Luke 8: 40-56
Jesus’ Authority: Part 3

by Gary DeLashmutt

Introduction

Reiterate the theme of this section—Jesus’ authority over forces that overwhelm humans. In this passage, Luke records two more miracles Jesus performed during his time in Capernaum. In order to profit from these events, it is imperative that we understand God's purpose in recording them for us.

Jn 20:30-31 tells us that Jesus’ miracles were recorded not so that we might expect the same miracles to be done for us, but so that we might put our faith in Jesus and have spiritual life (salvation) through him.
The healings/raisings were literal, supernatural events. But they point beyond themselves to a greater, more supernatural healing/raising—the availability of the redemptive life of God to everyone who puts his faith in Jesus. They show us what faith in Jesus looks like, and they show us the willingness of Jesus to respond redemptively when we approach him in this way.

Let's look at these two miracles from this perspective . . .

Jairus: Setting

Read 8:40-42. "Synagogue official" was the person who was in charge of officiating the worship of the synagogue at Capernaum. As a key leader of the synagogue, he was highly respected in the community.

Remember that by this time, the Pharisees and scribes had turned against Jesus (see 3:22), so this man probably didn't hold him in high regard, and had his position to lose by associating with Jesus.
But he had a need that drove him beyond his prejudice. Mark says that his daughter was "at the point of death." Not until you have children of your own can you imagine the panic and fear and helplessness that he must have felt.

And he expresses a measure of faith in Jesus by his request in 8:41,42. He believes that Jesus has the power to make his daughter well. We will see how Jesus responds to his faith in a little bit, but first he must have an encounter with someone else . . .

Woman: A PICTURE OF COMING TO CHRIST

Read 8:43. Note the contrast between this woman and Jairus. He is a male, religious and social leader, confronted with a sudden emergency. She is a woman in a truly desperate situation.
She is physically sick. Chronic blood loss (probably vaginal) for 12 years would leave her in a weak, run-down condition.
She is socially excluded.
Old Testament law (Lev. 15 ritual cleanliness laws) taught that you could become ritually unclean for a variety of reasons (touch corpse, etc.). If you became unclean, you had to go through an elaborate ritual procedure to become clean. Until then, you were excluded from normal community life.
WHY COMMANDED? Some hygiene (quarantine), but more to teach about the alienating consequences of sin and how it must be resolved (atonement).
Lev. 15:25-30 taught that she was unclean for 7 days after the discharge stopped and she was ritually cleansed. Furthermore, anyone who touched her (or anything she touched) during this time also became unclean.
In a small town like this, she would have become a social outcast. Imagine what it would be like to never have any physical affection! Imagine what it would be like to have people shrink back, cross to the other side of the street when they saw you on the street!
She had exhausted all human resources. Mark 5:26 says that nothing had worked, but this had only made her more miserable poverty-stricken. Interestingly, Luke omits this detail! Here is an example of the kind of treatment she may have received.
“One remedy consisted of drinking a goblet of wine containing a powder compounded from rubber, alum and garden crocuses. Another treatment consisted of a dose of Persian onions cooked in wine administered with the summons, ‘Arise out of your flow of blood!’ Other physicians prescribed sudden shock, or the carrying of the ash of an ostrich’s egg in a certain cloth.”[1]

Read 8:44a. Why did she touch the fringe of Jesus’ cloak? Mark tells us in Mark 5:27,28 (read). Notice that she has a measure of faith in Jesus, but that there are serious defects in that faith:

She is unsure of Jesus’ personal concern for her. She has no confidence in his willingness to heal her, so she tries to sneak up (undoubtedly veiled) and "steal a heal" from him.
Mark 5:28 shows that her theology was defective. She believed that there was power in the cloth Jesus wore. This is a common superstitious view of the day that Jesus will later implicitly reject (8:48).

But she has enough faith in Jesus to come to him. Now look at the most striking thing in this passage—the way that Jesus responds to this woman with all of her problems. His response is all out of proportion to her faith. Read 8:44b.

She was immediately objectively healed (8:44b).
She subjectively knew she was healed (Mark 5:29b).
Read 8:45-46. JOHN MADDEN TELESTRATOR; KENOSIS (The Father saw her faith and healed her through Jesus). He experienced the cost of this healing and turned to find out who had been affected.
Read 8:47. Imagine how she felt at this moment. She is awed by that knowledge that she has been healed; she is terrified by the fact that the crowd will know that she has made them unclean; she is probably troubled by the fact that Jesus knows she touched him wants to talk to her. For all that she knows, he may zap her like a shaman demanding recompense!! What can she do but blurt it all out?
Read 8:48. She experiences his love for her personally. "Daughter" is unique in the gospels and is a tender term. She experiences his gentle instruction and correction. Jesus means: "It wasn't my garments; it was your faith in me." This was not impersonal magic; this was a response from a loving heavenly Father through his loving Son.
She is promised permanent/unconditional healing ("stay healed" in Mark 5:34). JEWISH CASUISTRY would make her afraid of losing this healing through sin.

APPLICATION: Remember—these miracles were “signs.” The main point of this miracle is not that Jesus will heal every one of our sicknesses in this age. This event is a picture of what it means to come to Christ.

