Reel Luke

Jesus Heals Two Daughters

Luke 8:40-56

Helpful Stuff to Know

In Jesus' culture, there were many rules and traditions about blood diseases. The woman in this story had likely lived an isolated life for 12 years, living apart from others. It was very dangerous and risky and "against the rules" for her to be in the crowd that day.

Leaders of the synagogue would have been well known and had some power and prestige.

Many people wanted to touch the hem of Jesus' robe in hopes of being healed. Check out Matthew 14:36.

In this story is the only time Jesus named someone "Daughter."

Be Sure Not to Miss

The stories of Jairus and the bleeding woman happen side by side. Pay attention to all the parallel story elements — some are similar and some are opposite — to see how diverse the people are and how wide Jesus’ love and power is.

The sick daughter was 12 years old. The bleeding woman had been sick for 12 years.

When Jesus named the woman “daughter,” Jairus heard. He would have understood the deeper meaning because he loved his own daughter.

After talking to the woman about her faith, Jesus then told Jairus to have faith.

Jesus listened and cared for both Jairus and the bleeding woman even though they approached him and interacted with him very differently.

Be Careful About

Jesus said these things in this story: "Daughter, your faith has healed you" to the woman and to Jairus, “Just have faith and your daughter will be well.” These are not promises to everyone today that if we trust Jesus enough he will heal us. These were specific promises to specific people in specific circumstances. Jesus can still heal and do miracles, of course, but be careful about copying and pasting statements and circumstances from specific stories into your own life.

Reel Questions

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Reel Setting (place)

Where did this story happen? (Describe the setting — in a house, on a road, by a lake, in a city, etc.)
What do you think that place looked like? smelled like? sounded like?
Do you think it matters that this story happened in that specific place? Why?
What about the place in this story feels familiar? What feels strange?

Reel People (characters)

Make a list of all the people in this story and give a one-word description of each (include “crowd” if there is one). Why did you choose that word?
What does Jesus say and do in this story? List all the things. Does anything surprise you? Why?
Which person (besides Jesus) is most interesting to you? Why?
What details about the characters do you wish were included or explained in the story? Why?
Why do you think [choose a specific character or the crowd] spoke or acted the way they did?
What are some different things that [the person from previous question] could have said or done? How would that have changed the story?
What do you think the onlookers were thinking and feeling as things were happening in this story? Why?
How do you think the main characters might have changed after this story? Why? (Sometimes it tells us, like with Zacchaeus, but other times it doesn’t.)
How do you think the crowd or onlookers might have changed after this story? Why?
If you’d been there, where would you have been standing or sitting? What would you have been thinking or feeling? Why?

Reel Events (plot)

List all the events in the story.
List some details that aren't included but are assumed in the story.
What do you think are the two or three most important moments in this story? Why?
If this story were a film, when would the music be scary or tense? When would it be joyful or upbeat? Why?
What do you think maybe happened right before this story? What do you think maybe happened right after this story?
Does the biblical story before or after this one matter to this story? How? Why do you think that?
What are some different ways things could have happened or ended in this story?
If this story were happening today in your school or town, what are ways Jesus might have acted or explained things for your context?
What would you call this story if it were a full-length book or movie? Why?

Real Faith

What’s a way people could misunderstand or misuse this story?
Why do you think this story is in the Bible? Why would God want us to read and learn from it?
What are you learning about Jesus (or his Father or the Spirit) from this story?
What are you learning about following Jesus (living for Jesus and living like Jesus) from this story?
After reading this story, what are some questions you have about Jesus and following him?

Story-Specific Questions

Why do you think Jesus took time to listen to the woman’s story even though she’d already been healed?

Why do you think Jesus named the woman "Daughter"? What do you think she thought about that?

What do you think Jairus was thinking about while Jesus stopped, waited, and listened to the woman’s story?