Month: October 2023

Jesus Raises Jairus’ Daughter From The Dead. EXPOSITION ON THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE study #72 (Luke 8:49-56)

/ Matt Vance / Leave a comment

I mentioned last time that we are closing in on what we know as Jesus’ Galilean ministry. Now as we look at the last section of the 8th chapter it is amazing to think that we are 1/3 through our study in the Gospel of Luke. We have seen so much in the ministry of Jesus from His authoritative teaching to His healing power to His ability to cleanse lepers, to making the blind see, the deaf to hear and also raising the dead. The last one mentioned has only been seen once as we looked at the son of the widow raised from the dead in chapter 7 but now we will see this amazing miracle once again.

We are coming off of the study of the woman that had the issue of blood that was healed from her affliction and saved from her sins. In this study we will see again the compassion of our Lord as He continues His walk to Jairus’ house. Not only will we see His compassion but also His power to raise from the dead. Many of the people that were in Nain could be with Him here but as we will see this will not be a public display like the one in Nain. Let’s look at our first point.

1.Having faith after receiving bad news.
Look with me at Luke 8:49-50 While He was still speaking, someone *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” 50 But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be saved.”

Both Luke and Mark both say that the people from Jairus’ house came as Jesus was still speaking. He was still speaking to the woman about her faith and salvation. At that moment these people came saying, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.”

This is horrible news. Jairus must have thought at that time that he was a little to late to reach out to Jesus. He could have thought that only if Jesus would have came back sooner then maybe He could have healed her. We aren’t sure what exactly went through his mind but there must have been some sort of anguish and fear. The context is very important here to not confuse the meaning of what Jesus says next. The context clearly shows us that back in Luke 8:41b-42a that Jairus had fell at Jesus’ feet, he began to plead with Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. 

This was a sure sign of desperation but it also indicates Jairus’ humility and faith. Jairus’ was on official of the synagogue most likely in Capernaum. It was there that Jesus had healed a man that was possessed by a demon. Jairus was one of the leaders of that synagogue and would have had a front row seat to this miraculous event. No doubt he knew the prophecies concerning the Messiah, no doubt he knew that Jesus had the power to heal his daughter but now all hope seemed to be lost with the report that his daughter is dead.

With that context of the strong faith Jairus would have had we see Jesus say in Luke 8:50 “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be saved.”

Unlike our last study where there was a distinction of the woman’s faith and her being healed, here Jesus says to Jairus that he needs to have faith. The faith or lack thereof would not necessarily change the outcome but this was a point to strengthen the faith of Jairus. Jairus was fearful and doubting at this point. Jesus tells him to not to be afraid any longer which indicates that he was in that state at that moment. The word for afraid in the Greek is a very familiar word for us in the study of Luke. It is the word phobeó (fob-eh’-o) which means to fear, to withdraw or to avoid.

The people that brought the news basically said that all hope is lost so just abandon the plan to bring Jesus but Jesus responds by saying only believe. Do not doubt but remember why you came to me in the first place, that is basically what Jesus is saying here. If you believe your daughter will be sōthēsetai in the Greek. This means healed not that she will be saved from her sins. This is an indication that Jesus would and could heal her even now. This moves us to look at our next point.

2.Jesus’ power to raise from the dead.
Look with me at Luke 8:51-56 So when He came to the house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. 52 Now they were all crying and lamenting for her, but He said, “Stop crying, for she has not died, but is asleep.” 53 And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. 54 He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” 55 And her spirit returned, and she stood up immediately. And He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. 56 And her parents were astounded, but He directed them to tell no one what had happened.

We notice at the beginning of this that Luke says that Jesus only let the parents of the girl, Peter, James and John go in with Him. These 3 that came along with Jesus, as we have mentioned before, was the inner circle of the 12 Apostles. They got the privilege of going into places the others didn’t. It wasn’t because of their strong faith but only to teach them a lesson because these 3 would no doubt be among the leading group after Jesus’ ascension. As they go into the house we see the normal activity of a death in that culture. There would be those that were there just for the purpose of comforting the family and mourning with them as well. Verse 52 says Now they were all crying and lamenting for her, but He said, “Stop crying, for she has not died, but is asleep.”

Jesus steps in and tells them immediately that there is no point of continuing this lamenting. Matthew 9:24a says He was saying, “Leave; for the girl has not died, but is asleep.”

Not only stop crying but there is no point for you to even be here. Of course this sounded ridiculous to them as it would us too because they knew the girl was dead. Jesus was not mistaken in thinking that she was just sleeping because of her illness but He was pointing out that she would not be in that state very long. In fact this death had occurred just moments before Jesus got there and yet these mourners were sitting on stand by. Jesus tells them plainly, Stop crying and leave. This claim of her only being asleep caused the people there to burst our in laughter. Luke 8:53 says And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died.

