The writings of Luke the physician starting with his version of the gospel - Luke 8:40-56 comments: two healings

Luke 8:40 ¶  And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. 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: 42  For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him. 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, 44  Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 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? 46  And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 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. 48  And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. 49  While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. 50  But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. 51  And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. 52  And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53  And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. 54  And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. 55  And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. 56  And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

Here are two miracles in this passage, one achieved while Jesus was on His way to another. The ruler of a synagogue pleads with Christ to save his daughter and a woman who had suffered much at the hands of physicians just touched the border of his clothing and was healed of a chronic illness from which she had suffered as long as the little girl He was going to attend to had been alive. Twelve is an interesting number as it represents the twelve tribes of Israel, as well. Compare this with the centurion who said that Christ could heal with just a word. This is one side of faith, believing that God can heal. The other side is accepting when He does not. God honors the faith of the weak and He honors the faith of the strong. We are the ones who put more on people than does God. The mournful cry of the humble and the plea of the suffering ruler both acknowledge the power of God over issues of life and death.

It is clear here that God has power to return someone from death and also to heal any illness. But, Christ admonished the parents of the child not to tell anyone. It is clear all through the gospels that there was a tension between Christ being declared to the Jews and the Jews trying to declare Him their king. He had a mission and was not going to be deterred from it. These miracles weren’t to impress the masses but to aid and comfort the suffering.

The Gadarenes in the last passage represent those who reject Christ and want nothing to do with Him but the Galileans in verse 40 are gladly waiting to receive Him. That is our calling as Christians, to not only receive Christ as our Saviour but to eagerly await His return.

Titus 2:11 ¶  For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12  Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13  Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14  Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

The question we must all ask ourselves is how excited are we truly to see Christ face-to-face?

We see in John 11 sleep used as a euphemism for death but here, perhaps in their limited understanding, as ours is today, the girl was in a coma because Jesus said she was not dead at all. This is not like Lazarus who was dead for four days as John 11:17 states. So, all of these near-death experiences where a person was clinically dead for a few hours and revived show that our understanding of when death actually occurs has not gone very far from holding a mirror to a person’s mouth to see if they were breathing to trying to detect brainwaves. We keep pushing back our understanding of when death actually occurs and still don’t really have a handle on it.

Two things about 45 through verse 47 are worthy of note. I am sure there are other things worthy of note in these two verses but these are two things that struck me. Jesus Christ is walking around in a human body. He either was not paying attention to who touched him and had to ask which places limits on His humanity or He asked the question to prove a point and make that person acknowledge Him openly. I like the latter because He often does that when a follower of His is placed in a position where he or she can do nothing else but publicly praise Him for what He has done for them. Many of us have had experiences where we feel compelled to publicly declare Christ. As much as we moderns try sometimes there is simply no other way to explain something that has happened to you; in timing, intensity, and what is accomplished which you did not expect or simply quietly hoped for but weren’t sure would happen. You simply cannot help but open your mouth and speak of Christ.

Virtue, from a Greek word that sounds a lot like dynamic, is power and energy in this context. It means something different in Philippians 4:8 and 2Peter 1:3, 5. Sermons can be written about virtue as moral power but for our purposes let’s move on.

I want to finish with this passage by quoting a part of verse 50 that we should all contemplate when faced with difficult circumstances; Fear not: believe only.