Behold, a man named Jairus came. He was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet, and begged him to come into his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him. A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians and could not be healed by any came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak. Immediately the flow of her blood stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.” When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. He said to her, “Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
While he still spoke, one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house came, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t trouble the Teacher.”
But Jesus hearing it, answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be healed.”
When he came to the house, he didn’t allow anyone to enter in, except Peter, John, James, the father of the child, and her mother. All were weeping and mourning her, but he said, “Don’t weep. She isn’t dead, but sleeping.”
They were ridiculing him, knowing that she was dead. But he put them all outside, and taking her by the hand, he called, saying, “Child, arise!” Her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately. He commanded that something be given to her to eat. Her parents were amazed, but he commanded them to tell no one what had been done.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv41, 43, 52, 55 Christ showeth by a double miracle, that he is…
Christ showeth by a double miracle, that he is Lord both of life and death.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv41–42 41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus,…
41 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house:
Ver. 41. See Mat 9:18; Mar 5:22.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On v41 We had both these pieces of history twice before…
We had both these pieces of history twice before related, by Matthew, Mat 9:18-26, and by Mark, Mar 5:22-43, with some further circumstances. See Poole on "Mat 9:18", and following verses to Mat 9:26 also See Poole on "Mar 5:22", and following verses to Mar 5:43. Christ’s saying, Luk 8:45,
Who touched me? and again, Luk 8:46,
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Somebody hath touched me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me; doth not argue that Christ knew not of the woman’s coming and touching him, or did not voluntarily send out that virtue that healed her; far be any such thoughts from any pious, intelligent souls: she was not healed by her touch of the border of his garment, but by his powerful will, commanding such a miraculous effect: he only spake this to bring forth the miracle into light, which was wrought secretly, so as the people took no notice of it. Healing virtue went out of Christ upon an act of his will, not necessarily. From Luk 8:55 is confuted the atheism of those who would make the soul to be merely the crasis, or some affection of the body; and it is proved to be a being that can subsist of itself, in a state of separation from the body.
It is said,
her spirit came again; not, Christ gave her a new spirit. Christ did not here exert a creating power; only sent forth that power with which he was clothed to raise the dead. For other things observable from this story, see the notes before mentioned upon the parallel texts.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv41, 43, 49 Observe here, 1. The person described who came to…
Observe here, 1. The person described who came to Christ on behalf of his sick daughter: by his name Jairus; by his office, a ruler of the synagogue; by his gesture, he fell down at Jesus’ feet: this gesture of his was not only a sign of tender affection in him towards his daughter, but also an evidence of his faith in our blessed Saviour; he believed him either to be God, or an extraordinary man, who had a miraculous power of healing.
Observe, 2. How readily Christ complies with Jairus’s’ request: Jesus went with him. Although his faith was but weak, yet our Saviour does not reject him, or deny his suit.
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Oh how ready should we be to go to Christ in all our distresses, who is so ready to hear, and so forward to help us, if we seek him in sincerity, though our faith be weak and feeble!
Observe, 3. The great humility of our blessed Saviour in suffering himself to be thronged with poor people; much people followed him and thronged him.
Oh humble and lowly Saviour! How free was thy conversation from pride and haughtiness! How willing to converse with the meanest of the people for their advantage! Christ did not only suffer them to come near him, but even to throng him.
Let not then the greatest persons upon earth despise or disdain the poorest of the people; but look upon some with an eye of favor, upon others with an eye of pity, upon none with an eye of contempt.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv41–55 For he had one only daughter,.... And so exceedingly…
For he had one only daughter,.... And so exceedingly dear to him:
about twelve years of age; See Gill on Mat 9:18.
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And she lay a dying, or "was near death", as the Syriac and Persic versions; or "was just ready to die", as the Ethiopic version. The Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions render it, "she was dead", or "now dead", and which agrees with Mat 9:18. See Gill on Mat 9:18.
but as he went; along the streets of Capernaum, from Matthew's house; where he had been entertained with his disciples, and others, and where he had a conversation with some of the Pharisees and John's disciples, to the ruler's house:
the people thronged him; such a vast multitude followed him to see the cure, that he was even crowded, and so pressed on all sides, that it was difficult to walk along.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On v52 She is not dead but sleepeth - Her soul…
She is not dead but sleepeth - Her soul is not separated finally from the body; and this short separation is rather to be called sleep than death.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv41, 42, 43, 46, 54, 55 Verse 41. A man named Jairus] See these two…
Verse 41. A man named Jairus] See these two miracles-the raising of Jairus's daughter, and the cure of the afflicted woman - considered and explained at large, on Mt 9:18-26, and Mr 5:22-43.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv41, 43, 45, 48, 55 See this explained in Matthew ix. and Mark v.
See this explained in Matthew ix. and Mark v.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv45, 46, 47, 55 Who touched me?--"Askest Thou, Lord, who touched Thee? Rather…
Who touched me?--"Askest Thou, Lord, who touched Thee? Rather ask who touched Thee not in such a throng."
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv41, 43, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 § 52.— RAISING OF JAIRUS’S DAUGHTER—THE WOMAN WITH A…
§ 52.— RAISING OF JAIRUS’S DAUGHTER—THE WOMAN WITH A FLUX, Luk_8:41-56.
(See notes on Mat_9:1; Mat_9:10-26; Mar_5:22-43.)
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Jesus, after recrossing the lake, from dispossessing the demoniacs of Gadara, attends the feast given by Matthew in his honour to his brother publicans, and is in full tide of rebuke to the Pharisees who were cavilling at his eating in such company, when a sudden interruption takes place. No less a person than the Ruler of the Synagogue of Capernaum appears, prostrates himself before Jesus, and, announcing that his daughter of twelve years old is at the point of death, beseeches him that he will come and lay his hand upon her. Such is the ruler’s faith, (according to Mar_5:23,) that although he did not, like the centurion of Capernaum, say that Jesus could restore her at a distance, yet he held that he could by a touch of the hand. Luke and Mark make the ruler say that she is a dying; is at the point of death; Matthew makes him say even now dead. He may, in his importunity, have said all three. In finally saying that she was dead, he may, in his intense feeling, have overstated, or may have felt that her death would occur before Jesus could arrive. Or, finally, Matthew may have substantially condensed the statements of the ruler and the messengers from home into one. See our note on chapter Luk_7:1.
