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Quick Summary
Jairus was a leader of the synagogue in a town on the Sea of Galilee, most likely Capernaum. His story appears in Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56, with a shorter version in Matthew 9:18-26. When his twelve-year-old daughter was dying, Jairus fell at Jesus' feet and begged him to come to his house. On the way, Jesus stopped to heal a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years, and while he was still speaking with her, messengers arrived to say the girl had died. Jesus told Jairus, "Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved" (Luke 8:50). He went into the house with Peter, James, John, and the girl's parents, took her by the hand, and raised her from the dead. Jairus' daughter is one of three people the Gospels say Jesus raised from the dead.
Who Was Jairus?
Jairus is one of the few people in the Gospels who come to Jesus for healing and are named. Most of the people Jesus heals are remembered by their condition: the leper, the paralyzed man, the woman with the flow of blood. Jairus is remembered by name, and Mark and Luke both give it.
His name is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Jair, which belonged to a judge of Israel (Judges 10:3-5). It probably means "he gives light," and some scholars read it as "he will awaken." Either way, it fits a story about a girl who wakes from death.
Mark calls him "one of the leaders of the synagogue" (Mark 5:22), and Luke says he was "a leader of the synagogue" (Luke 8:41). Matthew does not name him and calls him simply "a leader" (Matthew 9:18). Luke adds one more detail that makes the story ache: the dying girl was Jairus' "only daughter, about twelve years old" (Luke 8:42).
The Gospels do not say which town Jairus lived in. Mark places the story right after Jesus crossed back over the Sea of Galilee from the country of the Gerasenes, and Matthew says Jesus had returned to "his own town" (Matthew 9:1). Most readers take that to mean Capernaum, the lakeside town where Jesus lived during his Galilean ministry.
How Do You Pronounce Jairus?
English speakers usually pronounce Jairus in one of two ways: JY-rus, rhyming with "virus," or jay-EYE-rus, with three syllables. Both are widely used in churches and Bible readings, and neither is wrong. The Greek form of the name, Iaïros, has more syllables, roughly ee-AH-ee-ros, which is why some readers prefer the three-syllable English version.
What Was a Synagogue Leader?
A synagogue was a local gathering place for prayer, Scripture reading, and teaching, found in towns throughout Galilee and Judea. (For more, see what is the synagogue in the Bible.) The leader of the synagogue, in Greek archisynagōgos, was usually a respected layman, not a priest or a professional scribe. He oversaw the building, arranged the Sabbath services, and chose who would read Scripture and who would teach.
That made Jairus a man of standing in his town. He was the kind of person whose opinion of a traveling teacher carried weight. It also means Jairus would have known who Jesus was. Jesus had taught in the Capernaum synagogue, cast out an unclean spirit there, and healed a man with a withered hand in a synagogue on the Sabbath (see Jesus Heals in Capernaum). By Luke 6, some religious leaders were already angry at him. For a synagogue leader to fall at Jesus' feet in front of a crowd took courage, or desperation, or both.
The Story of Jairus and His Daughter
When Jesus returned across the lake, a crowd was waiting for him. Jairus pushed through, "fell at Jesus' feet and begged him to come to his house, for he had an only daughter, about twelve years old, who was dying" (Luke 8:41-42). A respected leader on his knees in the dirt is a picture of what fear for a child does to a parent. Titles and dignity stop mattering.
Jesus went with him, but the crowd pressed in so tightly that Luke says they "pressed in on him" (Luke 8:42). Then Jesus stopped. A woman who had been bleeding for twelve years had touched the fringe of his clothes and been healed, and Jesus would not move on until he found her. While she told her story in front of everyone, Jairus waited.
Every parent who has sat in a hospital waiting room knows what those minutes must have felt like. And then the worst news came: "Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the teacher any longer" (Luke 8:49).
Jesus heard it and spoke directly to Jairus: "Do not fear. Only believe, and she will be saved" (Luke 8:50). He went to the house and let no one in except Peter, John, James, and the girl's mother and father. The mourners were already weeping and wailing. When Jesus said, "Do not weep; for she is not dead but sleeping," they laughed at him, "knowing that she was dead" (Luke 8:52-53).
