DAY #104: Luke 8:40-56

Jesus returned across the Sea of Galilee, back to Jewish territory, probably landing at Capernaum. In contrast to the crowd on the eastern shore that had asked him to leave, here the crowds received Jesus with open arms. A man in the crowd had apparently been waiting for Jesus to return. Jairus was a leader of the local synagogue. Despite his status, Jairus came and fell down at Jesus’ feet, begging him to come home with him. This would have been an unusual scene, but Jairus was desperate because his only child was dying, a little girl twelve years old. Jairus’s position as a loving father overshadowed his position as a leader. He put aside any concern for himself and went directly to the man who had healed so many.

One woman also had been awaiting Jesus’ return. Perhaps she had hoped to reach out to him when he came back and thus be healed. But Jairus got to Jesus first, and now they were walking away from her. Perhaps she thought this would be her only chance—she might not be able to talk to Jesus, but she knew she wanted to be healed. Luke, the physician, wrote that the woman had had a hemorrhage for twelve years. Many doctors had tried to cure her, but with no success. The bleeding caused the woman to be in a constant condition of ceremonial uncleanness (Leviticus 15:25-33).

She could not worship in the synagogue, and she could not have normal social relationships, for under Jewish law, anyone who touched her also would become unclean. Thus, the woman had been treated almost as severely as a leper. That she was in the crowd at all was a courageous move on her part. If all those people bumping against her in the crowd had known her condition, she would have been in for some rough treatment.

Nevertheless, she also desperately needed Jesus. So she pressed her way through the crowd, came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of his robe for she believed, as did many people, that the clothes of a holy man imparted spiritual and healing power. The moment that she touched Jesus, the bleeding stopped. Immediately her pain was gone and she knew that she was healed.

The woman had hoped to disappear into the crowd. But Jesus knew about the healing the moment it happened. He asked the seemingly absurd question, “Who touched me?” While the whole crowd had been pressing up against him, no one close by had deliberately touched him. It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t know who had touched him. He wanted the woman to step forward and identify herself. Jesus wanted to teach her that his cloak did not contain magical properties, but that her faith in him had healed her.

The woman realized that to try to slip away at that point would have been impossible. The woman came forward, trembling, and fell down before Jesus. She explained to the crowd why she had touched him. This was not a simple act—for she would have to explain how she—unclean and filled with a dreadful disease—had come in among the crowd, had reached out and touched a man (a rabbi) in her unclean state, and had hoped to slip away. All these were huge infractions of social laws and would have probably been grounds for anger from any other rabbi and any other crowd. But this was no ordinary rabbi, for she also explained that when she had touched Jesus, she had been immediately healed.

Jesus explained that it was not his clothing that had healed her; rather, her faith in reaching out to the one Person who could heal her had allowed that healing to take place. Not only did the woman have faith, but she had also placed her faith in the right person. During this interval, Jairus had been waiting. Jesus was still speaking to this woman who had interrupted his walk to Jairus’s house when a messenger arrived. What Jairus feared most had happened. His dear little girl had died. It was too late for the Teacher to heal her, so there was no longer any reason to bring Jesus to his home.

Upon hearing the news, Jairus surely reacted in great sorrow. It seemed that the delay had been too long, and it was now too late. But Jesus turned to the grieving man and said, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.” In the presence of Jairus, the woman had been commended for her faith. Here in the presence of the woman, Jairus was told to have faith. He had believed that Jesus could heal his daughter; Jesus wanted him to continue to believe that his daughter would be all right. The fact that the daughter had died did not change anything for Jesus.

When they arrived at the house, however, Jesus took control and made everyone stay outside. The house full of people probably included relatives and neighbors, as well as professional mourners who may have already arrived. Lack of weeping and wailing was the ultimate disgrace and disrespect. Jairus, the leader of the synagogue, was an important person in the town. Thus, at the death of his only daughter, the townspeople demonstrated their great love and respect by their intense grief.

Yet their weeping turned to derisive laughter at Jesus’ words that the girl was not dead, only asleep. She was indeed dead, but Jesus would bring her back to life, as if awakening her from sleep. Jesus used the image of sleep to indicate that the girl’s condition was temporary and that she would be restored. For Jesus, death is nothing more than sleep, for he has power and authority over death.

Again Jesus went against all ceremonial law and took the dead girl by the hand. Jesus’ words were simple and direct, “Get up, my child!” While Mark recorded the words in Aramaic (Mark 5:41), as Jesus most likely said them, Luke translated for his Gentile audience. With those words, her life returned. She came back well, whole, and able to walk around. She was even well enough to eat, for Jesus gave her parents instructions to give her something to eat.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what I have read today?)

As a follow up to yesterdays question: The purpose of the Bible is to change our lives and make us more like Jesus. The subtle temptation when reading the Bible is to fill our heads full of knowledge and miss the personal application. Everyday, God desires to change us and make us more like Jesus.

Today, we see the power of Christ and the care of Christ. Quite simply Jesus loves people. Everybody matters to Him. He misses no one. Would to God that I would be like that. See a need in someones life and meet that need. Be in tune and in touch with those around me. Others awareness. God break my heart with the the things that break the heart of your people. Give me eyes to see and a heart to come alongside of others and walk with them through life. Raise up men and women at COV with that same heart.

"When Jesus looked out over the crowds, his heart broke. So confused and aimless they were, like sheep with no shepherd." Matthew 9:36 (MB)