Luke 8:40-56

The Voice

⁴⁰ When Jesus and His disciples crossed the lake, another crowd was waiting to welcome Him. ⁴¹ A man made his way through the crowd. His name was Jairus, and he was a synagogue official. Like the man on the other side of the lake, this dignified man also fell at Jesus’ feet, begging Jesus to visit his home ⁴² where his only daughter, a girl of 12, lay dying. Jesus set out with Jairus. The crowd came along, too, pressing hard against Him.

⁴³ In the crowd was a woman. She had suffered from an incurable menstrual disorder for 12 years [and had spent her livelihood on doctors with no effect].^[a] It had kept her miserable and ritually unclean, unable to participate fully in Jewish life. ⁴⁴ She followed Jesus, until she could reach Him. She touched the fringe of the robe Jesus wore, and at that moment the bleeding stopped.

⁴⁷ The woman now realized her secret was going to come out sooner or later, so she stepped out of the crowd, shaking with fear, and she fell down in front of Jesus. Then she told her story in front of everyone—why she touched Him, what happened as a result.

⁴⁹ Right at that instant, one of Jairus’s household servants arrived.

^51-52 As they approached the house, the whole neighborhood was full of the sound of mourning—weeping, wailing, loud crying. Jesus told everyone to stay outside—everyone except Peter, John, James, and, of course, the girl’s father and mother.

⁵³ They knew for certain that she was dead, so their bitter tears now mixed with mocking laughter.

⁵⁴ Meanwhile, inside, Jesus took the girl’s hand.

⁵⁵ She started breathing again, and she sat right up.

⁵⁶ Her parents were amazed, but Jesus sternly told them to keep what had happened a secret.