The Theology of Proximity: an Analytical Interplay of Psalm 38:21 and Mark 5:23
Psalms 38:21 • Mark 5:23
Summary: The biblical narrative, from the Hebrew Psalter to the Synoptic Gospels, deeply explores the dynamic between the Divine and the suffering human subject. Within this vast corpus, the linguistic and thematic connection between Psalm 38:21 and Mark 5:23 offers a profound case study in the evolution of the "Hand of God" motif. We trace a powerful theological trajectory, transitioning from the heavy hand of judicial discipline in the Davidic lament to the restorative touch of the incarnate Messiah, addressing core human anxieties of abandonment, impurity, and the desperate search for divine proximity.
Psalm 38, a penitential lament traditionally linked to King David's season of divine discipline, vividly portrays suffering encompassing moral guilt, physical affliction, and social isolation. The psalmist experiences God's hand as a crushing pressure, leading to a profound sense of abandonment and a desperate plea: "Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, be not far from me!" This cry for proximity reveals a dependency on God's active, covenantal presence, especially when human community stands "far off," culturally disabling the sufferer. Even in this profound brokenness, the psalmist clings to a dialogic relationship, ultimately placing his hope in God as "my salvation."
This yearning for divine proximity finds its narrative realization in Mark 5:21–43 with Jairus's fervent request for Jesus to "come and lay Your hands on her." Here, we see the shift from a covenantal plea for God to "be not far" to a messianic reality where God enters the house of mourning to "lay hands" upon the hopeless. The interlude with the hemorrhaging woman further underscores Jesus' holistic mission, as He willingly touches and restores both the high-status official and the ritually impure pariah, demonstrating a holy power differential where His presence transforms uncleanness into healing and life.
The most striking interplay lies in the transformation of the "Hand of God." In Psalm 38, the hand represents vertical pressure and covenant discipline; in Mark 5, it signifies horizontal, incarnate restoration through physical contact. This marks a definitive transition from the distance of the Law to the intimacy of the Gospel. While the human community stood far off from the psalmist, fearing defilement, the Messiah "went with" the grieving father, crossing boundaries of ritual and social stigma. This divine proximity, born out of desperate faith, proves stronger than any defilement or death, making God a "very present help in trouble" and ending the soul's "dark season" through the Savior's touch.
The biblical narrative, spanning the ancient Near Eastern world of the Hebrew Psalter to the Greco-Roman environment of the Synoptic Gospels, is fundamentally concerned with the spatial and relational dynamics between the Divine and the suffering human subject. Within this vast corpus, the linguistic and thematic connection between Psalm 38:21 and Mark 5:23 offers a profound case study in the evolution of the "Hand of God" motif—a transition from the heavy hand of judicial discipline in the Davidic lament to the restorative touch of the incarnate Messiah. This interplay is not merely a linguistic coincidence but represents a sophisticated theological trajectory that addresses the core human anxieties of abandonment, ritual impurity, and the desperate search for divine proximity in the face of death. By examining the historical, archaeological, and exegetical layers of these two pivotal verses, one may discern a movement from a covenantal plea for God to "be not far" to a messianic reality where God enters the house of mourning to "lay hands" upon the hopeless.
Historical and Liturgical Context of the Davidic Lament
Psalm 38 is traditionally situated within the United Monarchical period, with internal Hebrew diction—including first-temple orthography, archaic verb forms, and royal court imagery—confirming a tenth-century BC setting.As the third of the seven classic penitential psalms, it functions as an intense description of life-endangering suffering, traditionally linked to King David’s season of divine discipline following the Bathsheba-Uriah transgression.The psalm’s heading,le-hazkir, meaning "to bring to remembrance" or "for a memorial offering," suggests a specific liturgical function, likely performed during personal sacrifice at the Tabernacle to draw the worshiper near to God after sin.This sacerdotal environment is essential to understanding the plea in verse 21; the psalmist is not merely seeking physical recovery but is engaged in a ritual process of restoring a fractured covenant relationship.
The triad of distress depicted in the psalm—moral guilt, physical affliction, and hostile opposition—reflects the holistic nature of the Davidic crisis.Archaeologically, the "bureaucratic milieu" assumed in the psalm, characterized by royal officials and court intrigue, finds corroboration in the City of David excavations, which reveal stepped stone structures and bullae inscribed with the names of historical figures such as Gemariah.This setting anchors the psalmist’s plea in a real-world crucible where a monarch’s public failure could lead to national instability, thus making the personal lament an intercessory prayer for the welfare of the kingdom.
The Structure of Suffering in Psalm 38
The literary composition of Psalm 38 moves through a series of vivid, often visceral, depictions of suffering that lead toward the climactic petition of the final verses. This progression is not merely emotional but theological, mapping the psychological state of a "sick sinner" who finds himself at the end of human resources.
Structural Movement
Biblical Verses
Theological Focus
Nature of Affliction
Divine Wrath
38:1–2
The "Hand" as Pressure
The vertical dimension of discipline and judgment.
Physical Decay
38:3–8
The "Dys-appearing" Body
Internalized suffering: festering wounds and heart failure.
Social Isolation
38:9–14
The "Far Off" Community
Horizontal betrayal: kinsmen and friends stand at a distance.
Malicious Enmity
38:15–20
The "Snares" of Foes
External threats: enemies who repay good with evil.
Final Petition
38:21–22
The Plea for Proximity
The ultimate hope in God as "my salvation".
The psalmist’s description of the "dys-appearing" body in verses 3–8 is particularly significant. The Hebrew text uses poetic pictures of "arrows sinking" and a "hand pressing down" to describe the acute sensation of divine displeasure.The condition is portrayed as an elusive but pervasive illness that leaves "no soundness" in the flesh and "no health" in the bones, creating an atmosphere of hopelessness and anxiety.This physical breakdown is coupled with a "teaching tendency" influenced by the wisdom tradition, where suffering is initially framed through the cause–result pattern (Tun-Ergehen Zusammenhang), suggesting that the psalmist’s "foolishness" has led to this state.
Linguistic Analysis of Psalm 38:21: The Cry for Proximity
The verse "Do not forsake me, O LORD; O my God, be not far from me!" represents the desperate, culminating plea of a king under covenantal chastening.It is shaped by Hebrew parallelism, a common literary device in royal laments of the period, designed to intensify the urgency of the request.The specific word groups employed in this verse reveal the psalmist's absolute dependency on divine proximity.
The Negative Imperatives: Abandonment and Distance
The first plea,al-ta’az’veni("do not forsake me"), harks back to the Mosaic intercessory tradition (Exodus 33) and the fundamental promise of God’s presence found in texts like Joshua 1:5.In the penitential context, "forsaking" implies more than just a lack of help; it suggests a total withdrawal of the covenantal presence, leaving the individual "destitute" and "destitute of soul".This fear of abandonment is the primary agony of the "dark season" depicted throughout the psalm.
The second plea,al-tirḥaq mimmenni("be not far from me"), addresses the spatial dimension of the divine-human relationship. While God is ontologically omnipresent, the psalmist’s experience of suffering creates a perception of distance.This "far off" motif is common in lament literature, such as Psalm 22:1, where the question "why have you forsaken me?" is coupled with the observation that God is "far from saving me".The request for God to "be not far" is an appeal to the Immanuel principle—the active, tangible presence of God in the midst of creation.
Titular Variations and Growing Trust
The final two verses of Psalm 38 employ the three most common Hebrew references to the Deity, creating a climactic development of intensity and trust.
Hebrew Reference
Transliteration
Contextual Usage
Theological Implication
יְהוָה
Yahweh
Verse 21a
The personal, covenant name of God; the "God he knew by name".
אֱלֹהַי
Elohai
Verse 21b
Personal possessive ("my God"); highlights covenant ownership.
אֲדֹנָי
Adonai
Verse 22
Master/Sovereign; God as the ultimate ruler and savior.
This progression reveals that even in the depths of spiritual depression and physical affliction, the psalmist clings to a "dialogic relationship" with God.The shift toward the titleAdonaiin verse 22, combined with the declaration "my salvation" (yeshuati), demonstrates that the psalmist has moved from describing his misery to placing his entire hope in the Lord's future intervention.He addresses God not just as a judge, but as his "salvation" itself.
Proximity and the Cultural Model of Disability
A profound second-order insight arises when reading Psalm 38 through a "cultural model of disability" rather than a purely medical one.In this framework, the psalmist is not merely "sick"; he is "disabled" by the act of his community. Verse 11 explicitly states, "My friends and companions stand off from my plight and my kinsmen stand far away".This imposed distance physically and socially characterizes the individual as an outcast, mirroring the treatment of lepers under the Levitical law.
The plea "be not far" in verse 21 thus serves as a counter-movement to the "standing off" of the human community.When human friends and family fail to provide support, the psalmist enriches his focus toward heaven, seeking a "sustained relationship" with God that does not depend on physical wholeness.Notably, the final verses of Psalm 38 lack a specific plea for a physical cure; instead, they yearn for the "fidelity of YHWH" as an advocate and rescuer.The disability itself becomes the site for a "positive, faithful communion" with the divine, shattering the causal link between sin and suffering that is often foregrounded in penitential literature.
