Interruption or Divine Appointment?
Introduction: Our normal preaching schedule would bring us this morning to Luke 8:26-39, the story of the Gadarene demoniac and the herd of pigs that rushed over the cliff and drowned in the lake. Somehow that did not seem too appropriate for Mother’s Day. So I decided to skip that portion and take the next section instead, which deals with the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter and the healing of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment. It’s not really about motherhood, but it is certainly closer to that theme than the demon-possessed homeless man. Besides, when we return to that passage two weeks from today, it will be Paul’s turn to preach! I’ll let him try to explain why a Jewish farmer was raising pigs in the first place.
Let’s begin by reading Luke 8:40-56:
Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 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 was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been 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. Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “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. Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
Interruptions are an inevitable part of my day. As Pastor of a large and growing church I sometimes think that interruptions are my day. Phone calls average 20-30 per day. Normally a half dozen people stop by the office unannounced. Almost every night at supper the phone rings and someone wants to sell me siding for my brick home or service my lawn or get me to accept a new long-distance carrier.
There are also interruptions within the home. My 13-year-old son is taking drum lessons. We have a high school girl living with us. The dog is constantly begging to be taken for a walk. It seems like life is full of interruptions. And someone the other day had the gall to ask me why I don’t get a car phone! Driving in the car is one of the few places in the world I don’t get interrupted.
There was a time when I hated interruptions. No longer. I’ve learned to live with them, even enjoy them at times. The reason is that I have seen in many of them the fingerprints of God.
A phone call at a busy time may bring with it a special word of
encouragement.
A visitor stopping by unannounced may provide an opportunity to comfort a distraught soul or even introduce someone to Christ.
The dog gets me walking when otherwise I would probably just sit and read.
And my wife has even taught me to be kind to the siding salesman who interrupts my dinner—and that, friends, takes supernatural power.
While I am still in the process of learning how to handle interruptions appropriately, I see in Jesus Christ the supreme example of one who viewed all interruptions as divine appointments. In our text for today He teaches that lesson to a man named Jairus, and in the process He teaches us.
Luke 8:40 begins, “Now when Jesus returned …” You will recall from last Sunday that, exhausted from the crush of ministry, Jesus had gotten into a boat with His disciples and they got caught in a terrible storm on the Sea of Galilee. After He calmed the storm, they crossed over to the east side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes, where Jesus encountered the demon-possessed man. Now He returns to Capernaum and finds another large crowd awaiting Him. In the space of a few verses, Luke has shown Jesus to be the Lord of nature and the Lord of spirit beings. Now in this account He will be seen as the Lord of life.
Jairus implores Jesus to heal his dying daughter.
We learn several things about this man Jairus.
His position is important. He is “a ruler of the synagogue.” As President of the synagogue, the chief administrator, it is his responsibility to arrange the synagogue services, selecting men to read, pray, and speak. He is probably well to do and undoubtedly a man of eminence in the community. But while life has given him much to enjoy, he is about to lose that which is most precious to him.
His respect for Jesus is high. It says that he “came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him .…” We do not know whether Jairus had any previous contact with Jesus, but it is not unlikely that Jesus had spoken in his synagogue. If this is the synagogue in Capernaum, which seems likely, the Centurion we met in chapter 7 is the one who built it, and Jesus had healed the Centurion’s servant. The ruler of the synagogue may have been involved in examining that servant after the healing to determine whether the cure had been genuine or not. At any rate, Jairus kneels down before Christ and begs him to help him.
