We began discussing some of the individual woman
in the Gospels, beginning with Simon Peter's mother-in-law. This was
interesting because it showed that Peter was married. In First Corinthians 9:5,
Paul indicates that Peter's wife traveled along with them on the ministry.
Have we not authority a sister -- a wife -- to lead about, as also the other apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas? (Young's Literal Bible).
Now Catholics disagree with this argue this, saying Peter was one time married, but not when he was a disciple. In "Catholic Answers", there is a somewhat reluctant admission Peter had a wife at sometime, since he had a mother-in-law, and that couldn't be denied. But they argue he did not when joined up with Jesus. They assume that Peter's wife had probably died by the time Jesus cured his mother-in-law, basing this assumption on the fact that Peter's wife is not mentioned in Matthew 8, Mark 1 or Luke 4. They answer 1 Corinthian's on the basis that the Greek word translated "Wife" could simple mean woman or sister as well. However, I think this denies the context. Why would Paul specifically say Cephius; that is Peter? Why single him out unless we are talking of a wife?
Anyway, we then went on to look at three women that Jesus interacted with, a Samaritan Woman at Jacob's Well in Samaria, A Syrophonician Woman in the area of modern day Lebanon and a Jewish Woman accused of adultery brought to the Temple in Jerusalem. We covered these pretty thoroughly, I believe.
I did say about the Adulerous Woman that she was guilty of the offense. Jesus did not say she was innocent or falsy accused. He asked where were her accusers and then pointedly said he would not condemn her either, but she should go and sin no more.
Now we are going to look at some females that appear in brief passages.
Jesus Raises a Widow's Son
Soon
afterward [Jesus] went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a
great crowd went with him. As he drew near to the
gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the
only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the
town was with her. (Luke 7:11-12)
Soon after what?
This was soon after Jesus had healed a Centurian's servant in Capernaum (Luke 7:1-10). This was also not all that long after Jesus had named who the 12 Apostles would be (Matthew 10, Mark 3, Luke 6) and then gave the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5, Luke 6). Jesus and his disciples are on the road again leaving Capernaum behind. Moving away from the Sea of Galilee in the direction of Nazerath. Eventually they come to of a town called Nain. Nain means dwarf.
There was nothing lovely about the circumstance on this particular
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother. Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country (Luke 7:13-17)
There wasn't much resistance when Jesus stepped
up and said arise, as there would be in other cases. He simply said to the
body, "Young man, I say to you, arise, and the man did.
The people were somewhat flabbergasted. Soon Jesus fame grew. In fact, it is not long after this that John the Baptist's disciples came to Jesus and asked if he was the Messiah or should they look for another. (Luke 7:18-20, Matthew 11:1-19) Did he answer them, "Yes, I am" or "no I'm not?" Instead of a straight answer he gave them one He knew John would understand. "Go back and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me." (Luke 7:22-23). [These were things prophesied about the coming Messiah back in Isaiah 35:5-6 and 61:1.]
Isaiah 35:5-6; The
recompence of God, He Himself doth come and save you. Then
opened are eyes of the blind, And ears of the deaf are unstopped, Then
leap as a hart doth the lame, And sing doth the tongue of the dumb
Isaish 61:1: The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah [is] on me, Because
Jehovah did anoint me To proclaim tidings to the humble, He sent me to bind the
broken of heart, To proclaim to captives liberty, And to bound ones an opening
of bands. {Both quotes from Young's Literal Bible}
So what is the point, just one more little miracle along the way? Look at the whole picture. The son, lying on the stretcher, was lost, dead. The widow, in a sense, was lost as well, dead to hope and alone. Two lost souls on the highway of life, but both would be raised out of this despair and desperation by Jesus' intervention. The son was given new life and neither the widow nor the son did a thing to earn this repreive. This was all the doing of Jesus.
Many people remember Jesus raised Lazarus from death, but think that was the only such occurrence, but here we see the first time Jesus raised the physically dead to life. There would be others.
Also note where this takes place. In the Village of Nain, which sits at a height overlooking the Jazreel Plain, also known as the Valley of Jehosaphat. What's significant about that? What will hapen in the Valley of Jehosaphat?
We read in Joel 3:1-2 this:
“For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. And I will enter into judgment with them there.
This little encounter and miracle not only tells us that Jesus is the Messiah and gives us a snapshot of salvation through God's love and mercy, but also points toward the future when Jesus' will come again to judge. When the pople said a "Great prophet has arisen among us" and "God has visited his people" they weren't aware of how true this was and how much greater Jesus was than just a prophet.
A Girl Restored to Life and
a Woman Healed
Matthew 9:18-26, Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56
And when Jesus had
crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him,
and he was beside the sea.
This comes after a very famous instance in the Gospels. Jesus and his disciples had crossed the Sea of Galilee into what was called the Gadarenes (Matthew 8, Mark 5, Luke 8). They found a demon possessed man there and when Jesus addressed the demon, the answer came back, "I am legion". This indicated many demons possessed the poor man. The demons asked Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs and then the pigs jumped into the water to drown. The people there were upset by this and told Jesus to go away. Thus they were crossing the sea again. A large crowd greets him and he begins telling them things.
While he was saying these things to them, then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, While he was still speaking behold, a ruler came in Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, and knelt before him, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And Jesus rose and he went with him, and followed him with his disciples.
