When Jesus crossed back over the Sea of Galilee the crowds awaited Him, but in Luke’s orderly account (1:1) he shows us the interrupted scene involving a man by the name of Jairus. Jairus was “a ruler of the synagogue,” thus a man of some standing and authority in the Jewish religion and the community. Jairus had one daughter, likely his only child, who was around the age of twelve. The synagogue leader falls at the feet of Jesus, obviously being acquainted with the great works He has performed, and pleads with Him to come to his house to visit his dying daughter.
This emotional scene is interrupted by a sickly woman who had suffered greatly with a hemorrhage for twelve years. She was now impoverished and even made worse by the “physicians” that attended her (see Mk. 5:26). Amidst the multitude, by faith, she slips in and but touches the fringe of Jesus’ garment. Immediately power goes out from Him and the plague of the previous one hundred forty-four months was removed.
There is little doubt that she approached Christ with great fear. She had likely been in isolation for this twelve year period as she would have been considered unclean (see Lev. 15:25). Her trepidation surely went through the rough when Jesus called out, “Who was it that touched me?” (v. 45). Of course, Jesus knew, and He permitted the power of healing to be placed upon this poor woman. But when she understood that the matter could not be kept quiet she came fearfully and prostrate before Jesus and declared why she had approached Him. The Savior calms her saying, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace” (v. 48).
A couple of brief points should be observed:
- While it should not be minimized, what Jesus did for this lady went far beyond the physical healing. He truly gave her life back to her. She would no longer suffer the social isolation this plague brought upon her. She could now go forward in peace (v. 48).
- We also observe that her healing was dependent upon her faith in Christ (v. 48). Her faith saved her, you might say. She approached Jesus believing that He had the remedy for her illness. It should also be pointed out that though the power for this healing resided within the Lord, she still needed to act upon her faith in order to be healed. This is certainly parallel with the spiritual salvation that is “through faith” (Eph. 2:8-9; see also Jn. 3:36; Mk. 16:16; Acts 2:38; James 2:17).
Now imagine you are Jairus. You have pleaded with Jesus to come see your daughter who is dying, and He allows Himself to be interrupted by this lady’s illness. He must have thought: “Jesus, she has been sick for twelve years, one more day probably won’t kill her!” But Luke the historian does not record any such detail. However, Jairus is informed at this point, that his daughter has died. Jesus responds to this news saying, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well” (v. 50).
Certainly He did not have to, but Jesus chose to go to the ruler’s house in order to tend to the girl and the family. On this occasion He only permitted the mother and father of the girl, as well as His inner circle of Peter, John and James, to go in with Him.
Seemingly before they entered the house, laughter came forth from the wailing when Jesus said that the girl was “not dead but sleeping” (v. 52). The laughter may have come from “professional mourners,” who were not so genuinely invested in the sorrow of this family. At any rate, as soon as Jesus called upon the girl to rise, “her spirit returned, and she got up at once” (v. 55). Jesus restored to her the breathe of life!
The latter part of Luke 8 certainly emphasizes Jesus’ power over illness and death. But perhaps a more subtle and yet powerful lesson within this text comes from the faithful patience of Jairus. He truly waited on the Lord and was blessed more than we can imagine. Surely the word “amazed” (v. 56) doesn’t begin to describe the feelings of this godly couple when their daughter arose!
Genuine faith in the Lord can continue to provide spiritual healing today. Let us patiently and persistently trust in Him. Remember, the Lord is not on our schedule. God’s time, not ours (see Is. 40:31; Prov. 3:5-6).
Daren Schroeder