Of Rulers of the Synagogue there sometimes appear to be several, as in Act_13:15; and sometimes but one, who may have been president of the whole, as in Luk_13:14.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 56 41-56. The Daughter of Jairus and the Woman with…
41-56. The Daughter of Jairus and the Woman with the issue of Blood.
41. behold] St Matthew places this message of Jairus after the farewell feast which he gave to his friends before abandoning for ever his office of tax-gatherer. At that feast arose the question about fasting, and St Matthew (Mat_9:18) says that Jairus came “while Jesus was yet speaking these things,” and in so definite a note of time, on a day to him so memorable, he could hardly be inexact. On the other hand, St Mark says, and St Luke implies, that the message reached Jesus as He disembarked on the sea-shore. Hence it has been supposed that Jesus heard the first entreaty from Jairus on the shore when his daughter was dying (Luk_8:42; Mar_5:23), but instead of going straight to the house of Jairus went first to Matthew’s feast; and that Jairus then came to the feast in agony to say that she was just dead (Mat_9:18). The very small discrepancies are however quite easily explicable -without this conjecture, and it was wholly unlike the method of Jesus to interpose a feast between the request of an agonised father and His act of mercy.
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Jairus] Jair, Jdg_10:3.
a ruler of the synagogue] The synagogues had no clergy, but were managed by laymen, at the head of whom was the “ruler,” whose title of Rosh hakkeneseth was as familiar to the Jews as that of Rabbi. His functions resembled those of a leading elder. The appeal of such a functionary shews the estimation in which our Lord was still held among the Galileans.
that he would come into his house] Jair had not the faith of the heathen centurion.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 55 (41-56) And, behold, there came a man named Jairus.—See…
(41-56) And, behold, there came a man named Jairus.—See Notes on Mat_9:18-26, and Mar_5:21-43. St. Luke’s narrative agrees with St. Mark’s more closely than with St. Matthew’s.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv42, 43, 45, 48, 49, 50, 53, 55, 56 One only daughter. This is not the only place…
One only daughter. This is not the only place where the same touching detail is recorded by this evangelist. Compare the story of the widow"s son at Nain, (Luk_7:12) and the healing of the lunatic boy. (Luk_9:38) St. Luke"s Gospel owes these and many similar touches of deep true sympathy to the great loving heart of the real author of the third Gospel, Paul.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv41, 43, 49 And, behold, there came a man named Jairus--
Luk_8:41-42
And, behold, there came a man named Jairus--
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Christ and the ruler
And behold there came one of the rulers unto Him.
This shows us the helplessness of the greatest men. The Word ruler indicates position, influence, power, personal supremacy of one kind or another. And yet here is a ruler coming to Jesus Christ for help. There is a point at which all human might becomes utter weakness. We should have said if any man can do without Christ it will be the man who bears the position and sustains the name of ruler. What is our rulership but a mockery in all the great crises and trying passions and terrible combinations of life? A very pretty thing for convenience sake, useful in a social point of view; but when life is driven to extremity, our rulership is nothing better to us than a nominal honour, and sometimes nothing more than a taunting mockery. Know this, then, that there is no title, no position, no supremacy that can cut you off from the fountain of life and make you independent of Emanuel, Son of God. And said unto Him, My daughter lieth at the point of death--showing us the helplessness of the kindest men. The man before us was not only a ruler, but a father; yet ruler and father were found at the feet of Christ. Kindness will do more than mere power. A father will always do more than a ruler. The ruler will work by law, by stipulations, by technical covenants, he will consult the letter of the regulations, and he will abide by the bond. But the father will interpret by his heart; he will avail himself of all the suggestions of love; he cannot be bound by the narrowness and limitations of the letter; he does not work by the clock, he works by his heart. Yet the father, the kindest man, came, as well as the ruler, the greatest man. Office and nature, position and life, status and love, will one day have to come to Jesus Christ to make out their petitions and to urge their cases--for even the deepest, grandest, royalest heart feels that it wants something beyond itself, and that something it can only find in Emanuel, Son of God. And it is often not until the ruler and the father have exhausted themselves that they will come to Christ. This ruler was never so truly a ruler as when he fell on his knees and besought Christ to help him. There is an abasement that is exaltation. There is a humility that is the guarantee of the surest independence: (J. Parker, D. D.)
The faith of Jairus
If Jairus had not been quite sure that Jesus could save her, could he have left his daughter in the very article of death to seek Him out? We may be sure that nothing short of an absolute conviction of Christs power to heal and save would have drawn Jairus from his daughters room. His faith had its reward. No sooner had he uttered his prayer than Jesus set out with him. But as they went, Jesus paused. Favoured by the darkness and by the throng which opened and closed about Him, a woman having an issue of blood, &c. (Luk_8:43), came behind Him, and laid her wasted hand on the hem of His garment with a touch that drew healing virtue out of Him. To Jairus, at least at first, this pause must have seemed an almost intolerable vexation. Every moment was precious. Even the apostles, long after this, thought there was hope for Lazarus so long as he was only sick, but none when once he was gone. We cannot suppose that the faith of Jairus was keener than that of Peter and James and John. To him, therefore, this check must have appeared well-nigh fatal to his hopes. The calmness of Jesus, His determination to probe the case to the bottom, to discover who it was that had touched Him, to compel the abashed culprit to tell the whole story of her disease and cure, to teach and comfort and assure her--all this must have been a sore trial to the fathers faith. Yet he is too generous, or too self-restrained, to utter a reproach, to urge haste. The delay had teaching for him and benediction. However he may have fretted at it, it brought him the very lesson and help he most needed. The healing of Veronica taught him that, though many throng and press on Jesus, the only touch that reaches Him is the touch of faith. When, too, he saw a woman healed who had been sick twelve years, that is, just as many years as his daughter had lived, must not that have enlarged his conception of the healing virtue of Jesus? must it not, by teaching him how great things faith can do, have strengthened and confirmed his faith. But as faith is the measure of the gift, as we receive just as much as we can take, this delay, by confirming and enlarging the rulers faith, made him capable of a larger blessing. As he passed on with Christ, after witnessing so great a miracle, he must, we think, have walked with a firmer step, and have lifted up his head with a more cheerful hope. It was necessary that he should be prepared for a great trial as well as for a great benediction. For his fears were verified. His daughter had died while they stopped to talk with the woman who bad laid a furtive hand on the Healers robe. And if by this time Jairus had not had a stronger faith than when he left home, he must have altogether lest faith. One other trial had still to be encountered. To hear of a death affects and awes the mind; but to stand in the presence of death, encompassed by all the signs of mourning and woe, bites more deeply, and rouses the emotions to greater vehemence. The child is not dead, said Jesus, but sleepeth. How could He say that the maiden was not dead? Simply because it was true. We are no more without life when we die than when we sleep. Whether Jairus understood our Lords saying or not, it is obvious that the mourners did not understand it. They laughed Him to scorn. Their scepticism assures us of the reality of the miracle. If they knew the maiden to be dead, we know that Jesus must be able to quicken the dead to life. (S. Cox, D. D.)
