Expectant Faith

The word expectant is from Latin indicating "await, desire, hope".  This lesson focuses on a perfect example of expectant faith.  

Jesus’ timing is perfect.  Even when it seems he’s “too late” he is actually “right on time.”  Today we look at Luke 8:41-42; and 49-56 and see that with Jesus ANYTHING is possible.

The typical Jewish religious leadership viewed Jesus as an upstart teacher who wasn’t, as we would say today, “playing ball with the boys of the swamp.”  The religious parties in the majority at the time, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, struggled with Jesus’ teaching because Jesus wasn’t playing “party politics”.  Typically the Jewish leadership viewed Jesus and his teachings as speaking irreverently against God, or even as heresy – "doctrine or opinion at variance with established standards".

With this in mind let’s look at this example of expectant faith.  Let’s read Luke 8: 41-42:

Luke 8:41-42

41 Just then, a man named Jairus came. He was a leader of the synagogue. He fell down at Jesus’s feet and pleaded with him to come to his house, 42 because he had an only daughter about twelve years old, and she was dying. While he was going, the crowds were nearly crushing him.

As a synagogue board member Jairus would administrate the order of the service in the synagogue, which was typically: the recitation of the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9), a time of prayers, a time of scripture reedings, a sermon, and a benediction.  He was chosen by his peers to serve in this position so we can assume that he enjoyed a certain amount of popularity.

If he had been the typical Jewish religious leader, he would have, most likely, considered Jesus as, at BEST, an outlier to be shunned, and at WORST a heretical blasphemer to be “destroyed.” But seeing his daughter on the brink of death made Jairus do what any good father would do.  He jettisoned his prejudice, his pride, and his precepts, for the expectant hope that Jesus was who he claimed to be, and that the reports of his miracles were indeed true.

Jesus had just returned from the region of the Gerasenes in the region filled with citizens who were culturally more Greek than Semitic – Gentile.  There the crowds asked him to leave after the pig incident with the demons called Legion.  There he told the formerly demon possessed man to “go home and tell others.”  Now Jesus has returned across the Sea of Galilee and the crowds of the “more Jewish neighborhood” are welcoming to him.  There were so many in the crowd that Jesus experienced a human traffic jam overwhelming his progress.

Jairus fell at the feet of Jesus and pleaded that Jesus come along side him to rescue his daughter who was dying.  She was only 12 years old and was dying when he left home to go to Jesus. Luke noted that while Jesus was going with Jairus, he stopped to deal with the hemorrhaging woman when someone from the household alerted Jairus to the fact that his daughter had just died.  

This indicates that the girl had been dying since Jairus left, HAD DIED and was dead from the time it took the servant to leave the house, locate Jairus, inform him, have Jairus make his request of Jesus and then fight the crowd to return to Jairus’ house.  Jesus did more than heal Jairus’ daughter, he did more than just resuscitate her.  He raised her from dead. Let’s see how this went.

Luke 8: 49-53

While he was still speaking, someone came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”  When Jesus heard it, he answered him, “Don’t be afraid. Only believe, and she will be saved.”  

After he came to the house, he let no one enter with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother.  Everyone was crying and mourning for her. But he said, “Stop crying, because she is not dead but asleep.”  They laughed at him, because they knew she was dead. 

So Jairus found Jesus, begged him to come home with him, and immediately as Jesus is leaving he is stopped because of the healing of the hemorrhaging women. In verses 43 to 48 cover this exchange, “A woman suffering from bleeding for twelve years, who had spent all she had on doctors and yet could not be healed by any,  approached from behind and touched the end of his robe. Instantly her bleeding stopped. “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.  When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are hemming you in and pressing against you.” But Jesus said, “Someone did touch me.” “I know that power has gone out from me.”  When the woman saw that she was discovered, she came trembling and fell down before him. In the presence of all the people, she declared the reason she had touched him and how she was instantly healed.  “Daughter,” he said to her, “your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

