Jairus’s Daughter Raised from Death

Messengers report that Jairus’s daughter has died, but Jesus tells him not to fear and to believe. Taking Peter, James, John, and the girl’s parents into the room, Jesus takes her hand and says in Aramaic, “Talitha cumi,” which Mark translates for his readers. She rises and walks, and Jesus tells them to give her something to eat.

Where this fits in the story: earlier prophets such as Elijah and Elisha were involved in the restoration of dead children, but they prayed and acted as servants of God. Mark portrays Jesus issuing the command directly. The scene therefore both resembles Israel’s prophetic miracle tradition and intensifies the identity question.

Where Scripture takes it next: resurrection will become central to Jesus’ own path. The disciples who witness this sign will later struggle to understand his repeated prediction that the Son of Man must die and rise.

Evidence boundary: this is a meaningful narrative mirroring of Elijah/Elisha, but Mark does not say “Jesus is the new Elijah” in this episode. The correspondence should be explained without turning resemblance into an explicit authorial identification.

What this miracle reveals: Jairus’s daughter is twelve years old, while the woman in the interrupted story has suffered for twelve years. Both stories move from fear toward trust, and both involve conditions associated with impurity. Jesus takes the dead girl by the hand and restores her; Mark even preserves his Aramaic command, “Talitha cumi.”