Raising the Dead

Mark 5:21-24; Mark 5:35-43
Gregory Perry | Sunday, March 29, 2020
Copyright © 2020, Gregory Perry

We are going to speak this morning about raising the dead. This is from Mark 5:21–43, the section that deals with the raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead. There is a certain finality to death, at least from the worldly perspective. It is the last act. It is the end of the story.

But from a Christian perspective, death is not the end. Death is only the beginning—the beginning of either an eternity with God in heaven or an eternity apart from God in hell. Moreover, while death seems to have power over man—for all die—in our passage this morning, Jesus shows us that he has power over death, not just by his resurrection but by his raising the dead daughter of Jairus to life. Jesus proves to be the Lord of life with power over death.

The setting of this passage this morning is it is after the healing of the demon-possessed man. Jesus returns to the western shore of the lake, perhaps to Capernaum. There he meets Jairus and his request to heal his dying daughter. We will look at three points from this passage this morning. We will look, first, at the prayer of faith; second, faith tested; and, third, prayer answered.

The Prayer of Faith (vv. 21–24)

This miraculous healing of the dead girl begins with the prayer of faith, the prayer of the faith of Jairus, who is identified repeatedly in this passage as a synagogue ruler (vv. 22, 35, 36, 38). The fact that we are told these four times that he is a synagogue ruler is emphasizing that Jairus was an esteemed spiritual leader in the community. The synagogue ruler, after all, functioned as the president of the board of elders, responsible for the good management of the synagogue. The ruler of the synagogue was one of the most important and most respected members of the community.

That being said, these rulers do not necessarily have the best of reputations in the New Testament. After all, they tended to be critics of Jesus and were envious of his many followers. Just to take one example, we see in Luke 13:14, “Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue ruler said to the people, ‘There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.’”

Jairus was a respectable man of position whom people looked up to. Yet we see him here humbling himself before Jesus. This took courage, especially since many of his colleagues maintained that Jesus was a dangerous, even demon-possessed, heretic. Nevertheless, Jairus falls at the feet of Jesus and pleads earnestly for mercy. “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live” (v. 23).

Jairus was not like the Pharisee in the parable of Luke 18 who came to the temple only to congratulate himself on how great he is. Instead, the spirit of Jairus is akin to the publican, who would not even look up to heaven but beat his breast and cried out, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner!”

Jairus pleads earnestly with Jesus because he has great need. His twelve-year-old daughter is dying, and he cannot do anything about it. All he can do is pray and seek help from one who is able. Jairus was desperate like King David, who declared in Psalm 40:17, “Yet I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; O my God, do not delay.”

Though Jairus is a respectable, influential synagogue ruler, he sees himself as poor and needy. Jairus earnestly pleads, like the barren Hannah does in 1 Samuel 1. We read that Hannah was deeply troubled and she prayed out of great anguish and grief, and God heard her earnest prayer.

Jairus too comes to Jesus being deeply troubled, and he prays to Jesus out of great anguish and grief. Jairus earnestly pleads and he shows the same zeal that Jesus himself showed in Gethsemane. We read about this in Hebrews 5:7: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”

So Jairus also comes in reverent submission, as evidenced especially by his falling at the feet of Jesus, and he was praying to the one who could save his daughter from death. Jairus has faith to know that Jesus is able to heal his daughter. He is not like the man with the demonized son of Mark 9, who said to Jesus, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us” (Mark 9:22). Instead, Jairus is essentially saying with confidence, “If you are willing, I know that you can heal my dying daughter.”

Like the centurion in Luke 7, the humble Jairus does not come demanding from Jesus his due. The people told Jesus that the centurion deserved to have Jesus come and heal his servant. But the centurion asserted that he is not worthy to have Jesus in his home. Likewise, Jairus makes no demand on Jesus. Instead, he pleads only for a favor. He comes as an undeserving sinner and he begs for mercy.

But unlike the centurion, Jairus does not have enough faith to see that Jesus does not have to come personally to heal his daughter. He could just say the word and he could heal her. Instead, Jairus asks Jesus to come so that he can lay his hands on his dying daughter to heal her.

Laying on of hands is a frequent way Jesus heals, especially in the gospel of Mark. So not only do you see it here in Mark 5, but there are examples of this in Mark 6, 7, and 8. Jesus has power to heal though he could just say the word and heal someone, which he sometimes does. But Jesus often brings healing through the personal touch of his hands. And so, amazingly, the text tells us in verse 24, Jesus went with Jairus.

