INTERWOVEN GRACE
Opening Prayer
Compassionate Father, help me to reach out to those marginalized in my community with your love, your grace, your mercy.
Read LUKE 8:40-56
Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick Woman
40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.
As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,[a] but no one could heal her. 44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.
45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.
When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.”
46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”
47 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. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”
50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”
51 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. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”
53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
Footnotes
- Luke 8:43 Many manuscripts years, and she had spent all she had on doctors
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
On a typical day, how many interruptions do you experience? Do you ever express your frustration to God? Does God sometimes interrupt your busyness?This story weaves two incidents together. One interrupted the other. First, the only daughter of the synagogue leader was dying. Second, a ceremonially unclean woman was hunting for help. There was a twelve-year-old girl and a woman with a twelve-year-old problem. They could not have been more different. One was probably the princess of the village, while the other a bankrupt social outcast.
Notice how Jesus honored the woman. He could have left her unnoticed and carried on to care for Jairus’ daughter. Instead, he stopped and spoke with her (vs 47,48). If he had carried on, she would still have been healed, but she would not have been socially restored. See how Jesus called her ‘daughter’ and publicly acknowledged her faith. This was a beautiful moment, but it must have felt like a fateful delay for Jairus.
When news came that Jairus’ daughter had died, everything seemed lost (v 49). Jesus was not perturbed. He took a small group into the house and raised her back to life! The interruption led to wholeness for the woman and a greater miracle for Jairus and his family.
Apply
Praise God that his grace pours out to rich and poor. Praise God that his grace pours out as he chooses, even if that sometimes interrupts our expectations and creates confusion for us.
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, my sin made me unclean and even sick unto death. Thank you for hearing my plea for forgiveness, for calling me your child, and giving me eternal life.
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