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Aurel Gheorghe
Jesus was speaking about death as a rest in sleep – just as many other Bible texts that describes the first death as a sleep (John 11:11-14). The Bible often refers to the state of death as a "sleep." This is because the dead will be "awakened" (resurrected) at the end of time, some to everlasting life, others to everlasting contempt (Daniel 12:2; John 6:39). Jesus is saying the dead are not yet in heaven, nor are they yet in hell. They are "asleep, "awaiting the resurrection "at the last day." “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed” (1 Cor 15:51). “And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:60). Just like a dreamless sleep, the dead knows nothing, there is no knowledge, or awareness of time (Eccl. 9:5; Ps 115:17; 146:4). The first death is only a sleep and most of us will die the first death - unless we are alive when Christ will return in His glory. The second death is the eternal destruction - without hope of ever seeing our Savior or the things which God hath prepared for them who love Him (1 Cor 2:9).
Tim Maas
I would say that Jesus' reference to Jairus' daughter sleeping was in the same sense as when He referred in John's gospel to Lazarus as sleeping (John 11:11). It was because He knew in both cases that not only would they be resurrected at the close of the age, but also that He planned to recall them to temporal life, even though (and especially in the case of Lazarus) they were actually dead. Jesus showed that He knew the actual state of affairs, and that He was speaking of being asleep in a figurative or metaphorical sense (rather than lying or being mistaken) in Lazarus' case (which was also undoubtedly the case with Jairus' daughter) when, immediately after having referred to Lazarus as having fallen asleep, He told the apostles "plainly" (John 11:14) of His knowledge that Lazarus was, in fact, dead in the ordinary sense of the word.
jerry brownlee
Mankind was created a soul and given a body. The soul does not sleep, only the body. At death the soul leaves the body and goes to it's destination, while the body is buried or burned. There is no such thing as soul sleep, or rest. When Jesus returns the body of the believer will be resurrected and changed to an immortal body and given back to the soul for eternity
Jim Stockman
If we look to facts we are prone to miss the truth. There is a release of faith that calls things that are not as though they are. Jesus said that He only spoke and acted as He saw and heard from the Father. The revelation that, "she is only sleeping," came from the Father, and trumped the "fact" of her death. When the Lord taught us to pray, "On earth as it is in heaven," was it not a call to invite heavenly perspective and power into earthly circumstances? Jesus did not lie. He spoke the truth which he received from the Father. I would ask the one posing this question: Is there something in your own circumstance that appears to be dead, or dying? Hear the power of Jesus' words over that situation, "It is not dead, but sleeping. Give Me a moment with it and watch what happens."
Scripture Guide
For the maid is not dead, but sleepeth: She was really dead; and Christ signifies as much, when he says, she "sleepeth"; a phrase that is often used in Talmudic writings, for one that is dead: but Christ's meaning is, that she was not so dead as the company thought; as always to remain in the state of the dead, and not to be restored to life again: whereas our Lord signifies, it would be seen in a very little time, that she should be raised again, just as a person is awaked out of sleep; so that there was no occasion to make such funeral preparations as they did. The Jews say of some of their dead, that they are asleep, and not dead: it is said, Isaiah 26:19 "Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust".
Jack Gutknecht
Mark 5:39 She was dead (Luke 8:53) but Jesus “used the image of sleep [the figure of sleep,] to indicate that her condition was temporary and that she would be restored.” LASB For Christians, death is only sleep, for the body rests until the moment of resurrection (1 Thess. 4:13-18). The spirit does not sleep, because in death, the spirit of the believer leaves the body (James 2:26). … This truth is a great encouragement to all of us who have had Christian loved ones and friends depart in death. It is His word of hope to us. WW Just think for a moment about how the parents felt when their 12-year-old daughter died. This might just be every parent’s nightmare, to have their child precede them in death. When we see a precious blossom, That we tended with such care, Rudely taken from our bosom, How our aching hearts despair! Round its little grave we linger, Till the setting sun is low, Feeling all our hopes have perished, With the flow’r we cherished so. Refrain We shall sleep, but not forever, In the lone and silent grave: Blessèd be the Lord that taketh, Blessèd be the Lord that gave. In the bright eternal city, Death can never, never come! In His own good time He’ll call us, From our rest, to home, sweet home.
Marvin Reynolds
This is Jesus the Son of God who has direct contact with his Father God in this case and the wording in the original text is "Sleep" not death making what Jesus said a fact based on God. It is used in the Original Text many times in slightly different forms.
Marvin Reynolds
In the original text, this world is "natural sleep." It is in the Bible several times directed at one factor - that this can ONLY be identified by God, and in this case, Jesus is his SON with direct contact with his Father! He KNOWS what conduction this girl really is in, and death is not the issue.
John Appelt
Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, had an only child, a 12-year- old daughter, at the point of death. Then news came that his daughter was dead so there was no need to trouble the Teacher anymore. When He visited the house, Jesus emphatically said she was not dead, but asleep, Matthew 9:24, Mark 5:39, Luke 8:52. Many, consider “sleep” in this passage to be a euphemism for “death,” and have interpreted this passage as Jesus raising her from the dead. At times in the Bible the word “sleep” is used figuratively for “death.” In most cases in the New Testament, “sleep” is used for deceased believers, as in Matthew 27:52, Acts 7:60, I Corinthians 15:51, and I Thessalonians 4:13-16. This was true with Lazarus, John 11:11-14, and Jesus clarified that he was dead. When Jesus spoke to the disciples who were believers and referred to Lazarus as “our friend,” figurative language was quite appropriate for believers at rest. Jesus used the Greek word “koimao,” “laid to rest,” comparable to the English word “cemetery.” However, concerning Jairus’ daughter, a different Greek word for “sleep” was used, which is not used for death. It was “katheudo,” “to lie down to rest,” “one not awake,” as in Matthew 26:40-46, and I Thessalonians 5:1-11, where, contrasted with “awake,” “gregoreo,” it is used figuratively of Christians asleep in their spiritual lives. The crowd at Jairus’ house, took Jesus’ words literally, laughing at and ridiculing Him for His preposterous statement that she was asleep. They could “see” she had succumbed to death. For these people, figurative speech would not have been understood much less appreciated at this time, nor was Jesus trying to encourage the family. Jesus did not explain to them that He meant death as He had to the disciples in the case of Lazarus. It may be that the girl was in some kind of coma when Jesus healed her. If that were true, then Jesus was right in questioning why they were going through unnecessary weeping and wailings. Over the history of mankind, there have been countless stories of many who have been misdiagnosed to be dead and even readied for burial when they awoke. Whatever the girl’s illness was, Jesus cured her of it and commanded her to rise. She was restored to health. In Luke 8:54-56, it is said her spirit returned. It could just as well mean “breath.” It is more likely she was not resurrected from death but healed. When Jesus commanded something be given to the girl to eat, Mark 5:43, Luke 8:55, she had been in a comatose condition, during which her body would still be metabolizing. When she awoke, she would be literally starving. When the widow’s son, Luke 7:11-15, and Lazarus, John 11:43-44, were raised, they did not need to immediately eat. Jesus who is “the Truth” cannot lie and did not lie. He spoke the truth about her condition, not using figurative language. She was asleep in some kind of coma.
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