I am sure that this delay of some minutes would not have been well accepted by Jairus.  I can imagine his anxiousness at the delay.  As Jesus was finishing his exchange with the woman one of Jairus’ household staff came to him and reported that Jairus’ daughter had died.  Jesus heard this report and told Jairus “Don’t be afraid, only believe, and she will be saved.”  The word belief meant "trust in God", but the word is derived from ancient word roots indicating “to care, to desire, to love.”  I like to think Jesus is telling him “don’t think about your fear.  Think about your love and your desire for her and she will be saved.”  Saved is from ancient words meaning whole and well-kept.

As they got to the house there were a number of mourners, a funeral custom in those days where mourners were “hired” to grieve in order to demonstrate respect for the deceased.  So, from the time that the servant left to find Jairus until Jesus arrived the family had already hired mourners to “act” distraught.  Jesus arrives and tells everyone as he arrives “stop crying, because she is not dead but asleep.”  The mourners, of course, make fun of him because “we’re professionals.  We KNOW she is dead.  (Besides if she is not WE may not get paid!)”

The crowd perceived it as a fact that the girl was indeed dead. Those who tended to her reported it so.  But Jesus said she is not dead, but asleep.  Did you know that the word dead refers to "the most intense or culminating point" of anything (usually something low, flat, still, or cold) and not to a “state of living.” The parents and the crowd thought her at her lowest, coldest non-functioning state.

Sleep is to lie or remain dormant or inactive and is from ancient word roots meaning to be slack or languid – “faint, listless, and sluggish from weakness, fatigue, or want of energy."  Jesus said she is not at her lowest, coldest, non-functioning state, her life-energy is merely “not flowing”.  

We’ve all struggled with death.  If it’s not the death of a body, it may be the death of a dream, a relationship, or a destiny.  In everything there is always a “lowest, coldest, non-functioning state.”  Jesus demonstrated that even in such a state he can “put the life back in.”  As we see in the concluding verses.

Luke 8:54-56

So he took her by the hand and called out, “Child, get up!”  Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he gave orders that she be given something to eat. Her parents were astounded, but he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

So Jesus takes Peter, John, James, and the child’s father and mother, and goes into the house, takes the girl by the hand and says, in Aramaic, “Talitha cumi” or Little lamb, arise.  The economy of words reflects the power and authority of Christ.  He does not preface his commands with flowery or superfluous descriptors or invocations.  He merely says “do it.”   Simply, little lamb arise in this case.  In others it was peace, be still; take up your bed and walk; your sins are forgiven; Your faith has saved you, go in peace.

And notice that this wasn’t a “healing process”, it wasn’t even an “I don’t want to go to school” kind of waking up.  It was instantaneous – “child, get up” and she did.  Her vital life signs returned and she got up and her spirit, her breath of life, returned. Jesus gave orders that she be given something to eat.  So Jesus ordered the life back into a dead body, told it to get up, it did, and then he said feed her.  

But there was something different with this miracle.  Where he told the demon possessed man to “go and tell.” He specifically told the parents to tell no one what had happened.  There was a crowd of people mourning outside, “what do you mean tell no one  what happened?  They’re gonna figure it out!”

There are several options as to why.  Maybe Jesus didn’t want the little girl to become a public spectacle; maybe, because the people weren’t ready to believe Jesus he allowed them to continue in their unbelief; maybe because miracles were a PART of, but not the primary focus of Jesus’ ministry, he didn’t want “too much publicity” about his miracle working.  Jesus’ ministry focused on God and God’s desired reconciliation with humanity.  Jesus gave hope, expectation, to those who sought such reconciliation with God.  

The point is that expectant faith maintains trust in God to do what no one else can do.  A corollary might be, “you often get what you expect to get, are you expecting to live with God?”

A corollary might be, “you often get what you expect to get, are you expecting to live with God?”  As Shakespeare said “THAT is the question!”