Lord of Disease & Death

Let’s first look closely at the sequence of events so that we’ll confirm that these things arise from the text, and to reveal any details that we might otherwise not notice or simply not know.

In v. 40 we see that the crowd Jesus had left on the Galilee side of the lake gladly welcomes his return (from the other side, the region of the Gerasenes, where he delivered the man from many demons). - In spite of limited understanding, people are recognizing Jesus’ uniqueness. The masses do not have a grasp on his Messiahship (as 9:18-19 shows), but they’ve seen what he can do and have heard his authoritative teaching (even though that too leaves them at a loss).

v. 41a - Among the many who now come to Jesus seeking his help, we have this man Jairus. “He was a ruler of the synagogue, i.e. the official who was responsible for the arrangements at the synagogue services. He would select, for example, those who would lead in prayer, read the Scripture and preach. He was thus a man of eminence in the community.” -Leon Morris, Luke: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 3, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 177.

vv. 41-42 - His situation is dire indeed: His only daughter, twelve years old, is so sick that it is clear she is dying. And Jairus is desperate to get Jesus’ help, falling at his feet and begging him.

Following along in Luke’s narrative, we have already come to expect from Jesus that he will respond to the man’s plea for help (compassion). As he goes, the crowd around him presses in so hard on him that the word used is “choked.”

Now the goal to reach Jairus’s house and perform a miracle to heal his daughter is interrupted. We learn in v. 43 the dire situation of another woman. She’s been bleeding non-stop for 12 years. She has tried everything else, and nothing ever resulted in her healing.

Darrell Bock explains, “The reference is probably to a uterine hemorrhage, a condition that would make her continuously unclean [according to Jewish custom from Mosaic law] and that would be [a] source of continual embarrassment, affecting her ability to live normally with others, since to touch her would make one unclean.” (p. 793)

But simply upon touching the fringe of Jesus’ garment, she is instantly and completely healed. (v. 44)

To her surprise (no doubt she was hoping to go unnoticed), and to Peter’s, Jesus wants to know who touched him. - “How can we tell that?! Everybody’s touching you!”

Jesus says (v. 46), no this is different, my power healed someone.

The healed woman now fearfully fesses up (Afraid from not knowing how Jesus will respond? After all, she would be considered “unclean”). Her explanation included not only why she needed help from Jesus, but also that the result was immediate healing.

Jesus calls her “daughter” as he addresses her, the only recorded place we have of him doing so. I think this again is evidence, as is stopping what he was aiming to do to interact with her, of compassion... of kindness and gentleness. He also emphasizes the importance of her faith (a recognition of Jesus’ power and goodness), and that such a belief is what results in her being made well. (Practically speaking, if she hadn’t believed in his power and goodness, she never would have tried coming to him for healing, and thus wouldn’t be well.) But since the verb is literally “saved,” the spiritual sense is probably also intended here… especially when coupled with “go in peace.” (Peace the way it is used in the NT isn’t simply a feeling of rest and reassurance, although that is a result. It is a state of being right with God, of relationship to God restored.)

- As to the overall picture: Jesus is so powerful, a simple touch to his garment brings healing. His authority is to the level that he can commend a woman for having faith to believe that his power could make her well, and to tell her that she now can depart knowing that she has peace with God.

But this narrative now has a further complication, as we learn in v. 49. During the interruption, Jairus’s daughter has died. … As the messenger says, essentially, “There’s no longer any need for Jesus to come.” (‘the Teacher,’ a term of respect) - The assumption behind this is of course that since she is dead, there’s nothing more that even Jesus can do.

Jesus reassures Jairus (The “he” here is the synagogue ruler, Mk 5:36) that he shouldn’t fear but believe. Jairus would demonstrate that faith at least in part by letting Jesus proceed, and his daughter would in fact be “saved” from death.

When he reaches the house, he takes in with him only (what we have come to call) the inner circle (of Peter, James, & John) and the two parents. (BTW, this is the first mention of the select group of three disciples, those who will again be singled out to witness the Transfiguration (9:28-36).

