Pastor Scott Andrews | February 2, 2025
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Luke 8:40-42, 49-56
When I first went into ministry, I knew the time would come that I would have to do a funeral. Nowhere in the Bible can you find it is a pastor’s job to bury, or marry people, for that matter. They are responsibilities that has fallen our way. Marrying people is fun – but I wouldn’t call funerals fun. Well, sure enough, that first opportunity came. I was working in a kitchen in Colorado Springs – I had put myself through college working in a restaurant, and cooking had also supported us in the early days of ministry. By the way, I have since forgotten everything I know about cooking, and no – my first funeral wasn’t because my cooking killed somebody.
I received a phone call from the bartender who worked in the lounge across the hall. Her son was a busboy in the restaurant. I knew Jimmy, but not that well. He was 18, and on one Friday evening, he came home late, closed the garage door, started the car, and went to sleep. The family didn’t attend church – I was the only pastor they knew, so they asked me to do the funeral. An eighteen-year-old unbeliever – suicide. That was my first funeral. What do you say to give hope? What do you do to give comfort? I was 25, Tana was 24 – at one point right before the funeral, she was called into the women’s restroom to calm down a grieving and out-of-control family member. What do you say? I remember thinking – well, they can only get better from here.
And through the years, I’ve done many funerals, of all types. Believers, unbelievers. Expected, unexpected. Tragic, premature. Celebratory, mournful. Young, old. Men, women. Boys, girls. Open-casket, closed casket. Memorials, funerals. Burials, cremations. In fact, it occurred to me this week the only constant when I do a funeral is the deceased stays dead.
And so no, funerals are not fun. But there are some exceptions. You see, when D. L. Moody, the great 19th Century evangelist had to do his first funeral, he decided to look through the gospel accounts to see how Jesus handled them. To see what words of comfort He offered to grieving people. And you know what he found? Every time Jesus attended a funeral, He broke it up. I’ve heard of wedding crashers – Jesus was a funeral crasher – no more, a funeral basher. He would say to the hired mourners – you, get out of here, and to the dead – you, get up. Once He stopped a funeral procession. A widow’s son had died. With no husband and no son to take care of her, she had no means of support. She grieved not only the loss of a son, but her 401k as well. So, Jesus stopped the procession and said to the dead boy, get up, and in essence, take care of mom.
We looked at that story, but will you let it sink in. A line of cars is on its way to a graveside funeral – at Mt Lawn Cemetery over by the high school. Lights are on, police in front. Everyone pulls over in respect. Everyone except one person. He stands in the middle of the road, stops the motorcade, goes over to the hearse, opens the back door, lifts the coffin lid, and says, get up. You scoff, Jesus did it – over and over.
There was the time Lazarus died. Jesus had heard His friend Lazarus in Bethany was sick, but He waited for a few extra days just to let him die. This time, Jesus shows up four days after the funeral – Lazarus is in the tomb. Surely, he stinketh by now. Jesus had them remove the stone. Then He said, “Lazarus, get out of there.” And Lazarus came out, waddling in his funeral attire.
You’ve likely also heard the story before us today. It’s a great story of resurrection. The funeral is in full swing by the time Jesus arrives, and He breaks it up – He was a funeral basher, and He’s not done. Amazing. Let me remind you where we are in our study. We have been in the book of Luke for a while. We know it’s Luke’s purpose to prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. That you can know for sure, with confidence that what you have believed is true – that your faith in Jesus is well-placed.
From the very first chapter, we saw some miraculous things happening in the birth of two boys – John the Baptist to an old couple, a barren woman past child-bearing years. The birth of Jesus to a virgin, to the praise of a heavenly choir of angels. Thirty years later, after both boys entered their public ministries, after being baptized by John, then being tempted by the devil, Jesus has been doing some amazing miracles – casting out demons, healing sick people of every imaginable disease, the amazing catch of fish unlike these fisherman – Peter and Andrew, James and John, had ever seen. He’s healed a leper and a paralytic, to whom He said, your sins are forgiven. You see further, He’s done some amazing, authoritative teaching and also performed some of those miracles on the Sabbath, infuriating the religious establishment – scribes and Pharisees, who soon sought to destroy Him.
He called disciples to be His followers, twelve of whom He called apostles. He even has a band of women who are following Him around Galilee. The crowds are out of control – thousands show up to hear the teaching and perhaps get a miracle for themselves.
Then we got to chapter 8, and incredible chapter, and Jesus ups the ante. He started performing even greater miracles – demonstrating His power over nature, demons, debilitating disease, and even death. He started by calming a hurricane-sized storm. And the disciples asked, who then is this man, that even the winds and the waves obey Him? Then He drove out a legion of demons from a naked, disfigured, violent, crazy guy. The demons, by the way, answered the question of the disciples – You are the Son of the Most High God. Last week, we saw He healed a woman with a 12-year bleeding issue in spectacular fashion.
