And there came a man named Jairus, and he was an official of the synagogue; and he fell at Jesus’ feet, and began to implore Him to come to his house; for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. But as He went, the crowds were pressing against Him.
And a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and could not be healed by anyone, came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped. (Luke 8:41-44)
In the meanwhile during the time that Jesus took to care for this woman with the hemorrhage, Jairus’ daughter died. While Jesus was still blessing the woman whom He healed someone “came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, ‘Your daughter has died: do not trouble the Teacher anymore.’ But when Jesus heard this, He answered him, ‘Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she will be made well.'” (Luke 8:49,50)
When Jesus came to Jairus’ house, He did not allow anyone to enter with Him, except Peter and John and James, and the girl’s father and mother. Now they were all weeping and lamenting for her; but He said, ‘Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.’
And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. He however, took her by the hand and called, saying, ‘Child, arise!’ And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.” (Luke 8:45-56)
Jairus was an important official of the synagogue. He and his wife were probably wealthy, and lived privileged lives. Jairus went to find Jesus when his little girl became deathly ill. As usual, there were large crowds around Jesus. Many had heard of His reputation and sought healing.
Just when Jairus thought that Jesus would follow him to his house there was an interruption. A desperate woman came for help. Jesus had compassion and healed this woman who had had the hemorrhage for twelve years and restored her to her family, friends, and community.
Only the little girl’s father, Jairus, is named. Perhaps that is because he was such an important official at the synagogue. But we know that someone else was present who loved her little girl just as much and believed that Jesus could heal her.
The little girl’s mother must have been anxiously waiting at home when Jairus said he would go and get Jesus. How her heart must have broken as she watched her daughter die before her husband and Jesus arrived.
We can only imagine what joy the mother must have felt when her daughter “got up immediately” (Luke 8:55). The little girl was healed completely! She must have been so weak from her illness before that this surprised her parents. Jesus had to tell them to give the little girl something to eat!
Jesus never minded when people asked for help. Rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, He was always willing to help.
In this next story, we will see that Jesus helped a woman from a foreign country. The Gospel is for everyone no matter where they are from.
Jesus got up and went away from there to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately came and fell at His feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syro-Phoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter.
And He was saying to her, ‘Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.’
But she answered and said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.’ And He said to her, ‘Because of this answer go; the demon has gone out of your daughter.’ And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having left. (Mark 7:24-30)
This wonderful story is sandwiched between two events where Jesus blesses thousands of people. A couple of months before this, Jesus fed 5000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish! A few days after this story, Jesus will feed 4000 people with seven loaves of bread and a few small fish. One of the amazing things to note is that the 5000 people were Jews, and the 4000 people are Gentiles in the region of Tyre. These stories show that Jesus had compassion for large groups of people and for individuals. Jesus could work miracles for thousands of people at a time, but He would also take out time for individuals. In this story, He not only took out time for an individual, but for a Gentile woman.
This mother who was of the Syro-Phoenician race had two strikes against her as far as 
Jesus’ disciples were concerned. She was a woman and she was a Gentile. Remember the story of the woman at the well? She was a Samaritan. The disciples were surprised to see Jesus talking to her. Apparently they haven’t learned enough. Jesus will make it very clear that He came to save all sinners, Jew and Gentile alike.
At the beginning of the story it seems that Jesus is giving the woman a hard time. He says He won’t give the children’s food to others. When He refers to the “children” in verse 27, He is referring to the Jews – the children of God. This woman is so humble that she responds, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” This answer is very ironic. You see, the Jews referred to Gentiles as dogs. The woman knows this and shows how much faith she has in Jesus with this response. She doesn’t care if she is as lowly as a dog. She loves her daughter so much that she is willing to come and beg for Jesus to heal her not matter how humiliating it might be.
Jesus honors her faith by casting the demon out of her daughter on the spot. He doesn’t even go to her house, like He did when He healed Jairus’ daughter. The woman went home and found her daughter freed from the demon.
What can we learn from this? Why did Jesus test her? I think He knew she had great faith. It is possible that because the disciples were standing around and getting irritated, that Jesus wanted to teach them a lesson. Jesus was showing the way that all women should be treated. It’s as if He was saying to them, “Yes, I came for the Jews first. But you need to know that I also came for the whole world. Yes, I know that the Pharisees don’t allow men to speak to women in public. But I want to show that they are wrong.”
The Lord Jesus was kind and compassionate with women. This woman had great faith. The mother in our first story also trusted Jesus to take care of her daughter. We can look to Jesus to meet our needs.
