When Jesus returns by boat, a large crowd gathers around him. Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, comes forward, falls at Jesus’ feet, and pleads for help because his young daughter is near death.

Jesus goes with him, but the crowd presses tightly around them. A woman who has suffered from bleeding for twelve years comes up behind Jesus. Mark says she has endured much under physicians and spent what she had without improving.

She believes that touching Jesus’ clothing will be enough. When she does, the bleeding stops. Jesus asks who touched him. The disciples find the question strange in such a crowded setting, but the woman eventually comes forward trembling and tells the truth. Jesus addresses her with compassion and speaks of her faith.

During the delay, messengers arrive from Jairus’s house with devastating news: his daughter has died. They tell him there is no need to trouble the teacher further.

Jesus tells Jairus not to fear but to believe. At the house he encounters mourning and commotion. Taking Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents with him, he goes to where she lies.

Jesus takes the child by the hand and tells her to arise. She gets up and walks. The witnesses are overwhelmed with amazement, and Jesus tells them to give her something to eat.

The interrupted journey is central to the story’s shape. Jairus seeks urgent help, another suffering person receives attention on the way, and the situation appears to become hopeless during the delay. The narrative nevertheless moves from illness and death toward restoration.