His heart is breaking. His only daughter, about twelve years old, is dying. How many of you have only one child? Unless you are still fairly young, all your hopes and dreams for your later years are pinned on that child—to give you grandchildren, to carry on your name, to provide care in your later years. Jairus can see all this evaporating before his eyes, to say nothing of the fact that in his culture a young girl became marriageable at age 12 ½, and the dowry she would provide may have been his pension plan. But despite his breaking heart, …
His faith is developing. It is not quite the faith of the centurion we met in chapter seven. That man, you will recall, said to Jesus, “I did not consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Luke 7:7). Even Jesus was amazed at the Centurion’s faith, the likes of which he had not found anywhere in Israel. Still Jairus has enough faith to fall down before Jesus and plead with him in behalf of his dying daughter. Even that may have taken a lot more faith than we realize. Synagogue doors were rapidly closing to Jesus. Anyone found befriending him would undoubtedly come under attack from the Pharisees and teachers of the law. But Jairus is not concerned about either his position or his safety; he is concerned only about his daughter. And Jesus is the only one who offers any hope.
Jesus responds to Jairus’ faith. Verse 42 tells us, “As Jesus was on his way….” In other words, he responds to Jairus’ plea by heading for his house. What hope that must have brought to Jairus’ heart—Jesus is coming to my house! Maybe, just maybe, he will be able to do something to save my daughter! But as we come to the second scene in our story, we find that …
An interruption tests Jairus’ faith even further.
What happens next comes as a terrible blow to Jairus. The crowds are pressing around Jesus almost to the point of crushing him. I can just see Jairus walking ahead of him and pushing people out of the way, saying, “Move, please move. Clear a path. We’re in a hurry.” But suddenly Jesus stops and asks, “Who touched me?” What a weird question. Hundreds of people are pushing and shoving and reaching out to grab his hand, and he asks, “Who touched me?” Well, the answer is that …
A woman with an “incurable” disease reaches out and touches Jesus. We don’t know exactly what medical condition she suffers from, but it is clear that …
Her condition is pitiful. For twelve years she has been hemorrhaging. What a contrast to the 12 years of sunshine Jairus’ daughter has brought to his house. Physically this condition has to be very painful, inconvenient, and debilitating. But religiously it would be even worse. In Leviticus 15:25ff a person who suffers from chronic bleeding is declared to be ceremonially unclean. They could not attend worship, and they were socially isolated since the uncleanness was transferred to whomever and whatever they touched.
Financially she is ruined, for in Mark’s account of this same incident we read, “She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse.” Now it’s not surprising that Luke fails to provide this information; after all, he’s a doctor. But he does admit that “no one could heal her.” Not only is her condition pitiful, but in addition …
Her faith is imperfect. We read in verse 44, “She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.” One might think that she had so much faith that she felt she only needed to touch his clothes, but more likely her action is motivated by some mixture of fear, superstition, and faith. In ancient times it was generally believed that the power in a holy man was inherent in the clothes or objects which he touched. I shouldn’t even restrict that to ancient times, for it is not unknown for media evangelists to ask people to write in for a free prayer hanky which has been blessed by the evangelist (Please send at least $25 for postage and handling!).
It’s interesting, however, that on at least one occasion God himself worked in this way, minus the postage and handling. In Acts 19:11-12 Paul is in Ephesus preaching and teaching. The passage reads, “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.”
As imperfect as the woman’s faith may be, Jesus responds to it, for it says “immediately her bleeding stopped.”
The woman is immediately and completely healed. I assume she knows she is healed because the pain that has accompanied her hemorrhaging is gone and the weakness resulting from her anemia is gone. For the first time in twelve years, she feels whole again. I find it interesting here that while …
Her faith is rewarded privately, Jesus is not content to let the matter rest there. He sees to it that …
Her faith is revealed publicly. He wants to restore her, not only physically, but also socially and religiously and spiritually. If this is to happen, her healing must be announced. But even more importantly, she needs the opportunity to express her faith openly. The way Jesus chooses to do this is to ask, “Who touched me?” This is not a question for information, for Jesus knows the answer. Rather it is a rhetorical question designed to teach.