And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And behold, there was a woman who had suffered from a discharge of blood for twelve years and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched the fringe of his garment, 21 for she said to herself, “If I only touch his garment, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” Jesus turned, and he looked around to see who had done it But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And seeing her he said, “Take heart, daughter; your faith has made you well. ”go in peace, and be healed of your disease. ”And instantly the woman was made well.
Do you see the contrast here. Jairus was a man of some means and a ruler in the synagogue. He had important duties as such, including recruiting Rabbis. He served at the synagogue in Capernaum and was probably well known. This woman who sneaks out of the crowd up to Jesus is a nobody; in fact she is worse than a nobody; she is an untouchable. She had this long term bleeding problem, perhaps related to menstruation. At any rate under Jewish law she is considered unclean.
“If a woman has a discharge of blood for many days, not at the time of her menstrual impurity, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her impurity, all the days of the discharge she shall continue in uncleanness. As in the days of her impurity, she shall be unclean. Every bed on which she lies, all the days of her discharge, shall be to her as the bed of her impurity. And everything on which she sits shall be unclean, as in the uncleanness of her menstrual impurity. And whoever touches these things shall be unclean, and shall wash his clothes and bathe himself in water and be unclean until the evening. But if she is cleansed of her discharge, she shall count for herself seven days, and after that she shall be clean. And on the eighth day she shall take two turtledoves or two pigeons and bring them to the priest, to the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the priest shall use one for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. And the priest shall make atonement for her before the Lord for her unclean discharge. (Leviticus 15-30)
So, as Jairus is in a position of honor in the synagogue, this woman can't even be in there. Anyone and
anything she touches would be onsidered unclean. Yet when Jesus senses she has
touched him, he doesn't reprimand her. No, he cures her of her
affliction and notes her great faith.
And the appearance of this lady becomes a test of faith for Jairus. Jairus has come to Jesus because his only daughter is at the point of death, yet as they are presumably hurrying to his home before it is too late, Jesus pauses to deal with this nobody woman. Try to imagine the concern you would feel in a similar situation.
"Why are we delaying? My daughter is dying. We need to hurry."
Yet this Jesus character, who you have pinned your only hope on, is not hurrying. And the consequences of delay seem horrendous.
When nearing Jairus' abode out comes someone to inform the father his daughter has died.
And when Jesus came to the ruler's house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion.
Yet here is Jesus, among all the clamor, calm as can be.
There came from the ruler's house someone who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?”
“My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.”But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”
And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? He said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Jesus sent all the clamourous, jeering crown outside except for the parents and three of his closest disciples. When the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand. He said to her, “Talitha cumi," which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise,” and her spirit returned to her body and the girl arose. And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.
Apparently being raised from the dead makes one hungry for he tells them to give her something to eat.
And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
He also tells them to tell no one about this, but the story went out anyway. And the report of this went through all that district.
Did you notice something else interesting in this passage? Jesus was on his way to cure a dying girl and is interrupted by a woman. What is wrong with the woman?
How long has she been bleeding? (12 years.)
What is the age of Jairus' daughter?
12 years, meaning this woman began bleeding at the time the daughter was born, and here they are together, if separate, being cured. And how does Jesus refer to the bleeding woman? "Take heart, Daughter..." Yes, this is a tale of two daughters of God.
A Woman with a Disabling
Spirit
LUKE 13:10-17
But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.
This occurred just before his Perean Ministry and at th end of his Judean Ministry, quite possibly in December of AD 9. We see hear a recurring theme throughout his life. He would heal someone on the Sabboth and bring down the wrath Pharisee or other religous leader. Here this lady was bent over for 8 years and the ruler of the synagogue is irate because Jesus cured her on a Sabbath.
But Jesus had once said, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”(Matthew 12:8)
Read Exodus 8:16:19
The Third Plague: Gnats
Then the Lord said
to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out
your staff and strike the dust of
the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’” And they did so. Aaron
stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth,
and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became
gnats in all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried by
their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on
man and beast. Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of
God.” But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as
the Lord had said.
Read Exodus 9:8-12
The Sixth Plague: Boils
What do these. the third
and sixth plagues on Egypt have to do with our bent lady?
Dust, both plagues come out of the dust. The soot tossed into the air and all of the dust upon the earth.
Think about the plight of
this woman. For 18 years of her life she was bent over. She could not straighten
up and see the world as we do. She couldn't see the sky or the leaves on the
trees. Her eyes were always looking down at the dust of the earth. She was
bound by Satan and all she could see was the dust below her.
This is our condition before we are saved by Christ. All we can see is the dust and dirt of our sins dominating the landscape of our souls. We look back at those plaques in Egypt. They are dominated by soot and dirt and dust, which covers all. This represents the sins of the Egyptians and the dust turns to Gnats in the one case and boils in the other. Sins may sometimes seem small and just flecks of dust, but eventually they afflict us with Gnats and boils. Eventually they lead us to the dust of the earth and we are lost to God. But Jesus can free us from our sins just as he unbound the woman from bent back and allowed her to gaze on blue skies.
Only God through Christ can unbind us. The plaques inflicted upon Egypt were an affront to the powerlessness of the Egyptian gods.
Geb was the Egypian god of the earth. Aaron smote the dust of the earth with his rod and dust all over the land turned into lice, biting both humans and animals. People could pray to Geb, but Geb could not help them.
Isis was the goddess of medicine and peace, but dust from the soot tossed in the air settle all over Egypt and Isis could provide no cure for the boils that resulted.
But the word and touch of Jesus can remove an 18 year curse upon a woman. He can remove a lifetime of sin from you.