We are apt to look upon the healing of the woman with the issue of blood as an interruption of the history of the raising of the daughter of Jairus; as a separate and distinct incident altogether. But there is in reality the closest connection between the two events. They are brought together by all the evangelists, not only because they occurred at the same time and in the same association, but because they help to explain one another. The two miracles fit in a striking way into each other.
1. The beginning of the womans plague was coeval with the maidens birth.
2. Is not the character of Jairus brought out clearly into contrast with that of the woman? We see the stronger faith of the woman, content with the minimum of means, and the weaker and more irresolute faith of Jairus which needed personal recognition and the support of sympathizing words, which demanded that Jesus should visit his daughter, and could not compass the thought that He could heal at a distance, and restore when the vital spark had fled.
3. Jairus needed the discipline of the womans cure. It prepared him for the miracle that was to be wrought for himself. (H. Macmillan, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On vv43, 49 Luk_8:43. Issue of blood.—A disease which, in addition to…
CRITICAL NOTES
Luk_8:43. Issue of blood.—A disease which, in addition to its painful and weakening character, exposed her to the disagreeable restrictions imposed on those who were ceremonially unclean. Spent all her living, etc.—St. Mark says she “had suffered many things of many physicians, and was nothing better, but rather grew worse.” The somewhat trifling remark has been, made that St. Luke, as a physician, is more gentle in his reference to those of his profession who had attempted to cure the woman. There seems to be little ground for the statement.
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Luk_8:44. The border of His garment.—Perhaps the fringe or tassel of blue, worn in obedience to the law in Num_15:38-40.
Luk_8:45.—The hasty and almost impatient reply of Peter is very characteristic of him.
Luk_8:46. Virtue.—Rather, “power” (R.V.). I perceive that virtue, etc.—Rather, “I perceived that power had gone forth from Me.” This proves Christ’s knowledge of the circumstances at the very moment of the cure.
Luk_8:47. Before all the people.—Peculiar to St. Luke. It is a significant detail: she had sought a cure in secret, but is led to confess it openly.
Luk_8:48. Daughter.—This is the only occasion on which Christ is recorded to have addressed a woman in this way. The kindliness it expresses is specially appropriate to the circumstances of the case. Be of good comfort.—Omitted by the best MSS.; omitted in R.V.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Luk_8:43-48
Timid Faith rewarded and confirmed.—This incident is marked out among our Lord’s healings by these two peculiarities. It was a miracle within a miracle; and it was a cure obtained without a word spoken beforehand. Jesus is called to go on an errand of mercy, and finds another merciful work to do on the way. The power of Jesus not only flows out, but overflows and dispenses blessings by the way. The crumbs that fall from His table are better than the feasts of other masters. It was also a healing granted without any previous conversation. In this it was exceptional. He usually talked with the patient, or with those interested in the case, before He wrought the cure. The faith of this woman was so fearless, prompt, and resolute that without question or explanation, before a word had been spoken, she believes, resolves, acts. She has snatched the blessing, and is only not permitted to steal it. For He would not let her go until He had obtained a confession of her faith from her own lips. Thus, though the conversation was not held till the cure had been wrought, the exception confirmed the rule on which He acted, that, apart from faith, and the acknowledgment of faith, there would be no blessing. Two things in the narrative especially claim our attention: the woman’s confidence in Christ, and Christ’s action towards her.
I. The woman’s faith in the Saviour, its strength and its weakness.—She put herself in Jesus’ way on this eventful occasion, and thus proved the strength of her faith. She was filled with a belief that He was able to heal even her. She never seems to have doubted for a moment her right to take the cure if she could get it. Such a Saviour should not come within arm’s length of her, but she would stretch out her hand for the blessing. Though she should have to press her way through the crowd to reach Him, she would touch Him and be healed. No doubt there were defects in this faith. Its strength and weakness lay close together. It had the defect, so to say, of its quality. Its promptness may have owed something to the mechanical or material conception of the Healer’s power, as if it were some atmosphere that surrounded Him, or some magical influence that flowed even from His garments. The confidence she had in Jesus was typical in that it was strong and well-founded. That it was mixed with those other elements from which the Lord proceeds immediately to purify it may teach us a double lesson. It hints, on the one hand, how small a part of gospel truth may save the soul, if there be faith to receive and love to act upon it. The spiritual value of faith is not to be reckoned by the correctness of conception on which it rests. Yet, on the other hand, the trust which is well-founded and generous will meet with its reward in a rapid and progressive enlightenment through Christ’s word and Spirit.
II. The Saviour’s action towards the woman, its wisdom and tenderness.—The active faith of the sufferer, as it were, takes the blessing by storm, though from One who is always willing to bless. He was not, indeed, unconscious of the virtue He put forth, nor of the faith which received it. But to bring that faith into clearness and purity it was necessary to bring the subject herself into conscious and open relation to her Healer. Our Lord straightway turns round, and puts the question which amazed the disciples, and drew forth Peter’s characteristic remonstrance. Searching the crowd around, and hitherto behind Him, His gaze falls upon the woman. The thin and pinched features, the pallor of habitual ill-health, helped, perhaps, to single her out. But now there mingles in it the glow of instantaneous success, and the blush of womanly sensibility. She knew instantly that she was healed. She felt in that moment how far her sanguine boldness had carried her. She perceived, indeed, that nothing was hid from her Healer, but also that His mien was as gracious as His person was mighty. What look of His met hers we can imagine. A rare delight filled His countenance—a foretaste of the joy set before Him—at the signal proof of confidence given by this poor, lone woman. This sunshine of His face, added to the joy of her own success, gave her courage to tell Him, both “for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.” The avowal cost her not a little. She came “trembling” as she “fell down before Him,” and made her confession “before all the people.” But it was richly rewarded. With a kindly word of greeting, He clears her faith to her own mind, He confirms her cure as a permanent healing, and He claims to be Himself the knowing and willing author of it all. We can see why for His own sake, and for His works’ sake, Jesus had to make the cure public. But we are also to note how good it was for the subject of it herself. She did not mean perhaps “to filch the blessing.” Her failing leaned to virtue’s side. She deemed it not worth while to have Him stop for her, when He was in such urgency, and stand and speak the healing. One quiet touch would do all she needed. Had she been allowed to slip away without the public scene, she would have lost two things: the honour of confessing her faith, and of having her cure confirmed. Reserve was her fault, a wish to hide the cure; thus at once cheating her own self of comfort, and withholding from the Lord His due honour. He corrects that fault most gently and wisely. He does not insist upon publicity till the healing had taken place, thus making confession as easy as possible for her. The object of its publication then becomes apparent, viz. to show that the medium of the cure was faith, not physical contact, to confirm what she had already taken by His own pronounced bestowal of it, and to bring her out in grateful acknowledgment, both for His glory and her good.
There are Christians whose fault is reserve. They would be saved, as it were, by stealth. The Saviour will not have it so. True conversion is, no doubt, a secret transaction, very close and personal between the soul and Christ. But it cannot remain secret. The virtue which is gone out of Him is a savour which cannot be hid. A seen religion is not always real, but a real religion is always, seen. We cannot claim Christ for ours, but He will also declare His part in the blessed bond, and have us acknowledge that we are His. “To confess with the mouth” is an essential part of the salvation which comes by believing with the heart; indeed, it is the consummation of it. “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” This is the private justification of the man before God. “With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” This crowns the transaction. It is more than its mere publication—namely, its perfection. The salvation is neither comforting nor complete until it is openly acknowledged.—Laidlaw.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luk_8:40-56
Luk_8:40. “All waiting for Him.”
I. A sad father waiting.
II. A dead child waiting.
III. A sick woman waiting.—Watson.
Luk_8:41-44. Two Forms of Faith.
I. Jairus openly appeals to Jesus on his daughter’s behalf, but is secretly anxious: his faith, weaker than it appears, would have ebbed away but for the Saviour’s word of encouragement.
II. The woman is too timid to make her case known to Jesus, but for all that her faith is stronger than one would have judged it to be from outward appearances.
Luk_8:41-42. “Besought Him that He would come.”—Similarity between the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the raising of Lazarus. In both cases there is (l) delay in bringing help;
(2) the patient dies before Christ’s arrival;
(3) there is a mysterious promise of deliverance;
(4) death is spoken of as a sleep.
Luk_8:42. “She lay a-dying.”
I. There is nothing like trouble to drive people to Christ.—So long as things go on prosperously, many men do not ask favours of Him; but when great trial comes, He is the first to whom they turn. This is one of the most obvious uses of trouble.
II. The little daughter “lay a-dying.” This is a universal experience. The paths of earth run diversely, but they all reach this point at last. No one knows when he will come to it. Sometimes it is reached in early youth. Children should think of it, not sadly, and prepare for it, not regretfully.
III. The strongest men break down when their children are ill or in danger.—It is a touching sight to see this father falling at Christ’s feet. Stern, hard men often reveal tenderness in such times of trial. Behind such sternness and severity there is often a gentle, loving, affectionate heart.—Miller.
Luk_8:43. “Could not be healed of any.”—In like manner—
I. Sin is a disease of the soul.
II. When recognised, recourse is often had to inadequate means of cure.
III. No sinner, however inveterate his case may be, need despair of a cure if he will apply to Christ in faith.
Luk_8:44. Faith’s Approach to Christ.
I. Faith comes with a deep despair of all other help but Christ’s.
II. Faith has a Divine power to discover Christ.
III. Faith comes with an implicit trust in Christ.
IV. Faith seeks, for its comfort, close contact with Christ.
V. Faith, with all its imperfections, is accepted by Christ.
VI. Faith feels a change from the touch of Christ.—Ker.
The Power of Feeble Faith.
I. Very imperfect faith may be genuine faith.
II. Christ answers the imperfect faith.
III. Christ corrects and confirms an imperfect faith by the very act of answering it.—Maclaren.
Faith mingled with superstition.—This is a most encouraging miracle for us to recollect, when we are disposed to think despondingly of the ignorance or superstition of many who are nominally Christian: that He who accepted this woman for her faith, even in error and weakness, may also accept them. Superstition tinged her thoughts, but her feelings were ardent and pleasing to the Lord: the head may have been affected by vain imaginations, but the heart was sound.
Luk_8:45. “Who touched Me?”—The fact that many thronged about Christ, and only one, by reason of her faith, was healed by touching Him, is highly significant. Many in our day are in close contact with the Saviour, in worship, in reading the word of God, and in celebrating the sacraments, who are not healed by Him for want of the faith which this sufferer manifested.
Luk_8:46. “Virtue is gone out of Me.”—The poor woman had approached His sacred garments as men are said to touch relics, with a blind faith in their mysterious virtue and efficacy. Even thus she obtained a blessing, for it was faith. But Christ would not so be touched. He will have us know that the fountain of grace is the living God, who beholdeth all things in heaven and earth, and who claims of His rational creatures a reasonable worship.—Burgon.
Luk_8:47. “She came trembling.”—This woman would have borne away a maimed blessing, hardly a blessing at all, had she been suffered to bear it away in secret and unacknowledged, and without being brought into any personal communion with her Healer. She hoped to remain in concealment out of shame, which, however natural, was untimely in this the crisis of her spiritual life. But this hope of hers is graciously defeated. Her heavenly Healer draws her from the concealment she would have chosen; but even here, so far as possible, He spares her; for not before, but after she is healed, does He require the open confession from her lips. She might have found it perhaps altogether too hard had He demanded this of her before. But waiting till the cure is accomplished, He helps her through the narrow way. Altogether spare her this painful passage He could not, for it pertained to her birth into the new life.—Trench.
The Necessity for Open Acknowledgment.—It was necessary that this hidden act of faith should come to light in order that
(1) Christ might receive the glory due Him;
(2) the suppliant might be delivered from the false shame which would have hindered her openly acknowledging the benefit she had received; and
(3) others be led to faith in Christ.
Doubts and Fears.—In this case the cure came first—a cure wrought by Christ without a word or sign. She knew that what had been done in her was a result of her own act, without permission from Jesus, and she could scarcely hope that the faith which suggested it would be accepted as genuine; hence the terror and trembling, the sudden prostration and the full confession.
Confessing associated with Believing.—The apostle Paul lays equal stress upon the necessity of confessing with the mouth and of believing in the heart (Rom_10:9): “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Luk_8:48. “Thy faith.”—Jesus wishes her fully to understand that it is not the contact of her hand with the border of His garment that has, as she expected, wrought the cure, but her faith. The idea of a physical and almost magical operation is dispelled, and the moral significance of the miracle is brought into view.
“Go in peace.”—If we keep in mind how her uncleanness separated her off as one impure, we shall have here an exact picture of the sinner drawing nigh to the throne of grace, but out of the sense of his impurity not “with boldness,” rather with fear and trembling, hardly knowing what there he shall expect; but who is welcomed there, and all his carnal doubtings and questionings at once chidden and expelled, dismissed with the word of an abiding peace resting upon him.—Trench.
Luk_8:49. “Trouble not the Master.”—The words are kindly, and even indicate a measure of faith. “Had He arrived while she was still in life, He might have saved her; but now she is beyond the reach even of His help.”
“Trouble not the Master.”—The word σκύλλω is closely represented by our word “worry.” Its primary application is to sheep, or other tame animals, hunted and torn by dogs or other natural enemies. It is used in this sense in Mat_9:36, and is translated in the R.V. by “distressed.” But in ordinary colloquial use it came to mean no more than “tease” or “trouble.”
The Dead Daughter.
I. Jesus is never in a hurry.—It seemed as if there was not a moment to lose. Why did Jesus not hasten? Why did He stop to heal the woman? Because He is never so much engrossed in one case of need that He cannot stop to give attention to another. He is never so pressed for time that we have to wait our turn. No matter what He is doing, He will instantly and always hear our cry of need.
II. Jesus never waits too long or comes too late.—It seemed as if He had tarried too long this time; but when we see how it all came out, we are sure that He made no mistake. True, the child died while He lingered; but this only gave Him opportunity for a greater miracle. He waited that He might do a more glorious work. There is always some good reason when Christ delays to answer our prayers or come to our help. He waits that He may do far more for us in the end. Even in answering our prayers it is best to let our Lord have His own way as to when and how to come to our help.—Miller.
Luk_8:50. “Fear not.”—The cheering word doubtless was the more encouraging to Jairus, spoken as it was so soon after the miracle which he had witnessed.
Luk_8:51. “Peter, and James, and John.”—Christ took with Him only those disciples who had hearts most open to receive the fulness of His grace; and it is interesting to notice that Peter long afterwards in Joppa, in performing a similar miracle, imitated exactly the method followed by Jesus in the house of Jairus (Act_9:40).
Luk_8:52. “She is not dead, but sleepeth.”—She did but sleep till He who is the resurrection and the life came to waken her. In accordance with our Lord’s teaching here the apostolic and later Church has instinctively substituted “sleep” for “death,” in speaking of the believer’s removal from this world (see Act_7:60; 1Th_4:14).
Luk_8:54. “Put them all forth.”—
1.Their presence was not needed—they were mourners for the dead, and Christ was about to awaken the damsel from the sleep of death.
2. Their boisterous grief was incongruous with the solemnity of the occasion.
3. Their scornful laughter at His saying rendered them unworthy to witness the deed of power.
“Took her by the hand.”—Our Lord adapted His manner of working miracles to the circumstances of the occasions. He called the four-days dead Lazarus from the grave with a loud voice (Joh_11:43); but of this youthful maiden it is said that He took her by the hand and called her, “Damsel, arise,” and woke her gently from the sleep of death.—Wordsworth.
“Maid, arise.”—One of the Fathers remarks that if Christ had not named the child all the dead would have arisen at His word.
Luk_8:55. “To give her meat.”—An indication of an affectionate care which, even in the midst of the greatest things, forgets not the least, and which would provide for the necessity of the exhausted child on her return to life—Stier.
“Give her meat.”—Perhaps, too, partaking of food was to be a sign of actual restoration to bodily life, as when Christ Himself after His resurrection said, “Have ye here any meat?” (chap. Luk_24:41).
Luk_8:56. “Tell no man.”—The reason for the prohibition was doubtless to avoid a notoriety, which might excite the people and give occasion for tumultuous proceedings. The disciples would, of course, obey; but the parents could scarcely conceal their feelings of gratitude.—Speaker’s Commentary.
Silence enjoined.—Observe the different courses followed by Christ in these two cases: she who sought healing by stealth was constrained to confess openly the boon she had obtained; he who publicly appealed for the healing of his daughter is enjoined to be silent about the miracle.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
William B. Godbey 1900 · Public Domain On vv41, 43 Mat 9:18-26; Mar 5:23-43; & Luk 8:41-56. Mark: “And,…
RESURRECTION OF JAIRUS’S DAUGHTER
Mat 9:18-26; Mar 5:23-43; & Luk 8:41-56. Mark: “And, behold, one of the chief rulers of the synagogue, by name Jairus, comes; and seeing Him, falls at His feet, and entreats Him much, saying, My little daughter is now at the point of death; having come, lay Your hands on her, in order that she may be saved, and shall live. And He went away with him, and a great multitude follows Him, even treading on Him. And He, still speaking, they come from the chief ruler of the synagogue, saying, Thy daughter is dead; why do you still trouble the Teacher? And Jesus, immediately hearing the word spoken, says to the chief ruler of the synagogue, Fear not; only believe. And He comes to the house of the chief ruler, and did not admit any one to follow Him, except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, and He sees the uproar, the people weeping and wailing much. And coming in, He says to them, Why do you mourn and weep? The little child is not dead, but sleepeth. And they hooted at Him. And putting all out, He takes the father and mother of the little child, and those who are with Him, and goes in where the little child was lying. And taking the hand of the little child, says to her, Talitha cumi, which is interpreted, Little girl, I say unto thee, Arise. And immediately the little girl stood up, and began to walk round; for she was twelve years old. And they were delighted with great delight. And He commanded them much that no one should know it; and He said that something should be given to her to eat.” There at Capernaum, His resident city, the home of Peter, Andrew, James, John, and Matthew, and the scene of more miracles than any other city in the world — thither the multitudes from all nations have come, bringing their sick, and laying them down at His feet, unutterably delighted to see the blind receive their sight; the deaf gloriously healed; the poor cripples, throwing away their crutches, and leaping exultantly; the paralyzed, lunatics, maniacs, demoniacs, and all sorts of epileptics, wonderfully and triumphantly healed, causing the surrounding mountains to echo and reverberate their stentorian shouts. Now He adds to the voluminous catalogue of these stupendous miracles the climax of all; i.e., the resurrection of the dead. Luke says that she was his only daughter, a lovely damsel of twelve years. We see He takes none with Him into the presence of the corpse except the father and mother, and Peter, James, and John. These three apostles, enjoying a deeper insight into spiritual things than the other nine, are not only thus honored on this notable occasion, but we find them His only concomitants on the Mount of Transfiguration, and also receiving His especial attention and confidence amid the agonies of Gethsemane. The Jews were accustomed to mourn for the dead seven days. In this mourning they blew on the pipe, producing a loud, shrill, solemn sound, which commingled with the bitter wailings of the mourners. The people in that country this day practice that same excessive weeping and mourning over the dead. E.V., “Laughed Him to scorn,” is not a good translation, as there was no laughing there. The idea is, they “hooted at Him,” thus ridiculing His assertion, “She is not dead, but sleepeth.” You will find the New Testament discarding that grievous word “death,” and substituting the mild and hygienical term “sleep.” This is in harmony with the great plan of salvation, which includes the body and mind, as well as the soul, contemplating complete and glorious restitution, recognizing the body immortal as the soul, which is certainly true, if we take in the resurrection.
William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On vv43, 50 Luk 8:43 - Luk 8:48.
Luke
A MIRACLE WITHIN A MIRACLE
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Luk 8:43 - Luk 8:48.
The story of Jairus’s daughter is, as it were, cut in two by that of the poor invalid woman. What an impression of calm consciousness of power and of leisurely dignity is made by Christ’s having time to pause, even on His way to a dying sufferer, in order to heal, as if parenthetically, this other afflicted one! How Jairus must have chafed at the delay! He had left his child ‘at the point of death’ and here was the Healer loitering, as it must have seemed to a father’s agony of impatience.
But Jesus, with His infinite calm and as infinite power, can afford to let the one wait and even die, while He tends the other. The child shall receive no harm, and her sister in sorrow has as great a claim on Him as she. He has leisure of heart to feel for each, and power for both. We do not rob one another of His gifts. Attending to one, He does not neglect another.
This miracle illustrates the genuineness and power of feeble and erroneous faith, and Christ’s merciful way of strengthening and upholding it. The woman, a poor, shrinking creature, has been made more timid by long illness, disappointed hopes of cure, and by poverty. She does not venture to stop Jesus, as He goes with an important official of the synagogue to heal his daughter, but creeps up in the crowd behind Him, puts out a wasted, trembling hand to touch the tasselled fringe of His robe-and she is whole.
She would fain have glided away with a stolen cure, but Jesus forced her to stand out before the throng, and with all their eyes on her, to conquer diffidence and womanly reticence, and tell all the truth. Strange contrast, this, to His usual avoidance of notoriety and regard for shrinking weakness! But it was true kindness, for it was the discipline by which her imperfect faith was cleared and confirmed.
It is easy to point out the imperfections in this woman’s faith. It was very ignorant. She was sure that this Rabbi would heal her, but she expected it to be done by the material contact of her finger with His robe. She had no idea that Christ’s will, much less His love, had anything to do with His cures. She thinks that she may carry away the blessing, and He be none the wiser. It is easy to say, What blank ignorance of Christ’s way of working! what grossly superstitious notions! Yes, and with them all what a hunger of intense desire to be whole, and what absolute confidence that a finger-tip on His robe was enough!
Her faith was very imperfect, but the main fact is that she had it. Let us be thankful for a living proof of the genuineness of ignorant and even of superstitious faith. There are many now who fall with less excuse into a like error with this woman’s, by attaching undue importance to externals, and thinking more of the hem of the garment and its touch by a finger than of the heart of the wearer and the grasp of faith. But while we avoid such errors, let us not forget that many a poor worshipper clasping a crucifix may be clinging to the Saviour, and that Christ does accept faith which is tied to outward forms, as He did this woman’s.
There was no real connection between the touch of her finger and her healing, but she thought that there was, and Christ stoops to her childish thought, and lets her make the path for His gift. ‘According to thy faith be it unto thee’: His mercy, like water, takes the shape of the containing vessel.
