The Book of Luke

Here we meet a man named Jairus, who served as a “ruler of the synagogue” (an administrative position that oversaw the building and the physical arrangements for worship). Jairus is in the middle of as painful a crisis that one could fathom; his only child is terminally ill. With nowhere else to turn, he has put his every last hope in Jesus; but unfortunately it seemed too late. They received news that the little girl has died. Everyone, including the girl’s father Jairus, embraced this as fact. The matter was closed, the mourning had begun, and it was time for the family to move on with their lives. But no matter is closed until God deems it so, and Jesus was not done yet with this family. As the little girl was snatched back from death, her parents likewise were snatched out of despair and brought into a hope that cannot be described, only encountered.

Do you have a covenant prayer that you have long given up hope of being answered? Have you been given a dream from God that you have presumed dead? Are the hours spent weeping over unsaved loved ones slowly numbing your soul as you bow further to indifference? We see in the story that as every circumstance for this family turned for the worst, the response of Jesus was unchanged: “Do not fear; only believe.” If God desires to keep a door open, no force can close it except for our own unbelief. We serve a God who is unphased by physical limitations and conditions, so may our faith hold steady for every supplication, every dream, and every encounter with the living hope we have in Christ!

Read Luke 8 and answer the reflection questions to help you process passage.