Taking Jesus at His Word - Jairus
Then a man named Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus went on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who was subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
“Who touched me,” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
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. Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead.” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”
Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
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. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”
They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat.
LUKE 8:41-55 (NIV)
Now it is time to move on in your life with great insight and optimism, with a sense of healing and a realization of a clean slate, and with a sense of being loved in a dramatically new way!
PAUSE … Invite Him to be with you; let Him quiet you with His Love.
REFLECT … What is God saying to you?
* As you read this story (actually TWO stories in one!), try to picture Jesus as an "Encourager". How did He encourage the sick woman? How did He encourage Jairus? Did He encourage both people even in the midst of such serious, "hopeless" struggles? What was His message to these two people, again even in the midst of life situations where most people would have no faith, no hope?
* What state of mind must Jairus have been in as he went to Jesus? What was he feeling? Who did he think Jesus was?
* When Jairus was informed that his daughter was dead, Jairus had to believe either that his daughter was indeed gone, or he had to cling to hope when Jesus said she will be OK. As Jesus was walking to Jairus’s home, what might have been in Jairus’s mind? Could you sense a struggle between his feelings and his faith in Jesus?
* What level of faith did the sick woman, who touched Jesus on the way to Jairus' home, have?
* How did Jesus react to someone with deep faith in Him, yet in deep pain and suffering? What does it mean that she felt she couldn’t go “unnoticed”? How was she brought back to a healthy life?
* Where is the exclamation point? What do the words “at once” mean? What does “stood up” mean as opposed to sit up on the bed?
* Why did Jesus tell them to prepare a PB&J sandwich?
Jesus said that one of the Holy Spirit's roles was to remind us of who Jesus is and what Jesus said. Can you see the Holy Spirit working in these two people, to build up their faith? Can you see the Holy Spirit doing the same for you today?
RECEIVE … The sick woman, and also Jairus, were both surrounded by and in the middle of hopelessness. They either had to succumb to their feelings of despair, or decide to trust Jesus for healing, comfort and life. They had to exercise an immense amount of faith! Ask that you can believe, feel and do what they did!
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