Solomon Northrup was born around 1808 in New York to a former slave. His father, who eventually married a woman of mixed ethnicities, had been emancipated in the will of his deceased owner. They had two sons who were born free. Solomon took after his father in learning how to work the land, but he also had a gift for music and excelled at the violin. His work tended to be seasonal, so he held a variety of different jobs - whatever the market would allow.
In 1841, while walking through their NY town looking for work, he met two entertainers who said they were part of a circus. They invited Solomon to join them on a brief trip, offering a small per diem and extra money for nights that he performed. So, assuming this would be a trip of just a few days, he did not get word to his wife and three children, who were some 20 miles away visiting family. This was of course, before the time of telephones and automobiles.
Solomon and these men went to New York City, performing a couple of gigs along the way. These men invited Solomon to join them in Washington DC to participate with the circus that they said they were a part of. While there, they drugged Solomon and sold him to a slave trader. When Solomon awoke from his drugged stupor, he found himself in chains. The more that Solomon protested for his freedom, the more his enslavers beat him. So, for the next twelve years he served as a slave in Louisiana.
Eventually, Solomon was aided by a Canadian man who got word back to his family in New York. They enlisted the help of the government who then secured Solomon’s rightful freedom.
I can imagine those twelve years would have been frustrating and demoralizing for him - not to mention his wife and children - hearing little if anything from Solomon for that time. Not knowing if he was dead or alive.
A lot can happen in 12 years. As children, our bodies go through their most drastic changes in those years. When Solomon was imprisioned, his children were about 10, 8, and 5. The would have been around 22, 20, and 17 the next time he would see them. Upon his reunion with his family, he learned that one of his daughters was married with a child of her own.
As adults, we look back on a history of 12 years and think that it was a blink of an eye, but in the midst of suffering, that 12 years can feel like an eternity.
If you have your bibles, open them to Luke 8. We’ll begin in verse 40 as we learn of two different people whose worlds collide with Jesus after they have experienced two completely different terms of 12 years.
Last week, we got a chance to witness Jesus demonstrating his authority over natural and spiritual forces. This week, we’ll get to see Jesus’ authority over death and disease. In both of these, we are urged to recognize that…
Theme: Jesus fulfills our greatest hopes and heals our deepest needs.
The question is, do we really believe that?
So Jesus had been on the Gentile side of the Sea of Galilee where he healed a demon-possessed man. When he was rejected by the the people of the region, He returned to the Jewish area of Galilee to an adoring crowd.
Luke 8:40 ESV
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.
Just like all of us, when we come to Jesus or Scripture or even a popular figure - be it political or social or educational or inspirational or even entertaining, we come for a variety of reasons. It’s unclear why the crowd waited for Jesus - maybe it was His teaching or His care or His healing. Luke doesn’t give us any insight into this. We do, however, get a bit of insight into two very different individuals - an upstanding member of the synagogue and an outcast. One comes because his hopes are being dashed, the other because her healing is endlessly deferred, but in both, we find that Jesus delivers true hope and healing.
We first get introduced to Jairus.
Luke 8:41–42 ESV
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, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
As Jesus went, the people pressed around him.
Here, we get introduced to this man of the synagogue - a ruler. It’s unclear exactly what his role may have been, but he seemed to be instrumental in the regular activities of the synagogue. Some speculate that he was like a board member. That being said, he would have maintained a lifestyle in which he could be involved in religious life. Overall, we could surmise that he was generally a good, righteous, religious man. As good as he was, we can see that tragedy hit his family. He was blessed with only one child, a daughter who was now about twelve years old. Darrell Bock notes that at 12 she would have been close marriageable age in their day (p. 792). For the last twelve years, we can assume that he had acted like many of us - invested in his daughter, taught her the things of God, brought her to the regular gatherings of God’s people. We can even assume that he sought to fulfill the charge that Moses made to parents in the book of Deuteronomy, in the Shema:
Deuteronomy 6:4–8 ESV
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
For 12 years, he had served Yahweh, obeyed the law, taught his daughter and yet now he watched his only daughter lying in a bed, dying. He found his hopes for her future and his dashed.
