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Who Touched My Clothes?

On the way to a dying girl, Jesus stops for a woman in the crowd, then tells a desperate father, “Only believe”

  • 📖 Adult Sunday School
  • Week 10
  • 📅 Sunday, March 7, 2027
💡 The big idea

Jesus Christ is never too busy and never too late: He stops for the one who reaches for Him from the edge of the crowd, and to everyone who is waiting He says, “Be not afraid, only believe.”

I can keep reaching for the Savior after long disappointment, keep believing while I wait, and notice the people others overlook.

Study it yourself firstRead Matthew 9–10; Mark 5; Luke 9 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Matthew 9–10; Mark 5; Luke 9)
Know the chapters

This week’s block is full of compassion in motion. In Matthew 9 Jesus forgives and heals and calls Matthew the tax collector. In 9:13 He quotes Hosea: “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” In 9:14–15 He explains why His disciples don’t fast while the bridegroom is with them. In 9:36 He sees the crowds “as sheep having no shepherd.” In Matthew 10 He gives the Twelve power and sends them out. In 10:8 He says, “freely ye have received, freely give.” In 10:29–31 He promises that not one sparrow falls without the Father. In Mark 5 He frees a man possessed by Legion and raises Jairus’s daughter. In Luke 9 He feeds the five thousand, and Peter bears witness. He calls disciples to take up their cross daily. Then He climbs the Mount of Transfiguration.

This lesson centers on Mark 5:21–43, two stories woven into one. Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue, a respected local leader. Yet in 5:22 he falls at Jesus’s feet. The woman had been bleeding for twelve years. Under the law of Moses, that made her ritually unclean. Anything she touched was unclean too, as Leviticus 15:25–27 says. So her illness brought years of isolation. In 5:26 she has spent everything on physicians and only grown worse. The law also asked Israelite men to wear fringes on their garments’ borders. That’s Numbers 15:38–39. Many scholars think the “hem” she touched in Matthew 9:20 was one of these tassels.

Watch the details. The woman suffered for twelve years. In 5:42 the girl is twelve years old. The footnote to “virtue” in 5:30 says the Greek means power. Jesus stops a crowd to find the woman. He calls her “Daughter” and sends her away whole, in body and in standing. Meanwhile Jairus waits, and his daughter dies. The footnote to “only believe” in 5:36 says the Greek means to exercise faith. Keep acting on it. In 5:41 Mark keeps Jesus’s Aramaic words to the girl, “Talitha cumi.” In 5:43 He gives the tender, practical instruction to give her something to eat.

Twenty-five minutes goes quickly. Walk through Mark 5 in five short readings, from Jairus at the Savior’s feet to “Talitha cumi.” Sum up the man freed from Legion in 5:1–20 in a sentence. Matthew 9:36–38 and 10:8 are a short bonus that fits fast Sunday well. Luke 9 is ready in the extras, with the daily cross and the Transfiguration. The man freed from Legion is there too.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Mark 5 once. Open by asking, “When have you had just enough faith to reach, and no more?” Walk through five short readings: 5:21–24, 25–29, 30–34, 35–39 and 40–43. Ask one question after each. Spend the most time on Twelve Years. Close with a short testimony that the Savior is never too late. Invite everyone to notice one person at the edge of the crowd.

What to bring2 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Read Mark 5 out loud once, then Matthew 9:35–10:8. Mark verses 26, 30, 34, 36 and 41 in Mark 5.
  2. Think of your honest answer to “When have I had to wait while the Lord seemed to help everyone else first?” If the room is quiet, you’ll go first.

Discussion tips

  • Quiet class? Some people may be fasting and running low. Give everyone a moment to reread Mark 5:25–34 silently before you ask anything. Then share your own answer first.
  • One voice filling every pause? Thank them warmly, then say, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t had a chance yet.”
  • Someone may have prayed for a child or spouse who wasn’t healed. Someone may live with a long illness. Don’t promise that enough faith always brings a cure. Honor their experience. Testify of what’s sure. He stops for the one. He calls us sons and daughters. One day He’ll raise every sleeper.
  • Keep the woman’s condition simple and discreet. Say “a bleeding illness that made her ritually unclean.” Adults understand. There’s no need for more.
  • Visitors or new members? Explain what a synagogue ruler was. Tap the references on the shared screen. Never ask anyone to read aloud without checking first.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Each “On the screen” line is what the class sees on a shared screen in Teach Mode in the Gospel Sparks app; on paper, read it aloud or write it on the board.

1. Hook

Just Enough to Reach

3 min

Opens with a personal question about faith that feels small, before the class meets two people who reach for Jesus.

  1. SAY“Today’s chapter has two people who reach for Jesus on the same afternoon. One from the front of the crowd. One from the back.”
  2. Ask, “When have you had just enough faith to reach, and no more?”
  3. Give them about 20 seconds of quiet. Then take two or three answers. If the room is quiet, share yours first.
  4. SAY“Let’s follow them both, and watch what Jesus does with a small reach.”

