When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him; and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live." So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had; and she was no better, but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." Immediately her hemorrhage stopped; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?" And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, 'Who touched me?'" He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." While he was still speaking, some people came from the leader's house to say, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?" But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the leader of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the house of the leader of the synagogue, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, "Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping." And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cum," which means, "Little girl, get up!" And immediately the girl got up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
The scripture says, “they laughted at him.” It is strange to me that the family, being worried about their little girl, would go so quickly from weeping and wailing loudly to laughing at Jesus. The leader, Jarius, who went to get Jesus had the faith that Jesus would be able to help. This obviously wasn’t the case with the rest of the family. Their tears and their laughs were very quickly overcome with amazement.
This scripture passage is a healing story within a healing story. Jarius goes to get Jesus so that Jesus can come heal his daughter who is near death. They are making their way through the crowd and Jesus encounters a woman that has been suffering from hemorrhage for 12 years who comes up and touches his cloak. She is immediately healed. Jesus senses the power “go forth from him.” He asks his followers who touched him and finds out that it is the woman. He declares her healed of her disease by her faith.
They finally get the home of Jarius and takes in Peter, James, & John (brother of James). He tells them that she is not dead, but only sleeping. That’s when the laughing starts. However, Jesus pays it no mind and tells the little girl in Aramaic, “Talitha cum,” which means little girl, arise. The ones that were laughing are amazed.
Jesus is busy healing and restoring. The preservation of the Aramaic words in the scripture leaves us with the mystery and power that surrounds this ancient saying. We know that it is more than words that brings about the healing power of Jesus, but knowing the words he said makes it that much more awe-inspiring.
The call I hear is to be brave in our faith. I feel that it was faith and bravery that allowed both of these healings to take place. The woman who suffered from hemorrhage was brave enough to come up and touch Jesus, knowing that it would make him “ritually unclean.” However, Jesus doesn’t rebuke her, but testifies to her faith. The leader of the synagogue, Jarius, has the faith that Jesus can save his daughter. Jesus raises her up after people think that she has already died. We too should be brave in our faith. Be brave enough to not only touch Jesus, but let Jesus touch us and heal us and raise us up.
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