The story of Yeshua raising a 12-year-old girl from the dead is one of the most tender scenes in the gospels. On several levels, it is a beautiful picture of God's mercy and kindness to fallen man.
In Mark 5:41, the Lord takes the lifeless child by the hand and says, "Talitha cumi," or, "Damsel, I say unto thee, arise." According to A.T. Robertson in Word Pictures in the New Testament, the form of Greek implies an endearing term "little girl." With this understanding, you can feel the love of Messiah for this child lift off the page. We can find other examples of God's mercy in this narrative. When Yeshua enters the house and tells the people who are weeping and wailing that the girl is not dead but sleeping, He is ridiculed. But look what He does: He simply puts them outside. When Yeshua is rejected in His hometown of Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6), He marvels at their unbelief, yet He does not condemn them. The people condemn themselves by their words.
After Yeshua restores the child to life, He extends the same kindness as he does to the five thousand in Mark 6:37 – he wants her to have something to eat. Think about that. With the weight of the world on His shoulders, the Lord's immediate concern is that this little girl not go hungry. It is comforting to know that our day-to-day needs never escape His attention. God says a sparrow cannot fall to the ground apart from His will, and we are of more value than many sparrows.
Posted by Jeff King at June 30, 2003 02:53 AMJeff, thank you for a beautiful interpretation of the story of Jairus' daughter, as well as for all of the other inspiring entries you've posted so far.
Posted by: Dave Farquhar at July 10, 2003 06:02 PM