Hopes dashed (40-42; 49)
I would guess that for many of us, we might find ourselves in similar places at various times in our lives. We want the best for our kids. We want to teach them the things of God. We want to follow the precepts of that famous proverb:
Proverbs 22:6 ESV
Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
We want to hope that there is a quid pro quo. If we do x, then God must do y. And yet tragedy still strikes.
Can we trust God…
when our greatest hopes for our kids are dying in a bed?
when our children rebel?
when tragedy strikes?
Not only was this father facing the potential despair of dashed hopes, but he faced the finality of death. It’s as though his hopes were lying in a coffin, the lid is closed and the dirt is beginning to be piled on top. A bit later in this dialogue we learn that this man’s most valiant attempts seem to be in vain.
Luke 8:49 ESV
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.”
Death is the end.
But is it?
As you may know, on Tuesdays at 11:30, some of us are gathering to read scripture together over lunch. We’ve worked through James and Ephesians. Currently, we’re in the book of Revelation. This week, as we discussed Revelation 12, we read about the havoc that a dragon would wreak on the earth - causing death and destruction. But we also got to read about a bit of hope in the face of death:
Revelation 12:10–11 ESV
And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.
Death feels like the end to us. We don’t get to be with our loved ones. Humanly speaking, death is final. But, in an eternal perspective, death is more like a door, it’s a transition. These faithful and persistent ones who “loved not their lives” did not see death as the end. For those who trust in Christ, we have that hope.
However, that hope seemed to elude Jairus. He did not have a perspective of things beyond the grave. As a result, his years of investment and hope and faithfulness FELT like they were met with despair. He walked with Jesus toward his home, not toward his sick daughter, but now toward his dead daughter.
I would guess that this might hit close to home for some of us - those have dealt with the dashed hopes of miscarriage or the death of a child or even the rebellion of a child. There are things about God’s plan that I wish I could answer, but I do want to encourage you, don’t give up hope. Don’t misplace your hope. Jesus is Sovereign over all things, even death.
So, Jairus meets Jesus with this crowd and implores him to come to his home in the hopes of healing his daughter’s terminal sickness.
Along the way, Jesus and Jairus encounter a detour. Now, remember, there was a great crowd there that welcomed Jesus. They were pressing in on Him. Luke notes:
Luke 8:43 ESV
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.
Here, we learn that this woman has been waiting for years for a healing that has been deferred.
Healing deferred (43-44)
Doctor’s continued to promise the hope of remedy - if only she would pay a little more. Healers offered hope, to no avail. And so she heard about this Jesus. Maybe she heard about the people that He had healed. Maybe she heard about the dead man the He raised to life. Maybe she remembered all of those years in Sabbath school where she learned about the Messiah. The prophets foretold:
Isaiah 53:5 ESV
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
Maybe she remembered the odd promise that we read earlier in the service:
Malachi 4:2 ESV
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.
If Jesus’ was the Messiah that Isaiah prophesied about, then maybe He could bring healing, not just from sin, but from other things. The fringes or the wings of his garments would contain healing. There is a chance. There is hope. Maybe she said to herself, “I’ve been waiting for twelve years, what do I have to lose?”
Luke 8:44 ESV
She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased.
Now, let me give us a bit of context. For Jewish people in the first century and earlier, they were to have tassels tied to their garments. Even today we see many orthodox or conservative Jews with these same sorts of tassels.
Numbers 15:38–39 ESV
“Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after.
These tassels likely had knots on them as a reminder of the 10 commandments - five knots and five gaps to think of the 10. As people would touch them, they would be reminded of God’s expectations, God’s promises, God’s covenant.
For people wearing robes, extended arms might look like wings.
So for this woman, maybe she put all of this together in hopes of healing.
But let’s think about her for another moment. She has been bleeding for 12 years. This bleeding implies a sort of medical condition like menstruation or a uterine hemorrhage (Bock). According to the Levitical law, she would have been ceremonially unclean.
Leviticus 15:25 ESV
“If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean.
So, imagine that in their setting, this woman who obviously has hope in God, has been ostracized from the very place that she longs to be. She would not have been allowed to attend the weekly assembly. She would have been excluded from normal social gatherings. Her condition would have left her in a state of perpetual embarrassment especially lacking many of the modern conveniences that women today can use. (Bock, 793).