On the screen: 🤏 When have you had just enough faith to reach, and no more?

2. Story

Mark 5 in Five Short Readings

9 min

Walks through the two interwoven stories of Mark 5 a few verses at a time, so the delay and the waiting are felt.

  1. SAY“We’ll walk through Mark 5 in five short readings. It’s one afternoon, and someone has to wait.”
  2. Show one scene at a time. A volunteer reads the first two passages. You read the last three, where the Savior speaks.
  3. Before each reading, give the setup on the screen. Afterward, ask the scene’s question and take two or three answers.
  4. Keep each stop to about two minutes. After the last reading, let the quiet sit for a few seconds.

On the screen: 👣 Mark 5: a dying girl, a desperate father, and a woman who reached from the back · Five short readings: 5:21–24 · 25–29 · 30–34 · 35–39 · 40–43

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: The shared screen (TV or device) with Teach Mode open

  1. SAY“We’ll walk through Mark 5 in five short readings. It’s one afternoon, and someone has to wait.”
  2. Read verses 21–24, 25–29, 30–34, 35–39 and 40–43. Give each setup in your own words first. A volunteer reads the first two. You read the rest.
  3. After each reading, ask the scene’s question aloud and take two or three answers. Keep each stop about two minutes.
3. Scripture

Only Believe

4 min

Studies Mark 5:36 closely so class members see faith as something we keep doing while we wait.

  1. SAY“Let’s slow down on one verse.”
  2. Read Mark 5:36 while the class follows on the screen.
  3. Point out “As soon as Jesus heard.” He didn’t let the bad news sit for even a moment.
  4. Share the footnote. The Greek for “believe” means exercise faith. Ask, “What did Jairus have to keep doing after the bad news?”
  5. Draw it out. He walked home beside Jesus, past mourners who laughed. Ask, “What does believing with your feet look like for you right now?”

On the screen: 🕯️ Be not afraid, only believe. · Mark 5:36 · What did Jairus have to keep doing after the bad news?

4. Talk it over

Twelve Years

6 min

Helps adults bring long disappointment and hard waiting to the Savior, and see the people at the edge of the crowd.

  1. SAY“Some of us are reaching from the back of the crowd. Some are waiting while others are helped. Let’s talk about both.”
  2. Pick two or three questions. Ask one, wait, then ask its follow-up before you move on.
  3. Share President Russell M. Nelson’s words about the woman’s reach from “From general conference” below. If the room is quiet, answer first.
💬 Ask the class
  • The woman had to push through a crowd just to touch His clothes. What crowds stand between you and the Savior in a normal week? Follow-up: What has helped you push through?
  • She’d been untouchable for twelve years. He called her “Daughter.” What does that word tell her, and us? Follow-up: When have you felt known by Him, not just helped?
  • Jairus waited while Jesus helped someone else. In that time, his daughter died. How do we keep faith when the Lord seems late? Follow-up: What would you say to someone in that place now?
  • Some have prayed for a healing that hasn’t come. How has the Savior met you or someone you love there? Follow-up: How can we sit with them without rushing to fix it?
  • Who in our ward or neighborhood might be reaching from the edge of the crowd right now? Follow-up: What would it look like to stop for them the way Jesus stopped?

On the screen: 🧵 Twelve years of reaching. One word from Jesus: “Daughter.” · Mark 5:25–36

5. Testimony

Never Too Late

3 min

Ends with testimony of the Savior’s power over sickness, isolation and death, and an invitation to reach and to notice.

  1. SAY“From Jairus’s point of view, Jesus was late. From His, He was right on time.”
  2. Invite one or two people to share briefly. When did the Savior notice them or answer in His own time?
  3. Bear a short testimony. Jesus Christ is never too busy for the one and never too late to save.
  4. Invite: “This week, keep reaching for Him in whatever you’re waiting for. And notice one person at the edge of the crowd.”

On the screen: 🌅 Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked. · Mark 5:41–42 · This week: keep reaching. Notice someone at the edge of the crowd.

6. Talk it over

Freely Give

4 minBONUS

Connects the Savior’s compassion to our own ministering and to fast Sunday.

  1. SAY“Right after these miracles, Jesus sends the Twelve to do what He has been doing.”
  2. Read Matthew 9:36–38, then Matthew 10:8.
  3. Ask one or two questions with follow-ups, then close on time.
💬 Ask the class
  • Where others saw a crowd, Jesus saw sheep with no shepherd. How does compassion change what we notice? Follow-up: Who have you started to see differently?
  • What have you received freely from the Lord that you could pass on this week? Follow-up: Who comes to mind?
  • How can a fast and a fast offering become more than going without food? Follow-up: What has fasting taught you?

On the screen: 🐑 Moved with compassion … freely ye have received, freely give. · Matthew 9:36–38; 10:8

Read it together

On the Way to Jairus’s House

Mark 5:21–24; Mark 5:25–29; Mark 5:30–34; Mark 5:35–39; Mark 5:40–43 ↗

Scenes

  1. 🙇 A father at His feet

    Across the lake, in verses 1 to 20, Jesus has freed a man called Legion. He lived among the tombs. Now Jesus crosses back. Let’s read Mark 5, verses 21 to 24. A respected synagogue ruler falls at His feet: “My little daughter lieth at the point of death.”

