When Jesus had crossed again [in the boat] to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. 22 One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet 23 and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” 24 He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
35 While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” 36 Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” 37 He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38 When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. 41 He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” 42 The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. [At that] they were utterly astounded. 43 He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.
Jesus returned across the Sea of Galilee and was met by a large crowd including Jairus, a Synagogue official. Jairus humbled himself before Jesus and asked him to come and heal his daughter who was, “At the point of death” (v. 23). Laying on of hands (v. 23) was a well-known healing ritual in ancient times. To “Get well and live” (v. 23) was understood by early Christians to mean salvation and resurrected life. Mark’s Christian audience would have understood Jairus to say, “Please come lay your hands on her that she may be saved and have eternal life (v. 23).” Before Jesus could leave the crowd to go to Jairus’ daughter, Jairus got the message that she had died which meant, they thought, that Jesus the healer could no longer help her. Jesus told Jairus to, “Just have faith” (v. 36) and left for Jairus’ house. How could Jairus have faith after his daughter was already dead? Jesus took his inner circle, Peter, James and John (Mk. 9:2; Mt. 14:33) with him to Jairus’ house and was ridiculed by the mourners when he arrived because he said, “The child is not dead but asleep (v. 39).” The girl’s parents along with the three apostles witnessed the girl being restored to good health. It was not a resurrection in the eschatological sense (Jn. 6:40). The girl was restored to her previous life.
Almighty God, you grant us the gift of faith and we humbly pray that you help us to accept such a precious gift and to trust that you can do all things, and all things you do work for our good. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Expanded Edition, Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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