Vv. 52-53 indicate what took place just after these six entered the house without the others (the large crowd of people following Jesus everywhere). As those inside mourned, Jesus stated that she was sleeping (metaphorically, for the girl was not ultimately and finally dead). Of course taking him literally, they scoffed at Jesus (this is mocking laughter, however subtle) bc they knew she was in fact dead.

With simple words, and no fanfare, Jesus took the child by the hand and told her to rise, and her spirit returned. (Again Jesus was unconcerned about ceremonial uncleanness from touching a corpse, because he was reversing that condition) The resurrection was immediate, and Jesus directed that she be given something to eat. - Her illness had likely depleted her appetite and her strength. Now that she was completely well, she would again need that sustenance (and she could do so).

The parents are understandably amazed, and such an occurence would make them want to tell everyone! But Jesus instead instructs them not to tell anyone. (Why ask them to keep quiet? “Jesus does not want to focus his ministry on the miraculous healing he can bring.” (Bock, 786) He knows that escalating popularity due to his power would make them want to elevate him as a political and military leader, but that was not the purpose for this first coming. He knows too that such popularity will lead to greater opposition from the Jewish religious establishment, and it isn’t yet time to for the Father’s will to be accomplished through his death, burial, and resurrection.)

- That gives us a good head start into understanding why Jesus charges them to keep quiet. We’ll return to this briefly to make sure we are clear on what Christ has commanded of us. (Are we called to keep silent?) Before we do that, let’s return to the other key features we noted at the outset.

Jesus’ Comprehensive Power & Authority

The four escalating miracles (here in ch. 8) demonstrate Christ’s comprehensive authority - “Not only can he control nature and demons (8:22-39), but he also can control disease and death.” (Bock, 785)

When death seems to be as final as it gets, Jesus has power and authority to restore someone’s spirit to their dead body. When bodily disease is such that there are no earthly answers and remedies, Jesus has the power & authority to reverse the course of disease’s destruction and restore a body to perfect health. When Satan and his demons are exerting such powerful influence that human strength pales by comparison, Jesus is stronger still, and can simply speak the word which results in their destruction. When natural forces stir up storms that cause men to cower in fear (and we experience the reality of our lack of control), Jesus proves that every corner of the universe is under the power of Creator-God, with whom Jesus is One in the Triune Godhead.

It is in fact to our great benefit that we should realize that although we have nothing under control, God has everything within his control. If God had his fingerprints on allowing the Son to be unjustly tried and crucified, because he had a sovereign purpose that no one else understood at the time, do you not see that you can trust him completely with everything? He is in perfect control, and he knows what is good and best, orchestrating all things accordingly (including the details of how he made you, as well as each situation you face). That is such good news for us overall, and especially in the trials of life!

Such awesome power might rightly lead us to fear such authority, but God’s perfections are such that he also demonstrates toward us an incredible…

Jesus’ Compassion & Openness

Jesus embodies such compassion in these scenes, such openness to various needs and people and demographics, revealing the loving heart of God.

Where others would themselves be defiled by uncleanness, Jesus cleanses the unclean. Peter will further learn (in Acts, also written by Luke), to not call unclean what Jesus has made clean (Acts 10&11), a lesson that Christ’s atoning death and resurrection life is offered to Gentiles also.

We must not shrink away from the greatest of sinners (for Jesus did not shrink from us), we must not shrink from people different than ourselves (for Christ gave up the prerogatives of divine glory to come to earth as the God-man). Rather, Jesus’ followers are granted his love (since God has poured his Spirit into our hearts). We are meant to see what Jesus sees: the greater the sinner, the greater the evidence of Christ’s compassion and power. When one begins at furthest distance from God, the greater the restoration.

Luke continues to show in these earlier situations in Jesus’ ministry what he (Luke) has learned from a later, more comprehensive understanding of Jesus. - Consider then the spiritual significance of these things, since the spiritual significance is in fact the reason Jesus came to earth the first time: Through Jesus the unclean (before God) are made clean, the broken and separated (from God) are restored, and the dead (apart from God) are given life.

