Note: This is a transcript of an audio talk, lightly edited by Claude AI. Misspellings have been corrected, punctuation and paragraphing added for readability, and scripture quotations highlighted. Conversational asides, banter, and interjections have been marked where they occur. The substance and voice of the speaker have been preserved throughout.
Luke 8:40–56 — Bible Talk Transcript
The Text
[Reading begins]
Luke 8:40–48, 54–56 (KJV)
“And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: for he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him.
And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years… [interjection: “Sorry, this is in my eye here.”] …which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.
And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”
[Aside about microphone placement — “I might even swap the other microphone out for it, but this is a better type of microphone, you see? I’ll try to make it a little bit more discreet.”]
Interweaving Stories: The Art of Biblical Narrative
All right, let’s concentrate on that section. I know we are kind of halfway through — there are two stories tied in here. And isn’t it interesting that we know this is not a wooden account? These interweaving stories. We have all reached the end of one story which is inserted into the middle of another story, and we are hooked. And isn’t this an encouragement for those working in narrative creation? Yes, we have here divinely inspired guidelines, and we are given the thumbs up, the okay, by the Holy Spirit of God saying: take what has been done through Luke — which was genuinely Luke’s as well — and use it. Here it is.
So that is one thing to note: Luke maintains interest throughout by interweaving stories. He has picked up one thread, one loop that is not yet closed. Meanwhile, he has interjected another loop, which he has closed. But at the end of that, we are not reaching for the remote — we are saying, well, what happened with the other story?
[Interjection: “Which reminds me of a story told by Rushdoony — recounted from another book — about a boy in an ordinary British school who was given the task of reading the scripture for the day. This was from Acts, part of one of Paul’s missionary journeys, and the boy wouldn’t stop reading. Finally the schoolmaster intervened and said, ‘Boy, shut up — you’re past the reading,’ and he quipped back, ‘I want to know what happens.’”]
Now this is Luke — or rather, Luke-Acts. That is how the scholars view it: Luke-Acts as one thing. Whether that is strictly the case or not, Luke wrote both books, and it just occurred to me that the same energy that is in Luke is, of course, in Acts. That boy was reading the book of Acts, hallelujah, and he would not stop because he wanted to know what happens.
I think in the Christian community we have so ritualised the book that we have neutered it. Maybe that does not apply to you — maybe you read the Bible intelligently, with a sense of wonder each time. But it is very possible that because you have grown up with the Bible being treated as a “holy book” that is not quite accessible, to be approached only by scholars or clergymen, you have lost the sense that it is meant to be read, and we are meant to delight in the story. After all, are not our own lives these interleaving open loops and closed loops and little dramas — the very stories the Lord is writing into our own life for the sake of his praise and honour and glory?
People Gladly Received Him
Luke 8:40 (KJV): “And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him.”
What does this tell us? It tells us that the Pharisees were very much opposed to Jesus — some synagogues were ready to cast him off a cliff — but that is far from the whole story. We just finished a section where the people of the Gadarenes said, in effect, “Jesus is a great man; we don’t want him anywhere near us.” But it is never a uniform picture. It is never “everybody hates the gospel,” never “nobody wants to hear what I have to say.” There is always someone.
You might say that some of these very people later cried “Crucify him!” — but you cannot even say that with certainty, because at the day of Pentecost, 3,000 were saved, and it is Luke himself in Acts who tells us this. So let us not be discouraged, and let us not accept the lie: “Nobody will want to hear this.” That was not true for the Lord Jesus, who was the greatest stumbling stone of offence and the most absolutely uncompromising Bible teacher of all time.
And we should also take a leaf out of his book: his ministry was not one-dimensional. It was not just a “saying, saying, saying” ministry. It was healing and service, as well as proclamation. Hallelujah.
Jairus: Expectations Confounded
Luke 8:41 (KJV): “And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house.”
You might find yourself saying: churches are like this, institutions are like that, religious people are like this or that. But we have a variety of people here — that is just the nature of human life. Some people and groups are receptive; others are not. We cannot go into a new situation and predetermine the outcome. Frankly, it is a lie of the devil, or a lie of the flesh, designed to prevent the work of God from happening, and it must be combated — combated how? By the word of God, by the application of scripture to the situation.
Now, Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue — not quite the clergy, but a man of responsibility, an elder, someone chosen by the community. All you need in Jewish practice, as I understand it, to start a synagogue is ten men, who can then call an eleventh — a rabbi to teach them. It is not centralised, which is significant.
But what does Jairus do, faced with Jesus? Does he have a demon? No. Does he want to throw Jesus off a cliff? No. Is he a proud man who will not associate with Jesus? No. What does he do? He falls down at Jesus’ feet. Expectation confounded.
Here is a man of means, a man of distinction, a man of responsibility — and he falls down. It is not easy for a man to fall down at another man’s feet. You have to be in dire straits, and you have to be very clear that this man is something very different. Perhaps this is a sign that Jairus believed Jesus was the Messiah. But who do you fall down before? You fall down before someone who has greater authority than you. Moses did not have to be persuaded to take his sandals off. Isaiah did not have to be persuaded to prostrate himself. Nor Daniel. Because in his heart he knew that something divine was at play.
Luke 8:42 (KJV): “For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying.”
Can you imagine? Jesus has already met a funeral and raised the dead — he has quite the credentials. Surely the act of bowing down before him was motivated in large measure by the fact that this father knew this man — this Messiah, perhaps — could in fact heal, could change the situation. What would you not do? You would grovel on the ground. You would do whatever you had to do to save your dear daughter.
So here we have someone who loves life — who loves the life of his daughter, loves his daughter, wants life to reign. This is in interesting contrast to the rather cold and emotionally manipulative Pharisees we have encountered previously. They are very distant from life.
[Interjection: “It’s interesting that in the encounter with the woman caught in the act of adultery, they all had to recuse themselves — from the greatest to the least. Why? Because under biblical law they had no right to judge a case in which they themselves had been guilty of the crime. These were all adulterers. Was Jairus an adulterer? I don’t think so. And those people who stand aloof from life, observing and criticising others — they’re often the ones who don’t fully engage with their own households.”]
Jairus just has a heart of love towards his daughter, and he pours it out at Jesus’ feet. And again, this brings to mind Mary Magdalene — where do we find her in relation to Jesus? At his feet. Where is this man? At his feet. Interesting.
The Woman with an Issue of Blood
Luke 8:43–44 (KJV): “And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched.”
This is a story as old as time itself: someone has a condition, everything is spent upon curing it — the chiropractor, the Chinese medicine, the supplements, the ointments. Do not kid yourself; there was some variety of all these things at the time of Jesus. Neither could be healed of any. This was beyond the ability of anyone to cure, proven again and again. It was like the burnt offering on Mount Carmel being doused again and again. Money was not going to fix the problem. It was either God or nothing.
Now notice the contrast embedded in verses 42 to 43: here is a young girl who is only twelve — she has probably not yet come into her menstrual flow. And here is a woman who has had an issue of blood for how many years? Twelve. When Jairus’s daughter was born, something dreadful happened to this woman. There was a conception on the one hand — a joyful birth — and on the other hand, something went wrong in a most intimate and secret place. Both of them, at the same time, come into contact with Jesus. Both in attitudes of humility.
[Aside: “And he’s using a specific number there — which is part of what you should do in a headline: use a specific number. Twelve years of age. Twelve years. He’s doing that deliberately.”]
Notice also that this woman came behind Jesus and touched the border of his garment. Compare:
Luke 7:38 (KJV): “And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears.”
Both women approach from behind. This is worth noting. I will not labour the point, but my mind goes to Ruth and Boaz, and being at his feet. Men and women are not the same. Man has been given an authority and responsibility by God that women have not been given — and that difference is not superficial.
There is also a Levitical dimension here. The general equity of Leviticus teaches that uncleanness is communicated from the unclean to the clean. Touching something unclean renders you unclean. What, then, must have been going on in this woman’s mind? She had somehow arrived at the conviction that this sickness — this source of uncleanness, this most feminine and most embarrassing of all complaints — could end if she touched even the hem of his garment. Not the man himself. Just the hem.
And what happens? The reverse of the normal Levitical dynamic. Uncleanness is not communicated to Jesus. Rather, his cleanness goes out to her.
Luke 8:45–46 (KJV): “And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.”
The word rendered “virtue” in the Amplified is “healing power.” Something went out of Jesus — healing power, strength. And this tells us something both about Jairus and about this woman: they were absolutely determined to get to Jesus through every obstacle. They had faith that if they reached him, he could fix it. They were not going to be put off by jostling crowds or social embarrassment. They were going for it. And that determination — that earnestness — is what it requires.
Culturally, in this country at least, to be seen as earnest is to be seen as a figure of fun. But if you want closure on an issue that is impossible for anyone else to cure, you have got to be serious, determined, willing to push through every obstacle. And this is part of the reason they received the reward of public exaltation by Jesus himself.
The Public Testimony
Luke 8:47–48 (KJV): “And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him, and how she was healed immediately. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.”
She did not want the spotlight. Having an affliction like this would have shaped her character toward timidity. But Jesus does not always spare your feelings. His concern is his kingdom and the edification of our brothers and sisters in Christ. So she is put in a position where she has to testify — a testimony of transformation — before all the people.
This is how Jesus authenticated his own ministry. When the disciples of John asked whether he was the Messiah, he gave them testimony after testimony: him actually healing people. And if you are in any sort of ministry — teaching, healing, service — this is what we should seek and what we should expect to see: transformation.
“Thy faith hath made thee whole.”
What is sickness? It is the absence of wholeness. What is health? Health is wholeness. Some part of her was dysregulated, which caused the sickness. And so the goal, whether in psychological ministry, spiritual ministry, or physical ministry, is wholeness. You cannot minister to the body in isolation from the mind, or to the mind in isolation from the body. It is all a whole. The Christian concept of the body is exactly this — not just various bits farmed out to specialists who lose sight of the whole person.
“Go in peace.”
That is beautiful. Doesn’t tell her anything else. He asks that she give her testimony, she is embarrassed, but does she stay embarrassed? No — she is too whole. And this should be the fruit of our ministry: that people who are tormented within become whole, and go in peace.
The Cliffhanger Resolved
Luke 8:49–50 (KJV): “While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.”
“While he yet spake” — what a device. Bang, bang, bang. You are held in this story. And this is Dr. Luke — not just a physician but a master storyteller. As a physician, these afflictions and their healings naturally fascinate him. It also takes some humility on his part, as a doctor, to record that other doctors couldn’t cure this woman.
Jairus is told, in front of a massive throng, that his daughter is dead. What state is he going to be in? Jesus addresses him: Fear not. He knew that fear had gripped him. Believe only, and she shall be made whole. Jesus is setting down the conditions: if you have faith, she will be made whole.
Luke 8:51–53 (KJV): “And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. And all wept and bewailed her. But he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.”
[Interjection — speaker momentarily misreads the passage and thinks it is the father and mother who are laughing, then corrects himself: “Crisis averted, everyone! Sorry — I need to get the verses in order. He put them all out first, so it is those outside who are laughing — not the parents, not Peter, James, and John.”]
So he puts them all out — all those who laughed him to scorn — and he takes the father, the mother, and his three disciples into the room.
Luke 8:54–56 (KJV): “And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.”
He is touching a dead body — which, under Leviticus, would normally communicate uncleanness to the one who touches it. But again, the reverse happens: uncleanness cannot be communicated to Jesus. He is, by his very nature, clean.
He called out loud: “Maid, arise.” He does not say it inwardly — he speaks. And her spirit came again. What is wholeness here? The body and the spirit joined together. The spirit had departed the body. We cannot impose foreign frameworks onto this, but we can say: we have a spirit, we have a body, these are two different things. We are living souls, joined together as a whole.
This further informs us that we cannot minister to the body as merely a body, nor to the mind as merely a mind unconnected with the body. We must aim for wholeness — acknowledging that the living person before us has a body, a mind, a spirit, and all of these are aspects of their wholeness. The wholeness of the woman with the issue of blood was a bodily wholeness — a dysregulated flow brought back into order. The wholeness here was the spirit returned to the body. And in both cases, what makes the difference is faith.
And she arose straight away. Boom. This is the effect when Jesus moves: things happen immediately. Life is brought — wholeness is brought — just like that. People do not lie there; they get up. They want to live. There is a kind of spirit power: they are on their feet, they want to embrace life. Let’s go.
[Aside: “And he commanded to give her meat — not vegetables. Hallelujah.”]
Why Tell No One?
He charged them that they should tell no man what was done. This is striking. To the demoniac he said, “Go back to your house, assume your responsibilities, and tell as many people as you like.” To this woman he asked for a public testimony. But in this case, the specific command was to tell no one.
Surely this is a waste of a testimony? Surely it is wasted if men do not hear about it?
But it is not man who is the measure of all things. It is our faith and obedience to the Lord that is the measure of all things. He wanted this story told — but in his time, not ours.
Epilogue: Was It a Good Thing?
Was it a good thing that this woman had an issue of blood for twelve years? For twelve years she could accumulate no capital, could not think of marriage, had all these inconveniences layered one on top of the other. Was that a good thing? Of course not — except that it brought her to Jesus. Except that it worked faith in her. “Thy faith hath made thee whole.”
Same with Joseph. Same with Jacob. Same with Moses. A great deal of what happened in their lives was not good — painful to the nth degree. But if we believe in the sovereignty of God and the goodness of God, we are never at any point to give way to bitterness, to blame, to saying “Why, God?” Sin — unrepentant sin — blames, and points the finger ultimately at God. But this woman did not do that.
And was it a good thing to have a sick daughter? To be told she had died, in front of a throng of people? No. But to have a faith that could hold on in that, and believe in the midst of that — and to see your daughter raised to life by the Lord Jesus Christ — was that a good thing?
When we weigh our lives with all their ups and downs, and sometimes the downs can be very down, we have to say — as we look back, or by faith as we will look back — this is for good. This is definitely for good. Why? Because God is sovereign, and because he is good.
So there is so much in here, and we praise God for showing it to us. May God be with you and bless you.
Scriptures Referenced
| Reference | Subject |
|---|---|
| Luke 8:40–56 | Primary text — Jairus’s daughter and the woman with the issue of blood |
| Luke 7:37–38 | The sinful woman who washes Jesus’ feet from behind |
| Acts 2 | Pentecost — 3,000 converted |
| John 8:1–11 | The woman caught in adultery; the Pharisees recuse themselves |
| 1 Kings 18 | Elijah and the prophets of Baal; the burnt offering doused on Mount Carmel |
| Ruth (general) | Ruth at the feet of Boaz |
| Leviticus (general equity) | Uncleanness communicated by touch; cleanness and wholeness |
| Isaiah 6 | Isaiah prostrates himself before God |
| Daniel (general) | Daniel prostrates himself before God |
| Matthew 8:5–13 / Luke 7:1–10 | The Roman centurion — “I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof” |