Jairus, the synagogue leader
This synagogue leader of Capernaum does not look remarkable: he is short, fat, and old-fashioned, in his fifties.[1] But he is a courageous disciple. At the very beginning of Jesus's public life, the healing of Haggai, the possessed man, takes place in his synagogue.[2]
Later, he comes pleading Jesus to heal Miriam, his only dying daughter. Jesus raises her, as reported in the Gospel ([3]-[4]-[5]): "Talitha, koumi! (Little girl, I say to you, arise!)"[6] She becomes one of the consecrated virgins. The wife of Jairus, with whom he lives behind the synagogue, is unknown.[7] Moreover, he still has his mother: she is dying during the third year of Jesus' public life.[8]
He confronts the prevailing hostility toward Jesus, notably at the time of the Bread of Life discourse[9] delivered in his synagogue.[10] He is present in the crowd of the ramWaterx[11], then no longer mentioned in the rest of the work.
Only a later dictation by Jesus to Maria Valtorta confirms Jairus' sincere and courageous commitment.[12]
His name
Jair, Ya'ir "Yahweh enlightens". Historical reference: one of the descendants of Manasseh and one of the judges of Israel.
Where is he mentioned in the work?
EMV 49 EMV 59 EMV 94EMV 229 EMV 230 EMV 266 EMV 269 EMV 279
EMV 348 EMV 354 EMV 355 EMV 366 EMV 376 EMV 378
EMV 446 EMV 447 EMV 460 EMV 465 EMV 490
EMV 590
Learn more about this character
Excerpts from the Dictionary of Gospel Characters, Salton Maria Valtorta (Mgr René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Salvator Editions, 2012).Recent archaeological findings have provided historical evidence of the existence of a synagogue in Capernaum at the time of Jesus, but we have not found historical traces of Jairus outside the Gospels where he is nonetheless named.
Notes and references
Notes and references
- ↑ EMV 59
- ↑ EMV 59
- ↑ Matthew 9:18-26
- ↑ Mark 5:35-43
- ↑ Luke 8:49-56
- ↑ EMV 230
- ↑ EMV 447
- ↑ EMV 460
- ↑ John 6:22-71.
- ↑ EMV 354.11
- ↑ EMV 590
- ↑ The Notebooks from 1945 to 1950, dictation from March 1949: "Mary of Magdala (Magdalene), the great sinner and great convert, the humble mother of the deceased of Nain, Jairus, the synagogue leader, believed sincerely in my words and did not want to act by themselves but let me act; they followed with confidence the orders I gave them and obtained the resurrection of their dead. But are those who want you to carry out actions that I advise you against wiser than God, more powerful than me? […] I had few friends, and even fewer among the priests and doctors. But the latter were good friends. Jairus, Joseph, and Nicodemus were among them, with a few others including the good scribe."