Pressing Into Jesus

“So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.” – Mark 5:24 Mark 5 tells the story of the bleeding woman—a passage that can challenge those who enjoy exploring theology or discussing God’s omnipotence, omniscience, and providence. These are important and worthy topics, but this story stands out for a different reason, which will become clear shortly. In verse 24: “So Jesus went with them. A large crowd followed and pressed around him.” Picture Jesus, the rabbi, surrounded by a throng of people jostling to be near Him. In the Middle East, there aren’t orderly queues, where everyone waits politely to shake the rabbi’s hand; instead, people crowd in, all pressing to get close to Jesus!  “And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered greatly under the care of many doctors.” Some of you may know what