March 8 – Luke 7:40-56
Main Focus: The Bleeding Woman
Jesus returns after spending time proclaiming the kingdom of God from town to town and the crowd welcomes him back for they were expecting him. Jairus, a leader of the synagogue falls at Jesus’ feet asking Jesus to heal his 12 year old daughter. The crowds began to surge towards Jesus and nearby was a woman who suffered from bleeding. Her plight was heightened by its duration (twelve years) and hopelessness (she could not be healed by anyone). Moreover, her hemorrhaging would also have made her ceremonially unclean, which would have cut her off from many social and religious relationships.
She touched the fringe of his garment. In contrast to the 12 years of hemorrhaging and failure to be healed by human means, the miraculous healing that comes from God happens immediately. In response, Jesus asks, “Who touched me?” Jesus is aware that one of the many people touching him had been healed. The healed woman came trembling. Jesus addresses her as daughter and reassures the woman, as does his statement that her faith has made her well (in the sense of both physical and spiritual healing). Jesus’ final words to her, go in peace, suggest that she has been saved. While Jesus was healing her, Jairus’s daughter dies. Jesus heard them and he said “Do not fear”; only believe. The two exhortations are followed by the promise she will be well.
To those mourning and weeping Jesus says that she is not dead but sleeping. The ridicule Jesus receives affirms the girl’s death but misunderstands his metaphorical use of “sleeping” Her spirit returned. The reuniting of the girl’s spirit and body resulted in the return to her former earthly life. She got up at once. Along with the fact of her eating, this offers immediate proof of the miracle. He charged the parents to tell no one. For Jesus is now back in a Jewish region where mistaken expectations about a political and revolutionary messiah could make Jesus’ ministry much more difficult.
Discussion questions
Read Luke 7:40-56
– What surprised you the most about this story (Jesus’ words, the reactions, etc), and why? What questions do you have from this story? Why do you think this text is included in the Bible? What would we be missing without it?
– In verses 42-48, we read about the healing of a woman who endured suffering for twelve years. That’s a long time. It’s common for us to endure suffering silently or consider it abnormal to the Christian journey. However, suffering is not uncommon in the Christian life. Considering your prolonged suffering experiences, discuss what insights you’ve gained about Christ and the Gospel. If you haven’t experienced long-suffering yet, consider others who have and what you’ve learned about faith from them.
– When others go through long-suffering, Christians often unintentionally make a handful of mistakes. We might try to fix their problem by offering easy solutions. We might compare their suffering to our experience, making them feel diminished. We might overpromise God’s deliverance when uncertain if that is God’s desire. We might even be “hyper-spiritual” in such a way that focuses on the blessings and dismisses the deep reality of pain. We all have been on both sides of this in the past. Discuss how to faithfully have compassion (a “co-suffering”) for the hurting in your group.
– How can we pray and encourage one another in light of this story of suffering and healing? Who needs your compassion and how can we pray for them?