When Jesus crossed back by boat, a large crowd gathered by the lake. Jairus, one of the synagogue leaders, came and fell at Jesus’ feet. His little daughter was dying, and he begged Jesus to come and lay hands on her so that she would be healed and live.
Jesus went with him, surrounded by a pressing crowd. In it was a woman who had suffered bleeding for twelve years. She had spent all she had on doctors, but she had not improved and had become worse.
Jesus did not answer Jairus only with reassurance; he began walking toward the house. The crowd pressed along the same route, slowing a journey that felt urgent for a father whose daughter was near death. In the middle of that movement, another person approached Jesus.
The woman’s twelve years had included suffering under many treatments. She had spent everything she possessed in the effort to become well, yet the result was not relief but a worsening condition. She entered the crowd from behind rather than calling to Jesus from the front.
After hearing about Jesus, she came up behind him and touched his clothing, believing that even touching it would heal her. At once her bleeding stopped, and she felt in her body that she had been healed.
Jesus knew that power had gone out from him and asked who had touched his clothes. The disciples pointed to the crowd pressing around him, but Jesus kept looking for the person. Many bodies were touching him in the crush, yet he distinguished the woman’s deliberate act from the pressure of the crowd.
The woman knew what had happened in her body but did not slip away unseen. Trembling, she came forward, fell before Jesus, and told the whole truth. Jesus did not rebuke her. He called her daughter, said that her faith had healed her, and sent her away in peace and freedom from the disease.
While Jesus was still speaking, people came from Jairus’s house to say that the child had died. Jesus told Jairus not to be afraid but to believe. He allowed only Peter, James, and John to follow him.
At the house, people were weeping and wailing. Jesus said that the child was not dead but asleep, and they laughed at him. He sent them outside, took the child’s parents and the disciples into the room, and took her hand. He told her to get up.
The twelve-year-old girl stood up and began to walk. Everyone was overwhelmed with amazement. Jesus told them not to let anyone know what had happened and told them to give her something to eat.