Jairus’ Daughter
JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER
MATTHEW 9:18-26
No matter what our problem is, it has Jesus’ whole concern.
Like the narrative of the paralytic, the account of the raising of Jairus’ daughter is greatly compressed in this Gospel as compared with the parallels in Mark (5:22-43) and Luke (8:41-56). It is from these parallels that we know that “ruler” (9:18) means “ruler of the synagogue,” as also that his name was Jairus. The rulers of the synagogue (except where the title was honorary) exercised general supervision over the building itself and over the services which were conducted in it; they were commonly elders of the congregation and, since the synagogue served as the community center, would be persons of considerable local importance. No doubt only the most desperate need would have driven such a man to implore the help of Jesus, who was no longer in good odor with the synagogue.
The woman with the persistent haemorrhage who touched him on the way had not merely to endure the physical distress of her condition; according to the law (Leviticus 15:25) she was in a permanent state of ceremonial defilement, with all the social and religious disadvantages which this involved. The fringe of Jesus’ cloak which she touched (9:20) was one of the tassels prescribed by the law of Numbers 15:38; Deuteronomy 22:12.
The flute-players of 9:23 were professional mourners, hired for the sad occasion. It has sometimes been argued that our Lord’s assurance, “the girl is not dead but sleeping” (9:24), means that those who thought she was dead were mistaken: but cf. John 11:11 (that the Greek word for “sleep” there is different from that used here is immaterial). It is implied that he raised her from death as easily as he might have roused her from sleep. Both the incidents in this section illustrate Jesus’ ready response to faith—the ruler’s and the woman’s.
Medtitation “Maturity and youth … much faith or little faith, touching or being touched, Jesus was the answer to men’s needs” (H.L. Ellison).