Authority Over Death
Behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."...And when Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult, he said, "Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district. Matt. 9:18-26, RSV.
People will do strange things when they are desperate. And Jairus, a synagogue ruler (Luke 8:41), was exactly that.
Normally he would have kept his dignity, walked with a measured tread, and spoken calmly with those he met. He had a social status to preserve.
But with the death of his daughter all that had changed. He has heard about a prophet in town healing people. Maybe, just maybe, He can do something about death. Throwing caution and dignity to the wind, he prostrates himself before Jesus on a dusty road with his neighbors looking on. As N. T. Wright observes, "Who cares about dignity when your daughter's life is at stake."
Recognizing his budding but trembling faith, Jesus tells him "Do not fear, only believe" (Mark 5:36, RSV). The present tense of the Greek imperative means to keep on believing, to hold on to faith rather than to give up in despair.
"Only believe." And Jairus did, following Jesus to his own home. There they came face-to-face with the "experts on death," hired professional mourners, who laughed with derision at Jesus' statement that "the girl is not dead but sleeping." The mourners recognized death when they saw it. And they knew that dead people don't come back to life.
But Jesus, practicing "the art of ignoring," does the impossible. Taking her hand and telling her to arise, He demonstrates that He has authority over death itself.
That teaching is one of the most important in the New Testament. It climaxes the gospel story when Jesus Himself gains victory over death and rises from the grave. And it becomes the centerpiece of world history when Jesus comes a second time to resurrect the death (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15: 51-54).
The raising of the synagogue ruler's daughter is Jesus' first demonstration that Christians have nothing to fear, even in death, but have every reason to believe in Him. Why? Because what He did for Jairus' daughter He will eventually do for each and every one of His followers.
Behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live."...And when Jesus came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute players, and the crowd making a tumult, he said, "Depart; for the girl is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went through all that district. Matt. 9:18-26, RSV.
People will do strange things when they are desperate. And Jairus, a synagogue ruler (Luke 8:41), was exactly that.
Normally he would have kept his dignity, walked with a measured tread, and spoken calmly with those he met. He had a social status to preserve.
But with the death of his daughter all that had changed. He has heard about a prophet in town healing people. Maybe, just maybe, He can do something about death. Throwing caution and dignity to the wind, he prostrates himself before Jesus on a dusty road with his neighbors looking on. As N. T. Wright observes, "Who cares about dignity when your daughter's life is at stake."
Recognizing his budding but trembling faith, Jesus tells him "Do not fear, only believe" (Mark 5:36, RSV). The present tense of the Greek imperative means to keep on believing, to hold on to faith rather than to give up in despair.
"Only believe." And Jairus did, following Jesus to his own home. There they came face-to-face with the "experts on death," hired professional mourners, who laughed with derision at Jesus' statement that "the girl is not dead but sleeping." The mourners recognized death when they saw it. And they knew that dead people don't come back to life.
But Jesus, practicing "the art of ignoring," does the impossible. Taking her hand and telling her to arise, He demonstrates that He has authority over death itself.
That teaching is one of the most important in the New Testament. It climaxes the gospel story when Jesus Himself gains victory over death and rises from the grave. And it becomes the centerpiece of world history when Jesus comes a second time to resurrect the death (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15: 51-54).
The raising of the synagogue ruler's daughter is Jesus' first demonstration that Christians have nothing to fear, even in death, but have every reason to believe in Him. Why? Because what He did for Jairus' daughter He will eventually do for each and every one of His followers.
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