Jesus took the girl by the hand and called out, "Child, get up!" Luke writes, "Her spirit returned, and she got up at once. Then he directed them to give her something to eat" (Luke 8:54-55). Her parents were astounded. Jesus told them to tell no one what had happened.
I walk through the whole passage verse by verse, including the woman healed on the way, in Luke 8:40-56: Jairus' Daughter and the Woman with the Issue of Blood.
Jairus in Matthew, Mark, and Luke
Mark and Luke tell the story in nearly the same way. Matthew's version is much shorter and differs in a few important details.
| Detail | Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56 | Matthew 9:18-26 |
|---|---|---|
| The father's name | Jairus | Not named |
| His position | A leader of the synagogue | "A leader" |
| The girl when he asks | Dying | "Has just died" |
| Her age | About twelve (Luke adds "only daughter") | Not given |
| News of her death on the road | Yes, followed by "Do not fear, only believe" | No |
| Who goes inside | Peter, James, John, and the parents | Not specified; the crowd is put outside |
| Jesus' words to the girl | "Talitha cum" (Mark); "Child, get up!" (Luke) | None recorded; he takes her hand |
The biggest difference is timing. In Mark and Luke, Jairus comes while his daughter is still alive, and the delay on the road turns into a crisis. In Matthew, the father says from the start, "My daughter has just died; but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live" (Matthew 9:18). Matthew compresses the story, and his version puts the father's faith in the foreground from the first line.
"Talitha Cum": The Words Jesus Spoke
Mark preserves the words Jesus spoke to the girl in Aramaic, the everyday language of Galilee: "Talitha cum," which Mark translates, "Little girl, get up!" (Mark 5:41). Many people know the phrase in the spelling "talitha koum." Luke, writing for Greek readers, gives only the translation: "Child, get up!" (Luke 8:54).
Talitha is a tender word, closer to "little lamb" or "little girl" than to a formal "young woman." It is the word a parent might use to wake a child in the morning. Jesus raises the dead with the language of an ordinary household. You can find other Aramaic phrases the Gospels preserve in Aramaic words in the Bible.
Why Did Jesus Take Only Peter, James, and John?
Jesus allowed only three disciples into the room: Peter, James, and John. These three formed an inner circle among the Twelve. They are the same three Jesus took up the mountain at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28) and the same three he took farther into the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:33). James and John were brothers, nicknamed the Sons of Thunder. (See also who was Peter in the Bible and who was John in the Bible.)
Why only them? Jesus put out the laughing mourners, and he kept the room small enough for a family's grief and joy. The scene echoes the prophet Elisha, who raised a boy in Shunem after he "went in and closed the door on the two of them, and prayed to the Lord" (2 Kings 4:33). Years later, Peter, who had stood in Jairus' house, did the same thing in Joppa. He put everyone outside, knelt and prayed, and said to a dead woman, "Tabitha, get up" (Acts 9:40). The words are almost the same as "Talitha cum." I cover that story in Acts 9:32-43: Aeneas and Dorcas.
Jairus' Daughter and the Other Resurrection Miracles
The Gospels record three people Jesus raised from the dead. In Luke, the first is the widow's son at Nain, a young man being carried out for burial (Luke 7:11-17). The second is Jairus' daughter, who had just died. The third, in John 11, is Lazarus, who had been in the tomb four days. Each one goes further than the last: a girl who has just died, a young man on his way to the grave, a man already buried. I compare them in the resurrection miracles of Jesus.
Luke draws a thread between the first two. Both the widow's son and Jairus' daughter are "only" children, and Luke uses the same Greek word, monogenēs, for both, and again for the boy with a demon in Luke 9:38. In each case, Jesus restores a family that was about to lose its future. Both stories also echo the prophets. Elijah raised the only son of a widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-24), and Elisha raised the Shunammite woman's son (2 Kings 4:18-37). For more, see the miracles of Elijah and the miracles of Elisha.
