Jairus's Daughter - Matt 9:18-31; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56

Coming back across the sea of Galilee, Jesus and his disciples arrive in Capernum, greeted by a throng of people, “and, behold, there came a man names Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue: and he fell down at Jesus’ feet, and besought him that he would come into his house: For he had one only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she lay a dying.” He pleads with Jesus “My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, came and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.” The IM points out that this laying on of hands that Jairus asks of Jesus is the same healing priesthood ordinance that we have today. Jairus was a ruler of the synagogue and would have enjoyed much prominence, power and prestige by the Jews that he oversaw. The IM quotes President Howard W. Hunter as explaining, “The tremor we hear in Jairus’s voice as he speaks of ‘My little daughter’ stirs our souls with sympathy as we think of this man of high position in the synagogue on his knees before the Savior. Then comes a great acknowledgement of faith: ‘I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.’ These are not only the words of faith of a father torn with grief but are also a reminder to us that whatever Jesus lays his hands upon lives. If Jesus lay his hands upon a marriage, it lives. If he is allowed to lay his hands on the family, it lives… When they got to the home of the ruler of the synagogue, Jesus took the little girl by the hand and raised her from the dead. In like manner, he will lift and raise every man to a new and better life who will permit the Savior to take him by the hand.”

Jesus of course goes with Jairus because he is desires to help, and while walking “there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?” It’s interesting to consider the fact that these informants recognized Jesus as Master, but perceive limits on his power. To be fair, if they hadn’t heard of the raising of the widow of Nain, then they weren’t familiar with Jesus’ power over death. I think it’s important to remember that we’ve had a fully compiled English Bible for our whole lives while back then all these different miracles and teachings were happening in different places with different audiences. Communication was very slow, inaccurate, and unreliable, so it is very possible that many of these people regarded Jesus as a miracle worker instead of the Son of God establishing a new gospel that fulfilled the one that they knew.  As far as many of these people knew, the power to raise people from the dead was last manifested by Elijah several hundred years ago, it probably wasn’t even on their radar as far as being a possibility.

Jesus did not give Jairus the chance to doubt His power and simply reassured him, “Be not afraid, only believe.” JTC says that this comment “sustained the man’s sorely-taxed faith.” The IM teaches, “One can only imagine the devestation Jairus must have felt at the unexpected declaration that his daughter was dead. Elder Neil L. Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles used Jesus Christ’s comforting words to Jairus at that moment of devastation to teach the important principle that following Jesus involved choosing to keep our faith when faced with doubts or fears: ‘Challenges, difficulties, questions, doubts- these are part of our mortality. But we are not alone. As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, we have enormous spiritual reservoirs of light and truth available to us. Fear and faith cannot coexist in our hearts at the same time. In our days of difficulty, we choose the road of faith. Jesus said, ‘Be not afraid, only believe.’” This begs the question though, what if it hadn’t been God’s will that Jairus’ daughter be raised from the dead. We are told in D&C 42:48, “He that hath faith in me to be healed, and is not appointed unto death, shall be healed.” What if Jairus’ daughter was “appointed unto death,” because let’s face it, most of the time the people that we love and want healed just die, they aren’t miraculously raised from the dead. What are we not to be afraid of at that point? Are we to believe that God will take care of us, even in our times of sorrow? Are we supposed to have faith that everything will work out for our good? Yes, I think so.

When the small group got to Jairus’ house, there was quite a commotion, and Jesus asked the mourners “Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth? And they laughed him to scorn.” The IM makes note that these laughers were probably not the genuinely grieving family, but those who were mourners by profession, meaning that “prominent or wealthy families like Jairus’s often hired people to lament with them. At Jairus’s house, it was likely a group of professional mourners who laughed scornfully at Jesus and who were asked by Jesus to leave to ensure reverence while the miraculous healing took place. The raising of the young girl was witnessed only by her mother and father and by Peter, James, and John. While the faith of these five individuals was rewarded, those who had laughed at Jesus forfeited the opportunity to better know Him and witness His power.” I had always wondered why Jesus kicked out all those other people before he healed this girl, I thought “why wouldn’t he want them to stay and see this miracle so that they could believe in Him?” And of course the answer is, because miracles don’t convert, they only strengthen the testimony of those already converted.

Jesus takes “the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi, which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.” I love that Jesus wants her to be given some food. Most people as they come out of a severe illness eat very little at first and have to work up to bigger meals, but it feels like Jesus is indicating that she is fully recovered 100%, not just made to temporarily made to feel better. The IM also notes that “Talitha Cumi” is Aramaic, which Jesus spoke.