And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around Him, and He was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing Him, he fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And He went with him. And a great crowd followed Him and thronged about Him…
While He was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” And He allowed no one to follow Him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when He had entered, He said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at Him. But He put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with Him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand He said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl go up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement.
Mark 5:21-24, 35-42
By all accounts, the girl was dead. That’s it, right? Time to do the autopsy, embalm her, and have the funeral, right? Not so when Jesus is around. As far as Jesus was concerned, she was not dead, but only asleep. So, with two simple words in Aramaic, Jesus commands her to awake from death, and she obeys.
What a wonderful image the Lord has given us of our own resurrection to come! When a loved one dies, we don’t like to say, “She died.” We prefer to use euphemisms because the harsh reality of death is too hard for us. Thus, we say, “She passed away. She’s moved on. She’s no longer with us.” Or even lies like, “Heaven has received another angel today” (no it hasn’t; we don’t turn into angels when we die). Here is a truer euphemism, “She has fallen asleep in the Lord.” Even Paul speaks this way of the brethren (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 4:13). This is not a euphemism that tries to ignore the truth like the others. It is a true euphemism, for as long as Jesus is concerned, when the Christian dies, they are only asleep.
For He will raise us from the dead, just as Paul continues, “For this we declare to you by a Word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore, encourage one another with these words” (vv. 15-18).
And so, we do. When a Christian dies, we say, “Christ is risen! She is only asleep.” This faithful departed shall rise from death with all the other saints, then we who are still alive will meet them with Christ in glory in the new heavens and the new Earth.
The Lutheran Column 