The Narrative Crisis of Mark 5:23: Jairus and the Eschaton
The transition to the New Testament in Mark 5:21–43 provides a narrative realization of the proximity sought in the Psalter. The account of Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, approaching Jesus mirrors the desperation of the Davidic lament but shifts the medium of petition from the poetic word to the physical presence.Jairus is a man of significant status, a layman official overseeing the synagogue's services, yet his approach to Jesus is characterized by radical humility and "all earnestness".
The Point of Death: Linguistic and Emotional Nuance
Jairus' cry, "My little daughter lies at the point of death," uses the Greek termeschatōs, which literally means the "last things" or the "final things".The girl is not merely in intensive care; she is at hereschaton, breathing her last on her deathbed.This mirrors the psalmist’s feeling that his "light of eyes" had gone from him and his "strength failed" (Ps 38:10).
Character in Mark 5
Socio-Religious Standing
Nature of Crisis
Posture toward Jesus
Jairus
High-status synagogue leader.
Dying daughter (eschatōs).
Falls at his feet; pleads fervently.
Hemorrhaging Woman
Ritual pariah; destitute.
Chronic illness (12 years).
Secretive touch; "fear and trembling".
Jesus
Popular healer; "Teacher".
Interrupted itinerary.
Willing engagement; "power" outflow.
The reference to a "little daughter" (thygatrion) underscores the personal and emotional nature of the plea, contrasting the high religious status of the father with the vulnerability of the innocent child.Jairus' desperation drives him to step outside the norms of his community—where many religious leaders were set against Jesus—and to kneel publicly before a controversial teacher, begging for an intervention that only divine authority could provide.
The Interlude and the "Ailing Israel"
The structure of Mark 5 is notable for its "intercalation"—a literary technique where one story is sandwiched within another. While Jesus is on his way to heal Jairus' daughter, he is interrupted by the "unnamed woman" who has suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years.This interruption is critical to the theological interplay. Both the woman and the girl represent "daughters of Israel".A symbolic reading suggests that the number twelve (the girl’s age and the woman’s duration of illness) refers to the twelve tribes, characterizing the messianic community as an "ailing Israel" in need of restoration.
The woman’s condition rendered her ritually impure under Levitical law, excluding her from the worship services and social life of Israel for twelve years—the entire lifespan of Jairus' daughter.Her secretive touch of Jesus’ clothes and his subsequent संबोधन of her as "Daughter" highlights the "holistic mission" of the Messiah to restore both the high-status official and the social pariah to the presence of God.
The Theology of the Hand: Judgment vs. Healing
The most striking point of interplay between Psalm 38 and Mark 5 is the transformation of the "Hand of God" motif. In the Old Testament lament, the hand is a source of vertical pressure; in the Gospel narrative, the hand is a source of horizontal restoration through physical contact.
The Heavy Hand of Psalm 38:2
In the Davidic context, the "hand of the Lord" represents God's majesty and supreme power, often expressed as righteous punishment or covenant discipline.The psalmist cries, "Your hand has come down on me," using imagery that suggests being "pressed down" or "crushed" by the weight of divine displeasure.This "hand" is an instrument of conviction, causing "burning loins" and "foul wounds" as a direct consequence of sin.
For the psalmist, the hand is felt through its negative pressure. This reflects a theology where God’s presence can be experienced as an agonizing weight when the worshiper is in a state of unconfessed iniquity.The "arrows" and "hand" are poetic pictures of the "sore effects" of sin, both physical and spiritual.
The Laying on of Hands in Mark 5:23
Jairus’ specific request is for Jesus to "come and lay Your hands on her".This reflects a common belief in the healing power of touch, rooted in Jewish traditions of blessing and commissioning.In the New Testament, the "laying on of hands" (epithesis ton cheiron) becomes a sign that the messianic age has dawned, serving to empower and commission but primarily to heal.
Theological Concept
Psalm 38 Context
Mark 5 Context
Shift in Meaning
Direction of Power
Vertical (God to Man).
Personal/Incarnational.
From judicial distance to intimate touch.
Effect of the Hand
Discipline and conviction.
Healing and restoration.
From a weight of sin to a gift of life.
Purity Implication
Sinner is "pressed".
Jesus touches the "unclean".
From fear of defilement to contagious holiness.
While Jairus believes the physical touch is the "instrumental cause" of healing, the narrative clarifies that Jesus himself is the "efficient cause".The laying on of hands displays Jesus’ power over "lost causes" and death itself, reversing the "law of sin and death" that had bowed the psalmist down.