Fundamentally, this shows us that Jesus responds to prayer. Not only is he able to do what we ask, but he is willing. As Jesus promised in John 14, starting in verse 13, Jesus said, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (John 14:13–14).

Our God is a God who hears and answers the prayer of his people. We see countless evidence of this in Scripture, countless guarantees of this in Scripture. For example, in Psalm 91:15, we read, “He will call upon me, and I will answer him.” God says, “I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.” Or in Jeremiah 29:12, God says, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”

Now, Jesus could have just told Jairus to go home and his daughter will be well, as he did with the Syro-Phoenician woman in Mark 7. But here he did not do that. Instead, Jesus graciously went with Jairus. Why did he go with Jairus? The text does not tell us, but It is safe to say that he did so because he had other purposes in mind. For example, one thing we know is that it was on his way to the house of Jairus that Jesus met and healed the woman who was subject to bleeding, and you will hear Rev. Broderick preach about that healing at a future time. Jesus went to Jairus’ house not just to heal his twelve-year-old girl, but also to heal this woman who had been suffering for twelve years. We can also conjecture that another reason Jesus went was so that he could bless Jairus by spending more time with him. Also, if Jesus did not go to Jairus’ house, his healed daughter would not have had the blessed opportunity to personally meet and thank the one who had healed her.

So Jairus came in faith, praying to Jesus. But that faith would soon be severely put the test. That brings us to our second point: faith tested.

Faith Tested (vv. 35–36)

Jairus had displayed great faith in his approaching Jesus and asking him to heal his dying daughter. But then the test comes. While Jesus was taking precious time to heal the bleeding woman, the daughter of Jairus dies. Men come and tell Jairus that it is over. Verse 35 says, “While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said. ‘Why bother the teacher any more?’”

Here is the test. Jairus believed that Jesus could heal his dying daughter, but can he actually raise his dead daughter to life? The ancient Greek poet, Theocritus, gave expression to the sentiment shared by most, and shared by most even today. Theocritus said, “For the living, there is hope. For the dead, there is none.” For there seemed to be a big difference between healing the dying and bringing the dead back to life. But if you think about it, the underlying issue is actually the same. Either Jesus is the Sovereign Lord of life, or he is not. Either he has power over death, or he does not.

In John 11 – this is the scene of the raising of Lazarus from the dead – we read in verse 25, “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die,’” and then he asks this: “Do you believe this?” And that is the question for Jairus: Do you believe this? Do you believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and that he has all power over death?

Here we have an important parallel in God’s work of saving us. Some think that the unsaved are merely spiritually sick. But the Bible makes clear that those outside of Christ are spiritually dead. Our salvation is not a case of God healing the sick; it is a case of God raising the dead. When God saved us, we were not just dying; we were dead—dead in our transgressions and sins. When he saved us, he made us alive with Christ. This should make us all the more thankful to God for his glorious and gracious work of salvation that he has wrought for us.

The proper illustration of salvation is not of Christ coming to save a drowning man who is failing around and about to sink. No, the proper picture of salvation is that of Christ saving us when we were already drowned and sunk at the bottom of the sea. It was in that condition that we were raised to life by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We cannot help but notice that these men from the house of Jairus do not have the same faith and understanding that Jairus does. Though trying to be respectful, they refer to Jesus as merely a teacher. “Why bother the teacher any more?” they ask. Even if this teacher has been known to work a few miracles, certainly there is nothing he can do at this point. But when Jairus fell down at the feet of Jesus, he was acknowledging him to be much more than a teacher. He was acknowledging that Jesus is Lord.

But Jesus ignores the naysayers and he calls Jairus to persevere in faith. So verse 36 says, “Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’” Jesus assures Jairus that he is stronger than the enemy, death. We need to learn from this to ignore naysayers, ignore those who are always telling us what we cannot do. The issue is not what we can accomplish in ourselves, but we need to exercise faith and not put limits on what God can do. The apostle Paul says, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Phil. 4:13). He is not talking about what he cannot do in himself, but what he can do through Christ who gives him strength. Or Ephesians 3:20, which you will have read this morning, says, “Now to him who is able” – to God who is able – “to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us.” As Jesus taught the rich young ruler who had gone away sad, he says, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”

When Jesus exhorts Jairus with this word of encouragement, “Don’t be afraid; just believe,” he is not calling Jairus to have an objectless faith. In other words, Jesus is not telling him to have faith in himself or to have faith in faith. Just have faith. You hear that expression: just have faith. No, not faith in himself, not faith in any doctors, not faith in his daughter. The implied object of the faith is Christ. In other words, he is saying, “Don’t be afraid; just believe in me.” As he said in John 14:1, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.”