It appears that those standing around him think Jesus is offended that someone has touched him, for all of them deny being the guilty one. Finally Peter speaks up and says what everyone else is thinking: “Master, please! The people are crowding and pressing against you. It’s impossible to walk through a crowd like this without being touched!” But Jesus responds, “Someone touched me with a touch of faith; I know that power has gone out from me.” Here we learn that the healing miracles of Christ actually involved spiritual energy flowing from him to the person healed.
The woman perceives that she can no longer go unnoticed. She comes trembling and falls at the feet of Jesus. Her fear is unfounded, for all He wants to do is to give her the opportunity to bear witness. In Romans 10:9-10 we read,
If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
Twice the phrase “with your mouth” is used of the process of salvation. Well, this woman uses her mouth. Luke says in verse 47, “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.”
In the meantime, poor Jairus is watching all this occur. I’m sure he is near panic, asking himself in desperate frustration, “Why did this delay have to occur? Why has Jesus allowed this wretched woman, whose case is not fatal, to interrupt him on his way to my house? My daughter’s life is worth more than her health! What if the delay costs her life?”
And then his worst fears are realized. We read in verse 49, “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.’” Imagine the pain, the disappointment, and the anger that must have flooded Jairus’ soul. And this brings us to the third scene in our story.
A greater need leads to a greater miracle.
The greater need is that Jairus’ daughter is now dead rather than dying. The messenger, of course, entertains no thought that Christ’s power could extend beyond the grave. Death was the Maginot line, the point of no return. All hope is lost.
But Jesus hears the messenger speaking to Jairus and responds with an incredible word of hope: “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.” Only believe! This has always been the message of salvation. We are saved by believing, not by achieving. As I get older my mind often returns to the hymns of my youth, gospel songs that may not have been very musically sophisticated but often had a powerful message. One of those was the song, “Only Believe”:
Fear not, little flock, from the cross to the throne,
From death into life, he went for his own;
All power in earth, all power above,
Is given to him for the flock of his love.
Only believe, only believe;
All things are possible, only believe.
The song was based on this very verse: “Don’t be afraid; only believe.”
When Jesus arrives at Jairus’ house He takes only the parents of the girl and His inner circle of disciples inside. But first He turns to the grieving crowd—relatives, friends and professional mourners – and says to them, “Stop wailing. She is not dead but asleep.” William Barclay, who is a great writer but sadly likes to eliminate as much of the miraculous as he can from the gospels, suggests that the real miracle here is a miracle of diagnosis. Everyone else believes the girl to be dead, but Jesus knows she is only in a deep trance and is in danger of being buried alive.[i] But that is hard to reconcile with verse 53 where it says, “they laughed at him, knowing (not thinking) that she was dead;” or with Luke’s later observation in verse 55 that “her spirit returned.”
It is far better to take Jesus’ words about sleep in a theological sense rather than medical. What is real death to us is only sleep to Jesus. Believers never die in the New Testament; their bodies only go to sleep, to be awakened at the time of the Great Resurrection, when our bodies are joined again with our souls and spirits. Of course, this girl will not have to wait until the great Resurrection, for Jesus is going to wake her up right now.
Luke says in verse 54, “He took her by the hand and said, ‘My child, get up!’” The original language is literally, “Little lamb, arise.”
The greater miracle is resurrection rather than healing. Verse 55 reads, “Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.” Her spirit returned from where? I don’t know. The Scriptures seem to teach that in Old Testament times, which this technically is, because it occurs before the death of Christ, there was a holding ground for the dead–Abraham’s bosom for believers and hades for unbelievers. My supposition would be that she returned from Abraham’s bosom, but for her sake God probably wiped away the memory of it, for anyone who had experienced the joy of that place would not want to return to earth.
The important fact is that Jesus gives the little girl back to her parents—alive and well! But He orders them to tell no one. Now they couldn’t hide the fact that a great miracle had taken place. When the little girl stepped out of the house it would be obvious to everyone that Jesus had done something remarkable. But they are not to feed information to the Jerusalem Inquirer about what Jesus said and how He had raised the girl. Jesus has no desire to be known as a great miracle worker; He wants to be known as the great Forgiver of Sins.