Like this woman, your situation is desperate. The beginning of God's cure is to acknowledge this fact. God offers total help for total need.
You are spiritually sick (Jer 17:9). The problem is not on the outside, but within your heart. Your alienation from God makes you fundamentally abnormal in the depths of your being, and unable to function or experience life as God intended it.
You are alienated from God because of your sins (Is 59:1,2). The problem is not that God doesn't care about you, or that he is unreachable. The problem is your violations of his moral character. They erect an objective barrier that must be dealt with.
Human solutions are useless. SENSUALITY/MATERIALISM may anaesthetize the problem, but they won't cure it. RELIGION may give you an external verneer of righteousness, but it won't give you lasting, internal change. Only God's solution (faith in Jesus) will solve your problem.

Like this woman, you need to put your faith in Jesus. How much faith do you need to have to receive Jesus’ salvation? Many get tripped up here, but the story of the woman should help you. She had deficiencies in her faith as you do (UNSURE OF JESUS' LOVE & SUSPICIOUS OF MORE DISAPPOINTMENTS; DOUBTS ABOUT SEX ETHIC, CREATIONISM, SATAN, ETC.). It is not the amount of faith we have that counts—it is the object of our faith. If you are willing to come to him as you are, acknowledge your need for him, and put your trust in his promise, he will give you this salvation.

Like this woman, the salvation that Jesus offers you is all out of proportion to your faith. Rather, it is in proportion to God’s GRACE. (Briefly remind of parallels to woman’s healing.)

He will objectively forgive and accept you (Gal 2:16).
He will subjectively assure you of this (Rom 8:16).
You will begin to experience his love (Rom 5:5) and instruction (1 Cor 2:12).
You are promised eternal security (Rom 8:35-39).

Is there any reason why you would be unwilling to come to Jesus the way you are? What is there to stop you from coming to him? Do what she did in 8:47—tell him “the whole truth.”

Back to Jairus: A PICTURE OF GROWING IN CHRIST

How do you think Jairus has been reacting all this time? PANIC OVER DAUGHTER; ANGRY AT WOMAN; VEXED AT JESUS!! But Jesus has the whole scene covered. He can bring this woman to salvation and strengthen this man's faith. Just as this woman is a picture of how to get salvation, Jesus’ dealings with Jairus is a picture of how he strengthens the faith of the one who believes in him. Note the elements involved . . .

He must have thought during the delay: “Do you really know what you’re doing?” Now he now receives devastating news (read 8:49). He believed that Jesus could heal his daughter because there were reports of that. Now she must be raised from the dead—something that Jesus had not done up to now, and something that he had certainly never seen.
This is the way it will be with you if you follow Jesus. Faith is tested by adversity. You want your faith strengthened, so does Jesus. But do you realize how he does this? Faith is strengthened not so much by wonderful experiences of victory, but in the crucible of adversity. As you attain one level of faith, God will allow additional adversity to make it stronger.
EXAMPLES: deeper revelation of sinfulness; more tests materially; more challenges to serve; mistreatment by others

Read 8:50. Jairus is given a specific command and promise: "Don't give way to fear; keep on believing, and she will be made well." Jairus is at a cross-roads. Either he will trust Jesus on a deeper level, or he will collapse. He has a decision to make, and there are significant issues that depend upon his response. Jairus' daughter's fate depends on his response.

This is the way it is with us, too. Faith is challenged to keep on believing Jesus’ Word. In the midst of the increased adversity, Jesus challenges us to KEEP believing his Word (PROMISES & COMMANDS): Keep on believing that God knows what he is doing, keep on believing his promise and keep on doing what he tells you to do.
You think, "What are you doing?" God says, "Answering your prayer." "I can't take this!!" "Yes you can. I don't test you beyond what you can take. Now what are you going to do: trust me or quit?"
As with Jairus, you are at a cross-roads. Your salvation is secure, but your growth requires continuing faith. It is not true that your Christian life will go the same regardless of whether you trust God in this trial or not. A lot depends on your response: your own growth, impact on other people, etc. There will be no benefit from this trial unless you respond in faith. Rom 8:28 has a condition in vs 28b; Heb 12:11 is followed by vs 12-13.

Jairus does choose to keep on believing. How do we know this? Because his daughter was healed, but also because he took Jesus to his daughter (read 8:51-53). The proof that he believed in Jesus’ Word is that he took Jesus to his daughter instead of just sitting down on the sidewalk, etc.

Explain Jesus’ response to the mourners (8:52): “She is physically dead, but I will bring her back.” The apostles commonly described dead Christians as “asleep” because Jesus will raise them from the dead when he returns.
God will call on you to express your faith through appropriate action. Faith always expresses itself in action (Jas 2:12ff.). God always gives you concrete ways to express your trust in his Word during trial—new steps to take (TEACH; WITNESS; SEEK COUNSEL; ADMIT SIN) &/or old steps to stay with (MEANS OF GROWTH DURING ADVERSITY).

Read 8:54-56. Jairus' faith is confirmed through the raising of his daughter. Note again that Jesus used no incantations, or even prayed to the Father—he commanded her, and she arose.

Your faith will then be confirmed experientially through Jesus’ fulfillment of his promise. Your faith will be confirmed through the empowering of Jesus to endure victoriously what you thought you could not, to be an effective witness/servant, etc.
Notice 8:56a. If they had faith, why were they completely astounded? For the same reasons that you are astounded when Jesus comes through for you: your faith was weak and mixed with considerable doubt. There is nothing more wonderful than experiencing this kind of amazement!!

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