His
disciples said to him, “You see the multitude pressing against you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
Mark 5:31
Mark 5 [30.] Immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
Mark 5 [31.] His disciples said to him, “You see the multitude pressing against you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
Mark 5 [32.] He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
Meaning:
When Jesus stopped and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” (Mark 5:30), his disciples could hardly believe the question. Mark 5:31 records their reply: “You see the multitude pressing against you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’” Their words were sensible from a human point of view, yet they reveal how differently Jesus saw the situation. The disciples saw a crowd; Jesus saw a person.
- A Reasonable Objection
The scene was crowded and chaotic. “A great multitude followed him, and they pressed upon him on all sides” (Mark 5:24). In the narrow streets of a Galilean lakeside town, dozens of people would have been bumping into Jesus. The disciples were also aware of the urgency: a synagogue ruler’s daughter was dying (Mark 5:23). To stop and ask who had touched him seemed impractical, even absurd.
The disciples’ tone may even have carried a hint of impatience. In the storm on the lake, not long before, they had said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?” (Mark 4:38). Mark is honest about the disciples’ limitations; they were still learning who Jesus was and how he worked.
- Seeing the Crowd, Missing the Person
The disciples’ logic was sound, but their vision was limited. Physical contact was everywhere; faith-filled contact was rare. Jesus knew the difference. Scripture reminds us that “man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). When Jesus looked at crowds, he did not see a blur of faces: “when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them” (Matthew 9:36).
- Jesus’ Patient Response
Jesus did not rebuke his disciples for their remark. He simply kept looking for the person who had touched him (Mark 5:32). His patience with the Twelve is a comfort to every believer who has spoken without understanding. He teaches by example, letting his disciples watch how he treats a frightened woman so that they will learn to see people the way he does.
The Significance of Mark 5:31
- Busy Ministry Can Miss People
Churches and Christians can become so focused on programmes, crowds and urgent tasks that we overlook individuals reaching out for help. The disciples were busy with good things, escorting Jesus to a dying girl, but they almost missed a miracle beside them. Jesus shows that urgent tasks never cancel the worth of the person in front of us.
- God Never Loses Sight of Us
If you feel lost in the crowd, unnoticed and unimportant, this verse is good news. God says, “Can a woman forget her nursing child ... Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you!” (Isaiah 49:15). Jesus noticed one touch in a pressing multitude, and he notices every believer.
Cross-References:
1 Samuel 16:7: "But Yahweh said to Samuel, “Don’t look on his face, or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for I don’t see as man sees. For man looks at the outward appearance, but Yahweh looks at the heart.”" The disciples saw outward contact; Jesus saw the heart of faith.
Matthew 9:36: "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd." Jesus looks at crowds with compassion, not impatience.
Mark 4:38: "He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?”" Another moment when the disciples questioned Jesus’ actions.
Isaiah 49:15: "Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you!" God never overlooks his people.
Conclusion: Mark 5:31 captures the gap between the disciples’ view and Jesus’ view. They saw a pressing crowd and thought his question pointless; he knew that one person had reached out in faith. The verse challenges us to see people as Jesus does and comforts us that we are never lost in the crowd before him.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible