Introduction
Recently I had the opportunity to preach for a second time on the story of Jairus and his daughter. The account I presented was from Luke 8:40-56. This story is unique amongst many Biblical narratives in that the episode appears to include a story within a story. The story begins with the account of Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, who came pleading to Jesus to come to his house and heal his dying daughter. Jesus agreed to go with the man and the story transitions as Jesus follows Jairus as the crowds of people who had come to see the Lord begin to press against him.
At this point something confusing happens: another story emerges, so it would seem. The focus seems to change from Jairus to a woman in the crowd—oftentimes referred to as the “woman with the issue of blood.” Luke describes her as a woman who “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.” The woman, as you likely know, reached out and touched the hem of Christ’s garment as he passed by her. Immediately Jesus stopped amid the crowd, looked around, and asked “who touched me?” People were likely packed in tightly and we assume that many people had touched him. The disciples said as much in verse 45: “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you.” I can just hear it now— “um, Jesus, you are in a crowd! Everyone is touching you. Everyone is bumping into you!” Jesus tells them that he felt someone specifically touch him because he felt power going out from him. The woman, knowing that she had not escaped notice from the Savior, admitted that she had touched him and explained how she had been healed immediately. Jesus lovingly looked at this woman and told her that her faith made her whole.
At this point, a pressing question comes to mind: what do we do with this story? So many well-intentioned preachers have skipped over, or at the very least, glossed over this woman’s account as they emphasized the account of Jairus and his daughter. Others have taught through the account of the woman with the issue of blood as a separate story, focusing on the healing and wholeness Jesus provides. But should these accounts be separated? Are they two separate narratives—a story within a story, or is this one unified account? I believe the story of Jairus and the woman are all part of one unified story intended to teach a specific lesson.
When evaluating how to take these two accounts, we often forget about Jairus. Where was Jairus as Jesus ministered to this woman? He did not suddenly disappear or fade off the scene; he was right there with Jesus. Perhaps he was slightly ahead of Jesus, pushing through the crowd to make way. Maybe he was looking back, summoning Jesus to hurry up so that they could get to his daughter in time. But he was there, right there with Jesus. What was Jairus doing as Jesus ministered to this woman? The text does not tell us, but I think we can safely assume that Jairus was doing exactly what we would be doing—he was probably starting to get a little worked up. After all, Jesus had agreed to come with him to heal his daughter and now Jesus was stopping to minister to someone else. Not only was it someone else, but it was someone who had been ill for twelve years. Why is that significant you ask? It is significant because Jairus’ daughter was dying; this woman had been sick for twelve years. Though she undoubtedly felt the burden of her illness and was ready to be done with it, it was not life-threatening. Jesus did not follow any of the normal protocols we would expect for a triage situation. He certainly could have come back for this woman after healing the girl, but instead, he stopped and gave her his time. Not only that, if you read this story carefully you might even get the sense that Jesus is stalling. He seems to be taking his time here. Even in taking time to ask “who touched me” amid a crowd of people, he seems to be stalling. So, if you were Jairus, you were probably thinking: “Jesus, hurry up! Come on, keep coming! Oh, Jesus, that is not my daughter, remember she’s twelve and she’s gonna die.” If you were Jairus, you were probably starting to have some emotion. Remember, he was desperate. As a synagogue official, he would have been able to afford the best doctors for his daughter. Given the history synagogue officials had with Jesus, it would have been his last resort to come to Jesus begging him unashamedly in broad daylight in front of a crowd. All this to say that Jairus did not disappear during the account of this woman’s accounting. He was most likely impatiently waiting for Jesus to come and heal his daughter.
We answered the question of what we should do with this account of the woman. This is part of the overall story and these two seemingly separate episodes should be understood as one overarching story. If that is the case, however, the next question that needs to be asked is “what is the point?” What is the point of this whole story if the two accounts are to be taken together as one? Why does Luke include the story of the woman with blood at all? Or a better question: why did Jesus wait? Why was Jesus delaying in answering the request of Jairus? I think we find the answer at the end of the chapter. Continuing in the story, the news was brought that the daughter of Jairus had died. They dismissed Jesus from his commitment to come to the girl, but he insisted on coming and told them to just have faith. Finally, Jesus made it to the girl and commanded her to rise, and she did. He performed an incredible miracle! If we are not careful, we might miss the main point of the story found in the very last verse of the chapter. Luke wrote: “And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.” This simple statement might slip under our radar, especially if we are not taking these accounts as one story. If we are not asking “why was Jesus making Jairus wait,” we might miss the main point of the story. We find in the end that the purpose Jesus had was specifically for Jairus and his wife; I believe that is part of why they were not supposed to tell anyone. Notice Luke wrote that they were amazed. That is the reason Jesus waited. He wanted Jairus and his wife to be amazed. Certainly, they would have been amazed if he had healed the girl, but now he did something even greater than healing: he raised her from the dead! Why did Jesus wait in answering the request of Jairus to come to save his daughter? Because Jesus wanted Jairus and his wife to see his glory!
Final Thoughts
The application for us is very clear. Sometimes Jesus waits in answer our requests. At times we might think that God does not care or perhaps that he has even forgotten about our concerns. We might wonder why time and time again we ask Jesus to answer our requests, yet our heart cry is met with more waiting. Why does Jesus delay in answering our requests? I believe it is the very same reason he made Jairus wait: because he wants us to see his glory!
In addition to the incredible comfort the truth of this story can bring, I think this account holds another lesson for us, a lesson in interpretation. Interpreters must carefully determine the start and end of a story. Indeed, this is one of the first lessons we are taught in preaching classes—to determine the start and end of a unit of Scripture. Considering the story at hand, much meaning is missed when we fail to view the entire section as a complete unit. We must remember that Scripture is inspired by God, and it is inspired as it appears in the text. We do not have the power to skip or gloss over a portion that does not seem to fit with how we want to interpret a section of Scripture. We also need to ask careful questions. In this case, a helpful question might be “why did Luke write down the story of the woman with blood? Why not edit it out himself?” When we search for answers to these types of questions we can navigate down the pathway to authorial intent and fit together what appears in the text with what the intended meaning might be. This takes great care and attention but getting Scripture right is worth the effort!
