Luke 8:53

35. While he is still speaking, there come from the ruler of the synagogue persons who say, Thy daughter is dead: why dost thou trouble the Master any farther? 36. And immediately on hearing the word which was said, he saith to the ruler of the synagogue, Fear not, only believe. 37. And he did not permit any one to follow him, except Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. 38. And he came into the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw the tumult, and persons who wept and lamented much. 39. And he entered, and said to them, Why do you vex yourselves and lament? the girl is not dead, but sleepeth. 40. And they ridiculed him. But, having put them all out, he taketh the father and mother of the girl, and those who were with him, and entereth where the girl is lying. 41. And he took hold of the hand of the girl, and said to her, Talitha-cumi: which is, if one interpret it, Girl, I say to thee, Arise. 42. And immediately the girl arose, and walked: for she was twelve years of age. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. 43. And he charged them earnestly, that no man should know it: and commanded them to give her something to eat. 49. While he was still speaking, one came from the house of the ruler of the synagogue, saying to him, Thy daughter is dead, do not trouble the Master. 50. But Jesus, having heard this, replied to the ruler, saying, Fear not, only believe, and she shall be cured. 51. And when he came into the house, he did not permit any one to enter, except Peter, and James, and John, and the father and mother of the girl. 52. And all were weeping and bewailing her. But he said, Weep not: she is not dead, but sleepeth. 53. And they ridiculed him, knowing that she was dead.

8:41-56 Let us not complain of a crowd, and a throng, and a hurry, as long as we are in the way of our duty, and doing good; but otherwise every wise man will keep himself out of it as much as he can. And many a poor soul is healed, and helped, and saved by Christ, that is hidden in a crowd, and nobody notices it. This woman came trembling, yet her faith saved her. There may be trembling, where yet there is saving faith. Observe Christ's comfortable words to Jairus, Fear not, believe only, and thy daughter shall be made whole. No less hard was it not to grieve for the loss of an only child, than not to fear the continuance of that grief. But in perfect faith there is no fear; the more we fear, the less we believe. The hand of Christ's grace goes with the calls of his word, to make them effectual. Christ commanded to give her meat. As babes new born, so those newly raised from sin, desire spiritual food, that they may grow thereby.

And they laughed him to scorn,.... The servants, neighbours, and relations, the pipers, and mourning women: these, from weeping for the dead, fell to laughing at Christ, having him and his words in the utmost derision: knowing that she was dead: some of them having been employed in laying her out, and all of them having seen her, and were satisfied, and thoroughly assured, that she was actually dead, as ever any person was, as she doubtless was; but they were ignorant in what sense Christ meant she was not dead, but asleep; See Gill on Matthew 9:24. See Gill on Mark 5:39.

Verse 53. - They laughed him to scorn . These were, no doubt, the hired mourners. Familiar as they were with death, they ridiculed the idea of one whom they knew had passed away, awaking again as from a sleep. These public mourners were customary figures in all Jewish homes, even in the poorest where a death had occurred. They are still usual throughout the Levant. The expression, "laughed him to scorn," is found in Shakespeare - "Our castle's strengthWill laugh a siege to scorn." ( Macbeth,' act 5. sc. 5. ) The Aramaic words, Talitha, kumi ! "Maid, arise!" were just homely words, spoken in the language which the little girl was in the habit of hearing and using. The Master's tender care for the child was shown not merely in the choice of the language and the words, but in his loving thought after her resurrection, for we read how - Luke 8:53

47. declared … before all—This, though a great trial to the shrinking modesty of the believing woman, was just what Christ wanted in dragging her forth, her public testimony to the facts of her case—both her disease, with her abortive efforts at a cure, and the instantaneous and perfect relief which her touch of the Great Healer had brought her.

[Reformed Biblical] to scorn, which though not expressed in the original are not italicized because supposed to be included in the meaning of the compound Greek verb which, according to another usage of the particle with which it is compounded, might be understood to mean, thet/ laughed Mm dozen, or silenced him by their derision. Luke adds (S,5'i), knoicing that she was dead (or did die), an expression which the writer would not have employed if they had been mistaken in so thinking. JJut he, having cast out (i. e. forcibly excluded, or at least peremptorily dismissed) all (the mourners, those who were the authors of the uproar), takes along (with him. or in his company, compare the same verb as eraployed above, 4, 3G, and below, 9, 2. 10, 32. 14, 33.) Those with him (when he came), i. e. the three apostles named in v. 37. Jle goes in (graphically represented as an act now passing) cohere the child was (already) at the time of his arrival. Lying is omitted by the latest critics, as an unauthorized addition to the text, supposed by some transcriber to be needed to complete the sense. The entrance here described is different from that in vs. 38. 39, which was into the house, whereas this is into some inner apartment, probably the large upper 41. And he took the damsel by tlie liand, and said niito her, Talitha-cumi ; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, (I say unto thee,) arise.