Points to Ponder: In conclusion, I see three points in this passage that are worthy of meditation and application:
First, the power of God is not limited by the enormity of our need. It took not one iota more of God’s power to raise the little girl from the dead than it would have taken to heal her before she died. The messenger saw her death as the end of hope, but God used it as an opportunity to display His power. How often is our extremity God’s opportunity! We tend to see divorce as the absolute end of a family, but we serve a God who can bring about reconciliation and healing even after divorce. We tend to see bankruptcy as the end of our personal or corporate resources, but we serve a God who can bring a person or a company out of bankruptcy and prosper them once again. We tend to see the loss of a job or the rebellion of a teenager or the miscarriage of a baby as the end of hope. But we serve a God who can turn it all into a new beginning.
Second, the grace of God is not limited by the imperfections of our faith. I am so glad that our faith need not be perfect, that our understanding of doctrine need not be complete, that our lifestyle need not be totally reformed in order to find healing of our souls through Jesus. He receives sinful men, and ignorant ones, and even those whose faith may be mixed with a little superstition.
In Mark chapter 9 there is the story of the man who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus to seek healing for him. The man said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” I think all of us recognize that our faith is not what it should be. But the fact is Jesus does not demand a perfect faith. Even the Naamans, who obey kicking and screaming, and the doubting Thomases, who believe only when the evidence hits them in the face, are accepted by Jesus.
Those rude interruptions are often actually divine appointments. Interruptions raise the difficult issue of God’s timing. So often we don’t understand it. There have often been times in my life when I wished I had a seat in the council of heaven to argue my case for better timing of the events in my life or in my ministry or at St. Louis County Zoning and Planning. But what is amazing to me is how often, upon reflection and with the perspective of a longer range of events, the sequence God brought to pass made much better sense than what I would have lobbied for.
Many years ago I felt forced to resign from my job as Professor in a Bible college in Kansas City. This was a job I had wanted since I was in 2nd grade and I loved it, and I was angry at the loss of it. I looked hard for a new ministry position in the Midwest, but nothing opened up. Finally, I accepted a professorship at Miami Christian College and packed up my family and moved 1,700 miles in a Ryder truck.
Two weeks after moving there a job opened up in Wichita, Kansas – the pastorate of an Evangelical Free Church that I had come to love. But I was under contract for a year at the college. Besides, I was a college professor and I didn’t know if I wanted to be a pastor. Meanwhile when my first paycheck was due at Miami Christian College, I got a note instead, which said, “College finances are such that we are unable to meet payroll. Please pray.” I went to look for a second job, and a little church hired me for $65 a week – Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, plus all the funerals (and in that retirement community funerals were a lot more frequent than child dedications).
As it turned out, I found greater joy in teaching the Scriptures at that church than I did teaching philosophy and logic at the college. To make a long story short, the church in Wichita still wanted us when that first year was up, and we moved all the way back to Kansas, U-Haul this time.
I remember asking God, “What was that all about? Why didn’t You just open up that pastorate two weeks earlier and save all the expense and trouble of those two long moves?” But eventually I came to see that God planned that year in Miami to help me get over the pain of losing the job in Kansas City. He also used that interim pastor experience to help me learn some of the ropes before tackling a full-time pastorate. I am sure I would never have succeeded in Wichita had it not been for that 3,400 mile interruption. That one-year interruption turned out to be a divine appointment.
Friends, Jesus is the Lord of nature (he calmed the storm), the Lord of spirit beings (he cast demons out of the demoniac), and the Lord of life (he raised Jairus’ daughter). As your life unfolds before you this week, remember he is also the Lord of timing. Look at the interruptions you will inevitably face as God’s appointments; treat them as springboards for ministry; trust God to produce good from each of them.
Tags:
Interruptions
Healing
Faith
Resurrection
[i]. William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, 111.