| << Matt 9 | |
| << Matt 13 | |
| << Mark 5 | |
| << Luke 8 | |
| This is the New King James text of the passages. |
Matthew 9:18-34; Matthew 13:54-58 Listen 
Mark 5:21-43; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 8:40-56
In these passages, we see the following events in Jesus' ministry:
A resurrection and a healing Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56
Matthew 9 |
Mark 5 |
Luke 8 |
| 18 ¶ While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshiped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hand on her and she will live.” 19 So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. 20 ¶ And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. 21 For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.” 22 But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour. 23 ¶ When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing, 24 He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. 25 But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. 26 And the report of this went out into all that land. |
21 ¶ Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. 22 And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet 23 and begged Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.” 24 So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. 25 ¶ Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, 26 and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. 28 For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.” 29 ¶ Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. 30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?” 31 ¶ But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” 32 ¶ And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33 But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.” 35 ¶ While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 ¶ As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” 37 And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38 Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. 39 When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” 40 ¶ And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. 41 Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, “Talitha, cumi,” which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. 43 But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat. |
40 ¶ So it was, when Jesus returned, that the multitude welcomed Him, for they were all waiting for Him. 41 And behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue. And he fell down at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter about twelve years of age, and she was dying. ¶ But as He went, the multitudes thronged Him. 43 Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, 44 came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped. 45 ¶ And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?” ¶ When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” 46 ¶ But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me.” 47 Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately. 48 ¶ And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; your faith has made you well. Go in peace.” 49 ¶ While He was still speaking, someone came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, “Your daughter is dead. Do not trouble the Teacher.” 50 ¶ But when Jesus heard it, He answered him, saying, “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” 51 When He came into the house, He permitted no one to go in except Peter, James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. 52 Now all wept and mourned for her; but He said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping.” 53 And they ridiculed Him, knowing that she was dead. 54 ¶ But He put them all outside, took her by the hand and called, saying, “Little girl, arise.” 55 Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately. And He commanded that she be given something to eat. 56 And her parents were astonished, but He charged them to tell no one what had happened. |
You will recall from Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41, Luke 8:22-25 (see notes) that Jesus had crossed east over the Sea of Galilee. In this passage he has returned. Upon returning, a ruler of the local synagogue named Jairus approaches him with news that his daughter is very ill and makes a humble request for healing from Jesus. Of course Jesus agrees to go to his house, but while on the way he is just swamped with crowds following him. He senses that someone has touched him - not just touched, but touched one of the tassels on his garment in faith for healing. These tassels (Hebrew: tzitzit, Greek: "kraspedon" - "hem" in Matthew and "border" in Luke) were part of his garment in keeping with the Law of Moses in Numbers 15:38 (see notes), "Speak to the children of Israel: Tell them to make tassels [Hebrew: "tzitzit"] on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue thread in the tassels of the corners." Observant Jews still wear these tassels on their four-cornered garments today. Another "tzitzit" incident is found in Matthew 14:34-36 (see notes).
When Jesus stops and asks the people who touched him, the woman having done so was afraid to speak up at first, but then steps forward. Now we see an interesting lesson on faith. Jesus points out that this woman's faith was remarkable and noteworthy inasmuch as she recognized the power of Jesus to heal and committed her well being to him. Mark and Luke point out that the woman had spent all of her money on physicians, but to no avail. Incidentally, why do all three accounts contain this story within a story? It seems likely that the fact that Jesus arrives at the home of Jairus seemingly too late is the reason the Gospel writers wanted to show why Jesus was delayed in his arrival. It is interesting, if not really significant, that Matthew and Luke specifically address the fact that she touched the hem/border (Greek: "kraspedon" i.e. Hebrew: "tzitzit") while Mark only reports that she touched the garment of Jesus.