She would have been an outcast.
No friends.
No family.
No help.
No hope.
Except in the promises of Scripture. Maybe, just maybe, He was the One. Maybe He could bring healing. Maybe He could bring restoration.
So she touched the fringe of His garment.
The healing that had cost her 12 years of life and all of her financial resources had been culminated in a simple touch.
(personal application, point of hope?)
So, where the father’s hopes were dashed and the woman’s healing was deferred until this encounter, we finally get to see that…
Jesus delivers true hope and healing (45-48; 50-56)
For the woman who could feel in her body the healing that she had longed for.
Luke 8:45–48 ESV
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!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” 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. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
She may have been content to simply steal this miracle and walk away. However, as Mike McKinley noted in his commentary:
Luke 1–12 for You Power for the Desperate
He is not content just to dispatch a miracle, for he wants an encounter with a person.
When she realized that she could not go unnoticed, she fell before Jesus trembling.
In a word, Jesus spoke volumes to this woman - “Daughter”
Twelve years of disease was healed with a momentary touch. Twelve years of exclusion was restored with a word - “daughter.” Jesus showed this woman that he saw her. She had value to him. He went on to affirm her noting that her faith had made her well and that she could go on in peace.
Jesus not only healed her body, he healed her soul and restored her dignity.
For all of us, there are various ways where we can relate to this woman. We may not have this chronic illness or the social stigma that accompanied it, but there are plenty of ways where we may feel unworthy of love, unworthy of Jesus’ attention, unworthy of whatever healing we may need. I pray that we would recognize that in our own shortcomings, Jesus sees us. If you have trusted in Jesus as your savior, he calls you daughter or son. The sin that you’re wrestling with, the discouragement that you may be fighting, the hopelessness that taunts you - is all healed in Jesus. He took the punishment for your sin.
But, imagine for a moment being Jairus. In an act of desperation, you’ve begged Jesus to come to your house to heal your daughter. As if the crowds were not enough, then there is the delay of this woman’s healing followed immediately by the devastating news that your daughter has died (49).
Luke 8:50 ESV
But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.”
Do you remember the fear the gripped the disciples and the Geresene people last week? Jesus recognizes this man’s fear and urges him to have faith.
Luke 8:51–53 ESV
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. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
Jesus, knowing what He will do seeks to give a bit of hope upon his arrival, but he is only met with mocking laughter from those who had been on the scene.
So with the limited audience - three disciples and the girl’s parents, Jesus enters her room ….
Luke 8:54–55 ESV
But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat.
According to Darrel Bock, Luke notes three very specific things to mark her true, physical resurrection.
Her spirit returned to her -
She physically rose up when Jesus commanded. And then to confirm that she was not a ghost or a vision,
She was given food to eat. (Bock, 803-804).
Her death was sure, her return to life was confirmed!
Imagine the joy of these parents. Imagine the amazement of these disciples!
The challenge is, what are we to do with all of this? Maybe we’ve been praying for years for healing for ourselves or for a loved one. Maybe we’ve buried people that we KNEW Jesus could heal. Where is the hope in that?
I think that in this passage, we’ve seen several subtle calls to action…
Our calls to action
Call to confess our need
The woman who had been bleeding for years knew that she was without hope. She was at the end of her rope and needed something only Jesus can fulfill. When Jesus called her to come out of secrecy he gave her assurance and acceptance.
In much the same way, for us, we need to recognize and confess our need for Jesus. The allure of self-sufficiency is tempting. We think we can make it on our own. In many things, we may find some success. However, when it comes to eternal things we need Jesus. Jesus will not be an add-on or an accessory to our lives. He is our source of hope. He is our means of salvation. He is the door through which we must pass if we want access to God and entrance into eternal life.
Friend, if you’re investigating all of this church and bible stuff, the things of Jesus, you will find some good and wonderful things in Jesus, but he’s not like a rabbit’s foot or a superstition. You must get to the place where you realize you have no eternal hope outside of Jesus. Yes, following his teachings will make some sense and may bring some blessings because they are good and ethical teachings, but if you miss the call to confess your need for him, then you will be doomed in an eternity separated from him. You might live a good life here only to exist in an eternity of misery. Confess your need for him, repent of your sin, believe, be baptized, walk with him in the fellowship of others.
