Jesus often spoke of faith and told people it was their faith that made them well as he healed them. But here was a little girl already dead – not capable of having faith anymore. Her father, a synagogue official, was distraught and filled with grief that he had not gotten to Jesus in time. The Lord told him; “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” (Mark 5:36)
He was entering into an atmosphere of skepticism and unbelief. When he told the mourners that, “the child has not died, but is asleep”, (Verse 39) they laughed at him. The crowd’s influence would only counter faith. But Jesus was smart. He put the skeptics out of the house and kept with him only his close companions and the little girl’s parents. He would raise the little girl back to life in a faith atmosphere.
The girl came back to life at Jesus’ faith filled words. This is a good pattern for us to follow as we fulfill the Lord’s promise to do even greater works than he did upon the earth. (John 14:12) If we are to heal the sick and raise the dead we must operate in faith. And if there is unbelief all around us, we better watch who we take along!
