"While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying."
Mark 5:35-40
When Christ tells them that she is just asleep, he might have been explaining that she was in a coma or just unresponsive, rather than being dead, but it has little to do with the miracle. We can't know the actual medical condition of this girl, but whatever it was, at this point she would have been mourned and buried. It reminds me of Victorian era "safety coffins." Scary. Christ restored her life, either way.
What really struck me here was not the statement that she wasn't dead though, it was how carefully he chose his companions, and put everyone else out. The people laughing and scorning weren't able to be present for the miracle, perhaps because he needed concentrated faith, or maybe just because they were distracting from the serious spiritual event.
I wonder how many miracles we miss out on because we are incredulous and disbelieving. How many spiritual moments do we miss because of mockery? Today, let's work at keeping our doubting mouths shut and our physical and spirital senses open, and see if we can participate a little more in the spiritual glory of the universe and hear God's voice echoing through everything around us.
