλὰ, which means ‘much’ but can take on the meaning of ‘repeated’ given the context, show up in vv. 21, 23, 24, 26 (2x) and 43. 

- The ruler of the synagogue and the bleeding woman both fall at Jesus’ feet (vv.22, 33). 

- The 12 years of life and the 12 years of suffering. Besides the significance of the number 12 in the story of Israel, the parallel between one life and another – at one point it seems like one life for the other – is notable. 

- In both stories there is some resistance to what Jesus says. The disciples’ response to Jesus question of “who grabbed my garment” sounds almost derisive. The crowd’s response to Jesus’ claim that the little girl was only sleeping was clearly derisive. 

- While it is not noted in the text itself, it strikes me that in both stories, Jesus is made ritually unclean. One is not supposed to touch a woman during menstruation – if that is what the bleeding signifies for the woman in the inner story; and one is not supposed to touch the dead. If Jesus’ words about ‘not dead, but sleeping’ are not literal, but a way of re-framing death itself, when Jesus takes Jairus’ daughter’s hand, he would be unclean.