Luke 8:30-56

Jesus Raises the Dead, Revealing His Power and Authority Over Death (8:30-56).

Having been rejected by His own family, and having revealed His power and authority by quelling the storm and raging sea, and by dealing with a legion of evil spirits, Jesus was now about to enter a new realm, the realm of death itself. Nature, the spirit world and death are to be seen as under His control. Only man resists Him. In what follows Jesus goes to the aid of a young twelve year old girl who has died, and raises her from the dead.

But there is a subsidiary story. This reveals a woman who was continually ceremonially ‘unclean' because of a flow of blood from within her which she had had for twelve years. She too was dying, and she had been dying for twelve years. And she found no hope anywhere until the day when she came to Jesus and found that He could make the unclean clean.

We could head this section Two Desperate People At The End of Twelve Years. Both were connected with the number twelve, the number of Israel. The daughter had lived from conception for twelve years and was now dying. The woman had had a blood flow for twelve years and she was cut off from the Temple and the people by uncleanness. Both were in their own way representative of the people of God, dead in sin and unclean before God.

But in order to confirm the lesson lying behind this we need to go to a passage in Ezekiel 16. There Jerusalem was likened to a baby, cast out at birth covered in the blood flow of its mother, whom God had commanded ‘in her blood' to live (Luke 8:6). He then betrothed her to Himself, but she remained naked (it is not a natural picture). And when she came to an age for love (i.e. about twelve years of age) He wiped the blood from her (Luke 8:9). So either the idea is that for twelve years she had been covered in vaginal blood, or that she was once again covered in blood because of her menstruation, seen as connecting back to her first condition. And now she was His to be restored by His mercy to full glory. It would seem that this is the lesson behind both the child whom God will make to live, and the woman with a flow of blood for twelve years which will be made clean. The two together reveal that Jesus (the Bridegroom - Luke 2:19) has come to make clean and give life to His people so as to betroth them to Himself.

We may analyse the passage as follows:

a Jesus returned, the crowds welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him (Luke 8:40).

b A man named Jairus came, and he was a ruler of the synagogue, and he fell down at Jesus' feet, and besought Him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as He went the crowds thronged him (Luke 8:41).

c And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed of any, came behind Him, and touched the border of His robe, and immediately the issue of her blood stanched (Luke 8:43).

d Jesus said, “Who is it who touched me?” And when all denied, Peter said, and those who were with him, “Master, the crowd press you and crush you” (Luke 8:45).

e But Jesus said, “Some one did touch me, for I perceived that power had gone forth from me” (Luke 8:46).

f 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 for what reason she touched Him, and how she was healed immediately (Luke 8:47).

g And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you whole, go in peace” (Luke 8:48).

f While He yet spoke, there comes one from the ruler of the synagogue's house, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher” (Luke 8:49).

e But Jesus hearing it, answered him, “Don't be afraid. Only believe, and she shall be made whole” (Luke 8:50).

d ‘And when He came to the house, He did not allow any man to enter in with Him, except Peter, and John, and James, and the father of the maiden and her mother (Luke 8:51).

c And all were weeping, and bewailing her. But He said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead, but sleeps.” And they laughed Him to scorn, knowing that she was dead' (Luke 8:52).

b But He, taking her by the hand, called, saying, “Maiden, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately, and He commanded that something be given her to eat' (Luke 8:54).

a And her parents were amazed, but He charged them to tell no man what had been done (Luke 8:56).

Note that in ‘a' we have two attitudes towards Jesus, the crowds welcoming, and in the parallel the parents amazed. In ‘b' Jairus pleads with Jesus because his daughter is dying, and in the parallel Jesus raises her to life. In ‘c' the woman comes to Jesus in a hopeless condition, and in the parallel the crowds think that the case of the daughter is hopeless. In ‘d' Peter and the others are witnesses to the fact that Jesus has not been touched, and in the parallel Peter and others are to be witnesses to what will happen to the child. In ‘e' Jesus declares that someone has been made whole, and in the parallel that the girl will also be made whole. In ‘f' the woman comes to Jesus and declares how she has been made whole, while in the parallel the servants come and declare that it is too late, ‘the daughter' is dead and cannot be made whole. In ‘g' Jesus declares that the ‘Daughter' has been made whole because of her faith, the implication being that therefore the other daughter too will be made whole.