    💬 Ask: What does it take for a respected, capable person to fall at someone’s feet? Follow-up: When have you been that desperate for His help?

  2. 🧵 Twelve years of reaching

    Jesus goes with him, and the crowd presses in. Now read verses 25 to 29. Twelve years ill. Everything spent. She “was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.” She plans to touch His clothes from behind, and slip away.

    💬 Ask: What does it take to keep reaching after years of disappointment?

  3. 🔍 “Who touched my clothes?”

    I’ll read verses 30 to 34. The whole crowd is pressing on Him. Yet He stops for one touch. She meant to stay hidden. He keeps looking until He finds her. Then He calls her “Daughter.”

    💬 Ask: Why wouldn’t Jesus let her slip away unnoticed? Follow-up: What did she receive by coming forward that hiding couldn’t give her?

  4. 💔 “Be not afraid, only believe”

    While He stops for her, the worst news arrives. I’ll read verses 35 to 39. Notice, “As soon as Jesus heard.” He doesn’t let the news sit for a heartbeat. He speaks to the father right away.

    💬 Ask: Jairus waited while someone else was helped. How do we keep faith when the Lord seems to be helping everyone but us?

  5. 🌅 “Talitha cumi”

    I’ll read verses 40 to 43. The mourners laugh Him to scorn. He takes the girl by the hand. He speaks her own language: little girl, arise. Then He tells them to give her something to eat.

    💬 Ask: What do you notice about how gently and personally He does this? Follow-up: What does it teach you about Him?

Key verse

Mark 5:36 ↗
“As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.”
In plain words: The moment the worst news arrived, Jesus spoke to the father. His answer to fear is not a promise of an easy road, but an invitation to keep trusting and keep walking with Him.

More verses

Mark 5:34 ↗
“And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.”
In plain words: Jesus healed her body and restored her place among His people, and He called her His daughter.
Matthew 9:36 ↗
“But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.”
In plain words: Where others saw a crowd, Jesus saw weary, scattered people who needed a shepherd.
Matthew 10:8 ↗
“Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.”
In plain words: Everything the Lord has given us was a gift, so we can give just as freely.
Luke 9:23 ↗
“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
In plain words: Following Jesus is a daily choice, not a one-time event.

From general conference

“This faithful, focused woman needed to stretch as far as she could to access His power. Her physical stretching was symbolic of her spiritual stretching.”

— President Russell M. Nelson, “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives,” April 2017

Share in Twelve Years, after the class talks about the woman’s reach.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • I Know That My Redeemer Lives Hymns, no. 136

    A testimony of the living Christ who has power over death, fitting after Talitha cumi. Find it ↗

  • Come, Follow Me Hymns, no. 116

    Echoes the Savior’s call in Matthew 10 and Luke 9 to follow Him daily. Find it ↗

This week’s invitation

Reach and Notice

This week, bring the thing you’ve waited on longest back to the Savior. Keep acting in faith while you wait. Then look for one person at the edge of the crowd. It could be at church, at work or in your neighborhood. Let them know they’ve been seen.

Take it home

In Sunday School we read Mark 5. On His way to heal Jairus’s daughter, Jesus stopped for a woman who touched His clothes. He called her “Daughter.” Then word came that the girl had died. In Mark 5:36 He told Jairus, “Be not afraid, only believe,” and He raised her. At dinner, ask what everyone’s waiting for right now. Read Mark 5:35–36 and 41–42 together.

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

🏡 Go Home and Tell · 4 min

  1. Sum up Mark 5:1–17. Jesus frees a man called Legion, and the townspeople beg Jesus to leave. Then read Mark 5:18–20.
  2. Notice verse 18. He wanted to go with Jesus. But Jesus sent him home to tell his friends what the Lord had done.
  3. Ask, “Why might the Lord ask some disciples to serve right where they are?” Follow-up: “Who at home needs to hear what He’s done for you?”

✝️ Take Up His Cross Daily · 4 min

  1. Read Luke 9:20–24. Peter’s witness, “The Christ of God,” comes right before Jesus speaks of His suffering and our daily cross.
  2. Ask, “Why do you think Luke adds the word ‘daily’?” Then ask, “He asked, ‘Whom say ye that I am?’ How would you answer Him today?”

⛰️ On the Mount · 5 min

  1. Read Luke 9:28–31, the Transfiguration. In verse 31, Moses and Elias talk with Jesus of “his decease which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.”
  2. Read verse 35. Ask, “Of everything the Father could have said, He said, ‘hear him.’ What helps you hear Him?”

🐦 Not One Sparrow · 3 min

  1. Read Matthew 10:29–31.
  2. SAY“Two sparrows sold for a farthing. That was about as cheap as life got in the marketplace.”
  3. Ask, “When have you felt that the very hairs of your head are numbered?”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

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