While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. ‘Your daughter is dead,’ they said. ‘Why bother the teacher anymore?’ Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, ‘Don’t be afraid; just believe.’ He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. He went in and said to them, ‘Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.’ But they laughed at him. After he 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 began to walk 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. https://www.bible.com/en-GB/bible/113/mrk.5.35-43 Whichever way you look at it, this is an incredible miracle. Everyone around her thought she was dead. They had even started to mourn her. Given the number of people she had around her, and her father's high position in society, it seems pretty unlikely that she still had a pulse. She was clinically dead. Jesus refers to her sleeping, I believe, because He knew exactly what He planned to do. She would not be lying in bed for long. It would be as if she was asleep. The remarkable thing is how He heals her. He simply takes her hand and calls her to get up. And she does: from the dead! She was a lost cause. Even before Jesus made it to the house, Jairus' friends and servants were telling Jesus it was too late. She was gone. She was cold. Why bother Him anymore? But Jesus didn't listen! There was a pilot from a town a few miles from where we live who contracted Covid-19 in Vietnam while working there. He was comatose for a long time and on a breathing apparatus for fifty days. People had almost given up on him. They even told his relatives to prepare to come and get his body. But he survived. He's now back with his family and in one piece. Jesus' miracle was even greater than this, because Jairus' daughter was stone dead. Yet she heard Jesus' voice, responded and rose up. Listen carefully to what happened here. This situation was beyond repair. She was dead. Yet a few words from Jesus, and she rose from the dead! No situation is too far gone for Jesus. Ever. He can rescue us from anything. All we have to do is hear His voice and respond. I don't know how you see your situation now. If you've lost your job or are pretty close to it then maybe you'll feel like giving up hope. There are so many tens of thousands of people in your position. Maybe the competition scares you. Maybe the outbreak and the subsequent economic downturn has left you buried under debt with nowhere to turn, or so it seems. Maybe you've lost friends and relatives and you just feel like life is not worth living anymore. Friend, if you are in any of these situations, or in any other that has caused you to lose hope, now is not the time to give in. Jesus is calling. He is calling you. Do you hear his voice? Now, you have two choices here. You can either give up on life and surrender any possibility of anything ever getting better. Or you can head the call and rise up. You can rise up from your deathbed, in the power Jesus will give you, and live a brand new life. Jairus' daughter was only twelve. Jesus was a complete stranger to her. But she heard His voice and obeyed. She got up off her bed and lived again. The question is: will you?
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