author: Ryan Hayden Take your Bibles with me and turn to Luke 8. Luke 8. I want to talk to you today about faith. Faith.

There is no doubt that faith is one of the themes of the Bible.

• The word "faith" shows up 245 times in the New Testament.
• Five times the scripture tells us that the just shall live by faith. (I read one in my devotions this week in Habakkuk.)
• Ephesians 2:8 tells us that we are saved by grace through faith.
• Jesus told us that if you have the faith of a mustard seed you can move mountains.
• Paul told us that faith is the shield we use to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
• 1 John 5:4 says that "this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith."

You know faith is important. You know you have to have faith. We aren't going to talk about that today. What we are going to talk about today is the kind of faith God is looking for. The kind of faith that God responds to.

In our story today, we are going to see two people who came to Jesus in faith - these two stories are obviously woven together, in fact, they are told together in Matthew, Mark and Luke. They are the stories of two people who couldn't be more different - one was a respected synagogue leader named Jairus, the other was an unnamed woman with a chronic illness. Both of them came to Jesus with a faith that was far from perfect, and yet Jesus met both of them right where they were.

So the key idea today is this: God saves and helps those who come to Him in faith, even when that faith isn't perfect.

Let's go ahead and read our text. Luke 8:40-56

[!bible] Luke 8:40-56 - KJV 40. And it came to pass, that, when Jesus was returned, the people gladly received him: for they were all waiting for him. 41. And, behold, there came a man named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: 42. For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying. But as he went the people thronged him. 43. And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which had spent all her living upon physicians, neither could be healed of any, 44. Came behind him, and touched the border of his garment: and immediately her issue of blood stanched. 45. And Jesus said, Who touched me? When all denied, Peter and they that were with him said, Master, the multitude throng thee and press thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? 46. And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched me: for I perceive that virtue is gone out of me. 47. And when the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before him, she declared unto him before all the people for what cause she had touched him and how she was healed immediately. 48. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace. 49. While he yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not the Master. 50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole. 51. And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden. 52. And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53. And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead. 54. And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. 55. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat. 56. And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

I'm going to steal something from Daniel and start saying "This is the word of God." Let's pray.

In our message today, we are going to walk through this story and I'm going to give you eight points about the kind of faith that God responds to.

The first type of faith that God responds to is..

1. Reluctant Faith

In the beginning of our story we are introduced to a man named Jairus. Jairus was the leader of the synagogue in Capernaum. He would have been like a pastor in a church today. He was in charge of the buildings and in charge of the services at the synagogue.

Jesus' ministry in the synagogues almost always ended in controversy. The synagogues were the place of the Pharisees. We know that when Jesus preached in his home synagogue at Nazareth, they tried to throw him off a cliff. We know that when he healed people in the synagogue, it bothered the pharisees.

So I tend to think that this Jairus was not an open fan of Jesus. But here in this story, as Jesus and his disciples are getting off the boat from their trip to Gaddara, they are met by Jairus and he is bowing down and worshiping Christ and begging him to help.

You see, Jairus only had one child. A twelve year old girl. And that daughter was dying. Jairus' whole world was coming crashing down and he was desperate for Christ's help.

And so Jairus does the unthinkable, in an act of total desperation, he meets Jesus in a very public place and begs him to come to his house and heal his little girl.

Listen, I don't think Jairus was worshiping Jesus here out of deep admiration and devotion. I think Jairus was worshiping Christ because he had no other options. He was reluctant. He was desperate.

But notice Jesus didn't say "Sorry, Jairus, you should have started following me in the synagogue, now that you are in trouble, it's too late. No, Jesus met him where he was and went with him."

So I want to tell you today, if the only reason you come to Jesus is because you have a need, and you are out of other options - He will still receive you. So long as you are trusting in Him.

So reluctant faith. The second type of faith we see here is...

2. Desperate faith

Jairus was desperate. His little girl was dying. He needed help. He would have done anything.

But he's not the only desperate person in this story. There is another character here - a lady with no name. All we know is that she has "an issue of blood" which is a Biblical euphemism for some kind of gynecological problem.

Ironically, she's been suffering from this condition for 12 years - as long as Jairus' daughter has been alive. For Jairus, it has been 12 years of joy. For this woman, it's been 12 years of agony.

In Bible times, in a jewish society that was under the Mosaic law, this woman would have been considered unclean. Everything she touched would be considered unclean.

If she was married, her husband was forbidden to touch her and may have divorced her. She was likely unable to have children. In that society, this was one of the worst things that could happen to her.

You see, we know from Mark that she has spent all of her money on doctors. But she isn't any better, in fact, she is worse.

And it's no wonder, listen to what some of these "doctors" would do:

The ancient rabbis had many different formulas to help a woman afflicted like this. “Rabbi Jochanan says: ‘Take of gum Alexandria, of alum, and of corcus hortensis, the weight of a zuzee each; let them be bruised together, and given in wine to the woman that hath an issue of blood. But if this fail, Take of Persian onions nine logs, boil them in wine, and give it to her to drink: and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this fail, Set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her hand; and let somebody come behind and affright her, and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this do no good.’”

So this woman was a mess! As one writer said she was “broke, cut off from home, society, and religion, and in declining health.”

So she, just like Jairus, is coming to Jesus out of desperation.

Maybe you've been there. Your life is crumbling. You've got nowhere left to to turn. So you turn to Jesus. Jesus doesn't despise that. Jesus met both of these people in their desperation and helped them and He will help you.

So we see that Jesus responds to reluctant faith and desperate faith. The third type of faith we see in this story is...

3. Ignorant and superstitious faith

As Jesus went to Jairus' house, the crowd is pressing Jesus. Everyone is trying to get to him. The word Luke used here means "almost suffocated." In the midst of this chaos, this unnamed woman sneaks up behind Jesus and just touches the fringe of his garment (likely the tassels Jewish men wore.)

Mark 5:28 tells us her reasoning: "If I may but touch His clothes, I shall be whole."

Listen, her faith was real, but it was messy. It was ignorant and superstitious. She thought there was some magical power in Jesus' clothes. She was something like the people who send in money to the TV preacher to get a piece of a prayer rug he's prayed over.

Ignorance. Its easy to look down on people like this. To think, "how crude? How unsophisticated? How ignorant and superstitious?"

And listen, she was all of those things. But do you know what matters? She reached for Christ. She reached for Him! Despite all of the ignorant and superstitious junk, she was trusting in Christ.

You know, very often when people come to Jesus they don't have it all worked out yet. They often come with some pretty foggy understanding of what is going on. They don't know about penal substitution atonement, they don't know about justification by faith alone. They don't know much - and much of what they do know isn't quite right - but they know they need Jesus.

And that is what matters. Jesus didn't reject this woman because she was acting in superstition. He healed her the moment she touched Him.

So we've talked about reluctant faith, desperate faith, ignorant faith.

How about...

4. Selfish faith

Let's be honest here: this woman's faith was kind of selfish.

Here is what I think about Jesus: He didn't come to Jesus out of deep admiration. He came to Jesus as a last resort. He came to Jesus reluctantly. But Christ still received Him and agreed to go to His house.

And friend, I want you to understand this, a lot of people come to Jesus reluctantly at first, but end up being received by Him and finding true faith.

I had a conversation this week with a man who had once been in a big rock band. He had a big record contract and was touring the country when the lead singer of his band called a team meeting and said "I've given my life to Christ and I'm done." This man thought "I'm never doing that. I'm never going to become a Christian."

But guess what? He's not only a Christian, he's been a pastor in Pennsylvania for over 40 years.

Reluctant faith. A second kind of faith we see in this story is...

2. Desperate Faith

Jairus faith was desperate, and so was the faith of this other person in the story. We don't know her name, only that she is a woman with "an issue of blood." That is a biblical euphemism for some kind of gynecological disorder.

Ironically, she's beed suffering from this for 12 years. So as Jairus has enjoyed the joys of being a father for 12 years, this woman has been dealing with this enormous burden for 12 years.

The main reason it was an enormous burden was because in that society, under the Old Testament law, she was ceremonially unclean. Everything she touched was unclean. So she would have been a castaway from society.

It also meant she would likely never get married (if she wasn't already) and if she was, it's likely she would be divorced. She probably couldn't have children either.

For a woman in that society, this was about the worst thing that could happen to you. And she had spend every penny she had visiting every doctor she could to get better, but Mark says she was only made worse.

Listen to the kind of things these doctors would do (I saw this blurb in several commentaries):

The ancient rabbis had many different formulas to help a woman afflicted like this. “Rabbi Jochanan says: ‘Take of gum Alexandria, of alum, and of corcus hortensis, the weight of a zuzee each; let them be bruised together, and given in wine to the woman that hath an issue of blood. But if this fail, Take of Persian onions nine logs, boil them in wine, and give it to her to drink: and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this fail, Set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her hand; and let somebody come behind and affright her, and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this do no good.’” (Clarke)

So this woman was desperate. She was coming to Jesus because she had no other options. Just like Jairus. And yet, Jesus didn't cast her away, Jesus received her.

What does this tell us? Desperate faith, if it is placed in Jesus, still counts.

So we have talked about desperate faith and reluctant faith. Let's talk about.

3. Ignorant and Superstitious Faith

So Jesus is moving to Jairus' house. There is a huge crowd of people trying to get to Him. Which Luke calls "the press" (which comes from a word meaning "to suffocate".) As Jairus is desperate to get Jesus to his house, they are stuck in a traffic jam.

