Talitha Cumi:
The Story of Jairus and His Daughter
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Jairus looked at the decorated doorway of the
synagogue. He had always admired the beautiful
design of grapes, vines, and a pot of manna[i].
The children of Israel had received manna each day because of Moses'
goodness. When he left, the manna left.[ii] Oh how Jairus wished that
Moses were here now. Maybe Moses could explain to Jairus what he had done to cause
such heartache upon his household.
As the ruler of the synagogue, he was
responsible for the building and worship services.[iii]
Synagogues were supposed to be built from the donations of the people, but
Capernaum was a small fishing town. The only reason why they had such a
nice synagogue at all was because of a centurion. Had it not been for the
Roman's donation, they might not have had a synagogue at all.[iv]
Has it really been three
months? thought Jairus as he reflected back on that
fateful day. It seemed like
it was just yesterday that his wife had met him at the doorway with tears in
her eyes.
"Something is wrong with Mara[v],"
his wife had said.
Jairus was led to Mara's bed where she had lain
so still. "Talitha[vi],"
his wife called out, "Talitha, your father is here to see you."
Mara had slowly opened her eyes and turned
towards Jairus. She smiled. "Abba[vii]."
She tried to sit up and reach out her arms. Jairus had picked her up and
cradled her in his arms. Even though she was 12 and would soon become a
woman, he still saw her as a little child.
"What is wrong, Mara?" Jairus had
asked.
"I do not know, I just feel very
tired," answered Mara.
Jairus had stroked her hair, "Well, rest
for now. Dinner will be soon.”
That night the grapes, dried fish, and barley
bread on Mara’s plate had remained untouched.[viii]
Jairus recalled his wife’s painful question as
she put away the food. "Is Mara
going to die?"
Jairus had put his arm around his wife to
comfort her. "No, she is our only child. We are good people.
We follow the Law and He has favored us. He has no reason to punish us
now. Mara is going to grow up, marry,
and have children of her own. She will be a delight to us in our old age.
We have nothing to worry about."
Jairus' wife had frowned, "I hope you are
right."
"Trust me. We are God-fearing Jews,
nothing bad will happen to us."
But as the days went on, Mara had grown weaker and weaker. She rarely ate and was becoming just a shell of who she was. Although he tried to hide it, Jairus was beginning to worry. Why would God punish him when he follows the Law with such strict obedience?
But as the days went on, Mara had grown weaker and weaker. She rarely ate and was becoming just a shell of who she was. Although he tried to hide it, Jairus was beginning to worry. Why would God punish him when he follows the Law with such strict obedience?
Suddenly the Jairus noticed the sun was starting to set. How long had he been staring up at the synagogue's doorway? It was getting late and Jairus needed to return
home. He walked down the stone streets
trying to think of which laws he needed to work harder to obey. As Jairus’ house came into view, he slowed
his pace. His daughter Mara used to run out to greet him. He
would pretend that he couldn't walk with her arms wrapped around his
legs. She would laugh and declare herself to be stronger than
Samson. Today the walkway remained
empty.
Jairus entered the house quietly so as not to
disturb his little girl in case she was sleeping. He saw many people in
his home caring for Mara. He also saw the hired mourners waiting for her
death so they could begin their theatrical lamentations. He realized they
were the only ones anxious for Mara to take her last breath.
"How is she?" asked Jairus. His
wife turned towards him and just shook her head. He saw the uneaten bread
by her bedside. He tried to remember the last time she had eaten even
just a tiny morsel of food. It must have been days if not a full
week. His daughter was dying right before his eyes. He had to do
something.
Jairus knelt on the floor next to his wife and stroked Mara's hand. He whispered, "I think I am going to see if Jesus will heal her."
Jairus knelt on the floor next to his wife and stroked Mara's hand. He whispered, "I think I am going to see if Jesus will heal her."
"Jesus?" asked his wife.
"What will the elders say? How can you offend them so?"[ix]
"Honestly, offending the elders is the
least of my worries. I have seen and heard of Jesus' miracles. Many
seek after him for blessings. If I can convince him to even just lay his
hands on Mara's head, I know she will be healed." Jairus stood to leave
and kissed his wife on her head. "I should not be gone
long."
