15
A Miracle Interrupted
Luke 8:40-56
Simon is more than relieved when the Master signals for them to get back into the boat! This land of the Gerasenes makes him uneasy - all the pigs and madmen running around naked. This is not his land or his people - they are different! When the locals came to tell them they were not welcome, Simon was, as usual, immediately on edge - he just wanted to show them how unhappy he was. And when he started rolling up his sleeves, James and John were right there with him. Jesus had to gently calm them down. "We are going back to Galilee," Jesus tells them.
And so, they set sail again, heading all the way back to the northern tip of the lake. The moment they step ashore in Galilee, a large crowd gathers around them once more. "How did they even know?" Simon wonders.
Jesus has barely started tending to the sick and suffering when Simon notices a man pushing his way through the crowd. He recognises him instantly as one of the synagogue leaders, and his blood starts to boil. "Are the scholars here to cause trouble again?" he thinks.
Jairus was one of the religious leaders, a synagogue official, and one of the few who were sympathetic towards Jesus. His need is great - his little daughter is dying, and he begs Jesus to come with him. But as they head towards the man’s house, the story is suddenly interrupted when Jesus stops and turns around. "Who touched Me?" He asks.
"Master, this is no time to ask who touched You - the girl is dying!" Simon grows impatient with Jesus, who refuses to move on. The crowd is pressing in on them from all sides - everyone is bumping and pushing - what difference does it make if someone touched Him?
Behind Jesus stands a woman in desperate need. She has been suffering from continuous bleeding - a condition that, according to Jewish law, makes her permanently unclean. This means she cannot physically touch anyone. For twelve years, she has lived in this unbearable situation, and she simply cannot endure it any longer - Jesus is her last and only hope. According to Leviticus 15:19-30, she is not allowed to touch Jesus, as it would make Him unclean for seven days. So instead, she merely touches the hem of His garment.
Simon urges Jesus to hurry to Jairus’ house - the child is going to die! But Jesus remains still - He wants to know who touched His clothing.
Tension rises as time runs out for the dying girl. But for Jesus, the scene unfolding here is more important. When the woman realises that Jesus knows it was her, she falls trembling at His feet and confesses. She explains her desperate situation, and the most amazing thing is that she felt her body heal the moment she touched Jesus.
Lovingly, Jesus calls her "daughter," and just like that, the twelve years of rejection and isolation are over. She knows that, for the first time in years, she is once again part of her community and her own family.
Simon is furious when yet another man pushes through the crowd. "Now what?" he wants to shout.
But this man is not looking for Jesus - he is looking for Jairus. "It’s too late, sir. She has already died."
Simon feels like yelling at his Master, "Lord, how could You? The woman could have waited!" From a human perspective, any further action from Jesus seems pointless now. But Jesus comforts Jairus: "Do not be afraid. Just believe, and she will be healed." Shocking words! "But Lord, she is dead! Don’t make the man’s grief even worse!"
When Simon arrives at the house with Jesus and the other disciples, they are met with a heartbreaking scene - people wailing and mourning the death of the child. They expect nothing more from Jesus because all hope is gone. Their reaction is understandable, even from the girl’s parents. And when Jesus tells them that she is only asleep, they laugh at Him - they have seen with their own eyes that she is dead, and that is final!
Jesus’ simple response is to take the girl’s hand and command her to rise.
Immediately, the girl responds!
Simon shakes his head in disbelief! Now he has seen everything! Her parents cannot believe their eyes. Simon gasps, "Jesus has all power, even over death!"
Indeed, we now know that death is no longer final for believers. Jesus not only showed His power over death by raising this child, but a few years later, He Himself would conquer death once and for all, paying the full price of redemption on the cross. You and I share in this victory if we only believe in Him.
Jesus’ words to Jairus - "Just believe, and she will be healed" - take on even greater significance when Paul later says in Acts 16:31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved," or when we read in John 3:16, "Whoever believes in Him… will have eternal life."
The question is: do you believe?
Prayer:
Lord,
thank You that You have also saved me, and that death no longer has
any hold over me!