They went from mourning to laughter because they thought it was absurd that Jesus would make such a statement. They must have not wanted to leave because Mark 5:40b says But putting them all out, He *took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and *entered the room where the child was.

Just like when Jesus drove out those that sold in the temple, we see Jesus use force to get these people too leave. We do not see a whip or anything like that but He plainly put them out so He could do what He was going to do. This is where we see this amazing miracle in Luke 8:54-55 that says He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Child, arise!” 55 And her spirit returned, and she stood up immediately. And He gave orders for something to be given her to eat.

Jesus was not interested in listening to the mockers. He did not allow even all of the disciples into this house. The people that had been following Jesus was no doubt waiting for His return after He entered the house. The anticipation must have been great but not many even in that big group would have known why they were there for sure. I’m sure there was some that heard the messengers from Jairus’ house tell him to not bother Jesus because his daughter was already dead. But many I’m sure was wondering at what was going on.

As Jesus walks in and touches the girl He simply speaks words of command to this girl and she comes back to life. Once again we do not see any type of rehabilitation needed or any sense of weakness from the illness that she had. Mark 5:41-42 says And taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!”). 42 And immediately the little girl stood up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded.

So not only did this girl stand up but she also began to walk. This girl was most likely sick for some time but here exhibits no signs of anything that would have caused here death. Some people look at the fact that Jesus gives orders for something to be given her to eat as a sign that she may have been weak. But I believe that Jesus was showing them that she was completely healed. Maybe something had kept her from eating before her illness and death so we see Jesus tell them to feed her.

Then as we always see at the end of Mark 5:42 and our text in Luke 8:56 that the people were astounded. Luke 8:56 says And her parents were astounded, but He directed them to tell no one what had happened.

This would blow anyone’s mind. They had never seen anything like it. The disciples of course had see Jesus raise the widow’s son in Nain but still this had to be an amazing thing to witness. What Jesus says at the end of verse 56 is somewhat confusing with no real explanation of why He says what He says. There is no doubt that the people that were at the funeral were going to know what happened, the people around the city would have already heard of the girl dying because that was a normal social gathering time, the people following Jesus would have had some idea what was going on but He tells them to tell no one what had happened.

I believe that even though Jesus often is healing and performing miracles, He did not want the focus of these miracles to be what the people knew Him to be. Jesus had come to die for the sins of His people and in that time He displayed a power that showed He is God incarnate but in no way was this His focus. His focus was always to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God. The miracles was what led many people to follow Jesus superficially and therefore He did not need any more attention than what He was already going to get. Of course this is only speculation because the text is not clear any of the times that He says this.

This brings us to a close of this story and of the 8th chapter of this great Gospel. As we move along we will see Jesus continue to do miraculous things but we will also see more and more His communication with the ritualistic religious leaders of Judaism. Soon Jesus’ attention will carry Him toward Jerusalem where He will complete His reason for being here in the first place as He goes to the cross to die for our sins.

Faith In The Eternal Promises. LIVING BY FAITH IN TRIALS AND SUFFERING study #7 (A Study in Hebrews 11)(Hebrews 11:13-16)

/ Matt Vance / 1 Comment

We so often say that we have faith in God but I would ask if that is because we have seen Him do something in our life to show us that He is real? Maybe you have seen God work in the life of a person that you thought would never come to Christ, maybe you were praying for healing of a loved one or maybe some prayer that was answered the way you were hoping. What if none of those things ever happened? What if God never showed us by some outward confirmation or the fulfillment of something that we want to see, would your faith in God stay intact? Now don’t get me wrong I know that when we see some of these things happening that this builds our faith because of what we have seen Him do already but we must notice that God is here even when we do not see things work out the way we hoped.

In this study we will not look into just one person’s faith but we will look at the fact that none of these people that we have studied and will be studying in this series, ever saw the fulfillment of the promises given to them. Like them we too wait for the promises given to us. If you are reading this then you have not made it to Heaven yet so we are waiting for the promise of our eternal home. As we look at this section of Scripture I hope you can see how you can have faith even at times when you don’t know if you will ever see the things that you are praying for. Let’s look now at our first point.

1.Having faith in spite of promises unseen.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 

What we see here in the people within this chapter is not much different than how we too wait for the promises of eternity. Now obviously these people we are studying on in this chapter did not have even as much revelation as we do. They did not see Jesus come to the Earth, die and resurrect, they did not see the formation of the church age, they did not see the barrier between the Jew and the Gentile tore down nor did they even see the fulfillment of many other promises while they were alive and yet they remained faithful. Ask yourself ,would have lived this way in your life if you never saw one promise fulfilled?

