Luke 8:51-56

Luke 8:51 (KJB)
And when he came into the house, he suffered no man to go in, save Peter, and James, and John, and the father and the mother of the maiden.

Jesus then turns His attention to the daughter of Jairus. He first picks three of His disciples to be witnesses of the upcoming resurrection. They were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration, so Jesus had picked these three because later they would play very important roles in the early church as testimonies to the life and resurrection of Jesus. Here they were about to witness a resurrection.

Luke 8:52 (KJB)
And all wept, and bewailed her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth.

It seemed that Jesus was not overly impressed with the professional mourners and that is why He asked them why make this ado and weep? (Mark 5:39 KJV) And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. The word for “ado” is the word which means “be troubled or distressed.” It is also the word in the Greek for “uproar” as found in Acts 17:5. (Acts 17:5 KJV) But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. So the mourners must have been making all kinds of noises which probably didn’t even harmonize with each other. Jesus then tells the people that the girl is not dead but she is only sleeping. Jesus also referred to Lazarus as sleeping. (John 11:13 KJV) Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

Luke 8:53 (KJB)
And they laughed him to scorn, knowing that she was dead.

Jesus then comes to the room where the little girl is and then commands the people to leave. He then proceeds to tell them that the maid was not physically dead but she was only sleeping. Once Jesus said this, the lamenting turned into a mocking laugh along with much ridicule. It is amazing how fast the crowd went from mourning to mocking.

Luke 8:54 (KJB)
And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.

They were ordered to leave because the Lord Jesus was not going to do any of His miracles in front of those who are mockers and scoffers. Jesus was also teaching His disciples that unbelief hinders the work of God and they are excluded from spiritual blessings. (Heb 3:18-19 KJV) And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? {19} So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. Jesus only allowed the child’s parents to remain in the room with Him and the three disciples.

Luke 8:55 (KJB)
And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat.

As soon as all the mockers had left the room, Jesus then entered in and all He had to do was to take her by the hand and she rose up from the dead. The three disciples that witnessed this was Peter, James, and John and the girl’s parents. Jesus also spoke to the girl in Aramaic. Once He commanded her to arise, she was alive again. I wonder how all those who were mocking Jesus felt at that time. There should have been a time of repentance on the part of these mockers but nothing is recorded.

Luke 8:56 (KJB)
And her parents were astonished: but he charged them that they should tell no man what was done.

Once the girl was raised from the dead, she immediately got out of bed and began to walk. The fact that her age is given as being 12 years old (Luke 8:42) is significant because this means that she was able to get out of bed and walk capably on her own without anyone helping her as if she was a baby or very young toddler. It is like many of the paralytics that Jesus and the apostles healed all got up on their own strength after their bodies were healed. (John 5:8-9 KJV) Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk. {9} And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath. Then the parents as well as the three disciples were in absolute amazement when the girl lived again. It may also have amazed them how death was a such a trivial thing in the hands of the Lord. Death seems to us humans as an unconquerable foe but to the Lord it has no hindering abilities whatsoever.

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