On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for Him. Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the local synagogue, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with Him to come home with him. His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Jesus went with him, He was surrounded by the crowds.
A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding, [having spent everything she had on doctors] and she could find no cure. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of His robe. Immediately, the bleeding stopped. “Who touched Me?” Jesus asked. Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, this whole crowd is pressing up against You.” But Jesus said, “Someone deliberately touched Me, for I felt healing power go out from Me.” When the woman realized that she could not stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell to her knees in front of Him. The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched Him and that she had been immediately healed. “Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” ]
While He was still speaking to her, a messenger arrived from the home of Jairus, the leader of the synagogue. He told him, “Your daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the Teacher now.” But when Jesus heard what had happened, He said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be healed.” When they arrived at the house, Jesus wouldn’t let anyone go in with Him except Peter, John, James, and the little girl’s father and mother. The house was filled with people weeping and wailing, but He said, “Stop the weeping! She isn’t dead; she’s only asleep.” But the crowd laughed at Him because they all knew she had died. Then Jesus took her by the hand and said in a loud voice, “My child, get up!” And at that moment her life returned, and she immediately stood up! Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. Her parents were overwhelmed, but Jesus insisted that they not tell anyone what had happened.
Luke 8:40-56
This is the second of those two for one deals I told you about in Gem 858, the first of which appeared in Gem 860. This now is the second “two for one” deal. I have put both of them together as Luke has them so that you notice something about the two stories. We will work our way through it as it unfolds. This is a remarkable combo with much going on behind the scenes. Take some time to read it in detail before we start to pull it apart. And don’t forget to check the section before and after. Do you notice something already? What a contrast between one side of the lake and this one. Jesus has just come back from crossing the lake from Capernaum to Gergesa and back again. He only crossed the lake to encounter the crazy man. Isn’t that remarkable? The Son of God feels to go to the other side of the lake. Risks Himself and his disciples in the crossing. (Did He really risk it, or did He know what was coming? Ponder that one.) He stepped out of the boat on the other side and had the encounter with the demonaic, only to be told he was not welcome and asked to leave. To recap – He leaves Capernaum, goes through the storm, heals the demoniac, goes through another storm (of protest) and returns to a welcome.
Do you think it is a throw-away line where Luke writes “On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for Him”? Luke has deliberately structured his Gospel this way. Remember this is the guy who is giving us an ordered account; not chronologically but logically. Luke has followed Mark’s order. Matthew places the following story of Jairus’ daughter a little further on and sandwiches between them the healing of the paralysed man, dinner at Matthew’s place, fasting, new wineskins / cloth and then finally Jairus’ daughter. Likely as not Mark has the elements in chronologically order. Matthew changes the order for his own purpose. Luke sticks to the order but makes a particular little change. In his first statement back after re-crossing the lake he writes “On the other side of the lake the crowds welcomed Jesus, because they had been waiting for Him.” The embolding is mine, not Luke’s. Luke didn’t have a computer, but I know you know that. Notice on one side of the lake he is not welcome, on the other side of the lake he is more than welcome. They rejoice, they have been waiting for Him to come back.
Such a contrast requires you to ponder this longer and look at the actions and reactions both sides of the lake. The way the story is told is deliberate; take time to tease it apart.
Spend some time before I get into the detail of this “two for one” deal to see what you can find. Remember, look at the big picture and look at the details. Read it a number of times in different versions. We will start pulling it apart in the next Gem.
Have fun.
When God leads you to the edge of the cliff one of two things will happen: either He will catch you or you’ll learn to fly.
Anon
If God’s Word holds the universe together, surely He can keep your life from falling apart.
A R Bernard
The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
Abraham Lincoln
And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count: It’s the LIFE in your years.
Abraham Lincoln