In this week’s passage, we encounter two stories woven together that reveal the surprising nature of Jesus’ grace. As we journey through these passages, we see how Jesus meets people in their moments of deepest need, offering not just physical healing but profound restoration.
Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
The Similarity of Desperation
Desperation unites the characters in these stories. Jairus, a synagogue ruler, approaches Jesus because his twelve-year-old daughter lies dying. Meanwhile, a woman who has suffered with a bleeding condition for twelve years has exhausted every resource seeking healing. Both face impossible situations that have pushed them beyond their ability to cope.
We can relate to this desperation. Like them, we pride ourselves on being fixers. We have solutions for everything. Engine trouble? YouTube tutorial. Kids fighting? A stern look or a distracting playlist. Bad day? Coffee or a glass of wine to end the day. We constantly throw money, willpower, and spirituality at our problems, hoping something sticks.
But real desperation comes when we hit those impassable walls—problems we simply cannot fix. A marriage fraying despite our best efforts. A child drifting away. An unexpected diagnosis. Exposed sin we cannot hide. These moments strip away our illusions of control and expose our powerlessness.
Yet desperation actually serves as a gift. It shatters the lie that we have everything under control and reveals our need for something greater than ourselves. Desperation becomes the point where God can finally grab us by the shoulders, shake us awake, and say, “Look, I’m the only One who has the real power.”
The Contrast of Faith
Both stories showcase faith that’s simultaneously perfect and imperfect. Jairus displays remarkable faith by approaching Jesus despite his religious position and the potential cost to his status. He fears the Lord above people’s opinions. Yet his faith wavers when messengers bring news that his daughter has died. He begins to think Jesus’ timing has failed.
Jesus responds with gentle correction: “Don’t fear. Only believe.” He reminds Jairus that even when circumstances change dramatically, Jesus Himself hasn’t changed. His sovereign grace remains constant.
The woman with the bleeding condition demonstrates a different kind of imperfect faith. She approaches Jesus almost superstitiously, thinking she just needs to touch his clothes. She attempts a secret healing, fearing exposure. She only comes trembling before Jesus after being discovered.
Yet her faith is also perfect in its simplicity. After twelve years of exhausting every option, she believes one touch of Jesus will heal her. This teaches us that great faith isn’t necessary. Just the tiniest faith in Jesus’s great power. Our salvation doesn’t depend on our grip on Him but on His powerful hold on us.
The Restoration of Relationship
Jesus’s interactions reveal that His concern extends beyond physical healing to relational restoration. When He calls the woman “daughter,” He establishes her identity not just as someone who’s physically healed but as someone who belongs to God’s family. He publicly affirms her clean status and restores her to community.
With Jairus’s daughter, Jesus keeps the resurrection private, creating an intimate family moment. In both cases, Jesus demonstrates that while physical healing matters, relational restoration—first with God, then with others—matters even more.
When life falls apart, where do we reach? These accounts in Luke’s gospel remind us that desperate people find the greatest relief when they reach for Jesus. While our fixes eventually fail, Jesus heals what we cannot and saves what we’ve lost.
The gospel reveals God’s eternal movement into our desperation, perfectly solving our deepest problems through the cross. Though grace doesn’t always fix everything immediately, it promises we’re never alone in our brokenness. Jesus meets us personally in our most desperate moments, looks at us with compassion, and calls us daughter and son.
This article is a recap of a sermon preached by Pastor Hunter Sipe at Good Shepherd Bible Church on Sunday, March 16, 2025 entitled The Surprise of Jesus – Part 3: The Two Daughters. This sermon continues our expositional series on Luke’s gospel entitled Luke: Good News for the Rest of Us. This sermon and others are available for listening on the Good Shepherd Bible Church Sermon Podcast.
Good Shepherd Bible Church is an Acts 29 church located in Pataskala, OH serving the eastern Columbus area.
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