In the Footsteps of the Savior Online Bible Study
Week One - Capernaum
Laurie McClure, OBS Leader
Editor, FaithGateway.com
Welcome to week one of the In the Footsteps of the Savior Online Bible Study! I love the mashup story of Jairus and the woman with a bleeding disorder. It’s the juxtaposition that gets me. Both are desperate, and both come to Jesus in anguish, but Jairus has an emergency, and the woman has had her illness for a dozen years. Maybe she didn’t want to get in trouble for being out in a crowd when she was supposed to remain in isolation due to being unclean. Maybe she felt too much shame to ask Him to stop. Maybe she was so bursting with faith that she couldn’t contain herself and so she broke through quarantine and her loneliness and depression and broke all the rules. She touched His clothes and POW! she was healed. Can you imagine poor Jairus when Jesus stopped? This was urgent! She could wait! Instead of saying to her, “Hang on, I’ll be right back”, Jesus tended to a long-standing illness rather than rushing to the crisis. One of the things that amaze me is that Jesus healed her without intention! His power flowed from Himself into her fully healing her sickness even without His consent. How shocking is that?! Her faith drew out His supernatural, miracle-working power. But, poor Jairus… You and I have had those “your daughter is dead” moments, haven’t we?… The cancer is back with a vengeance… The wayward child is arrested again… The spouse is cheating with a co-worker… Those moments are devastating. Everything changes after those moments. When I called my dear brother before the sun had risen to tell him our dad had unexpectedly died in the night, he stuttered, “That… can’t be! What are you talking about? No!” and we cried together. Can you imagine the audacity of Jesus’ rebuke “The child is not dead but sleeping”?! Who would believe that while staring at a little girl who is already growing cold? How offensive even! I’m praying right now for a situation that is dead. I can’t imagine a way that it could be made right again. It’s impossible. In some ways, it’s like the woman’s bleeding issue because it’s lasted a long time and it is isolating. Waiting and waiting with faith is brutally hard. Waiting for past death… That’s a whole new ball game. What was it like for Jairus when Jesus looked into his eyes and said, Don’t be afraid; just believe? Is it what He says to all of us? Do I think He can? Sometimes I doubt. Do I think He cares? Sometimes I wonder. Do I think He’ll come? Sometimes I’m uncertain. I want to be fearless and believe in Jesus for what He will do in His timing even when it makes no sense to me! I want to be astonished (Mark 5:42) by the healing He brings about. What if we stepped further into faith and believed in the unbelievable? What if we lived knowing rather than doubting? What might change for us? I want to reach for His cloak… How about you? Question of the Week Does the Bible reveal that the woman who reached out and touched Jesus’ cloak then told Christ “her whole story” (Mark 5:33). What do you think she included in her story? How would it feel for you to sit with Jesus and tell him your whole story? Scriptures this Week Mark 5:23 Mark 5:33 Mark 5:35 Mark 5:41-42 Psalm 103:11-13 Go Deeper with BibleGateway The story of Jarius The story of the Bleeding Woman Prayer for the Week Jesus, we confess that sometimes we are riddled with doubt. We believe what we see, we’re impatient waiters, we get cynical, and we leak faith. Help us in our unbelief and help us to get radical in what steps we’re willing to take that display faith and belief. Lord, even when our circumstances are impossible, help us not to be afraid and to still believe. Increase our faith. Grow our trust in You. We believe that You can, You care, and You’ll come. We love You, Jesus. Amen.
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Watch Session One
Watch the video from our Study Home or in FaithGateway Groups and take notes in your study guide. If you haven't ordered your study materials yet, shop all resources here.
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Personal Study
Grab your Bible and enjoy your personal study this week on pages 1-23. If you purchased the book, read Chapters 6 & 7 (read chapters 1-3 any time during the study).
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