So we have seen that Jesus compassionately offers complete cleansing, a healing of our broken relationship with God, an offer of spiritual life… to anyone who will trust in Him. - It is this trusting him, this faith, which is another issue of central importance in this text and in the Bible as a whole.

The Centrality of Faith in Jesus

While not every miracle that Jesus performed required faith on the part of recipients (ie. feeding multitudes of people, healing the ear of Malchus that Peter had just flailingly whacked off in the Garden of Gethsemane), faith in Jesus’ ability (his power & authority from God) is often, as it is here in this text, a key feature in Christ’s reason for working miracles. These people come to him with faith in his power, his ability to make them well.

The obvious need (desperation) of those coming to Jesus, coupled with the emphasis on faith, draws attention to a deeper spiritual need for all mankind and the requirement of faith in Jesus’ person and work as the only means of receiving God’s offer of salvation.

Discussion of faith, though, leads to questions in our minds. Here are some:

How much faith is required?

Faith doesn’t have to be perfect to be effective. Apparently we need just enough faith to admit our need and give up on all other means of fixing the problem (whether by my own power or anyone else’s), and trust that Jesus alone has what it takes.

Just as we come to Jesus seeking a solution to our desperate need, we must have faith that he can accomplish for us what we ask. (...where we also learn that it is he himself who is the solution to our greatest need)

Faith does not mean me believing strongly enough (and then perhaps there’s an 80% chance that God will do it). Faith means trusting God. (There’s 100% guarantee that God is God and will do what is best.)

Can faith increase?

Absolutely. When do you think this woman had more faith in Jesus, before he healed her, or after? Jairus went to Jesus because he recognized the need. He believed Jesus could help. He then went with Jesus in belief (even though his daughter has now been reported as dead) because Jesus said to. But no doubt this faith was still fragile. Once their beloved daughter was restored to life by Jesus, do you think Jairus and his wife had the same level of faith, or a deeper appreciation and understanding for the completeness of Jesus’ power and authority?

When we have saving faith, and then that faith is tested and Jesus proves himself, our faith grows. But again, faith grows by our obedience, and through trial, as God uses suffering to prove the sufficiency of his own character and will.

Why do the faithless respond with scoffing?

They scoff because they can’t see the truth of who Jesus is. They look at him and they see only the man, they see an image of themselves. They do not see who Jesus really is beyond the human frame, the perfect manifestation and representation of God:

Colossians 1:15–18 ESV

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

How do we know if we have faith?

Faith is not passive. If we are actively responding to Jesus, we can know that we are his children.

- I look like my dad. I even sound like my dad. ***

Finally…

Jesus’ Command to Keep Quiet

As we explained, this was only something he told certain people and for a time during his ministry. (Apparently he didn’t want ‘raising people from the dead’ to be normative for his ministry and distract from what he knew the Father had sent him to do.)

In contrast to telling them to keep quiet, in the very next passage he sends out the 12 in his power & authority to proclaim the kingdom. (So we won’t belabor the point too much here since it will receive major emphasis next time. For now we’ll give a simple and straightforward point about Christ’s expectation of us.)

At the risk of stating the obvious, the New Covenant command of our Risen Lord is that by his authority we are to be going out to spread the word, and that we should thereby be making disciples for him of people from every nation (Mt. 28:18-20). Again, similarly Luke records this command in the beginning of Acts (1:8).

Jesus’ command to us is, “Do not keep silent.” People must hear to believe, so someone must tell them.

Romans 10:14 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Paul follows this up in Romans 10 with the reality that some will reject it, but our responsibility is still to tell them.

Jesus is the sovereign and compassionate Lord, who calls us to faith in him and commands us to spread the news.

Do you have faith in the compassionate Lord who is sovereign over human life and who calls us to know him and make him known?

Jesus’ command to us now is to keep believing, to keep going (patient faith/perseverance), and to keep spreading the good news (bearing fruit). (Cf. 8:15)