The crowds were waiting when he arrived at the shore. They had all been hoping he would return. Jesus had not much more than stepped off the boat when a man came running up to him. Jesus could see the panic in this man’s eyes. He could hear the fear and a hint of hopelessness in his voice as he told Jesus that his only daughter, his precious twelve-year old little girl was at death’s door. Jairus had heard of Jesus. He had not just heard of Jesus, as the ruler of the synagogue responsible for Sabbath services, he had actually seen and heard Jesus. He may not have been completely sure of what to make of this new rabbi, but he knew that this Nazarene was his only hope. He was relieved when Jesus agreed to go with him.

The crowds were pressing in on them. It was difficult to move quickly. Jairus may have been shouting as he tried to make a path, “Pardon me! Excuse me! We need to get through! Don’t you understand, she doesn’t have much time left!” Then, as quickly as they had started, Jesus stopped and looked around. He scanned the crowd and asked, “Who touched me?” One of his disciples asked the question that Jairus must have been thinking. Who touched you? Are you kidding me!?!? They had been bumping in to people every step of the way. What do you mean who touched you? The question didn’t even seem to register with Jesus. He was aware of her presence, even if she was unnoticed by everyone else. He just kept looking around. It appeared that he wasn’t going to take another step until he received an answer to his question. After what seemed like an eternity, she made her way to Jesus. He could see the fear and the panic in her eyes. What would the crowd think? What would Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, think? She had delayed Jesus from going to heal this man’s daughter. She was fearful of what Jesus might say to her, after all she had been unclean and now because she had touched him, so was he. All she could do was fall at his feet and tell the whole story. She had been bleeding for twelve long years. She had desperately searched for a cure. She wanted to be a part of the community. She longed to be able to go again to the synagogue. She had lived with this for so long, searched so long, spent all that she had, seen everyone she could to help. Jesus was her only hope. She knew that if she just touched his clothes she could be healed. She was right! It had happened! But what now? What would he say? Jesus looks at her and says, “Daughter, your faith has saved you (made you well ESV); go in peace.”

We can imagine the amazement in that crowd. There were people there that knew this lady. They had probably had her on the prayer list for a long, long time. Now, they don’t just hear about her health improving, they witness her complete healing. Her belief that Jesus was where healing can be found paid off!

Not everyone, however, would be so excited. Even after witnessing this miracle, Jairus still has a daughter that is about to die. Strike that. He had a daughter. Someone came while Jesus was addressing the woman that he had just healed to tell Jairus the bad news. “Don’t trouble the teacher in any more; your daughter is dead.” What?! Why!? If he had not stopped to find out who touched him…. if he had just gone on to the house instead of wasting time… the woman would have still been healed. He could have gone back and found her later, or not. She still would have been ok and Jairus’s daughter would still be alive. He can feel the resentment start to build; first for the woman, then for Jesus. The woman had been suffering with this for 12 years, surely another day would not have been that much to ask. Jesus would be accessible later for her. Jesus could have pressed on to the most important thing. Surely, death is more important than just an illness. Surely the life of a young 12-year old daughter has more potential than that of this grown woman. Why didn’t Jesus come when he asked? Now, Jairus hears the voice of Jesus, “Do not fear; only believe and she will be saved (be well).”

The remaining steps to the house were ones full of varied emotions. She’s gone! News like that doesn’t come to a father unless they were certain. But this strange rabbi that seemed to notice a single touch from an anonymous lady in the middle of a huge crowd of people simply said, “just believe” and all will be made right. Jairus had just witnessed a miracle of healing, but this isn’t just a disease. This is death. Could there be any hope? We shouldn’t have waited. We shouldn’t even have thought that something could be done. Our hopes were raised, just to have them dashed again. He may not have wanted to go into that room where his daughter lay dead. But he had to go. This little bit of hope was all he had left. As the six of them stood around the apparent lifeless body of his only child, he may have prayed. “God, I want to believe. I want to believe that you are real. I want to believe that you are the giver of life and that you are working through this man, Jesus of Nazareth.” He sobs as he watches Jesus take her hand. He hopes with all he has as he hears him say, “Child, arise.” She does! She’s back! Jesus tells them to keep this quiet, but how; how could they; how can we be silent in the face of this miracle.

The focus of this narrative is on two very different people. One that has been marginalized by an illness. According to the Law of Moses a woman in this state would be unclean. Her clothing would be unclean. Any furniture on which she would sit would be unclean. She was to keep her distance from everyone so as not to contaminate them. The other is one who is integral to the life of the Jewish community there. He was the synagogue ruler. He was one responsible for making sure everything was in its place. He was responsible for synagogue worship going smoothly and correctly. She was powerless and helpless. He was one who had some authority and prominence.

Both of them are brought together and their stories intertwine because they recognized that Jesus was their only hope. She had tried everything. She had seen physicians. She had spent everything she had…. used all her own resources…but could not take care of her issue. He, even though he had some authority, some semblance of control in certain areas, realized that when it came to life and death, he was powerless to change the outcome.

We realize that intellectually, don’t we. We know there are some things that are within our control and others that are not. Understanding the difference is incredibly important in navigating life and remaining sane while doing it. We try to exert our influence over events. We try and manage things as best we can. We want some sort of control so that we can have security. We, like these two people – this unnamed woman and Jairus – need to realize that our only hope, the only way to healing and a future, is Jesus. He is the only one with the power to save us from sin and death. That’s the language that he uses by the way. He says to that woman falling at his feet, “Your faith has saved you.” Most of our English translations say that her faith “made her well” but the word in the original language is one of salvation, not just healing. To Jairus he says, “only believe and she will be saved.”

Our resources, our influence, our own abilities are incapable of saving us. Only Jesus saves.

So, knowing this, why are we often reluctant to run to him? I think the answer is found by looking at these two very different people. The woman seemingly wants to go unnoticed. She knows she has a problem. She knows she can’t deal with it on her own; she’s already tried and failed. She knows Jesus is the only chance she has, but it appears that she doesn’t want to have to admit her need openly and publicly. Maybe she is afraid of how he will react. Maybe she is nervous and scared that he will reject her if he realizes just how unclean she is. Maybe we are embarrassed by what we have done. Maybe we are afraid of how others will look at us, react to us, deal with us, exclude us, try to distance themselves from us. Maybe we have been convinced that Jesus wouldn’t want anything to do with anyone with a past like ours. Surely, the Holy One, God in the flesh would want to be as far away from our filthiness as he can get. What we learn is that Jesus is very aware of our condition. He is very aware of how we have become defiled, and unclean. We can be certain that he knows all about us and loves us anyway. He didn’t shun us; he welcomed us. He didn’t remain distant; the became one of us and walked among us. He didn’t abandon us; he died for us.

It impresses me that Jairus presses on toward his home with Jesus after the news of his daughter’s death. It is one thing to run to Jesus for healing, but can he do anything about this, now? Others knew that she was gone. Was he really going to go ahead with this? People laughed when Jesus said, “she is just sleeping.” What would they think if Jairus continued to follow Jesus’s instructions? There’s no doubt that he had heard the stories of God’s prophets raising people from the dead in the Old Testament. Could that happen again? Did he really believe that he would ever see such a thing?

Do we believe that Jesus can deal with our issues? Are we afraid that he may let us down? Are we concerned that what we ask seems impossible for him to do? Jesus does not disappoint. We find that in each of these cases, their trust in Jesus was rewarded, despite what others might think. They acted on what they knew to be true.

Timing is another element in these miracle narratives. After waiting 12 long years, this woman takes a chance. She realizes that if she just touches his garment she can be healed. Maybe she assumes that as Jesus is making his way to heal Jairus’s daughter he doesn’t have time to slow down. She desperately wants the healing but is he too busy. Comparatively speaking her problem seems minor as compared to what Jairus needs. She has waited twelve years; surely, she could wait a little longer. But who knows when she will have this opportunity again? She learns that Jesus is not too busy to deal with her needs. I wonder if we sometimes have that view of Jesus. There are issues in our lives, our relationships, our families, but we may think that Jesus has bigger and more important things with which to deal. These issues have been going on for a while; surely, they can keep a little longer. We see that Jesus is just as concerned with her issue as he is with Jairus’s daughter. I don’t think we will ever find Jesus too busy to care about what we go through. It is amazing to me to find that what is important to us, what is bothering and troubling us, is also important to Jesus. He is not unapproachable. He is not cold or distant. He is not unfeeling. He loves his creation. He wants so much for us. Does he care when we are stressed about work? Does he care when we are stressed about school? About our future? About our children? About our relationships? Does he care when we have tried everything and failed? Does it hurt him, is he moved, as he watches us struggle as we try and navigate life here in a broken and fallen world? Absolutely he cares. He came that we may have life and have it abundantly. His entire ministry – his life which he freely gave demonstrate his great care for us.

But, like Jairus we may wonder why he sometimes delays in his response. We can commiserate. We’ve had those moments. We have asked. We have begged. Why didn’t Jesus come when we ask? We aren’t the only ones who have asked that question. Mary and Martha in John 11, “I you had only been here, our brother would not have died!” If you had only been here, Jesus, we wouldn’t have experienced that loss; our spouse would still be here; we wouldn’t have had to go through that awful experience; the business would have survived; we wouldn’t have had to suffer with that illness. What Jairus learned, what we still struggle to learn, what some of us have experienced is that we can be certain that his timing is always right. It may not look that way to us, but we can trust him to do the right thing at the right time.

This narrative from Luke 8:40-56 is found in a larger context beginning with Jesus calming the storm. We see that in every storm, every situation in which we find ourselves, Jesus is able to rescue. He saved the disciples in the boat that night. He cast out legions of demons from the man from the Gerasenes. He healed this woman who had suffered for 12 years from a terrible affliction. And not even death can defeat him. He has faced it. He has overcome it. We can share in this victory. We can be certain that he can bring life from death. We can share in this victory through faith in him.

Faith leads us to action. Faith leads us to fall at his feet and confess our uncleanness and beg for healing. He is our only hope. He is not too busy. Our issue is not too big. Our past is not so ugly that he cannot forgive and heal and give us hope and a future.