Luke 8:49-56 49While he was still speaking, someone from the ruler’s house came saying, “Your daughter has died; do not bother the Teacher any more.” 50But Jesus heard this he answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be saved.” 51And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52And all were weeping and mourning for her. But he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.” 53And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.” 55And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately, and he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56And her parents were amazed, but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
The first story picks up again after Jesus healed the bleeding woman. Precious time had been lost dealing with the woman’s situation. The devastating words no father wants to hear were reported by someone from Jairus’ household. Whoever this person did not know what Jesus could do. His or her doubts and fear overcame any faith he or she had. This person only saw Jesus as a teacher, rabbi, and not as the powerful Son of God. The poison of doubt, fear, and hopelessness could have devastated Jairus, but Jesus intervened with a word of hope. The words all people need to hear at some point in their lives are, Do not fear, only believe. Everyone in the household needed to learn a lesson about faith in Jesus. The word for saved is the one usually translated “heal” (sōthēsetai). The translation saved gives more of the nuance of why Jesus came: to save people from every sin and disease.
As the scene changes to the house of Jairus, the reader has much anticipation about what could Jesus possibly do in this situation. We have been exposed in Luke’s writing to the great power and authority of Jesus over temptation, every disease, and demon forces, but what could he do against the power of death? He had a strategy that involved his three key disciples, Peter, John, and James, and the girl’s parents. He wanted them to witness his power. The three disciples would become the future leaders of the church and needed to know this power. The father and mother were in desperate sorrow at the loss of their daughter and needed the gift of faith and hope that only Jesus can provide.
Jesus’ response in verse 52 seems surprising on the surface. Did he doubt the words of the messenger that this girl was dead? Was she only in a deep coma? Sleeping in this case is likely a euphemism for dead, as it is used in other parts of the Bible. Jesus may have chosen this description because the death of this girl was temporary, like sleep, and she would wake up again. The laugh in verse 53 is not the laugh of derision but of doubt and exasperation that Jesus would say something so obviously wrong. Everyone could see that the girl had stopped breathing and her body wearing the pale of death. This verse builds intensity and makes the next verse stand out even more significantly.
Jesus’ two words, Child, arise! change the situation completely and lead to a change in everyone in the room, beginning with the girl. We get a glimpse into what happens at death with the return of the girl’s spirit to her dead body. People who have had near death and resuscitation experiences tell of their spirits leaving their bodies. Confirming those experiences from a scientific perspective is impossible, but this girl has some type of experience like that though she had been dead for some time. Jesus did not wake her up from a nap but her spirit had left the body, and what remained was death. The spirit is necessary for a body to be considered alive. The miracles was also not simply a grown or small movement of the hand, like a person coming out of a coma. The girl got up, which shows a total restoration of health. She was able to eat right away. The healing of this girl was not simply waking her up or getting her breathing or her heart to beat with CPR but a complete restoration beyond the illness she had when she died.
Verse 56 attempts to recount the amazement of the parents, but that description is obviously too tame. This was a miracle on the highest level and called for a response at the highest level. This miracle confirmed everything Jesus had said and done up to this point in his ministry. He had conquered sickness, demons, and now death itself. Nothing was impossible for him. If the disciples could not recognize this, they were blinded by their own presuppositions. But as the New Testament story goes on, their minds and hearts do eventually open to full faith in Jesus. We have to rely on the testimony of the Bible for our faith, but there are modern miracles around us if we will only open our eyes as well.
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