Mark 5:43Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Or else, to take away all display, He suffered not all to be with Him; that, however, He might leave behind Him witnesses of His divine power, He chose His three chief disciples and the father and mother of the damsel, as being necessary above all. And He restores life to the damsel both by His hand, and by word of mouth. Wherefore it says, And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise. For the hand of Jesus, having a quickening power, quickens the dead body, and His voice raises her as she is lying; wherefore it follows, And straightway the damsel arose and walked.

Those who were about the ruler of the synagogue, thought that Christ was one of the prophets, and for this reason they thought that they should beg of Him to come and pray over the damsel. But because she had already expired, they thought that He ought not to be asked to do so. Therefore it is said, While he yet spake, there came messengers to the ruler of the synagogue, which said, Thy daughter is dead; why troublest thou the Master any further? But the Lord Himself persuades the father to have confidence. For it goes on, As soon as Jesus heard the word which was spoken, he saith to the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid; only believe.

It is not said that he assented to his friends who brought the tidings and wished to prevent the Master from coming, so that our Lord’s saying, Fear not, only believe, is not a rebuke for his want of faith, but was intended to strengthen the belief which he had already. But if the Evangelist had related, that the ruler of the synagogue joined the friends who came from his house, in saying that Jesus should not be troubled, the words which Matthew relates him to have said, namely, that the damsel was dead, would then have been contrary to what was in his mind. It goes on, And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.

Some one may accuse the Evangelist of a falsehood in his explanation, in that he has added, I say unto thee, when in Hebrew, Talitha cumi only means, Damsel, arise; but He adds, I say unto thee, Arise, to express that His meaning was to call and command her. It goes on, For she was of the age of twelve years.

As those who are part of this earthly existence partake in food, it was essential for the Lord to demonstrate the resurrection of the body to those who doubted its reality, by engaging in eating and drinking. He performed a similar miracle with Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus. After raising her, He instructed that she be provided sustenance.

Morally again, our Redeemer raised the damsel in the house, the young man without the gate, Lazarus in the tomb; he still lies dead in the house, whose sin is concealed; he is carried without the gate, whose sin has broken forth into the madness of an open deed; he lies crushed under the mound of the tomb, who in the commission of sin, lies powerless beneath the weight of habit.

For to men she was dead, who were unable to raise her up; but to God she was asleep, in whose purpose both the soul was living, and the flesh was resting, to rise again. Whence it became a custom amongst Christians, that the dead, who, they doubt not, will rise again, should be said to sleep. It goes on, And they laughed him to scorn.

When the Lord resurrected the daughter of Jairus, He “strictly commanded” her parents that no one should be informed of it. Through this, we learn the importance of not seeking honor and the futility of straining to hear the accolades of others, even if our actions are so notable that they cannot remain hidden. Act according to what the reverence of God and your conscience dictates, and treat the opinions of men as if they were nonexistent. Guard your soul: if it begins to lean toward vanity, redirect it to its proper state. The longing for recognition stems from a desire for admiration. When admiration is granted, the aim has been reached; this weakens our resolve and halts the cycle of commendation, thereby diminishing ongoing praise.

As soon as the Lord had pronounced these words, a message reached Jairus that his daughter had passed away. Yet, Jesus reassures him, saying, Do not fear, but trust that I can bring her back to life. Upon arriving at the home, He finds it filled with turmoil. Such a scene could threaten faith. The Lord assures them that the girl is merely sleeping; they mock Him for this. He sends them all away, and remaining with the parents and a few disciples, He takes the girl by the hand and calls out, ‘Little girl, arise,’ and she is restored to life. The parents, in astonishment, receive a command to keep quiet. This request for silence was due to the threat posed by the Pharisees and the indiscretion of the crowd.

Jesus approached the deceased woman, took her hand, and said, “Woman, I say to you, arise.” The mere utterance of Christ's words sufficed, and the woman was brought back to life. At His command, her spirit reunited with her body, but it was not in the frail state it had been—no longer burdened by illness and exhaustion, but rejuvenated to its original vitality. She stood up and began to walk, an action that would have been impossible for her in the condition she had previously experienced. Those who witnessed this extraordinary miracle were filled with wonder.

Taking hold of the lifeless hand of the young girl, He uttered two words: talitha cumi, meaning, "Child, I command you to rise." At that moment, her spirit returned, and she stood up and began to walk. Her parents were filled with amazement, yet Christ gently instructed them to provide her with food. He also encouraged them to keep the occurrence private, suggesting that those who have experienced profound blessings from God ought to cherish these gifts with heartfelt gratitude, safeguarding them as treasured secrets within their souls. Indeed, the news of this miraculous event "spread throughout all that land" (Matthew 9:26).

To prevent anyone from being aware of it, a measure was taken to avoid inciting premature excitement and misunderstanding about the divine acts of the Messiah among the people regarding His Kingdom. It was essential to convey a clearer understanding of the true nature of Christ's Kingdom to the populace; otherwise, they might formulate misconceptions that contradicted Christ's intentions and mission. This was evident, for instance, when after the miraculous feeding of the multitudes in the wilderness, the crowd sought to forcibly elevate the Miracle Worker to kingship (John 6:15). They failed to grasp that Christ's Kingdom is not “of this world,” as He later articulated (John 18:36), and such actions could have led to severe consequences for them.

The healing of the woman with the issue of blood served to uplift Jairus and bolster his faith in the Lord's miraculous authority. While Jesus was still offering His final words of encouragement to her, messengers arrived from the synagogue ruler's home, bearing the sorrowful news: Your daughter has died; what more is there for the Teacher? ‘Christ sought to ensure they understood the girl’s death so that they would not doubt her resurrection afterward’ (St. John Chrysostom). Upon hearing of the girl's passing, the Lord spoke to the father: ‘Do not fear, but believe, and she will be made whole’ (St. Athanasius of Alexandria).