Jairus asked Jesus to heal his daughter, and Jesus agreed to do so. Now he just has to believe that Jesus has the power and will to carry out what he has promised. And so in Mark 11:22, Jesus says, “Have faith in God.” Then he says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours” (Mark 11:24).

We should also see here that faith honors Christ. When we doubt and when we are afraid, know that we insult and belittle God. The Christian must be confident, not confident in himself but confident in his Lord and Savior, his Guide and his Protector, his Rock and his Redeemer.

The text here does not record Jairus’ response, but his faith is demonstrated by his doing what Jesus said. Jairus goes with Jesus. This is the obedience of faith. The faith of Jairus here is being put to the test and trials always put our faith to the test. And true faith always perseveres and is always strengthened through these trials. And so we can apply this to the various trials that we are facing in our current difficult times.

The Prayer of Faith Answered (vv. 37–43)

As a result of Jairus persevering in his faith and continuing on with Jesus, we see his prayer for his daughter’s healing answered. Let us follow the narrative as it plays out. Verse 37 says, “He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James.” Notice that Jesus invites only his inner three disciples, just as he did at the Garden of Gethsemane and the Mount of Transfiguration. Some people have the privilege of God revealing more to them than to others, and we in this church have received more than most. We should keep in mind that with greater privilege, greater knowledge, comes greater responsibility. He who has been given much, from him much more will be expected.

We then read of the hubbub at Jairus’ house in verse 38. It says, “When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.” It, of course, makes sense that the death of the death of the twelve-year-old daughter of the synagogue ruler is considered a tragedy worthy of deep lamentation. But weeping and wailing when someone dies was also considered a key element to how first-century Jews customarily dealt with deaths in the community. The mourning customs were especially meant to highlight the desolation and finality of death. Professional mourners would come and beat their breasts, tear out their hair, and rend their garments so that all might know that death had struck that home.

In spite of what seems to be a fitting sorrow expressed for the death of the daughter of Jairus, we read in verse 39 that Jesus went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” The calm serenity of Jesus was in stark contrast to the hysterical mourners. When he said that she was asleep, this does not literally mean that she had not died physically, that her spirit had not really left her body. We remember that God often speaks of death as sleep in his word because it is an acknowledgement that death is not a permanent state. It is not the end of the story. People who go to sleep at night will raise in the morning.

Jesus is saying that this girl’s condition was only temporary. Likewise, all who die in this life will be raised again on the last day—the wicked to eternal damnation and the righteous to eternal life. You see this all throughout the Scriptures. I will just read to you Revelation 20:12–13, where the apostle John says, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.” You see, death giving up the dead is a picture of the dead rising and coming back. (GWP) All die, but all will be raised again. The question for everyone is, what will you be raised to? Only those who are united to Christ by faith, those who are in Christ, only they will be raised unto eternal life. Only those who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ will enter into eternal glory.

Verse 40 gives us the response of the surrounding crowd to Jesus’ assertion that death is not the end of the story for this girl. It says, “But they laughed at him.” They laughed at Jesus. They laughed because they thought they knew better than Jesus. Moreover, the laughter of these noisemakers shows the insincerity of their weeping in the first place. These were probably professional mourners, common in first-century Israel. And their dismal mourning quickly turns to an uproarious mirth. This is a laughter of unbelief at best, and mockery at worst. To laugh is to disregard what is being said, to not take it seriously. It is like Lot’s sons-in-law, who laughed when told by Lot of God’s coming judgment of Sodom.

The commentator William Hendriksen says this that Christ’s word of revelation deserved solemn reflection, not scorn.[1] You will notice, though, that Jairus did not laugh with the mockers. He took Jesus at his word. He sided with Jesus even in the face of derision. What is your response to Jesus Christ and his claims? God has warned you in his word that you have broken his law and that the wages for your sin is eternal death. Hell awaits you if you stand condemned in your sin.

What is your response? Do you dare laugh at this? Many try to laugh off the prospect of hell. But hell is certainly no laughing matter. God is also promised that we can be rescued from this condemnation through repenting of our sins and trusting in Jesus Christ alone for our salvation. God sent his one and only Son, the flawless and eternal one, to pay the price that we deserved, to die the death that we owed. Christ died for our sins. He died for the sins of all who will deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow him. This is the heart of the gospel, God’s good news for all people.

