21 When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and He stayed by the seashore.
As He arrived back on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, a large crowd gathered around Him, eager to witness His teachings and miracles, probably near Capernaum.
22 And one of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came, and upon seeing Him, fell at His feet 23 and pleaded with Him earnestly, saying,
Jairus was one of the synagogue officials, an important man, and almost certainly a Pharisee, since they ran the synagogue system in Israel. He was an elder and perhaps part-time teacher in the synagogue in Capernaum. Jairus approached Jesus with a heart full of desperation. His only daughter, about twelve years old, was dying. For this leader in society to fall down at the feet of Jesus and plead with Him earnestly, begging Him for the healing of his daughter speaks both to the love that this man had for her, and that he had seen and believed in some of the miracles that Jesus had done in and around Capernaum.
“My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.”
Luke, at this point tells us that the girl was twelve years old, and his only daughter. He is asking for miraculous healing before she dies.
24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.
Since he had told Jesus, ‘My little daughter is dying. Please come.” , it makes sense that Jesus follows Jairus toward his house. The daughter’s condition is critical: the Gk. is a colloquialism for “at death’s door” or “sinking fast.” God heard the desperate cry of this parent. And, yet the delay in going to the girl, as Jesus heals the woman with the issue of blood allows God to show that Jesus was filled with His power in a way that the apostles had not seen yet. As with the later raising of Lazarus, this miracle is going to be a testament to His disciples that they could trust Him as their Messiah, teacher, and friend. The delay must also have been agonizing for Jairus, and initially, he must have thought it was disastrous.
35 While He was still speaking, people came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why bother the Teacher further?” 36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, only believe.”
The attendants of the ruler of the synagogue arrive to announce that his daughter has died. How catastrophic for Jairus and his family. Hope is now lost, and the inevitable conclusion follows, “ ‘Why bother the teacher any more?’ ” God put these two stories of faith together to teach us about how radical faith in Jesus, allowing God to align our lives with God’s Will, in the midst of seemingly impossible odds changes things.
36 But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, only believe.”
So, when Jesus overhears the report of the attendants, he encourages Jairus to listen to the voice of faith, and not of fear. Jairus has just seen an example of radical faith, and now has the courage to emulate it. When Jesus says, “ ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe,’ ” Jairus must have the kind of faith the woman had. With these words, Jesus challenged Jairus to move beyond fear and continue in faith, even when the situation seemed hopeless.
37 And He allowed no one to accompany Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Jesus would not allow any of those who had accompanied him to continue with him except the father and the three disciples who were closest to Him, Peter, James and John. And this too shows that the closer your relationship with Jesus is now, the more closer it is likely to be in the future, and the more you will see and understand who Jesus is, and His great plan for your life.
38 They came to the house of the synagogue official, and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing.
Arriving at the house Jesus saw that preparations had been made already for the funeral. The presence of noisy mourners is a clear indication that there was no doubt about the girl’s death, and Jesus’ response assumes that this is why they are there. This tells you a lot about the expectations of everyone at the house. It was necessary to remove the mourners from the girl’s room.
39 And after entering, He said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child has not died, but is asleep.” In saying “she is only sleeping” He means that in spite of the girl’s real death, she has not been delivered over to the realm of death with all of its consequences. Mourning is inappropriate because she experiences a sleep from which she will soon awake. Her death is temporary, since Jesus is about to reverse the verdict of death and raise her as if from sleep.
40 And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all outside,
When Jesus says the girl is but sleeping, lamentation turns to derision. “They laughed at him.” The mourners were absolutely certain that the girl was dead, and were there to get their job done. The fact that wailing and tears could be exchanged so quickly for laughter indicates how performative, perfunctory, conventional and artificial the mourning customs had become—it was just a show to impress the neighbors with how much the family member who had died was loved. Jesus has no time for this falseness, and immediately casts all the scoffers out of the house.
He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was in bed. 41 And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha, kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 And immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astonished. 43 And He gave them strict orders that no one was to know about this, and He told them to have something given her to eat.
Allowing only the parents of the girl and his three disciples to accompany him, entered the room where the young girl lay. These five are the only ones allowed to witness the miracle. Taking hold of her hand he spoke the Aramaic words Talitha cumi, “Little girl, arise.” “Talitha koum” is Aramaic; talitha is a feminine form of the word for “lamb” or “youth,” and koum an imperative meaning “arise!” The Greek translation, “little girl,” is endearing, and indicates that Marks first readers in Rome were not native Hebrew or Aramaic readers, which is why the translation is included. Jesus speaks these words so that everyone present will know for sure that He has raised this girl from the dead. He simply lifts her up out of death.
And immediately they were completely astonished. —The unpreparedness of the parents and the disciples for what they had witnessed is expressed with emphatic language. God had intervened so dramatically they were left speechless with utter amazement. And this is just the first instance of where the verbs ἔγειρε engeiro and ἀνέστη, anestemi, both meaning rise up, or get up are used for resurrection. This is just the beginning of a concept that’s going to end up being central to the Christian faith—the resurrection of the dead, and Jesus’ power over death.
43 And He gave them strict orders that no one was to know about this, and He told them to have something given her to eat.–Mark records that Jesus strictly charged those present not to disclose to others what had happened. We see repeatedly that Jesus reveals His authority to those who believe; He does not use it to force people to believe. His signs and wonders are there to be interpreted for whosoever will receive them as from God, according to the condition of their hearts. These five received the privilege of a special revelation which they were not to share with others. The secret is, accordingly, “a witnessed secret” which is to be kept from others whom Jesus had excluded. Those who chose to laugh at Jesus in derision, and immediately dismiss Him were not around to see the evidence.
The command not to speak about this miracle is not so that no one would know that it had occurred, since everyone knew she was dead, and now she’s going to walk out of the room alive in the midst of the mourning neighborhood. In any case, Matthew records in 9:26 And this news spread throughout that land.
The reason for the command for silence is not to reveal exactly how the miracle occurred. Jesus reveals His power and Authority whenever and to whomever is appropriate, and conceals it from those deemed unworthy. The parents of the girl and the disciples, these five received the privilege of a special revelation which they were not to share with others. He was unwilling to make himself known to the raucous, unbelieving group that had gathered outside Jairus’ house. He did not permit them to witness the saving action by which the girl was restored to her parents, and he directed that it should continue to remain unknown to those outside. When the child appeared in public the facts would speak for themselves. But by this time, Jesus would have departed and wouldn’t have to endure the insincere praise from the crowds. There is a fine human touch in Mark’s final note, that the girl was walking around, and even in the midst of the excitement and confusion Jesus realized that the girl would need food, all attest to her total restoration of life. The resuscitation of Jairus’ daughter is both a deed of compassion and a pledge of the conquering power of Jesus over the combined forces of death and unbelief, and reveals the Kingdom of God is all about salvation from sin and death!