Reaching

⁴⁰ Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. ⁴¹ Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house ⁴² because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. ⁴³ And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. ⁴⁴ She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”

⁴⁶ But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

⁴⁷ Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched him and how she had been instantly healed. ⁴⁸ Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

⁴⁹ While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”

⁵⁰ Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

⁵¹ When he arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. ⁵² Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

⁵³ They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. ⁵⁴ But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” ⁵⁵ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened. Luke 8:40-56

I love this passage. Perhaps it is because it happened near Capernaum and I loved that part of Israel, but I don’t think so because I loved this passage before traveling to Israel. I have always read this passage as two separate stories but really it is one story because today when I read it, the first part had to impact the second part. Let me explain. Jairus had already collapsed at Jesus’s feet begging him to come to his house because his daughter was dying. Jairus was desperate. It makes me cry when I think of how he would have felt, his baby girl was dying and this was his only hope of saving her. There were so many people. They probably all wanted something from Jesus! But the desperation of a Daddy of a dying girl…then someone touched Jesus.

It is very clear that there were many pressing in on Jesus but yet He knew that someone touched him? Another desperate person, a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, touched the edge of his cloak. He knew that someone touched him because he felt the power go out from him. Then the woman came forward, once knowing that He knew that she touched him, and told him (in front of everybody) that she was instantly healed! He responded in love and told her that her faith had made her healed and to go in peace (without guilt.)

Today I realized that this was not two separate storied but one! Jairus had witnessed this whole event! He was there and witnessed the miracle and the compassionate response of Jesus. And while Jairus was taking this all in, the bad report came of his daughter dying and the messenger telling him not to bother Jesus. Jesus heard this! Jesus, once again, responded with compassion, “Don’t be afraid; just believe and she will be healed. “

What Jairus just witnessed had to boost his faith a bit, after all, if Jesus had healed another woman who was in a dire situation why couldn’t He heal his only daughter?  He heard her say that she had been bleeding for 12 years! And all she did was touch his garment? Jesus told him to don’t be afraid, believe and she was going to be healed! Out of desperation and he had nothing to left to lose. Jesus was kind and loving to this woman (who was unclean in the Jewish culture) and healed her and then He told him that to believe…don’t be afraid and believe (Jairus’spart) and then Jesus would do his part (heal her.)

Jesus went to Jairus’s home. He only let Peter, James and John go into the room with him. He put out all of the mourners. Jesus told them to stop wailing. The people who were wailing laughed at Jesus in disbelief. (BTW Jairus lived very close to Peter’s house so I am pretty sure that Peter knew Jairus and that means that Jairus probably knew Jesus. Jesus had been to Peter’s home, after all.) Jesus healed the little girl and then told them to feed her.

While I have always loved these accounts of healing separately today I connected them together. When you are desperate, it is okay for others to know you are hurting as long as you reach for Jesus in faith knowing that He is the source that can answer your need. Don’t flail about and be all drama, reach for Jesus, even if all that is in your reach is just the hem of his garment. Reach for Him! He will respond to you with love and compassion when you are seeking him as the answer to your need.

Don’t think that he is so busy with other desperate situations that he can’t take time for you! He is BIG! He is big enough to handle every situation even in the midst of a sea people, He knows when you are reaching for him. You might not even have eye contact with him, but he knows when you are grasping at the hem of his garment!

If you are Jairus’s situation, and you find out that something precious to you is dead and you are told not to bother him with a hopeless situation, don’t be afraid and have faith! He will respond to you with love and compassion! You are not a bother! He will take time for you. Now he might have you “put out some mourners and wailers” that are surrounding the situation! But he will go right in to where your problem is and heal it!

Even after the little girl was healed, he had them feed her! There are times when Jesus heals an area of your life but you have a responsibility to continue practical and healthy practices, like feeding the little girl. But he will direct you! Isn’t God good? He is so big that he can meet your need and cover all of the bases!

So today I am reminded that even though not everything seems connected that Jesus can use your situation to help others. You might feel that your situation is so unrelated to anyone else’s situation but God can use your need and miracle to help someone else and you might not even be aware of it! He is that big!

So continue to reach for Jesus! No matter how desperate you feel that your situation is remember this: Your part is to reach for Jesus, don’t be afraid and believe and He will be faithful to respond to you with love and compassion.

Reaching for Him,

Shanin