The last part of the miracle, when the cured woman is made the bold confessor, is all shaped so as to correct and confirm her imperfect faith. We note this purpose in every part of it. She had thought of the healing energy as independent of His knowledge and will. Therefore she is taught that He was aware of the mute appeal, and of the going out of power in answer to it. The question, ‘Who touched me?’ has been regarded as a proof that Jesus was ignorant of the person; but if we keep the woman’s character and the nature of her disease in view, we can suppose it asked, not to obtain information, but to lead to acknowledgment, and that without ascribing to Him in asking it any feigning of ignorance.
The contrast between the pressure of the crowd and the touch of faith has often been insisted on, and carries a great lesson. The unmannerly crowd hustled each other, trod on His skirts, and elbowed their way to gape at Him, and He took no heed. But His heart detected the touch, unlike all the rest, and went out with healing power towards her who touched. We may be sure that, though a universe waits before Him, and the close-ranked hosts of heaven stand round His throne, we can reach our hands through them all, and get the gifts we need.
She had shrunk from publicity, most naturally. But if she had stolen away, she would have lost the joy of confession and greater blessings than the cure. So He mercifully obliges her to stand forth. In a moment she is changed from a timid invalid to a confessor. A secret faith is like a plant growing in the dark, the stem of which is blanched and weak, and its few blossoms pale and never matured. ‘With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.’
Christ’s last word to her is tender. He calls her ‘Daughter’-the only woman whom He addressed by such a name. He teaches her that her faith, not her finger, had been the medium through which His healing power had reached her. He confirms by His authoritative word the furtive blessing: ‘Be whole of thy plague.’ And she goes, having found more than she sought, and felt a loving heart where she had only seen a magic-working robe.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On v41 J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LVIII. Jairus' Daughter,…
J. W. McGarvey's The Fourfold Gospel [LVIII. Jairus' Daughter, Etc.].
LVIII. JAIRUS' DAUGHTER AND THE INVALID WOMAN. (Capernaum, same day as last.) aMATT. IX. 18-26; bMARK V. 22-43; cLUKE VIII. 41-56.
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c41 And a18 While he spake these things unto them [while he talked about fasting at Matthew's table], behold, there came, { bcometh ca man named Jairus, bJairus by name; cand he was a ruler bone of the rulers of the synagogue [He was one of the board of elders which governed the synagogue at Capernaum. These elders were not necessarily old men-- Mat_19:16-22, Luk_18:18-23], and seeing him, che fell bfalleth cdown at Jesus' feet, aand worshipped him [It was a very lowly act for the ruler of a synagogue thus to bow before the Man of Nazareth. But the ruler was in trouble, and his needs were stronger than his pride], cand besought him to come into his house; 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. b23 and beseecheth him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death: ais even now dead [he left her dying, [352] and so stated his fears in the very strongest way]: but bI pray thee, that thou come and lay thy hands on ahand upon her, bthat she may be made whole, and live. aand she shall live. 19 And Jesus arose [From Matthew's table. Jesus did not fast for form's sake, but he was ever ready to leave a feast that he might confer a favor], and followed him, and i so did his disciples. b24 And he went him; and a great multitude followed him [The ruler, of highest social rank in the city, found Jesus among the lowliest, and they were naturally curious to see what Jesus would do for this grandee], and they { cBut as he went the multitudes thronged him. a20 And, behold, a woman, who had chaving an issue of blood twelve years, b26 and had suffered many things of many physicians, and cwho had spent ball that she had, call her living upon physicians, band was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, cand could not be healed of any [Medicine was not a science in that day. Diseases were not cured by medicine, but were exorcised by charms. The physician of Galilee in that age did not differ very widely from the medicine-man of the North American Indians. One in easy circumstances could readily spend all during twelve years of doctoring with such leeches.] b27 having heard the things concerning Jesus [her faith rested on hearing rather than on sight], came in the crowd behind, chim, and touched the border of his garment: a21 for she said within herself, If I do but touch his garment, bgarments, I shall be made whole. [The nature of her disease made her unclean ( Lev_15:26). Her consciousness of this made her, therefore, timidly approach Jesus from behind.] 29 And straightway { cimmediately bthe fountain of her blood was dried up; cthe issue of her blood stanched. band she felt in her body that she was healed of her plague. [The feeble pulse of sickness gave way to the glow and thrill of health.] 30 And straightway Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power i proceeding from him had gone forth, turned him about in the [353] crowd, and said, Who touched my garments? cWho is it that touched me? And when all denied, Peter and they bhis disciples cthat were with him, bsaid unto him, cMaster, the multitude press thee and crush thee, bThou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? c46 But Jesus said, Some one did touch me: for I perceived that power had gone forth from me. b32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. c47 And b33 But cwhen the woman saw that she was not hid, she came bfearing and trembling [because being unclean, any rabbi would have rebuked her severely for touching him], knowing what had been done to her, came and fell { cfalling down before him band told him all the truth. cdeclared in the presence of all the people for what cause she touched him, and how she was healed immediately. [To have permitted the woman to depart without this exposure would have confirmed her in the mistaken notion that Jesus healed rather by his nature than by his will. Hence he questions her, not that he may obtain information, but rather as a means of imparting it. By his questions he reveals to her that no work of his is wrought without his consciousness, and that it was himself and not his garment which had blessed her.] a22 But Jesus turning and seeing her said, cunto her, aDaughter, be of good cheer [Faith gets a sweet welcome]; thy faith hath made thee whole. cgo in peace. band be whole of thy plague. [Be permanently whole: an assurance that relief was not temporal, but final.] aAnd the woman was made whole from that hour. [Faith healed her by causing her to so act as to obtain healing. Faith thus saves; not of itself, but by that which it causes us to do. It causes us to so run that we obtain.] b35 While he yet spake, they come from cthere cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying, Thy daughter is dead: bwhy troublest thou the Teacher any further? ctrouble not the Teacher. [The delay caused by healing this woman must have sorely tried the ruler's patience, and the sad [354] news which followed it must have severely tested his faith; but we hear no word of murmuring or bitterness from him.] 50 But Jesus hearing it, bnot heeding the words spoken [not succumbing to the situation], canswered him, bsaith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Fear not, only believe. cand she shall be made whole. [Thus, with words of confidence and cheer, Jesus revived the ruler's failing faith.] b37 And he suffered no man to follow with him [into