Upon arrival at the home of Jairus, you will notice that Mark and Luke point out that only James, John and Peter actually go into the home. Though only Matthew (of the three Gospel writers) was with Jesus that day (see "An Introduction to The Gospels"), he did not actually enter into the house - perhaps the reason he noticed the "flute players" outside. Both Mark and Luke received their information later on from those eyewitnesses and go into greater detail; their accounts are more lengthy than Matthew's. Jesus is told that he is too late; the synagogue ruler's twelve-year-old daughter is dead. Jesus tells them that she is just sleeping, a comment that gets a deriding laugh from the folks who have been her attendants. Jesus goes in, commands her to arise, and she does. Remarkable! So, was she dead or not? Everyone thought she was, but in all three Gospel accounts, Jesus says that she was not. However, Luke, the doctor, gives a little more detail in Luke 8:55 when he says, "Then her spirit returned, and she arose immediately." The Greek word used by Luke for "spirit" is "pneuma" which was also the common Greek word for "breath" or "wind." In other words, Luke's account seems to indicate that the people around her had observed her cessation of breathing previous to the healing. Well...no wonder they thought she was dead! You will notice that only Mark actually quotes the Aramaic phrase used by Jesus in this resurrection, and Mark has the most exhaustive account. Ironically, even though Mark and Luke tell us that Jesus charged the parents to keep this miracle to themselves, Matthew says in verse 26, "And the report of this went out into all that land." Some things are just too good not to tell.
We see in this story the reason why it is important to consider all three accounts of the synoptic writers when studying a passage concerning events during the earthly ministry of Jesus. Matthew just gives the high points of the incident, using just nine verses to tell the whole story. As a matter of fact, from his account you don't realize that the twelve-year-old girl actually dies while Jesus is en route to her home, nor does Matthew name her father, Jairus. Mark and Luke fill in those details. Matthew also omits the drama that surrounded the woman of faith who touched Jesus' garment. Only Mark tells us that Jesus actually spoke to the girl in Aramaic prior to her resurrection. Incidentally, this takes place in Northern Israel, well removed from the hostile environment around Jerusalem.
Jesus heals (Matthew 9:27-31)
Matthew 9 |
| 27 ¶ When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!” 28 ¶ And when He had come into the house, the blind men came to Him. And Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” ¶ They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 ¶ Then He touched their eyes, saying, “According to your faith let it be to you.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows it.” 31 But when they had departed, they spread the news about Him in all that country. |
There's something about the healing of the two blind men here that makes it stand out. You will notice that these two blind men acknowledge that Jesus is the Messiah when they refer to him in verse 27 as the "Son of David." Jesus heals them privately and charges in verse 30 to keep this incident to themselves, which we see they did not; they told everybody. I'm just guessing here, but I think it was probably the fact that they addressed Jesus as the Messiah that prompted Jesus to tell them not to make public notice of their healing. He knew that his time for the sacrifice of himself had not yet come, and a proclamation by two blind men that they had been healed by the Messiah would undoubtedly bring jealous Jewish leaders prematurely gunning for him.
Jesus casts out a demon (Matthew 9:32-34)
Matthew 9 |
| 32 ¶ As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” 34 ¶ But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.” |
When Jesus then casts the devil out of the dumb man, and he begins to speak, the Pharisees accuse Jesus of doing so through the power of Satan himself. Now this sounds familiar. The same Pharisaical talking points are used in Matthew 12:22-37/Mark 3:20-30/Luke 11:14-23 (see notes). While not much is said about this incident in this passage, on that previous occasion, Jesus proclaims a severe consequence to those who made such an assertion. On that similar occasion, we see that such comments reflected attitudes toward Jesus for which the Pharisees would never find forgiveness.
Jesus rejected at Nazareth (Matthew 13:54-58; Mark 6:1-6)
Matthew 13 |
Mark 6 |
| 54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” 57 So they were offended at Him. ¶ But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. |
1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. 4 ¶ But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. |
This short passage is packed with implications. First of all, notice how intolerant Jesus' home town was of his ministry. They immediately point out that he's not royalty, but rather a construction-worker's son. It's not common to name the mother with regard to a son's heritage, but they say, "Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary." To them, it was outrageous for Jesus to be considered anything other than a common laborer with non-royalty brothers and sisters. It further says of these hometown folks, "So they were offended..." The Greek word for "offended" is "skandalizo" from which we get our word "scandalize." They literally considered it scandalous for Jesus to receive any kind of honor whatsoever. Jesus simply takes it all in stride as he replies, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."
Notice how Matthew sums it up in verse 58, "Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief." That's a little different from Mark's characterization in verse 5, "And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching." Both acknowledge that Jesus did perform some miracles in his home town. Matthew seems to put it into perspective when he points out that Jesus did not do more because of their refusal to believe, no matter what they saw. So, it wasn't that he couldn't, but rather that he limited himself because of their unbelief.
One might conclude from Matthew 13:57 and Mark 6:4 that Jesus' own family lacked respect for his ministry. The text doesn't actually say that, so I don't think it's appropriate to assume that this was the case.