Which brings us to the text today. He’s actually going to raise someone from the dead. It’s a picture, you see, of what He will do in the future for every one of His followers – He’s eventually going to bash your funeral, if you know Him. We’ve been asking the question with the disciples, who then is this Man? Be impressed and believe. I want you to see Jesus again this morning.
The story before us is amazing. It’s actually a sandwich narrative. In all three synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke start this story, but then interrupt it to tell another story before finishing the first story. A miracle within a miracle – the only such account in the gospels. You see, these two stories have some remarkable similarities, and incredible contrast. But here we find, the interruption gives opportunity for a little girl to die – so Jesus can wreck a funeral. Let’s read the story, Luke 8:40-42 and 49-56.
What an amazing, heart-tugging miracle. Very simply, we’re going to meet the characters of this story:
- First, we’ll meet the sick girl’s father, Jairus, in verses 40-42.
- Then, we’ll meet the dead girl in verses 49-56.
We get a little background in that first point. Jesus and His disciples have crossed the Sea of Galilee – from the east side back to the west side. Luke doesn’t tell us where they landed, but Matthew says they’re back at Capernaum. They are still at the seashore because a large crowd has gathered, as usual, pressing in around Him.
But soon, we read a synagogue official named Jairus approached Jesus and fell at His feet. Interesting. Until this time, we’ve only had lepers and sick and demon-possessed people bowing before Him. Now, we’ve got a synagogue official or ruler – that means a Jewish religious leader. This was significant, in fact, shocking. Several things to notice:
First, from a religious perspective, this man was one of the top dogs in Capernaum – he was in charge of the facilities, the administration, the worship services, all the programs at the synagogue. It was his responsibility to put the worship services together, to include Scripture readings, selecting rabbis to teach, prayers, and ensuring orthodoxy. Some argue he was the chief elder in charge of the other elders. And he was quite probably a Pharisee. And since this was Jesus’ own city, that is Capernaum, Jairus had not only seen Jesus perform miracles, but he’d also likely been part of the religious leadership opposing Jesus. Remember back in chapter 4 we have His first recorded miracle in Luke, when He healed a demon-possessed man on the Sabbath in the synagogue in Capernaum. Mark also tells us He healed a man with a withered hand in that same synagogue on the Sabbath – the Pharisees left the synagogue that day and conspired to kill Him. Jairus was undoubtedly there.
You see, the opposition against Jesus, from the religious establishment had begun to mount. They were opposing Him every time He turned around – trying to catch Him with trick questions, questioning why He hung out with sinners, questioning His forgiving them, questioning why He did what He did on the Sabbath, suggesting He was empowered by Satan. Their resistance was getting intense. So again, as ruler of the synagogue, Jairus had likely been part of that conspiracy.
As far as the Pharisees were concerned, Jesus was an annoyance – more than that, He was public enemy number one who needed to be disposed. That is, unless you find in all your arrogant self-sufficiency, something is broken. Something doesn’t work. And you become desperate. And you begin to realize Jesus might be your only hope. And that’s my prayer for some of you who dismiss Jesus, who oppose Jesus, is that you get to a point of desperation where life is not working and you begin to realize Jesus is your only hope.
That’s where Jairus was. His 12-year-old only daughter was sick. The text doesn’t say, but he had probably exhausted all his resources. His little girl was dying. Anybody have a 12-year-old daughter – or had a 12-year-old daughter? Jairus had one little girl – just like yours, and she was sick – she was as good as dead. The wording is such she was at death’s door – she was beyond intensive care, she was at the end of hospice care. She wasn’t just sick – she was mostly dead, and Billy Crystal wasn’t there to help. Jairus was desperate, at the end of His rope.
All the religious hypocrisy, all the ceremonial washings, all the empty prayers, all the seeming orthodoxy – nothing was going to help his daughter now. And so, all of a sudden it didn’t matter who saw him come to Jesus. It didn’t matter if the crowds saw him, it didn’t matter if his fellow Pharisees saw him. He was desperate. He was broken. So, he came just like the leper, just like the paralytic, just like the demon-possessed guy. He came the only way you can come to Jesus – broken, pleading, bowing – Jesus, You are my only hope. You see, it doesn’t matter who you are – you only come to Jesus one way. It doesn’t matter if you’re a leper, or if you’re seen as the most religious guy around – we all come to Jesus the same way – you’re my last hope.
