THE LANGUAGE OF HOME
Opening Prayer
Holy Spirit, as I come to study the Word today, take what may be familiar and open my heart to deeper truths that will build my vision for who Jesus is, for what he has done, and what he is still able and ready to do.
Read MARK 5:35–43
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
35 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?”
36 Overhearing[a] what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
37 He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40 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. 41 He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Footnotes
- Mark 5:36 Or Ignoring
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
‘O let me hear thee speaking / in accents clear and still, / above the storms of passion, / the murmurs of self-will.’1
Think Further
Jesus had been in conversation with Jairus when the woman interrupted, touching his cloak. He was speaking to her when messengers arrived with tragic news. Jesus gave the woman and the synagogue president equal attention. Leaving the woman overcome with relief and joy, Jesus went to Jairus’ home and raised the girl from death. Her father, too, would have been overjoyed. Jesus fulfilled the deepest need of two people from widely separated strata of society. Jairus’ daughter and the nameless woman are both healed, but the woman must go to the synagogue, perhaps even to Jairus, to be declared clean and to rejoin the community. Perhaps they met on the road and would recognize each other.
Jesus lived in a multicultural society. On the road, in a diverse crowd, Jesus spoke koine Greek, the lingua franca of the Roman Empire. Inside the house, however, he spoke Aramaic. ‘Talitha koum,’ he said, using a term of endearment (v. 41): ‘Little girl … get up!’ (literally, ‘little lamb’). Uniquely among the gospel writers, Mark saw significance every time Jesus spoke Aramaic, recording the exact words and translating them for his Greek-speaking readers throughout the empire. It was the language of all children whose life was still spent at home. Mark’s Jesus had been born into village and home life. He understood the lives of ordinary folk, identified with them, and spoke their language. He spoke to the girl, gently calling her back to life. She heard and responded. Aramaic was Jesus’ mother tongue, Mary’s language, the language of home. As a final mark of his total humanity, when Jesus comes to die on the cross, he will speak to his Father in the language of his mother.
Apply
May Jesus, Lord of our humanity, speak into our hearts and minds in ways we understand. May we hear him through our tiredness, our dullness, and distraction. Calling us back to life.
Closing prayer
In my walk with you, Jesus, help me that it might be one of increasing faith, one in which I live with more and more expectancy as I look to you.
1 John Ernest Bode, 1816–74, ‘O Jesus, I have promised’
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