Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41
And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42
for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 43
And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 44
She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45
And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!”46
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” 47
And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48
And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”49
While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 50
But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” 51
And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52
And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53
And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” 55
And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56
And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
The question is being answered! Remember we looked at Jesus on a storm-tossed sea with His disciples and they are greatly afraid and Christ calms the storm. This shows
the power Jesus has over creation. The disciples, remember, are more in fear at the power of Jesus than ever they were in the storm, and they ask a question, Who is this man…who can this be? And what follows in Luke’s gospel is, in essence, the answer
to that question.
Jesus then goes to the realm of the devil himself and deals with the demoniac in the tombs. Jesus’ miracle is not just a kindness to the man although it is that,
it is the kingdom’s coming in power as he gives foretaste of his stripping Satan of HIS power. Creation obeys the Christ and the demons in fear, submit, without argument to His word. Jesus is Lord over the earth, and He is Lord over the realm of the dead,
the demons and the prince of darkness himself.
We then come to this bleeding woman, one of whom we are told had been bleeding for 12 years, had spent all she had, all her money, and had found no earthly physician
to cure her. This woman was an outcast because her blood flow would have made her unclean and so unable to attend worship, unable to fit in to the covenant people and the life of the people of God. But Jesus deals mercifully with the outcast and the unclean.
When Jesus asks “Who touched me…” he means more than just the touch, he speaks to the unseen, He speaks to the touch of faith, the very effective touch. It was a touch with a purpose, a touch motivated by faith, pointing to things that are far above this
world.
And when later in the text when Jesus raises this little girl, this 12 year old girl, (interesting don’t you think, and only Luke brings this out, that the woman bled
for 12 years and the little girl who Jesus raises from the dead, is 12 years old) again, Jesus is not trying to draw a crowd, in fact, he tells the parents not to tell anyone what He has done which makes no sense if drawing attention to Himself is the goal.
The disciples wanted to know who this man is, what is He doing here! And Jesus is answering their question! He exercises His authority over the waves of the sea.
He makes clear his authority over demons who themselves know of the day to come when He will utterly destroy them forever and who fear that maybe that day had come. He shows forth His kingdom’s authority over the uncleanness of humanity and THEN over the last
great adversary of humanity, which has been our curse since the fall of our first parents…death itself.
That is who Jesus is, and that is what Jesus is doing in the earth, that is what his miracles are purposed to proclaim, the full redemption of mankind and God’s mercy
in overcoming all the enemies that put man into bondage.
Luke tells us that Jarius’ child was his only child and she was dying. Jarius comes and falls prostrate at the feet of Jesus. He is a ruler of the synagogue so a
Jew with some standing and clout. He has a reputation, a position, a status that brought him honor and respect in the culture. Jesus heeds Jarius’ request and begins to make his way to his house. The picture that we are given is of a great multitude pressing
against the Savior, people everywhere, almost chaotic to behold.
And there is this woman.
As I mentioned, she had lost everything, she had lost her health, her wealth and probably the most painful loss, that of her standing in society, particularly, the
religious community. Her ailment rendered her unclean. There was no going to the tabernacle or the temple, not for her, she would not be allowed according to the law of Moses. The one hope for the Jews, for this people who were under Roman rule was what happened
in the temple and tabernacle, that was their national identity, that is where they renewed hope for the Messiah. And this woman was not allowed in…was not allowed to participate in any of the covenant liturgical expressions that were so dear to the people
of that day.
We have prominent people, powerful important people, like Jarius and we have outcast people, like this woman, and yet their need is the same…they must make it to Jesus
or else they have no hope. Social class, economic class or whatever other barrier that is common among men crumbles at the feet of Christ. There is but one class in the eyes of Jesus…sinner…sinner in need of the grace and mercy of God, nothing else.
The greatness of this woman’s faith does of course stand out. She believed that the power of Jesus to heal was such that she did not need him to give her His undivided
attention or to come to her house, in fact He didn’t even need to know what was going on. “If only I could touch him, and even then, only the back of his garment, that is enough.” Now, you might argue that her faith was not pure; she thought she NEEDED
to touch him, as if Jesus couldn’t heal without the touch. Perhaps that is true. But imperfect though her faith might have been, the Lord rewarded it.
Let’s stop for a moment and consider that. Our faith, imperfect as it is, lacking as it does at times, nonetheless, is rewarded by our kind Savior. Even the slightest
connection with the Lord of Glory, the slightest touch of our grasping hands, will bless us. This woman believed that the slightest touch of Jesus would be enough. She was not looking for great things to do, great knowledge to attain…she just wanted to touch
the Savior.
Just as this woman’s faith cried out for the simplicity of touching Jesus, so the answer to most if not all of our dilemmas is the same. Most of our problems are just
that simple, too much self, too much fear, too much doubt, and not enough staring reaching out to the Lord. And no matter how imperfect our faith is, the Lord nonetheless has deigned to bless it when it comes to Him, full of holes and limping along…nonetheless,
comes to Him.
But Pastor, I have doubts…I know the truth about Jesus, but I cannot rejoice, I am easily overwhelmed with feelings that leave me depressed and unhappy. Take
your imperfect faith, and reach out to Jesus. Get a fresh hold of the Lord…find Him in worship…in the preaching of his Word and at His Table. Caution to the wind…just reach out to Him, that is enough.
If your spiritual fervor is waning, your eyes are dull, your heart cold and unmoved, your head does not bow and your knees do not bend…Then take what is left of your
battered faith and set it to seeking the Lord Jesus and find Him as no other; For our Lord is kind and merciful, gracious to forgive, to restore, to pour out His love on those who are totally undeserving. Come to Him. It IS that simple. Cry out to HIM, it
is no more complicated than letting go of your pride and self-sufficiency and finding the Lord Jesus to be sufficient for you!
The woman had already started to leave when Jesus asked how it was that had touched Him. She now had to reveal herself. What would the people think of her now? They
had already scorned her and counted her as unworthy and unclean. Would the people scold her for this? Would Jesus be upset with her? She confessed, our text says, but noticed that she fell down before Him and confessed while trembling.
Brothers and sisters, there is in our day such a flippant approach to God, such a greasy over-familiarity that we don’t think twice about the way we approach Him,
the way we pray, the way we listen or don’t listen when He speaks. It is simply a fact that when a man or woman came into Christ’s presence with the realization of who He was and what He was doing in this world, they could not stay on their feet. They were
at HIS feet, and they were trembling. And notice Jesus’ response, “Daughter be of good cheer your faith has made you well go in peace.”
Faith, imperfect though it may be, that has Jesus as its focus and only hope…Faith that must get to the Savior…faith that knows the only correct posture is that of
bowed low, trembling before the Holy One. Power over creation…power over demons and hell…power over our uncleanness and unworthiness, power over death itself. What is there to do, but to bow down?
Prayer: Father, with weak and battered faith I come to You. I am unworthy in myself but made worthy by Your Son. I would be unwelcomed because of my sin, but your
mercy and grace has welcomed me in Jesus name into Your Home, as Your child. I praise you for the power of Jesus to overcome all that threatens us, all that seeks to put us in bondage. Father, give me grace that I would reach out this day to take hold of my
Savior, to honor Him in word, deed and even in thought and motive. I want for nothing but to be faithful, to honor You, who have loved me with an everlasting love, through Jesus Christ my Lord, Amen.
Hymn: Come to Me