Matthew 9:18-19,23-26

Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 Jesus Heals A Synagogue Leader's Daughter

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"A prominent leader in the synagogue (1) came near and knelt (2) before Him and said, “My daughter has just now died (3). But come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.

When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the flute players and the commotion and noisy disorder of the crowd, He said, “Go away. (4) The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed (5) at Him. After the crowd had been put outside, He went in and took (6) the girl by the hand, and she got (7) up. News of this spread through all that region."



1) ar'-khone - a ruler, governor, leading man, top executive, a prince or noble, a chief

2) proskuneó (pros-koo-NEH'-o) - from the Greek prós - To worship, to bow down, to be prostrated on ground, 

3) teleutaó (tel-yoo-tah'-o) - this Greek word does mean dead

4) anachóreó (an-akh-o-reh'-o) - a command: go back, withdraw, return to where you came from, depart, 

5) katagelaó (kat-ag-el-ah'-o) - deride, ridicule, make fun of, scorn, 

6) krateó (krat-eh'-o) - strong, take hold of with strength, hold fast to, to seize hold of, put under control of, 

7) egeiró (eg-i'-ro) - to awaken, to wake up, to arouse from sleep, to raise up, 



Notes and Thoughts:

The man who knelt before Jesus was not just a member of the local synagogue, but a ruler as in one who has extreme authority over the synagogue and those who worshiped there. In the parlance of today, he was the "top dog". This was a powerful man, the preeminent ruler with supreme authority. Yet when he needed a miracle, he recognized that Jesus had greater authority and knelt before Him. As we've seen in an earlier verse, this action is one of worship and submission of one authority to a greater authority. This is very significant that such a powerful Jew would bow, even if just on one knee, to Jesus. His recognition and acknowledgement of Jesus' authority over death also shows great faith. He apparently was one who had been in the crowd that followed Jesus around and saw Him lay hands on people and they were healed. He may have even witnesses Jesus raise someone from the dead. Whichever it was, he declared his belief in his statement.

Great exaggerated mourning was common in those days, especially for someone who was of the stature as this man was. Not only would the mourners be made up of family, friends and neighbors, but professional wailers and moaners would be hired to make as much noise as possible. This motley group would surround the dead, fill the house, and spill out into streets so as to draw attention to the death. The mourners could also use tambourines, finger cymbals, flutes and pipes to add to the cacophony. 

When Jesus got to the house, the wailing and moaning was already going on and quite loud. I believe this was a distraction to the leader and to the Lord. In other scriptures, Jesus removed the sick from the crowd, even the town, so that they could receive the healing. And even in His own town, the unbelief was so strong, that no miracles could be performed. So Jesus commanded the mourners to leave, saying the girl was not dead, only sleeping, to which the crowd ridiculed and mocked him. The Greek word here is apothnéskó and does mean dead or dying. Jesus also said the same thing about Lazarus, that he was sleeping, but had to for his disciples sake, finally said that Lazarus had died. Jesus knew that the spirit of a human does not ever die, but goes... somewhere... to 'sleep'. This is one of the great mysteries of scripture. In the book of Revelation, Jesus described hades as the resting place where all souls go. The temporary grave of sleep before the lost are judged for their rejection of Christ, and the righteous are judged for their coming rewards. This fits with the dead in Christ will arise first to meet the Lord in the air. Where are they arising from if they are already partying with Jesus out in Heaven? And if there were just resting, Jesus simply woke this girl, Lazarus, the only son of the mother in the funeral procession, etc. He just called them back from their sleep. 

Jesus used His authority to expel the unbelieving crowd and then took hold of the girl's hand. It's not recorded what or if Jesus said anything, but He obviously called her spirit back from wherever it was. The Greek word used here, egeiró, is specific to waking someone up from sleep.