These raisings were not resurrections in the full Easter sense. Jairus' daughter would grow up and someday die again. What Jesus gave her was a return to this life, a sign pointing ahead to his own resurrection, after which death would have no more power at all. For the full picture, see resurrections in the Bible.
Jairus and the Woman with the Issue of Blood
Mark and Luke tell Jairus' story with another story folded inside it. Scholars sometimes call this a "sandwich," and the two halves are meant to be read together.
Jairus is a named man of standing. The woman is unnamed and, because of her bleeding, ritually impure under the law of Leviticus 15:25. He comes to Jesus openly. She comes from behind, hoping to go unnoticed. His daughter is twelve years old. She has been suffering for twelve years. Jesus calls the woman "Daughter" (Luke 8:48), and then goes on to raise Jairus' daughter.
The delay caused by the woman seems to cost Jairus everything. In fact, it gives him something. He watches a stranger receive healing through faith just before he hears the words "Only believe." Her story becomes the encouragement he needs for his own.
What Jairus Teaches Us
Jairus teaches that desperate faith is still faith. He came to Jesus because his daughter was dying and he had nowhere else to go, with no polished theology to offer. Jesus received him anyway.
Jairus also teaches us about waiting. He had to stand by while Jesus stopped for someone else, and the delay seemed to end in disaster. Many people know that experience: praying for one thing while God appears to be busy somewhere else. Jesus' words to Jairus in that moment are the words he still speaks: "Do not fear. Only believe." Those words echo a command that runs through the whole Bible, collected in fear not verses in the Bible.
And Jairus teaches us that Jesus cares about ordinary needs. After raising the girl, Jesus told her parents to give her something to eat. The Lord of life thought about a hungry twelve-year-old. I preached on this story under the title Being Made Well and Whole: A Daughter Restored.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Jairus in the Bible? Jairus was a leader of a synagogue in Galilee whose twelve-year-old daughter Jesus raised from the dead. His story is told in Mark 5:21-43, Luke 8:40-56, and Matthew 9:18-26.
How do you pronounce Jairus? Most English speakers say JY-rus (rhymes with "virus") or jay-EYE-rus. Both are accepted.
Where is the story of Jairus in the Bible? The story of Jairus and his daughter is in Mark 5:21-43 and Luke 8:40-56. Matthew 9:18-26 tells a shorter version without naming him.
What does the name Jairus mean? Jairus is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Jair. It probably means "he gives light," and some scholars read it as "he will awaken."
What was Jairus' job? He was a leader of the synagogue, a respected layman who oversaw the building and arranged worship services, including choosing who would read Scripture and teach.
How old was Jairus' daughter? She was about twelve years old (Mark 5:42; Luke 8:42). Luke says she was Jairus' only daughter.
What did Jesus say to Jairus' daughter? In Mark 5:41, Jesus says in Aramaic, "Talitha cum," meaning "Little girl, get up!" Luke records it as "Child, get up!" (Luke 8:54).
Why did Jesus say the girl was sleeping? Jesus said, "She is not dead but sleeping" (Luke 8:52) because he was about to wake her. The mourners knew she had died. Jesus spoke of her death as sleep because, for him, it was not final. He used the same language for Lazarus in John 11:11.
Who did Jesus take into Jairus' house? Peter, James, and John, along with the girl's father and mother (Luke 8:51).
Is Jairus in Matthew? Matthew tells the story in Matthew 9:18-26, but he does not give the father's name. He calls him "a leader."
What happened to Jairus after his daughter was raised? The Bible does not say. Jairus appears only in this story, and no reliable early tradition tells us what became of him or his daughter.
How many people did Jesus raise from the dead? The Gospels record three: the widow's son at Nain (Luke 7:11-17), Jairus' daughter (Mark 5, Luke 8, Matthew 9), and Lazarus (John 11).
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Works Consulted
Darrell L. Bock, Luke (IVP New Testament Commentary)
Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke (New International Commentary on the New Testament)
Joel Marcus, Mark 1-8 (Anchor Bible)
Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