the house with him], save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. [These three were honored above their fellows by special privileges on several occasions, because their natures better fitted them to understand the work of Christ.] c51 And when he came to the house, he suffered not any man to enter in with him, save Peter and John, and James, and the father of the maiden and her mother. b38 And they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; a23 And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, bhe beholdeth a tumult, and many weeping and wailing greatly. aand saw the flute-players, and the crowd making a tumult, 24 he said, Give place [Mourning began at the moment of death, and continued without intermission until the burial, which usually took place on the day of the death. Even to this day Oriental funerals are characterized by noisy uproar and frantic demonstrations of sorrow, made by real and hired mourners. Flute-players, then as now, mingle the plaintive strains of their instruments with the piercing cries of those females who made mourning a profession]: c52 And all were weeping, and bewailing her: but he said, bsaith unto them, Why make ye a tumult, and weep? cWeep not; she bthe child athe damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. [Jesus used this figurative language with regard to Lazarus, and explained by this he meant death-- Joh_11:14.] And they laughed him to scorn. cknowing that she was dead. [His words formed a criticism as to their judgment and experience as to death, and threatened to interrupt them in earning their funeral [355] dues.] a25 But when the crowd was put forth, bhe, having put them all forth [because their tumult was unsuited to the solemnity and sublimity of a resurrection. They were in the outer room--not in the room where the dead child lay], taketh the father of the child and her mother and them [the three] that were with him, and goeth in { ahe entered in, bwhere the child was. [Jesus took with him five witnesses, because in the small space of the room few could see distinctly what happened, and those not seeing distinctly might circulate inaccurate reports and confused statements as to what occurred. Besides, Jesus worked his miracles as privately as possible in order to suppress undue excitement.] aand took btaking the child cher by the hand, called, saying, bsaith unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, cMaiden, bI say unto thee, Arise. [Mark gives the Aramaic words which Jesus used. They were the simple words with which anyone would awaken a child in the morning.] c55 And her spirit returned b42 And straightway the damsel rose up, aarose. cshe rose up immediately: band walked [her restoration was complete]; for she was twelve years old. cand he commanded that something bshould be given her to eat. [Her frame, emaciated by sickness, was to be invigorated by natural means.] c56 And her parents were amazed: bthey were amazed straightway with a great amazement. [Faith in God's great promise is seldom so strong that fulfillment fails to waken astonishment.] 43 And { cbut bhe charged them much cto tell no man what had been done. bthat no man should know this [A command given to keep down popular excitement. Moreover, Jesus did not wish to be importuned to raise the dead. He never was so importuned]: a26 And the fame hereof went forth into all that land.
[FFG 352-356]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv43, 49 The sick woman:
The sick woman:
v. 43. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any,
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v. 44. came behind Him, and touched the border of His garment; and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
v. 45. And Jesus said, Who touched Me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng Thee and press Thee, and sayest Thou, Who touched Me?
v. 46. And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched Me; for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me
v. 47. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.
v. 48. And He said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.
This thronging of the crowd, which Luke emphasizes so strongly, was taken advantage of by a certain woman. She had been in the sickness of a flux of blood, surrounded by this misery, for the space of twelve years. This issue rendered her Levitically unclean, Lev 15:25-30, and deprived her of many of the rights and privileges of the other members of the congregation. She had made every effort to be cured, to the extent of giving up to the doctors, expending upon physicians, all her living, all her means. And yet, as even Luke the physician writes, she could not be healed of any of them. A true picture of human misery and helplessness! This woman, coming from behind in the crowd, touched the hem or tassel of Christ’s mantle, which He wore according to Jewish custom. This was not an act of superstition, but of faith. Her humility and sensitiveness merely kept her from making her condition public. And her faith was rewarded: at once the flow of blood was stopped, the healing was complete. Jesus, who, of course, was perfectly aware of the entire incident, determined to test the woman. Turning around, He asked who had touched Him. The remark was addressed chiefly to the disciples, and they, and the others near them, denied any willful jolting. And, upon second thought, Peter, acting as spokesman for the rest, reminded the Lord that He was hemmed in and squeezed by the crowds on all sides, therefore the question seemed strange. But Jesus, with His object in mind, insisted that someone had deliberately and intentionally touched Him. Then the woman saw that her secret was no secret before Christ, and therefore she came and confessed the entire matter fully. And with happy heart she dwelt upon the fact of her having been cured at once, when the virtue had gone out from Him, as He had said, when the divine, miraculous power was given by Jesus as a reward of her faith. Hereupon Jesus, ever kind and sympathetic, gave her the further assurance that her faith had brought her the priceless boon of health. He takes great pleasure in commending again and again the qualities of faith, by which it is able to do such great things. Her health was a reward of grace for the firmness of her trust. She should not fear or be uneasy in her mind over the incident, but go to her home in peace. Note: Such faith is needed in the Church and in its individual members even today; there is too much stereotyped sameness in the lives of the church-members in merely moving along a broad Christian way. Victories of faith are not so frequent in our days because the conquering faith is absent.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv43, 45, 47, 49, 51, 54 a woman was there
a woman was there
This introduces a new character in the story. (See: Introduction of New and Old Participants)
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had been bleeding
"had a flow of blood." She was probably bleeding from her womb even when it was not the normal time for it. Some cultures may have a polite way of referring to this condition. (See: Euphemism)
and could not be healed by anyone
This can be stated in active form. AT: "but no one could heal her" (See: Active or Passive)
touched the edge of his coat
"touched the fringe of his robe." Jewish men wore tassels on the edges of their robes as a part of their ceremonial dress as commanded in God's Law. This is likely what she touched.
translationWords
cure
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv41, 43, 44, 45, 48, 51, 52, 55, 56 8:41 The leader of the local synagogue was the…
8:41 The leader of the local synagogue was the officer who maintained the local synagogue and organized services (see also 8:49; 13:14; Acts 13:15; 18:8, 17).
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.