The key to understanding how these people were able to have faith even when they did not see the fulfillment must be looked at as what they were hoping for. Was it just the fulfillment of the earthly promises that they were looking towards like most of us are?

I mean most people that claim to be Christians actually look like they are chasing after worldly prosperity and dreams more than living for the future promises. I think that many in churches today, probably more so in the United States, have a Christianity that attaches Jesus to your life instead of a denial of self. This type of Christianity sets peoples motives for living as Christians as one that looks for God to bless them in the here and now because you know, we already have been saved. This is true that salvation is already a reality for a Christian but that must change your motives, change your behavior, change your priorities and change the way you think. We must look towards our eternal promises and trust that God will indeed take care of us while we are here. It is really what our Lord said in Matthew 6:32-33 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

So our verse in Hebrews shows us how these people carried on in the faith that they did. Hebrews 11:13a says These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar.

They were content with knowing the future promises and not even seeing them in their lifetime. We talk about Abraham so often as being the father of faith and this is true. The promise of the future wasn’t just that he would have one son but that he would be the father of an innumerable amount of people. Genesis 15:4-6 shows us this reality, look with me at what is said there: And behold, the word of the Lord came to him: “This man shall not be your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” 5 And he brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” 6 And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.

The birth of Isaac was just the beginning of the promise of the many that would be Abraham’s offspring. So even though he did see his own son born, he did not see in his lifetime the fulfillment of an innumerable amount of people that came from him. We do know from the words of our lord Jesus that Abraham did see this fulfillment but not in his life on Earth. Jesus says in John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.

Abraham along with the others accepted the fact that they would only see some of these promises as they lived as strangers and exiles on the earth as the rest of Hebrews 11:13 says. We have already seen back in Hebrews 11:9 that Abraham was one of these that lived this way. Look at what it says in Hebrews 11:9 By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise.

We use Abraham as the example because there is so much content on him throughout the Bible but as we will see further down that this is the case for all of these Old Testament saints. Look at what Hebrews 11:39 says And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised.

So we see that they were content to live this way but the question is, what motivated them to live in this way? This is what we will see in our next point.

2.Having faith in our eternal home.
Look with me at Hebrews 11:14-16 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

The writer of Hebrews makes it clear at the beginning of this verse that these people were no doubt looking for a place to call home. I mean we all want a nice home life, we want a place of worship that we can call home, a place that we feel secure and loved but this is not the motivation of our faith as believers. In fact many that lived in this way left a home life that was loving and secure. Some of them had material wealth and living the life that they worked so hard to establish. But God called them away from that life to a life that was pointed towards God’s plan for them.

When I think of this I think of the Lord’s 12 Apostles and how they left everything to follow Christ. The call was to leave the old life behind to never return to the way they were once living. We must make a break with hoping for a life of ease and wealth, and begin to live for the eternal life that we have been so graciously given. This is what we see in Hebrews 11:15 that says If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.

So often we think about Lot’s wife that looked back when they were escaping the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as you can read in Genesis 19:1-29. The warning was to not look back and when she did, she was turned into a pillar of salt. Jesus uses her as an example of how we are to not look back at our old lives but look forward to what God is and will be doing in our lives as believers in the future when Jesus returns. We see this in Luke 17:31-33 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife. 33 Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.

I also think about how Abraham was sending his servant to find a wife for Isaac among his family. The servant asked if the woman from there was unwilling to go with him then should he go back to his homeland? Look at Abraham’s reply in Genesis 24:6-8 Abraham said to him, “See to it that you do not take my son back there. 7 The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my kindred, and who spoke to me and swore to me, ‘To your offspring I will give this land,’ he will send his angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be free from this oath of mine; only you must not take my son back there.”

The point is to not return to a life that you once lived but to live by faith in the promises that have been given to us. The people that we have already studied on and will study on in this chapter kept on believing God in spite of not seeing everything come to pass in their life. It isn’t that God wouldn’t fulfill these promises but it was that these people were not concerned with the temporal promises. They looked beyond the temporal to the eternal. Look again at what is said in Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

What was it that was said of Abraham back in Hebrews 11:10? It says there: For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God.

Paul says in Philippians 3:20-21 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

These Old Testament saints did not have the full revelation of the Messiah and what eternal life would be fully but with what revelation they had, they believed in a dwelling place with God and it was this that they were looking for. It was these promises that was the reason they went through so much persecution and some even executed.

Is this what you live your life for? Would you give up your life to proclaim the truths of God’s promises? Would you trust God even if your life did not go the way you think it should be?

We need to follow in the footsteps of these Old Testament saints and continue to live by faith through whatever trial or persecution we may face. In our next study we will look once again at Abraham, but this time we will see the faith of Abraham as he is faced with a test that proves what real faith looks like.