Jairus

Biblical Account

Jairus appears in Mark 5:21–43 and Luke 8:40–56. Both Gospels introduce him as a ruler of the synagogue, that is, a man responsible for overseeing worship and gatherings at the synagogue, the Jewish place of assembly. The same event is also recorded in Matthew 9:18–26, but there he is not named and is identified only as "a certain ruler."

According to Mark, Jairus fell at Jesus' feet by the Sea of Galilee and pleaded with Him to lay His hands on his little daughter, who lay at the point of death. Luke records that she was his only daughter and was twelve years old. As Jesus was on His way to the house, the woman with the issue of blood, who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years, touched His garment and was healed, and this delayed His progress. Meanwhile, people came from the house to report that the daughter had died. Jesus then said, "Be not afraid, only believe" (Mark 5:36).

Jesus went to the house, taking with Him only Peter, James, and John. He said, "The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth," and those who were weeping and wailing laughed Him to scorn. Jesus allowed only the parents and the three disciples into the room, took the child by the hand, and said in Aramaic, "Talitha cumi" ("Damsel, I say unto thee, arise," Mark 5:41), and the girl rose and walked. Jesus directed that she be given something to eat and charged them to tell no one what had happened. This event is treated separately in the article The Raising of Jairus's Daughter.

Significance Within Scripture

Mark and Luke insert the story of the woman with the issue of blood into the middle of the account of Jairus. Many commentators see this arrangement as a signal that the two stories are meant to be read together: both feature the number twelve, both emphasize faith in Jesus, and in both Jesus comes into contact with what the law regarded as unclean (a woman with a flow of blood and a corpse). Commentators also frequently note that the image of Jairus, a synagogue leader, falling down before Jesus contrasts with the broader pattern in the Gospels, in which most of the religious leadership of the day was hostile to Jesus.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Differences among the Gospels: In Matthew, the ruler says from the outset that his daughter "is even now dead," whereas in Mark and Luke she is at first dying, and word of her death arrives along the way. A widely accepted explanation is that Matthew recorded a condensed version of the account. This question is also related to the Synoptic Problem.
• "Sleepeth": The traditional interpretation reads this word as an expression presenting death as temporary and understands the event as the raising of someone who had truly died. Some modern interpreters, by contrast, have argued that the girl was actually in a coma. Most denominations and commentary traditions follow the former interpretation and regard this event, together with the raising of Lazarus, as a miracle in which Jesus raised the dead.
• Meaning of the name: Many scholars hold that Jairus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Jair. Its meaning is sometimes given as "he gives light" or "he awakens," but this is not settled.
• The text does not give the daughter's name or describe the later life of Jairus's family. Details added in sermons or storybooks should be distinguished from the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

In the Korean church, the words "Be not afraid, only believe" are frequently used as a sermon text on faith in times of crisis and despair. The passage is also often preached together with the story of the woman with the issue of blood in a single sermon. In Sunday school lessons and children's Bible storybooks, it is commonly presented as one of the best-known stories illustrating the miracles of Jesus.