Mark 5:40b-43 (NIV): After (Jesus) put them all out, he took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
All of the people who had gathered to support Jairus’ family by mourning and grieving over the loss of their only daughter had laughed at Jesus when He had told them that the girl wasn’t dead, but only asleep. They didn’t pick up on Jesus’ real meaning: that the state of death for this girl was only temporary. Jesus was both willing and able to “wake her up.”
But Jesus was unwilling to work before a crowd of scoffers. He never did things merely to amaze people, or to build His reputation. He simply obeyed everything that His Father told Him to do (cf. John 5:19). So He first cleared everyone out of the house except the three disciples who were with Him, and the girl’s father and mother.
When they went in to where the girl was, it was clear that she really was dead – not a flicker of life anywhere to be seen. But Jesus was completely unfazed. He knew His Father’s will in this situation, and He also knew that whatever the Father willed, the Son could do. So His methodology was simple. There were no prayers, no ceremonies, no pleading, no tears to show the sincerity of His request. He simply took the girl by the hand and told her to get up. Immediately life returned to the girl, and she stood up and walked around.
The parents and the disciples were awestruck. They weren’t sure what to think! But Jesus helped them to regain their focus by giving them two clear commands: they were to tell no one what had happened there, and they were to feed the girl. The first command was to avoid undue publicity, and to avoid setting up untoward expectations. It is not normally God’s will to bring every person who dies back from the dead – resurrections are very rare occurrences, and always for specific reasons – and Jesus didn’t want a parade of people carrying corpses to Him to be resurrected. The second command was just as practical. The girl hadn’t eaten in a couple of days and needed to regain her strength.
A key lesson for God’s people in this event is that, when God commands us to speak a word of healing to someone, or even to be part of a resurrection, there is no need for a big ceremony, or rituals, or pleading prayers, begging God to do what he has already commanded. All that is necessary is complete obedience to make the miracle real. (For more examples of this in the lives of real believers, see Acts 3:1-8; 9:32-34, 36-41; 28:7-8. Note in the last two that AFTER Peter and Paul prayed and received God’s command for the situation, they simply spoke the words that resulted in the miracle.)
Father, it is very easy to see and understand that when we completely obey Your commands, miracles happen. That, of course, means that we have to listen long enough to hear Your voice, and that we must willing submit our agendas to Your will. I believe that if we will actually do those things when we find ourselves faced with needs, we will find that You want to do many more miracles than we imagine, and of a kind that is much more marvelous than what we could come up with on our own. Amen.