(Study Outline sourced from “The System Bible Study” – “The Book of Life” {Zondervan])
(14) Jesus Raises Jairus’ Dead Daughter
“Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet and pleaded earnestly with him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” …While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher any more?”…He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.” . Jesus Christ is God, and His divinity is seen in this account – He was directly involved in the creation – and thus has the power to restore to life those who have been overcome by death.
Luke’s account states that Jairus came pleading with Jesus because “his only daughter…was dying” , but Jesus was delayed in going with Jairus because of the healing of the woman that was subject to bleeding, so the next news Jairus received was “Your daughter is dead…Don’t bother the teacher any more” and Jesus’ response to Jairus was “Don’t be afraid; just believe…” . Arriving at Jairus’ home, Jesus selected Peter, the two brothers James and John, Jairus and his wife to accompany Him to the child’s room , and instructed them not to tell anyone else of the details of what occurred, an instruction that was repeated several times in the Galilee region because of Jesus’ popularity with the people and a growing opposition from the religious leaders. Another possible reason for selecting the three disciples could have been to establish witnesses to the event of the raising the dead girl . “The child is not dead but asleep” , Jesus offered the same explanation to the death of Lazarus , and this is the same for all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ as is explained by Paul in his letter to the Thessalonians the dead in Christ have fallen asleep until Christ Himself will call them at His coming, and they will arise from the dead – “Immediately the girl stood up and walked…” . The difference between the raising of Jairus’ daughter and the raising of the dead at Christ’ coming for His saints is seen in 1 Cor 15:52 – “the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed…” – those that were raised by Jesus during His earthly ministry lived to die again, those who now sleep in Jesus will be raised to live with Him for all eternity
(15) Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
“Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one knows about this.” .
· This account is found only in the gospel of Matthew
· The faith of the blind men is tested as they follow Jesus crying out “Have mercy on us, Son of David” , until Jesus goes indoors and they “come to Him…”
· Jesus then confirms their faith by asking “Do you believe I am able….?”– upon their positive response Jesus says “According to your faith….”,and He heals them
· A reminder to us that God can do anything for us according to His will for us and our faith in Him
· God uses many methods of testing our faith:
1. Demanding great sacrifices
2. By leading us in a difficult pathway
3. By giving us opportunities for choice
4. By proposing hard tasks
5. By permitting us to suffer in His service
6. By permitting us to be tested by Satan
(16) The First Blasphemous Accusation By The Pharisees
“And when the demon was driven out, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowd was amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons.”
“…by the prince of demons…” – this statement of the Pharisees implies that Jesus’ power over the demons is due to His association with the prince of the demons who is none other than the devil, and the response to this is why would the devil cast out his demons? They are doing his work so he should be happy with them. The only answer to the Pharisees dilemma is that Jesus had power over the devil and the demons because Jesus Christ is God.
(Continued….)