Jesus turned to Jairus. "Courage, sir! Do not be sorrowful."
"What a shame!" Simon remembered his own children and knew how the man felt. "His little one is dead!"
Jesus turned to the disciples and said, "You saw a woman healed through faith." They looked at him, wondering what he meant. To Jairus, Jesus said, "Come, take me to your home." All hope was gone for Jairus, but obediently he led the way.
Already the hired wailers filled Jairus' house. Their loud cries of grief, the shrill sound of flutes playing funeral music, and the hysterical weeping of the friends of the child's mother made such noise that Jesus could hardly be heard.
"Why all this wailing?" Jesus cried. The noise quieted a little. "The child is not dead! She is only asleep!"
The wailers burst into derisive laughter. "She sleeps soundly!"
"Clear this crowd out of here," Jesus commanded. Jairus was glad to be rid of them. Amid angry murmurs, he sent every single one of them out of the house.
Several of the disciples were waiting outside; they watched the hired wailers leave. "What do you suppose is going on?" asked Andrew. They waited a little longer, but at last the suspense was too much.
"Come on," said the Zealot, "let's go in." They pressed through the front door into an empty room. "Where have they gone?" The sound of soft weeping came from the next room. Hesitating now, they went nearer so that they could look through a doorway. The men never forgot what they saw.
The little girl was standing beside the bed looking up at Jesus. He held her hand in his. Her mother had thrown her arms around Jairus and was weeping. Simon, James, and John stood speechless, staring at the child who a moment before had been lying dead.