Daily Bible Reading 17th July 2026 // Luke 8:40-56
40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And there came a man named Jairus, who was a ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus' feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.
As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. 43 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment, and immediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
49 While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler's house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” 51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” 55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given to her to eat. 56 And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
When one recalls that Luke, along with the other Evangelists, is writing from the standpoint of the resurrection, thus proclaiming to us a living Christ who is the same yesterday, today and forever, it becomes clear that the message he intends to convey to us is that of the powerful and prevailing word of a living Christ set over against all and every kind of human need, and more than able to meet it. This is the good news of the gospel Luke is intent on proclaiming. We have said sufficiently in previous Notes to show how justified we are in 'spiritualising' these miracle stories and applying them as analogies of spiritual need. This is particularly evident in the case of the raising from the dead of Jairus' daughter. And it is here that we see very clearly the 'token' nature of the miracle in the physical realm. There were not many raisings from the dead in Jesus' day, and the three instances recorded are simply tokens that the new order had broken in. They have value for us in the illustration they give of the spiritual predicament of being dead in trespasses and sins. It is from this terrible state that Jesus raises men, by His Spirit, in the gospel. And one of the insights this gives us into the nature of human need is that salvation is all of God. One who is dead cannot cooperate with God in his own salvation. He is passive. Salvation is the imparting of life where no life was before. It is a bringing to the birth in Christ, by the Spirit. This, then, is what Luke means us to understand: the word of the living Christ is a life-giving word, and He speaks that word in the word of the gospel. By the same token, the woman with the issue of blood illustrates another aspect of human need - again beyond human aid, in desperation, calling forth the pity and compassion of a loving Saviour.