"Please hurry," his wife stroked
Mara's face. "I do not know how much longer she has to
live."
Jairus walked through the busy streets of
Capernaum. He could see a crowd gathering towards the wharf by the
sea of Galilee. He tried to look to see what was the commotion. It was
Jesus. Many had been afraid the he had been hurt after the storm.[x]
Jairus pushed his way through the crowd. Fortunately as a respected
ruler, it wasn't hard to convince people to step aside for him.
He finally reached Jesus.
He was so
overwhelmed with relief to be with the one who heals, he fell down at his feet
and worshipped him. He tried to speak but the words caught in his
throat. Tears fell from his eyes instead. Jesus bent
down.
"My little daughter lieth at the point of death:" He thought of her shallow breathing, barely perceptible when he had left. "I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she my be healed;" he choked back the tears threatening to fall, "and she shall live."
Jairus could feel his chest tighten as he waited
to see if Jesus would be willing to heal little Mara.
Jesus nodded. "Take me to your
home."
Relief! Jesus would come and his daughter
would live. All was going to be well.
As Jairus started to lead Jesus back to his home, he realized more people were gathering. A ruler of the synagogue asking Jesus for help was drawing everyone’s attention. Jairus found it difficult to make his way past the throngs of people trying to join the growing group of people wanting to see what would happen to the ruler’s daughter.
As Jairus started to lead Jesus back to his home, he realized more people were gathering. A ruler of the synagogue asking Jesus for help was drawing everyone’s attention. Jairus found it difficult to make his way past the throngs of people trying to join the growing group of people wanting to see what would happen to the ruler’s daughter.
Just as Jairus thought the crowd was going to
crush him, he could feel Jesus stop behind him.
"Who touched my clothes?" asked
Jesus.
Who touched your
clothes? thought Jairus, why
everyone has! Jairus wondered why Jesus would ask such an
obvious question. So did one of Jesus' disciples. He too wondered
why Jesus was asking such a strange question.
Jesus turned around and walked towards a woman
sitting on the ground.
Oh no, not her! That woman had
been sick for as long as Mara had been alive. She wasn't on her deathbed.
If she could live with her disease for over a decade, surely she could wait one
more day before bothering Jesus.
Much to Jairus' chagrin, Jesus stopped and knelt
beside the woman.
He asked her to explain why she touched his
clothing. The woman began to explain
that she had been suffering with an issue of blood and how she felt that if she
could just touch Jesus' clothes she would be healed. Jesus listened
carefully to her words. Jairus grew
impatient with the interchange. We don’t have time for this! he thought.
Jesus responded, "Daughter, thy faith hath
made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague."
Jairus was trying to summon the courage to say something when Jesus finally left the woman and started again towards Jairus' home.
Someone came running towards them from the
direction of Jairus’ house. Jairus
looked into the man’s eyes and instantly knew what he was going to say before
he said it. The man grabbed Jairus by
the shoulders. “Thy daughter is dead:”
Jairus could feel his knees start to buckle.
The man then tilted his head towards Jesus. “Why troublest thou the
Master any further?” he asked Jairus.
It was true.
Why bother Jesus now? It was too
late. If only that sick woman hadn’t
been so selfish to be healed right now when a little girl was so close to death. If they hadn’t stopped, they’d be at his home
by now, and his daughter might have lived.
Jesus looked into Jairus’ eyes. He said tenderly, “Be not afraid, only
believe.”
Jairus felt that there was nothing left to
believe.
Jesus said he only wanted Peter, James, and
John, his disciples, to continue with him into Jairus’ home.
As they entered, Jairus could barely get inside it was so full of people. The mourners had already begun their weeping and wailing. The noise was drowning out the soft cries of his sweet wife kneeling by Mara’s bedside.
As they entered, Jairus could barely get inside it was so full of people. The mourners had already begun their weeping and wailing. The noise was drowning out the soft cries of his sweet wife kneeling by Mara’s bedside.
