Verse 18-20

Raising A Dead Girl (Mark 5:31-43; Luke 8:40-56)

Verse 18-19: “A ruler came and knelt before him and said, “‘My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live.’" Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.”

This ruler is a Jewish synagogue leader by name Jairus (his name is mentioned in other Gospels). The synagogue leader is selected from elders . He is the supreme authority for everything related to synagogue. He was the one who organized prayers, decide on who to read, who to teach, etc. 

His appeal to Jesus was surprising at a time when hostility of both Pharisees and Scribes were increasing to extreme ends. He is making a request to the Lord that no one has made to anyone yet. 

There were many Jewish funeral customs at the home of the dead. There were cries aloud for mourning, tearing of clothing, singing eulogy about the dead person, or at least using some instruments like flute, etc. Lord stepped into such a home and comforts the people by saying “‘the girl is not dead but asleep’”. 

“Put to death” is a common usage both in Greek and in Syriac for “death”. The word cemetery is from Greek word “koimētērion” which means dormitory, a place where people sleeps. Many people laughed at the Lord’s usage of words. He used the same words with Lazareth, too.

“He took her by the hand and said to her Talitha cumi" [translates as "Get up, little girl"]. (Mark 5:41) 

The little girl got up and this miracle, which had not even been heard before, spread all over the land. In the OT, Elisha restored to life the son of the widow (2 Kings 4:18-37), and he did it by praying to God. But this incident was with the hand and sound of the Lord Himself, who raises the dead. 

Our Lord’s humility is notable here. He instructs them not to tell such a big miracle to anyone. This is a good model for the Lord’s workers to follow.

“Talitha cumi"

These words are same words our Lord said. They are in Aramaic/Syriac, which is the language our Lord spoke. Likewise words, “Espathah” and “E-lee e-lee l-maa saa-baach-taa-nee?" are also words our Lord said in Aramaic. Because Aramaic or Syriac was the spoken language of Lord, Aramaic was a prominent language from ancient times, too. Aramaic was used by the conquering Assyrians as a language of administration communication, and following them, it was used by the Babylonian and Persian empires, which ruled from India to Ethiopia. For this period (about 700–320 B.C.E.), Aramaic held a position similar to that occupied by English today. This was one of the languages used in Old Testaments [portions of Ezra and Daniel are in Aramaic. Some of the best known stories in biblical literature, including that of Belshazzar’s feast with the famous "handwriting on the wall" are in Aramaic]. This was spoken language in the kingdoms which is currently known as Syria. During the 70 years of Babel exile , the Jews too spoke Aramaic, the spoken language there. But even after coming back in BC 536, they spoke in Aramaic. Hebrew, which was the spoken language in Palestine, lost that status to Aramaic. Hebrew remained only as prayer language.

Healing Hemorrhaging Woman (9:20) ( Mark 5:25; Luke 8:43)

There are many things that are understood from the Gospel of St. Mark:

1. This was a deadly disease for 12 years
2. Other physical treatments were futile 
3. He approach with fear and faith
4. Her faith was so stern that even if Lord did not touch her, she believed that if somehow she could touch at least His robe, then she would be healed
5. Lord is proving once again that He will care for all who are willing to wait for Him (Ex., Zakhai). We also see the dedication and submission of the lady.
6. Lord’s healing with Love and comfort
7. Her hard faith and subsequent act gave her salvation.