Who was Jairus in the Bible?

Recrossing the sea, nothing exceptional characterized the voyage, but a welcome awaited the Lord on His disembarkation. Much people gathered to Him and now one with a real want came, and besought His help and His presence in the chamber of sickness. Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue at Capernaum, had an only daughter (Luke 8:42) who was at the point of death. The father's heart was evidently bowed under the sorrow, for, falling at the feet of Christ, "he besought Him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed, and live." He was sure of the result, if only the Lord would go to the house. At once the Lord responded, and went with him.

A great request was now laid at the feet of Jesus. The petitioner was Jairus ruler of the synagogue. His daughter, a maiden of twelve years, was dying. "But come" said her father, "lay Thy hand upon her: and she shall live." Nor did our meek Master turn a deaf ear, but arose and followed him.

1913 211 "And when Jesus had crossed over1 again in the boaT1 unto the other side, a great multitude was gathered3 unto him: and he was by the sea. And there cometh4 one of the rulers5 of the synagogue, Jairus by name;6 and seeing him,7 he falleth8 at his feet, and beseecheth9 him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death:10 I pray thee, that thou come11 and lay thy hands12 on her, that she may be made whole,13 and live. And he went14 with him; and a great multitude15 followed him, and they thronged16 him" (v. 21-24, R.V.). "having passed over," J.N.D.; "was crossed over," McC. "ship," J.N.D.; "bark," T.S.G. "crowd gathered," J.N.D., T.S.G.; "multitude gathered," "comes," J.N.D., T.S.G. "chiefs," T.S.G. "by name, Jairus," J.N.D., T.S.G. "when he saw," McC. "falls down," J.N.D.; "falls," T.S.G. "besought,"McC.; "beseeches," T.S.G. "at extremity," J.N.D.; "at her last gasp," T.S.G. "[I pray] that thou shouldest come," J.N.D.; "I pray thee come," McC.; "it is that thou mayest come," T.S.G. "lay hands," T.S.G. "healed," J.N.D., T.S.G.; "saved," McC. "went away," McC., T.S.G. "large crowd," J.N.D.; "great crowd," T.S.G. "pressed on," J.N.D.; "were thronging," T.S.G.

In Luke 8:41-56, we have the lovely story of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, whose only-begotten daughter, about twelve years of age, lay dying. Jairus besought the Lord to come to his house to heal her, but there was a delay on the way, and before He reached the home, a messenger came to say the little girl was dead. And they all wept and bewailed her; but He said, "Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth." But they laughed at Him, knowing she was dead. And He put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, "Maid, arise!" (Mark recalls the very words the Saviour used "Talitha Cumi!" Perhaps they mean literally: "Little Darling, I say unto thee, arise!") And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and He commanded to give her meat. And her parents were astonished: but He charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

Like the leper whose case we have already considered, Jairus worshipped the Lord Jesus when he approached Him: ". behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped Him." (Matt. 9:18). Jairus sought something which only God could grant and knowing this, he made his request to the Lord Jesus. Luke tells us that "he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying" (Luke 8:42). Mark adds that she was "at the point of death" (Mark 5:23). Matthew, who alone speaks of Jairus worshipping, goes further: "My daughter is even now dead; but come and lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live." He believed and his faith was sustained by the Lord's own words, even when one came from his house and said, "Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master" (Luke 8:49; Mark. 5:35). The Lord Jesus went with him, and entering into the house told the mourners, "Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth." He knew that hers was the sleep of the redeemed, not the death of the lost, and as in the case of Lazarus later, He came to wake her out of that sleep. The unbelieving scorners were excluded, while the father and mother and Peter, James and John remained to witness the miracle. The Lord Jesus took the damsel by the hand, and by His word alone restored her life to her. Luke tells us that He "called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway" (cf. James 2:26).

The daughter of Jairus: recorded in Matt. 9, Mark 5, and Luke 8. The daughter was a child of twelve, she was therefore just entering upon the age of responsibility; the father, a ruler of the synagogue; the catastrophe impending was the final one of death. In his affliction Jairus found his resource in an appeal to the Lord. He was heard, yet the impending catastrophe was not averted as doubtless he expected with more or less faith. Circumstances conspired to hinder, and the Lord did not alter the circumstances. Yet Jairus' appeal did not fall on unheeding ears. It was answered with a fulness of power that went beyond the father's faith, and the maid was restored to life.

(1) Jair, "the enlightener," as ruler of the synagogue, may signify to us by name and position both the failure and the power of law. The law had said, "Do this, and thou shalt live," but life, as he owns, is only in the hands of Jesus, to whom the conviction of his extremity brings him. Faith springs out of his daughter's need: "My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee that Thou come and lay Thy hands on her that she may be healed, and she shall live." It is the right effect of law when we are shut up by it in this way to the faith of Jesus.