And so as this guy approached Jesus, the crowd would have become silently shocked – hey, isn’t that Jairus? Jairus implored Jesus earnestly – pleading, begging. My little daughter is at the point of death – any moment, she will breathe her last. Mark says he asked, please come and lay Your hands on her, so she will get well and live. Don’t miss Jairus’ faith there. Yes, it needs to grow – so much so Jesus will allow his daughter to die. But there is faith, and so Jesus went with Him while the large crowd was pressing in around Him, impeding His progress. And it gets worse – there’s another person who needs His attention – and Jesus actually stops to help her. We looked at that last week, but can you imagine Jairus’ frustration at this point – Jesus, You can come back to her – you can heal her later – my daughter is as good as dead – let’s go. Jairus needed his faith enlarged. So Jesus allowed the detour so things would get worse. I wonder if that could be true for you? What is Jesus trying to teach you, how is He trying to enlarge your faith in the middle of your crisis? He hasn’t forgotten you – He wants you to just believe.
Skipping that interruption, look down at verse 49, which brings us to our second point. As He was finishing His encounter with the woman, some people came from the house of the synagogue ruler. Put yourself in Jairus’ sandals. He sees them coming. He knows who they are and where they’re coming from. He sees the look on their faces. And they say the words he desperately did not want to hear, “Your only daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” It’s over. It’s too late. Jairus falls to the ground in agonizing despair. As far as the bearers of bad news and Jairus were concerned, there was nothing left for Jesus to do. Not even the Teacher can help. Let that settle in. Think of the funerals you’ve attended, the loved ones to whom you’ve said goodbye. Agonizing.
But thankfully, Jairus’ story and your story does not end there. Remember, Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the author of life. He heard what was said, although He already knows. It was part of the plan. And He says to Jairus, “Do not be afraid any longer – literally, stop being afraid. Only believe.” You had enough faith to come to Me to heal your daughter, do you still have enough faith to believe that I can still heal your daughter? The whole event was designed to increase Jairus’ faith. He had believed Jesus could do something about a major illness – would he believe Jesus for resurrection? Do you? Luke doesn’t tell us, but apparently, Jairus did, because the next thing we see is Jesus continued to Jairus’ house along with Peter, James and John. They were three of the first four disciples Jesus called – they were now beginning to form His inner circle – this is the first time they’re singled out.
When they got to the house, the funeral was already in full swing. You have to understand what funerals were like then in Palestine. If we attend a funeral today, and want to show our respect, we’re quiet. Everyone is very reverent, you pull over if a funeral passes by, even if you don’t know the person. Silence is how we show respect in our culture. It was just the opposite in Israel. Back then, much like today in Middle East funerals, people were loud. In fact, they were supposed to be. There was supposed to be disorder and chaos – it was a picture of how you felt – all torn up. In fact, there were certain things you did to make sure there was disorder and noise and appropriate grief.
First, to express your own grief, you tore your clothes. And not just any old way – there were 39 rules to observe as to how you tore your clothes. For example, you tore them standing up. If you were the mother or the father, you tore a hole right over your heart. If it was a family member or a close friend, you tore a hole close to your heart. And the hole had to be as big as your fist. Women had to tear holes too, but they were allowed to wear their clothes backwards for obvious reasons. Now, you had to leave the hole open for 7 days, and after that, you were allowed to sew it up, but not neatly. It had to be sloppy with big stitches so everyone could see.
In addition to tearing your clothes, you hired mourners – professional wailers and musicians. In fact, there were rules about this. The musicians, usually flutists, were to play loud, disconcerting tunes to reflect the mood of grief. And it didn’t matter how poor you were, every funeral had to have at least two fluting flutists, one wailing woman, and a partridge in a pear tree. Just kidding about the partridge. When you hired the wailer, you would fill her in with the recent family history – especially any deaths within the last year or two. That way, she could make your grief even greater – “Last year it was Charlie, this year it’s Suzy – wail.”
That’s what’s was going on. This was the synagogue ruler – there were probably lots of wailers and musicians there that day – a crowd in noisy disorder. As Jairus and Jesus approach, the wails got louder – after all, this is the guy signing the paycheck. And somehow, above all the noise, Jesus gets their attention, and says, get out of here. The girl’s not dead, she’s just sleeping. What did these professional wailers do? From mourning to mocking – their cries turned to laughter – theirs wasn’t true grief – and it didn’t take long for them to begin mocking – you don’t know what you’re talking about, Jesus.
Now, some commentators suggest Jesus was saying, listen, the girl’s not dead, just sleeping – this isn’t just a story of resurrection, but deliverance from premature burial. To be clear she was dead. Sleep was a euphemism for death, and Jesus was saying, I’m going to awaken her from the sleep of death.