Secondly, I think we need to heed the…
Call to faith
…in Jesus and his timing
Just as Jesus called Jairus to have faith in the face of his fear, I believe Jesus calls us to the same. Things may seem bleak and hopeless at times - trust that Jesus is still at work. Just as Tammy shared last week, she prayed for closed doors in order to find an opened one. When doors of opportunity were slamming shut, God revealed his plan. Whether it’s the job market, the educational opportunities in front of you, the relationships that you long for, keep trusting in Jesus - his ways and his timing. Do no fear, only believe.
Finally, we see in this passage a…
Call to obedience
The parents of the girl were called to be silent.
Luke 8:56 ESV
And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
Sure, some people would know - certainly they did, the three disciples did, likely the mourners who were just outside would put the pieces of the puzzle together and figure out what Jesus did. It seems ironic that Jesus would tell the formerly demon-possessed man to talk, but then tell these parents not to verbalize what happened. Bock suggests that maybe Jesus didn’t want his ministry to be overly occupied with resurrections. As we’ll see in the coming chapters, Jesus will begin to make a turn toward Jerusalem and is calling to people to join him - which means an invitation to take up their crosses as well.
In the same way for us, Jesus may call us to do or not do certain things. From our perspective, it may not make sense.
for those of you who are going off to college, Jesus is calling you to a life that will likely look quite different from others in your dorm or class. He’s calling you to be a light, a witness. He may call you to serve Him in ways that seem out of your comfort zone, maybe even serving him overseas as a missionary. Will you be obedient?
Students - the more time you spend in God’s word and learning His things, you’ll see that life with Christ calls you to present your best before God, to speak differently, to see people for who they are and treat them with love and grace - yet call them to repentance and holiness.
Adults - are we being faithful and obedient to the life that Jesus calls us to live in the joys and in the challenges that he allows?
Closing thoughts
For twelve years, Solomon Northrop was enslaved in a bondage imposed by greedy men and a vile system. His aid and his freedom was eventual secured by people who were outside the system.
For twelve years, the woman in our passage was in bondage to an incurable medical condition. God used the pain, shame, heartache in this woman’s life to prepare her for the moment that she would meet Jesus - her true hope and salvation.
Over those same twelve years, God allowed Jairus and his wife to pour into their daughter, preparing her for adulthood. When the hopes of her future were dashed at her death, God used that tragedy to cause Jairus and his family to encounter Jesus in a profound and miraculous way.
Looking back over the last 12 years of your life, what has God been doing in and around you? Looking ahead, what can he do in our lives? Will we be faithful? Will we be obedient? Will we continually confess our need for Jesus? Will we trust him?
Let’s pray.
Benediction:
2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Questions for reflection and discussion
Read Luke 8:40-56
1. How far would you go to bring physical healing to someone you love?
2. What kind of reception did Jesus get when He returned? (8:40)
3. Who was Jairus and what did he want Jesus to do? (8:41–42)
4. What do we know about the sick woman? (8:43–44)
5. What was the woman’s reaction to being discovered? (8:47)
6. To what did Jesus attribute the woman’s healing? (8:48)
7. What is similar about the two healings?
8. What is different about the two healings?
9. What can we learn from the boldness of both the woman and Jairus?
10. For what people with long-term pain or other physical problems can you start to pray regularly?
11. How should you be bold in the way you approach God?
12. What is Jesus calling us to do in light of this passage?
Sources:
Anyabwile, Thabiti. Exalting Jesus in Luke. Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary. Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2018.
Beeke, Joel R., and Paul M. Smalley. Reformed Systematic Theology: Man and Christ. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020.
Bock, Darrell L. Luke 1:1-9:50. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999.
Martin, John A. “Luke.” In The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, edited by J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985.
McKinley, Mike. Luke 1–12 for You. Edited by Carl Laferton. God’s Word for You. The Good Book Company, 2016.
Wilcock, Michael. The Savior of the World: The Message of Luke’s Gospel. The Bible Speaks Today. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Northup
Northrup, Solomon Twelve Years a Slave, audio book.
