Imagine having to reach someone whose help means life or death, while a crowd presses in on you from every side and blocks your way. So begins the story of Jairus, whose little daughter is dying, and of a nameless woman who has suffered from bleeding for twelve years, two people pushing through the crowd to get to Jesus (Mark 5). The sermon shows that Jesus did not come for crowds but for individual people: he sees their fear, their needs, and their faith. Listen if you sometimes think your concerns are too small for God.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Mark 5:21-43 sets two people side by side: Jairus, a respected synagogue leader, and a nameless woman considered unclean. What set them apart, and what did they have in common as they came to Jesus?
- Why do you think Jesus stops and asks, "Who touched my clothes?" when the woman has already been healed? What does it give her when He calls her "daughter" and says "go in peace"?
- Jairus hears that his daughter has died, and Jesus tells him, "Don't be afraid; just believe." What might it mean to believe when, humanly speaking, there is no hope left?
- The sermon said that sometimes our biggest obstacle is the crowd, where our need gets lost. When do you feel unnoticed, or think your problems are too small for God?
- Jesus saw individual people in the crowd, with their fear, hope and faith. What changes in your life when you believe He sees you too?
- Father Kaczkowski and the pastor who cancelled his meetings to visit a dying woman learned to see a person rather than a crowd. Who can you stop for this week, even with a busy schedule?
