When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 And a man named Jairus, an official of the synagogue, came forward. He fell at the feet of Jesus and begged him to come to his house, 42 because he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, and she was dying. As he went, the crowds almost crushed him.
49 While he was still speaking, someone from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer.” 50 On hearing this, Jesus answered him, “Do not be afraid; just have faith and she will be saved.” 51 When he arrived at the house he allowed no one to enter with him except Peter and John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 All were weeping and mourning for her, when he said, “Do not weep any longer, for she is not dead, but sleeping.” 53 And they ridiculed him, because they knew that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and called to her, “Child, arise!” 55 Her breath returned and she immediately arose. He then directed that she should be given something to eat. 56 Her parents were astounded, and he instructed them to tell no one what had happened.
When Jesus returned by boat to Galilee from the territory of the Gerasenes he was met by a large crowd. Jairus, a Synagogue leader, humbled himself before Jesus and begged him to save his dying daughter who was his only child (cf. Lk. 7:11-17). She was 12 years old and in ancient times she would have been of marriageable age. On hearing that the girl had died Jesus said to Jairus, “Do not be afraid; just have faith and she will be saved (v. 50).” Jesus only allowed the girl’s parents, Peter, James and John to enter the house with him. He was ridiculed by the mourners when he arrived because he said, “Do not weep any longer, for she is not dead, but sleeping (v. 52).” Jesus touched the dead girl, making him ritually unclean (Num. 19:16), and restored her to her previous life. A good appetite is a sign of a healthy person. Healing the woman with a hemorrhage (Lk. 8:43-48) and raising Jairus’ daughter (vv. 54-55) showed Jesus’ power over sickness and death. Like Mark’s messianic secret, Jesus instructed her parents to tell no one what happened (v. 56).
Merciful and gracious God, send your Holy Spirit upon us and cure us of our infirmities, both physical and spiritual, if it pleases you to do so, so that we may be saved. Let your Spirit help us to pray as we should so that we can see you as our true Father and obey all your commands. 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.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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