Luke 8:40-56

40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45 "Who touched me?" Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, "Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you."
46 But Jesus said, "Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me."
47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace."
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. "Your daughter is dead," he said. "Don't bother the teacher anymore."
50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, "Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed."
51 When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child's father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. "Stop wailing," Jesus said. "She is not dead but asleep."
53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, "My child, get up!" 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Points of Interest:

• ‘they were all expecting him’—a crowd is even gathered to greet him as he steps off the boat. Jesus has reached rock star status. The people can’t get enough of him.

• a synagogue leader’—he’s what we’d call ‘a pillar of the community.’ He’s probably wealthy and well-respected. I imagine he travels in the same circles as the Pharisees and teachers. Given his place in society, it might take quite a bit of humility to ask for Jesus’ help; it might even cause something of a society scandal. But Jairus doesn’t seem to hesitate; his desperation for his daughter and his faith in Jesus’ power compel him to ask for Jesus’ help.

• ‘subject to bleeding for twelve years’—this woman has been sick for exactly as long as Jairus’ daughter has been alive. By stopping to talk with the woman, Jesus isn’t doing proper triage of his healings. You’re supposed to take care of emergencies first; then turn to the patients who have a chronic but stable condition. Jesus takes the chronic case first. In fact, by the time he talks with her, she isn’t even sick anymore.

• ‘Daughter’—I’m sure that Jairus would be wondering at this point why Jesus wasn’t in more of a hurry. By calling this woman ‘Daughter,’ Jesus is saying, ‘I feel for this woman exactly the way you feel for your daughter. I’m as desperate to see her healed as you are to see your daughter healed. I had to stop.’

• ‘your faith has healed you’—of course, if physical health were all Jesus cared about, stopping wouldn’t be strictly necessary. I think Jesus stops because it’s important to him that the woman know that his blessing goes with her. If Jesus were to move on, this woman would melt into the crowd, never to be seen again. She would be healed, but she might guiltily think of herself as having stolen the healing. Jesus stops to let her know that he wants her to be healed, because he cares about her and because she has shown faith in his goodness and power.

• ‘Don't be afraid; just believe’—Jesus does not care for his ‘daughter’ at the expense of Jairus’ daughter. Jesus has enough power to help them both, even when it looks like Jairus’ daughter is beyond help.

• ‘They laughed at him’—the mourners don’t have the faith to receive Jesus’ words; they are like the path from the story of the soils: ‘as for those who do not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them’ (Luke 8: 18). So, they’re sent out of the room and don’t get the chance to share in this wonderful miracle. In fact, since Jesus asks that no one in the room talk about what happened, these mourners could come to take Jesus’ words literally: ‘I guess somehow Jesus was right; she was just sleeping.’

Taking it home:

• For you and your family: Jesus is able to save Jairus’ daughter even when it looks like she’s beyond help. Are you in a situation that seems hopeless? It’s still worth bringing it to Jesus. While we’re not guaranteed of the results, he may very well surprise you by what he can do.

• For your friends: Just when it looks like the woman’s sickness is something that would never go away, Jesus heals her. Pray that God would save your friends from problems and troubles they’ve begun to think of as permanent.

• For our city: It sometimes seems to me like our city has a particularly hard time accepting the idea that God would intervene in supernatural ways—perhaps because the university is so prominent in our city. Pray that our city would change in this regard; pray that there would be a growing willingness to hope for and believe in God working supernaturally.