Proximity as the Antidote to Abandonment
The interplay between the "be not far" plea (Ps 38:21) and the "come with me" request (Mk 5:23) underscores the fundamental biblical truth that divine proximity is the ultimate source of human flourishing. In Psalm 38:21, the absence of the sense of God's presence is the "greatest trial" in David's dark season.He has no strength from man and feels on the verge of total collapse because the "light of his eyes" has gone.
In Mark 5:23, Jairus acts on the "hope of a miracle" by bringing Jesus into the very space of his daughter’s death.He does not merely ask for a distant word of healing; he asks Jesus to "come" (elthōn).This movement of Jesus toward the house of the dying girl is the theological realization of the Immanuel principle—God coming near to humanity to fulfill the ultimate desire for divine closeness.
The Holy Power Differential and Ritual Defilement
A critical second-order insight involves the "holy power differential" that occurs during these moments of proximity. According to the Old Testament ritual law (Numbers 5, Numbers 19), touching a dead body or an unclean woman would defile a person.By touching the hemorrhaging woman’s clothes and eventually taking the dead girl’s hand, Jesus was "technically being defiled" according to the law of the time.
However, the "differential" flows in the opposite direction. Instead of Jesus becoming unclean, the "unclean" woman is made clean, and the "dead" girl is restored to life.This reverses the experience of the psalmist in Psalm 38:11, whose friends "treat him as a leper" and stand at a distance to avoid defilement.Jesus’ willingness to "cross boundaries" of gender and ethnicity to bring life-changing healing proves that His presence is stronger than any ritual impurity or social stigma.
Typology of the Righteous Sufferer
The interplay between these texts is anchored in the typology of Christ as both the "Righteous Sufferer" and the "Sovereign Savior." Psalm 38 is "powerfully Messianic" through typology; David’s experience of bearing iniquity, being abandoned by friends, and remaining silent before accusers foreshadows the passion of Christ.
Christ as the Petitioner: On the cross, Jesus takes up the cry of Psalm 38:21 and Psalm 22:1, becoming the target of the divine "arrows" of displeasure for the sins of humanity.He experiences the "forsaking" that David dreaded, so that the believer might never have to.
Christ as the Provider: In the Mark 5 narrative, Jesus is the "Adonai yeshuati" (Lord my salvation) that the psalmist addresses.He is the God who "draws near" when we "draw near to Him," fulfilling the principle of mutual drawing near found in James 4:8.
The "laying on of hands" in Mark 5:23 thus serves as a "sign" of the new relationship between God and man established through the atonement.It publicly marks the beginning of a ministry that does not "leave people in the conditions in which he finds them".
Desperate Faith as the Bridge
Both texts illustrate that it is often in moments of "greatest desperation" that faith is most clearly demonstrated.Jairus and the hemorrhaging woman represent "extreme opposites" on the social ladder—one at the top, one below the bottom—yet they share a common "desperate faith".This faith is not necessarily mature or complete; it is often "immature" or "incomplete," yet Jesus responds to it with miraculous restoration.
The psalmist in Psalm 38:21 likewise demonstrates a "firm reliance on the God of all grace" despite his severe brokenness and depression.His silence before his enemies is not a sign of weakness but of trust, as he "waits for the LORD" to answer for him.This "strategic silence" mirrors the silence of the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, further linking the Davidic lament to the messianic work of Christ.
Synthesis and Conclusion
The analytical interplay of Psalm 38:21 and Mark 5:23 reveals a unified theological arc concerning the necessity of divine proximity in the face of human suffering. In the Old Testament, the plea "be not far from me" arises from a king who recognizes that his "folly" has created a barrier to the divine presence, leading to physical decay and social isolation. In the New Testament, the request "come and lay your hands on her" reflects the arrival of the Messiah, who not only tolerates the proximity of the "unclean" and the "dead" but uses physical touch to mediate the power of the Kingdom.
The transformation of the "Hand of God" from a symbol of judicial pressure (Ps 38:2) to a gesture of healing restoration (Mk 5:23) marks the definitive transition from the distance of the Law to the intimacy of the Gospel. While the human community in the days of the psalmist "stood far off" from the sufferer, the Messiah in the Gospels "went with" the grieving father, proving that no situation is a "lost cause" when brought before the Lord Jesus Christ.Ultimately, these texts invite the believer to move from a fear of divine abandonment to a "dialogic relationship" of trust, grounded in the assurance that God is a "very present help in trouble" who will never fail nor forsake His people.The "proximity" sought in the prayer of the Psalter is finally and fully realized in the "touch" of the Savior, bringing wholeness, life, and an end to the "dark season" of the soul.
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