What is your response, then, to this gospel of grace? Do you laugh it off and declare that it is not for you? Do you shrug your shoulders and just respond, “Well, I am just not a religious person”? But it is not just religious people who have to answer to God. It is not just religious people who were created by God. And it is not just religious people who sinned against him.

God calls all people everywhere to repent and believe in Jesus Christ because they have all been made by him, they have all sinned against him, and, praise God, they all have opportunity now to repent and believe in Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

And so verse 40 goes on to say, “After he put them all out, Jesus took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was.” Jesus brought only the girl’s parents and his inner three disciples. He barred all others, even nine of his other disciples. And, notice, first of all that the mockers who laughed were not allowed to come and witness the miracle. This reminds us that those who refuse to believe in Jesus will be cast out of his presence. Only those who believe in Jesus dwell with him now and in eternity. Those who mock and scorn in their unbelief will be cut off.

We also note that throughout the gospels, Jesus rarely works his miracles before the crowd. There is probably more than one explanation as to why, but it is clear that he did not want the miracles to be the focal point of his ministry. The miracles certainly are meant to display his divine power. But in the end, Christ’s chief end was not to work miracles. God did not send his Son into the world to heal the sick and cause the blind to see, at least not primarily. No, he sent his Son into the world for one express purpose: to save his people from their sins. Christ came to save sinners through his death, burial, and resurrection.

Then we read in verse 41 that Jesus “took her by the hand and said to her, ‘Talitha koum!’ (which means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, get up!’).” Notice that Jesus took her by the hand. By touching the hand of a dead girl, he would become ceremonially unclean. Yet through this touch, he gave her life. This is the heart of the gospel once again. Jesus became unclean for our sake that we might become clean.

Jesus addresses the little girl directly. In telling her to get up, Jesus was commanding her to do what she could not possibly do for herself. After all, she is dead. Think of Lazarus in John 11, when Jesus there tells the dead man in the tomb to come forth. But we know that God gives the grace to do what he commands. That is what effectual calling is. He gives the power to respond to his call. When he calls the dead Lazarus to come from the tomb, Jesus gives him the ability to do what he could not possibly do himself. Likewise, when calling this little girl to get up, Jesus gives her the ability to do what is otherwise impossible.

Now, when God calls us who are spiritually dead to repent of our sins and trust in Christ, he is calling us to do what we cannot do. For apart from Christ, we can do nothing. Paul says, “The sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God” (Rom. 8:7–8). But through the miraculous work of regeneration, God gives us the grace to respond to this gospel with true repentance and saving faith.

Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him” (John 6:65). He enables us with his enabling grace to come to saving faith. He changes our hard, unresponsive heart of stone into a heart of flesh that heeds the call to come to Christ. He gives us a new heart, a heart that will surrender to Christ and demonstrate our faith in him and our love for him by obeying his every command.

Verse 42 records the astounding miracle: “Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.” Notice that the girl arises immediately. There is no delay, no process that needs to be worked out. Jesus gives this dead girl a command and any command from God merits immediate obedience. God’s demands deserve an immediate response. When he tells you to repent and believe in Christ, and you tell him, “Well, not yet. Maybe later,” you are just putting off his call on your life. To procrastinate in doing what he commands is to dishonor, disregard, and disrespect him. And when you say, ‘I will come when I am good and ready, it is an attempt to set yourself up as Lord rather than to recognize that Jesus is Lord.

Just like when God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light, so also when Jesus says, “Live!” to this girl, she comes to life. For Jesus is the Lord of life, and what he says goes. There is power in the word of God and Jesus is the Word of God become flesh. God regenerates and makes us alive through his word.

Understandably, the gathered witnesses were astonished to see the dead girl come back to life. Literally, the text says that they were astonished with great astonishment. And just imagine for a moment seeing this happen, seeing one who is dead be raised to life. We too would be most astonished.

While being astonished is not necessarily a sign of unbelief – certainly, the gathered parents and disciples believed – but notice that astonishment is not either a sign of belief. And this reminds us that the proper response to God’s work is not just wonder and awe, but it is to place your faith in Jesus. There are many people who had wonder and awe and astonishment when they saw Jesus do various miracles. And yet, in the end, they did not believe in him.

The proper response to the miracles of Jesus are two worship him as Lord and to follow him. We then read in verse 43, “Jesus gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this and told them to give her something to eat.” Jesus does this often. He orders that the witnesses not tell others what they have seen. This is known as the Messianic secret, which is especially prevalent in the gospel of Mark. This again was mostly to be sure that people did not misunderstand Jesus’ main purpose in coming to earth. He did not come to work miracles or even to teach about God. No, he came to save his people from their sins through his atoning death on the cross. He came to die but his time to die had not yet come.