But in that human traffic jam, this woman takes her opportunity to get to Jesus. Mark 5:28 tells us what this woman was thinking:

[!bible] Mark 5:28 - KJV 28. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.

In other words, she thought that there was something magical about Jesus clothes. Jewish men in those days wore tassels hanging from their garments, and this woman reached out and touched the tassel, thinking it would heal her..

Friends, that's nothing but superstition. Hocus pocus. Magic stuff. That isn't quite right.

It's kind of like those people who pay money to the TV preachers to get a piece of a prayer rug, thinking its going to heal them. This was ignorance and superstition.

But do you know what? Jesus still healed her. Because despite the fact she didn't have all the details worked out, she was still reaching out to Him. She was still trusting in Christ.

You know, most of the time, when people come to Christ, they don't know what they should yet. Most of the time, their details are foggy, they might even be a little superstitious. A little bit ignorant.

It's easy for us to say "Oh, you can't define penal substitutionary atonement". You don't know about propitiation and imputation. How ignorant?

But do you know what? Her faith was real and her faith was accepted. If you don't know everything yet, don't worry, just come to Jesus - that is what matters, He will teach you what you need to know after. Just come to Him.

So we've seen desperate faith, reluctant faith, ignorant faith.

Let's talk about...

4. Selfish Faith

Let's admit it: What this woman did here, it was kind of selfish.

Technically, anyone she bumped into in that crowd was unclean. Technically, even Jesus would be unclean.

And in a sense, she was kind of stealing a blessing from Jesus. She didn't ask. She wasn't going to tell anyone.

I think this is why she was trembling when Jesus said "who touched me" and looked right at her. I think she thought she was in trouble.

But what did Jesus say to her. Look at verse 48:

[!bible] Luke 8:48 - KJV 48. And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace.

Her selfish faith brought her to Jesus, and that was enough. Sometimes we come to God with mixed motives, unconsious selfishness. We just want something for ourself:

• Healing
• Peace
• Forgiveness

But God doesn't reject that, so long as we are coming to Him - He can work it out.

So this was reluctant faith, desperate faith, ignorant faith, and selfish faith. It was also...

5. Secret Faith

This woman didn't announce her plan. She came secretly. Her hope was that no one would notice her. She didn't want to bring any attention to what she was doing.

But Jesus called her out. He didn't do it to shame her, but to bless her.

He called her "daughter." That was probably something she hadn't heard in many years. Then He publicly declared "thy faith has saved thee."

Why did Jesus do this?

• So others would see and know she had been healed.
• And so she would know it wasn't magic. But her faith in Christ that did it.

Sometimes, when people come to Christ, they start out in secret. They are like Nicodemus, coming to Jesus by night. They don't want people to know that they are even considering Christ. They are afraid of embarrassment.

But Jesus has this way of pulling us in, and when we really come to Him, He brings our faith into the light where it belongs.

Maybe you are here today and you have been a secret follower. Your faith has been developing in secret. God wants you to make that public. To publicly profess your faith in Him.

But listen, if you are coming in secret now, God can work with that. So long as you are coming to Him.

So have you been impressed yet with these people's faith?

• Reluctant
• Desperate
• Ignorant
• Selfish
• Secret

Sounds like a lot of us doesn't it? But do you know what - I think what matters ultimately is that both Jairus and this woman came to Jesus.

You see, it's not the quality of our faith that matters, it's the object of our faith. What matters isn't that our faith is pure and intelligent and well informed and selfless and public - what matters is that our faith is in Christ.

And what we see here in this story is that it was a

6. Reaching Faith

There is a bit of humor in this story. As Jesus is surrounded by a crowd of people, crushing and suffocating Him. He stops and says "who touched me?"

Peter basically says "Master, thousands of people are touching you, and you are asking 'who touched me?'"

But Jesus knew someone had touched him in a different way. Someone had reached out to Him in faith.

Listen, whatever was wrong with this woman's faith, this much was right with it: she made it a point to reach out to Jesus in faith. This wasn't a passive thing. This was a deliberate act of faith.

And listen, if you are going to come to Christ, you need to do so deliberately. You need to reach out to Him on purpose. It may be out of desperation, it may be with reluctance, it may be with mixed motives and it may be in secret - but it needs to be on purpose.

author: Ryan Hayden

Now, let's look at Jairus again. While this is happening with this woman, a man comes and tells Jairus "You need to leave the teacher alone, your daughter has died."

This had to be an absolutely crushing blow. Can you imagine what Jairus is thinking. "Jesus, if you didn't stop to help this woman, you could have healed my daughter." This was so discouraging. But Jesus stopped him and gave him two commands and a promise:

[!bible] Luke 8:50 - KJV 50. But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole.