He throws the mourners out, taking only Mom and Dad, Peter, James and John with Him. He walks over to where the little girl is lying, takes her by the hand. Stop right there. He takes her by the hand. The child is dead. You’re not supposed to touch dead bodies. It makes you unclean. But that never seemed to matter to Jesus – whether it was a leper or a woman with an issue of blood, or a dead little girl, everything and everybody He touched – He cleansed. Rather than making Him unclean, He made them clean. He breathed life into death. He touched people everyone else avoided. He both touched and was touched by the untouchable. He is our gentle healer, touching the wounds of our lives, physically, emotionally, spiritually, when everyone else stays away. He took the little girl by the hand, and Mark says Jesus said these words, “Talitha kum,” – which means, literally, little lamb – it’s a term of endearment, My little child, arise.
She was dead. And just like He had the power to deal with sin, He also had the power to deal with what sin drug in with it – namely, He had power over disease. He had power over demons. He had power over storms. And He had power over death. Talitha kum, little girl, arise. She stood up. I want you to see Jesus. Three ways life was seen: her spirit which had departed returned, she stood up, and Jesus said, give her something to eat.
Last week, we noticed some of the contrasts between Jairus’ little girl and the woman with an issue of blood – namely, we know Jairus’ name, we don’t know the woman’s name; Jairus was important, she was unimportant. But, what are the similar themes we see in these two stories which caused them to not only be recorded together, but actually happen together? Consider:
- Obviously, both people needing healing were women – one a woman, another a little girl.
- Next, one had her issue for twelve years, the other was twelve years old.
- Next, both who sought healing knelt at Jesus’ feet – Jairus as he sought healing for his daughter, the woman, who had been healed.
- Both were called daughters in their respective stories. The little girl was Jairus’ daughter, and Jesus called the woman daughter.
- Both received their healings by faith through Jesus’ touch. It was Jairus’ small faith, but it was Jesus who touched the little girl. And the woman believed that by touching Jesus’ clothing she would be healed – and she was.
- Which leads to the next, rather significant similarity. I’ve already said, Jesus either touched, or was touched by unclean people. You see, the demon-possessed guy lived in the tombs – among dead people. He was unclean, yet Jesus touched him. And the little girl was dead when Jesus touched her. And the woman with doubtless a menstrual bleeding issue, was unclean. In all three cases, Jesus touches unclean people, and He doesn’t become unclean – they become clean. This is central to understanding the gospel. Jesus took on human flesh, to die in human flesh to sanctify – to make holy – the rest of us who are unclean.
What does this mean for us today? Jesus was demonstrating His power over death. And His ability to raise this little girl from the dead points to His own resurrection. Her resurrection pointed to His resurrection, and His resurrection points to ours. He has become the firstfruits of them that sleep. Because He lives, we, too, one day will live. Talitha kum, little girl, arise.
But until then, we live in the not-yet part of the kingdom. Remember that? We still have to deal with sin, and with what sin drug in with it. We still face sickness, we still face death. But for believers, death is not facing an uncertain tomorrow. It is facing the reality of Jesus’ claim, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies.” And there is coming a day in the fullness of the kingdom when there will be no sin, no sickness, no death. John said it this way in Revelation 21, “And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.’ And He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’”
Every miracle He does points to the ultimate fulfillment in the kingdom. When He heals the leper, He says, in the kingdom, there will be no disease. When He drives out demons, He says, in the kingdom, there will be no demons. When He forgives sin, He says, in the kingdom there will be no sin. And when He raises little girls, He says, in the kingdom, there will be no death.
Which means, we don’t have to fear death anymore. It has been defeated. Talitha kum, little girl, arise. She got up at His command and began to walk – again, evidence of her healing. And they were completely astounded. Who is this man? His name is Jesus. He gave strict orders no one should know about this – the Messianic secret back in place since they were back in Jewish territory. He would not be forced into their messianic expectations before His time. True, many knew she had been dead – they would see her alive. News would spread.
Finally, Jesus says, give her something to eat – further evidence of her full healing. She had been sick unto death – no doubt she was hungry and needed nourishment to restore her strength. Think about that – sometimes funerals end in meals for the family – but not for the deceased, unless Jesus crashes your funeral.
So, while funerals aren’t really what we’d call fun, they can be joy filled. What do I mean? It’s not the end of the story. And so, they can be celebrations for those who know Jesus – for those who have believed in Him. And there is coming a day when all who are in the grave will hear his voice – get up. And they will, and we will rise. Arise, little girl, arise, little boy. I want you to see Jesus. That is the purpose of this miracle. You see, funerals aren’t fun – but the funeral of a believer brings hope and joy and comfort, because Jesus is the ultimate funeral basher.