Luke 8:40-56
New Catholic Bible
40 Jesus Heals a Woman and Raises a Child.[a] When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they had all been waiting for him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a leader of the synagogue, came forward. Throwing himself at the feet of Jesus, he pleaded with him to come to his house, 42 because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying. And as Jesus went forth, the crowds were pressing in on him.
43 There was a woman who had been suffering from bleeding for twelve years, but no one had been able to cure her affliction. 44 Coming up behind him, she touched the fringe of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped immediately.
45 Jesus then asked, “Who was it who touched me?” When everyone denied doing so, Peter said, “Master, the crowds are surrounding you and pressing closely upon you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I could sense power going out from me.”
47 When the woman realized that she had not escaped notice, she came forward, trembling, and knelt down before him. In the presence of all the people, she related why she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately. 48 Then Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone came from the house of the synagogue leader and said, “Your daughter has died. Do not bother the Teacher any further.” 50 When Jesus heard this, he said, “Do not be afraid. Just have faith, and she will be saved.”
51 When he arrived at the house, he permitted no one to go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Everyone was weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Stop your weeping! She is not dead; she is asleep.” 53 They laughed at him because they knew that she had died.
54 However, Jesus took her by the hand and called out to her, “Little child, arise.” 55 Her spirit returned, and she stood up at once. Then Jesus directed that she be given something to eat. 56 Her parents were stunned, but he gave them strict instructions to tell no one what had happened.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Luke 8:40 This episode places before us two distressed people. The first is a father on the verge of losing his young daughter, with the rites of mourning under the specter of death already organized. The second is a woman humiliated by a sickness that carries the stigma of legal impurity, preventing her from participating in religious services and from approaching the Prophet (see Lev 15:19-27). Jesus intervenes in their distress and manifests his power and goodness, both of which are those of God. Nevertheless, he refuses to give his intervention a dramatic character; the only witnesses of the girl’s raising from the dead—described in the same way as the action of Elijah (see 1 Ki 17:17, 22)—will be apostles, who are no longer seeking miracles. Here then is the portrait of Jesus: he brings life to those who approach him with faith.
