When
Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet, and begged him to come into his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him. A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any, came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?” When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
Luke 8:40-45
Luke 8 [35.] People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who saw it told them how he who had been possessed by demons was healed. All the people of the surrounding country of the Gadarenes asked him to depart from them, for they were very much afraid. He entered into the boat, and returned. But the man from whom the demons had gone out begged him that he might go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your house, and declare what great things God has done for you.” He went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him.
Luke 8 [40.] When Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. Behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’ feet, and begged him to come into his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying. But as he went, the multitudes pressed against him. A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her living on physicians, and could not be healed by any, came behind him, and touched the fringe of his cloak, and immediately the flow of her blood stopped. Jesus said, “Who touched me?”
When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes press and jostle you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
Luke 8 [46.] But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me, for I perceived that power has gone out of me.” When the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared to him in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. He said to her, “Daughter, cheer up. Your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
Meaning:
Jesus had been asked to leave the country of the Gadarenes (Luke 8:35-39). Back on the Galilean side of the lake the contrast is striking: “the multitude welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him.” Two people in great need now come to Jesus, a respected synagogue leader and a woman who was an outcast. Luke weaves their stories together, as do Mark and Matthew (Mark 5:21-23; Mark 5:24-29; Matthew 9:18-26).
- “A man named Jairus… a ruler of the synagogue”
The ruler of a synagogue organised the Sabbath services, chose who would read and pray, and looked after the building. He was a respected man in his town. Some synagogue leaders were hostile to Jesus (Luke 13:14), but Jairus’ need overcame any pride or pressure. He “fell down at Jesus’ feet,” a public act of humility and desperate faith.
- “An only daughter, about twelve years of age”
Luke, who notes that the widow of Nain lost her “only” son (Luke 7:12), tells us that this girl was Jairus’ only daughter. At twelve she was about to become a young woman, of an age to be betrothed. Her father’s hopes rested on her, and she was dying.
- “A woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years”
For as long as Jairus’ daughter had been alive, this woman had been suffering. Her bleeding made her ceremonially unclean under the law, and anyone or anything she touched became unclean too (Leviticus 15:25). For twelve years she had been excluded from worship and from normal contact with others. She had also “spent all her living on physicians.” Luke, a physician himself, says simply that she “could not be healed by any.” Mark is blunter: she “was no better, but rather grew worse” (Mark 5:26).
- “Touched the fringe of his cloak”
The law commanded Israelites to wear tassels on the corners of their garments as a reminder of God’s commandments (Numbers 15:38-39). Approaching from behind in the crowd, the woman touched one of these tassels. She did not dare to speak to Jesus openly. Some have linked her action to the promise that “the sun of righteousness” would “arise with healing in its wings” (Malachi 4:2), since the same Hebrew word can mean wings or corners of a garment. Her touch, by the law, should have made Jesus unclean. Instead, his power made her clean: “immediately the flow of her blood stopped.”
- “Who touched me?”
Jesus stopped in the middle of an urgent journey to ask this question. Peter’s answer is almost impatient: the crowds were pressing on every side, so how could Jesus ask who touched him? But many bumped against Jesus; only one person reached out to him in faith. Jesus knew the difference (Luke 8:46).
The Significance of Luke 8:40-45
- No one is too insignificant for Jesus
Jairus was important; the woman was unclean and unnamed. Jesus had time for both. He was on his way to an important man’s house, yet he stopped for a woman who had nothing left and whom others avoided. Status does not decide who receives his attention; need and faith do.
- Faith that reaches out
The woman’s faith was mixed with fear and perhaps some misunderstanding, but she reached out to Jesus, and that was enough. The crowd was close to Jesus, but only faith connected her to his power. Being near Christ in church or in a Christian family is not the same as reaching out to him personally.
Cross-References:
Mark 5:28: "If I just touch his clothes, I will be made well." The woman’s thought, recorded by Mark.
Leviticus 15:25: "If a woman has a discharge of her blood many days not in the time of her period, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her period; all the days of the discharge of her uncleanness shall be as in the days of her period: she is unclean." Why her illness isolated her.
Malachi 4:2: "But to you who fear my name shall the sun of righteousness arise with healing in its wings." God’s promised healing.
Conclusion: In Luke 8:40-45 a crowd welcomes Jesus back across the lake, and Jairus, a synagogue ruler, falls at his feet begging him to heal his dying only daughter. On the way, a woman who has bled for twelve years and spent everything on doctors touches the fringe of Jesus’ cloak and is instantly healed. Jesus stops and asks who touched him, though Peter protests that the crowd is pressing all around. Jesus responds to faith, whether it comes from the respected or the rejected.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible