The Raising Of Jairus' Daughter

The Raising of Jairus' Daughter

Matthew 9:18–26 NKJV

While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples.

And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour.

When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.

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The gospel text for this morning in the Lectionary is actually two different sections from the 9th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. The first is Matthew 9::9-13 which deals with the calling of Levi (Matthew), the feast he invited his fellow tax-collectors to, the reaction of the Pharisees that Jesus was at the table with notorious sinners. Jesus responded that he had come to heal sinners and bring them to repentance, I already have treated this passage in the sermon “Keeping Bad Company” in this sermon archive, so I will concentrate my message on the second passage.

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The second text is the account of two healings, the one of the woman with the issue of blood, and the other of the healing of Jairus’ daughter. The healing of the woman with the issue of blood comes in the middle of the account of the healing of Jairus’ daughter. It acts as an interruption. Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue had desperately come in person to Jesus, and urged Him to come immediately and heal his daughter who was at the point of death. He believed that if only Jesus would come and lay her hand upon her that she would live. As the ruler of the synagogue, he was a man of influence and authority. He also had a legitimate need which only Jesus could heal. One could note that the Roman Centurion in Matthew 7 had a great need, yet he believed that Jesus could heal his servant from a distance. Jesus need not have to come and enter a Gentile house which would have made Him unclean to the Jews. If they complained about Jesus eating with publicans and harlots, they would have complained about Him coming under the Centurion’s roof. But we must remember about the ministry of Jesus, the unclean did not defile Jesus. Instead, the touch of Jesus healed and cleansed the unclean.

The woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment had been unclean for twelve years or as long as Jairus’ daughter had been alive. She seems to have had constant hemorrhaging, likely in the female area which would make her untouchable and unclean. Instead of the few days a month that a woman of childbearing age would sequester herself, she was in isolation for twelve years. She had a legitimate need. The Gospels of Mark and Luke give much more detail on the plight of the woman. She had spent every dime she had with the physicians seeking a cure, Instead of Jesus coming to her to touch her, she came to Jesus. she had said that if she could just but touch the hem of His garment that she would be healed. The Gospel of Matthew just tells us that she was healed. Jesus told her that her faith had made her well. What joy must have filled her heart. As Matthew only gives a brief account, we will cover this in more detail when we look at the passage in Mark.

The account of the healing of Jairus’ daughter is short and to the point. Matthew does not mention that someone from the house had come and told Jairus not to bother about Jesus as his daughter is dead. Instead, it picks up with Jesus entering into the Jairus’ house to the sound of professional mourners playing the flutes and making a commotion over the dead. Jesus’ response was that they should not worry. She was not dead, but only sleeping. The faith of Jairus when he first came to Jesus is contrasted by the unbelief of the occupants of the house. Their response to Jesus’ words was to laugh Him to scorn. The other Gospels show that Jesus forcefully threw these skeptics out of the house.