The truth has been coming more and more into recognition; that Israel, whom the Lord came to heal, is in fact but a corpse, like the ruler's daughter. We have not the name of this ruler in Matthew; but in the two other Gospels which narrate the miracle, we find that his name was Jairus or Jair (Judges 10:3, see notes), the "enlightener," a name quite suited to those "fathers" of that generation of Israel which had, alas, become a nation of the dead, fathers through whom the enlightening Word has come down to us.

It is noticeable that the prominent person in this episode was not one of the common people, as was the case in the events narrated in the former part of this Gospel history. Jairus, the petitioner, was a man of social and religious eminence, and moreover of that class from which the active opposition to Jesus sprang. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were honourable exceptions, but of the rest, it was once scornfully asked, "Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him?" (John 7:48). Here then the Lord's mercy to the ruler shows that He is rich towards all who call upon Him, and that the testimony of good works which Capernaum was so obdurate in refusing (Matt. 11:23) ranged throughout all grades from the chiefs of the synagogue downwards.

Jairus, coming to Jesus in his distress, did him reverence by falling at His feet, a mark of respect the more striking, coming, as it did, from a person of local distinction such as a ruler of the synagogue was. The trouble of Jairus concerned his affections as a parent. He had one only daughter about twelve years of age, and she lay a-dying. He therefore kept beseeching the Lord that He would come to his house and lay His hand upon her and heal her. Did the ruler recollect that in that very town not so long before, Jesus had entered the house of Simon where his wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and taking her by the hand, lifted her up and healed her? At any rate such was the request he made. But Jesus did hot immediately go to the sick child; for He was never swayed by secondary considerations. Personal friendship did not hurry Him to the sick man at Bethany, and his sorrowing sisters (John 11:3, 36). His movements then, as ever, were regulated as to time and place only by the glory of God which would accrue. In this case He who would pause in His progress at the cry of a blind beggar by the roadside was not to be induced to alter His plans because a chief of the synagogue knelt at His feet. The ruler might have supposed that the party of tax-gatherers at Levi's house might very well wait until his own case was dealt with. But Jehovah's perfect Servant was above all such motives of worldly policy. He Himself was learning obedience by the things He was suffering; here was an opportunity for Jairus also to learn a lesson of patience and submission to the will of God. And thus his sorrow and anxiety over his daughter would be turned to account in his spiritual development. He would become possessor of that inward peace which is the result of patient submission to the divine Will. For this priceless boon we shall all do well to pray: — "Drop Thy still dews of quietness Till all our strivings cease; Take from our souls the strain and stress And let our ordered lives confess The beauty of Thy peace."

Then follows the account of the Jewish ruler of the synagogue, who fell at the feet of Jesus, and besought Him greatly to heal his dying daughter. Having dwelt on the scene elsewhere, I need say the less here. The Lord goes with him, intimating His specified ministry in Israel — a work which goes down to the reality of death, under which they would be shown really to lie. But the Shepherd of Israel could raise from the dead. This seems to be the bearing of the case before us, and not a mere general inroad upon Satan's power, which became the occasion and justification, if one may so speak, of carrying victoriously the glad tidings of God's kingdom and goodness to man. This was true of the Lord's ministry even while on the earth, the place where Satan reigns. His temptation in the wilderness proved Him stronger than the strong man, and therefore He spoils his goods, delivering the poor victims of Satan, and making them to be the captors of him whose captives they were. But here we find that his heart, far from being turned away from Israel, yearned over their need, deep as it was. The call of Jairus is no sooner made than He goes to answer it. He alone could wake out of death's sleep the daughter of Zion; yet, ineffable grace! while on the road He is open to everybody. In the throng through which He had to pass was a woman having an issue of blood. It was a desperate case; for she had suffered much, and tried many physicians in vain. Such is the hapless lot of man away from God; human aid avails not. Where is the man who has had to do with what is in the world, and would not at once acknowledge the justice of the picture, the powerlessness of man in the presence of the deepest wants? But this was just the opportunity for One who, even as man ministering here below, wielded the power of God in His love. Jesus was the true and unfailing servant of God; and the woman, instead of seeking good from man as he is, and thus suffering more and more by the very efforts made to benefit her, unseen in the press behind, touches the garment of Jesus. "For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she wad healed of that plague." To have banished her ailment would have been too little for Jesus; for He is a perfect Saviour, and therefore is a Saviour not only for the body that had suffered so long, but for the soul's affections and peace. She got a better blessing than she sought. He not only staunched the issue of blood, but filled her trembling heart with confidence instead of the fear that had possessed her before. Nothing would have been morally right had she gone away with the reflection that she had stolen some virtue from Jesus. Emphatically banishing, then, all dread from her spirit, He says to her, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague." That is, He seals to her with His mouth the blessing which, as it were, her hand would else have seemed to have taken surreptitiously from Him.