Notice that Jesus orders them to provide food for this girl who has been raised to life. This displays for us the providence of God. Not only did God create all things, but he sustains all. Not only does he save us, but he keeps us. He protects us. He cares for us. The Lord is our Creator, he is our Sustainer, he is our Redeemer, he is our Provider, and he is our Protector.

Application

I am going to close this message with four practical applications from what we have learned from Jesus’ raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead.

1. We Must Humble Ourselves

First, like Jairus, we must humble ourselves, fall at the feet of Jesus, and cry to him for mercy. That is the first practical application: humble yourself, fall at his feet, and cry to God for mercy. Pride and self-sufficiency will always keep us from seeing our sins. We must not allow this. Pray for God to fill you with the Holy Spirit whose first work in us is to convict us of our sin.

We all have need. And I would say that we all even have desperate and deep spiritual need. We are poor and needy. But too often we simply do not realize it. We become complacent and are too easily lulled to sleep by personal peace and affluence. But I say, humble yourself, no matter who you think you are. Paul says in Romans 12:3, “For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought.” Your pride will cut you off from the grace of God.

2. We Must Press into God

Second, we must not run away from God, especially when trials test our faith. Rather, we must press into God, like Jairus did. In the parable of the four soils, we see second-soil hearers quickly fall away when trouble or persecution comes. But God is sovereign over all, which means our troubles and sufferings come from him. He has a good purpose for every situation that he brings into your life. Trials are opportunities to grow in faith. Peter says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come [for this purpose] so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (1 Pet. 1:6–7).

These trials are to prove your genuine faith and to result in praise to your God. And this global coronavirus outbreak is one big trial for everybody. All are affected one way or another. Some in our church have already lost their jobs. Others have lost much of their life savings in the stock market. Some are suffering from sickness, others from loneliness.

But I say to all of us in this circumstance: we must be like Jairus, who came to Jesus in his troubles. He did not run away from God and accuse God of being unjust in these difficult times. Instead, he drew near to Christ and he sought God, his helper. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” We are in a time of need. And so we must draw near to him, draw near to this throne of grace with confidence so that we will receive mercy and find grace that we need.

3. We Must Not Listen to Naysayers

Third, do not listen to naysayers who tempt you to turn away from God. In every age and in every circumstance, there will always be people to point you away from Christ. Such people are, however, unwittingly agents of the devil. Job’s wife was a naysayer, a spokesperson for the devil. When she counseled her husband who was suffering, she said, “Curse God and die.” And Satan spoke even through the apostle Peter when he rebuked Jesus for speaking about his upcoming suffering, his imminent death on the cross. Jesus identified the source of Peter’s words and ordered, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me. You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of men.”

The wise man listens to the advice of the wise and he rejects the counsel of fools. Do not listen to godless fools who point you away from God, no matter who they are. They may be your professors, your peers, your co-workers, your neighbors. It could be your relatives. Do not listen to such fools.

Then I say, do not yourself be a fool. Do not play the role of the faithless naysayer. Make no mistake: If Satan can speak through Peter, then he can speak through you too. So be careful what you speak to your brothers in Christ. Put on the full armor of God and take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

4. We Must Know Christ’s Power to Raise the Dead

Finally, we must know the power of Christ to raise the dead to life. We need spiritual resurrection to be saved. We are coming soon upon Easter, when we celebrate Christ’s resurrection from the grave, which demonstrated his power over death. We are all born dead in our transgressions and sins, and our only hope is to be raised to life by Christ through the Holy Spirit. The good news is that God is in the business of saving sinners.

Jesus is willing and he is able to raise the dead. Death has no power over God’s people because their Lord Christ has defeated death. He has defeated death once for all. Death is the wages of our sin, but Christ took our sins upon himself and he died the death that we deserved. No mere man could defeat death. But the eternal God/man could and he did.

Knowing Christ’s power over death should also spur us on to speak the gospel to the spiritually dead. As he has done in saving sinners throughout the ages, and he has done it in our midst throughout the years of this church, through our witness he will effectually call his people to himself, ordering, “I say to you, get up!” And then we will all be astonished with great astonishment when he raises the dead and brings them to himself. And we will join the great multitude in heaven, the heavenly choir made up of people from every nation, tribe, people, and language. We will stand with them before the throne and in front of the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in our hands. We will cry out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb” (Rev. 7:9–10). Amen.

[1] William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Mark, New Testament Commentary series (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002), 213.