Jesus looked around at the scene before him and
said to the professional mourners, “Why make ye this ado, and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.”
The people responded by laughing at Jesus. Jairus felt sick to his stomach. Jesus had everyone leave except for Jairus,
his wife, and the three disciples.
With everyone gone, Jairus was able to get
closer to his deceased daughter. She lay
so still and peaceful, for a second he almost believed Jesus, that she was just
asleep.
But when he touched her arm and
felt her cold skin, he knew it wasn’t true.
She was gone. Gone forever.
Jesus bent over Mara and took her hand. He said, “Talitha cumi.” Jairus was moved that he would talk to her as
if she was his own daughter, just as he had called the woman on the street whom
had touched his clothes. But why was
Jesus commanding her to arise? Could he
not see she was dead?
Immediately little Mara sat up.
Jairus and his wife stepped back in
surprise. Is this really happening? Has Jesus who has healed so many, brought
their precious only daughter back to life?
Jairus and his wife held onto each other tightly as they watched Mara
get out of bed and walk for the first time in months.
Jesus then looked at the five people standing
around the little girl. He told them not
to tell anyone what had happened. He
then said that she should be given something to eat. Jairus’ wife was more than happy to
oblige. She had wanted nothing more than
to see her daughter eat even just a small piece of bread.
Jairus began to weep with joy. His daughter was alive. All because of Jesus!
EPILOGUE
After the news of John the Baptist’s[xi] beheading reached Capernaum, Jesus went away to be alone. But as always, the crowd could not stay
away. Despite dealing with his own
grief, Jesus was concerned for the thousands of people who were with him. Jairus had heard that he fed 5000 people with
just a few loaves of bread and some fish.
Another miracle.
Now Jesus was to speak again at the
synagogue. Jairus was happy to make the
arrangement. As ruler, Jairus was
responsible for finding sages to interpret the scriptures that were read on the
Sabbath. He could think of no one else
he wanted to hear from more than Jesus.
Jairus had never seen such a large crowd. Word had travelled fast of his feeding the
masses.
Jesus stood before the large crowd and said,
“Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread
from heaven to eat.”
Jairus thought back to the day when he had
looked at the pot of manna above the doorway and had wished that Moses had been
here to save him. It now seemed ages
ago.
Jesus continued, “Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the
true bread from heaven.”
Despite years of hearing that it was Moses who
had provided the manna, Jesus’ words rang true.
The gift had been from the Father.
Jesus’ then said, “For the bread of God is he
which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”
Jairus looked at his daughter sitting next to
his wife. Her eyes shone as she looked
upon the one who had healed her. Jairus
agreed, bread does still come down from heaven, and it truly does give life.
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Endnotes:
[i]
Ancient ruins were discovered revealing the décor of the synagogue in
Capernaum. https://biblehub.com/library/edersheim/the_life_and_times_of_jesus_the_messiah/chapter_xxxii_the_great_crisis.htm
[ii] This
was a popular but incorrect belief of the Jews. They thought it was
because of Moses the manna came down from the sky.
[v] I chose this name for Jairus' daughter as it is not known.
However this is one of the top 9 names that were popular for girls in Galilee
and Judea. http://yeshuaincontext.com/2011/03/jewish-names-in-galilee-and-judea/
[vi] Talitha is a term of endearment the parents would
have most likely used. It is like calling someone "little
lamb." https://www.gotquestions.org/talitha-cumi.html
[vii] https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/factchecker-does-abba-mean-daddy/
[viii]
http://www.jesus-story.net/nazareth_food.htm
[ix] https://biblehub.com/library/lardner/a_vindication_of_three_of_our_blessed_saviours_miracles/section_ii_particulars.htm
[xi]
Jairus would not have known him as John the Baptist. I am using his modern name for clarity’s
sake.
This story is to coincide with the Come Follow Me Individual Lesson for Mar. 4 - Mar. 10.
This is a fictionalized version of the story found in the New Testament.
Not an official publication of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
All photos are from lds.org unless otherwise sourced.
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