Points of View: Jairus and the Bleeding WomanExemplo

Jairus was a ruler in the synagogue. While the word "ruler" makes one think of a king or someone who had absolute authority, in Jairus' day, it simply meant he was on staff at the local church. No doubt, he was a respected leader in the community. He was also a desperate dad.

Jairus had a 12-year-old daughter who was very ill and, in fact, dying. Luke tells us this is his only daughter and possibly his only child. It doesn't take much to imagine how this father's heart must have felt. I'm sure he was desperate to find a cure, to heal his daughter. He needed to fix this to save his family, yet he was helpless.

Jesus had already been doing some pretty amazing things in the area, and Jairus believed this man could surely help his daughter.

Jesus' reputation was growing, and so were the crowds that surrounded him. Jairus worked his way through the crowd, probably stopping to greet those he knew from the synagogue. Perhaps they were even stepping aside to make way for him. They had likely heard about his daughter since she was on all the prayer lists, and it was the least they could do to help this leader from their church.

When Jairus was finally face to face with Jesus, emotion and desperation took over, and he could no longer stand. All three gospel writers say he fell to his knees. He pleaded with Jesus to come and save his daughter. He knew in his heart that if Jesus came, his daughter would be saved, but he also knew they were running out of time.

I can hear Jairus pleading with so much fervor that he almost didn't hear Jesus say, "Let's go. Lead the way." I'm sure Jairus was both relieved and excited in equal parts. Heartache had turned into hope, and the chaos in his head had calmed. And for the first time in many days, Jairus felt himself relax just a bit.

But then suddenly, Jesus stopped and turned around, and Jairus' heart fell.