Two commands: fear not. Only believe. One promise - your daughter will be made whole.

And so Jairus had a choice, he could trust what people were saying, what his senses were saying, or he could could trust Christ.

We see here that Jairus trusted Christ.

So a seventh kind of faith that God receives is...

7. Faith in Christ's Words

Let me tell you this about faith, we have some one to believe and we have some thing to believe. We put our faith in Christ and that faith leads us to believe God's word.

And God's word is full of commands (like Jairus got here) and promises (like Jairus got here.) And the challenge of faith is living by those commands and trusting in those promises in the not yet. Trusting them when it doesn't seem like they are going to work out.

That's what Jairus did here. He trusted the word of Christ. And that faith was challenged.

So the last type of faith is...

8. Challenged Faith

When they got to the house, there was already a funeral going on. In Bible times, they would hire professional mourners and the funeral would start right away. These people were already crying and mourning when Jesus got there.

So Jesus had to drive them out of the house. He told them, "she's not dead, she's sleeping."

When Jesus told these people that they mocked Him. They scorned Him.

Of course, the girl was dead in a human stance. Jesus had to call the spirit back into the girl. James tells us that the body without the spirit is dead. So she was dead. But Jesus knew her death was only temporary - like sleeping.

But they mocked Him. Which means they mocked Jairus and his wife for trusting in Him. That was a challenge of faith.

If you come to Christ with real faith, people will mock it. People will misunderstand it. Your faith will be challenged.

But if it is true faith, even if it is faith out of desperation. Even if it is selfish, superstitious and secret. If you come to Christ and trust His words, your faith will be rewarded.

Jesus touched this girl and said "Maid, arise" and she got up. Then Jesus told her parents to feed her.

Conclusion

So we’ve seen reluctant faith, desperate faith, ignorant faith, selfish faith, secret faith, reaching faith, faith in Christ’s words, and now challenged faith. Eight kinds of faith—imperfect, messy, human faith—that God still responds to. Eight pictures of people like you and me, bringing what little we have to Jesus and finding that He’s more than enough.

Let’s finish this story. After Jesus says, “Maid, arise,” in Luke 8:55, the Bible tells us, “And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.” That word “straightway” means immediately—no delay, no hesitation. Jairus trusted Jesus’ words despite the mourners, despite the news, despite the odds, and Jesus delivered. The girl didn’t just wake up groggy—she got up alive, whole, hungry! And Jesus, ever practical, says, “Feed her.” He doesn’t just heal; He restores life fully.

And look at verse 56: “And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.” Astonished! Their reluctant, desperate, challenged faith led to a miracle they couldn’t even explain. And Jesus tells them to keep it quiet—not because it wasn’t real, but because His mission wasn’t about fame; it was about faith.

What Does This Mean for Us?

Friends, what we learn from Jairus and this woman is that it’s not about having perfect faith; it’s about having faith in a perfect Savior. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You don’t have to come to Jesus with a theology degree or a spotless heart. You don’t even have to come boldly at first—secretly, reluctantly, desperately, that’s enough. What matters is that you come to Him.

Think about it:

• Maybe you’re like Jairus today. You’ve been reluctant to trust Jesus fully. Maybe you’ve kept Him at arm’s length until life fell apart, and now you’re desperate. That’s okay—He’s waiting for you.
• Maybe you’re like this woman. You’ve been carrying a burden for years—12 years, 20 years, a lifetime. You’ve tried everything else, spent all you had, and you’re reaching out to Jesus, even if it’s with shaky hands or mixed motives. That’s enough—He sees you.

Your faith might be small as a mustard seed. It might be riddled with doubt or superstition. It might get mocked by the world. But if it’s aimed at Jesus, it’s enough. Why? Because faith isn’t the power—it’s the connection. Faith doesn’t heal you; Jesus does. Faith doesn’t raise the dead; Jesus does. Faith just gets you to Him.

The Invitation

So here’s my challenge to you today: Bring your faith to Jesus, whatever it looks like. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Did you catch that? God rewards those who seek Him—not those who seek Him perfectly, but those who seek Him sincerely.

Maybe you’re sitting there thinking, “Pastor, my faith is reluctant—I don’t even know why I’m here.” Come to Jesus.
Maybe you’re desperate—“I’ve got nowhere else to turn.” Come to Jesus.
Maybe it’s ignorant—“I don’t understand it all.” Come to Jesus.
Maybe it’s selfish—“I just want peace.” Come to Jesus.
Maybe it’s secret—“I’m not ready to tell anyone.” Come to Jesus.

Reach out to Him today. Trust His words: “Fear not: believe only, and you shall be made whole.” He’s not asking for a perfect performance; He’s asking for you.