He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.” (Mark 5:39-40)

Can you visualize the scene at Jairus’ house when Jesus got there?

The mourners would’ve been surprised to see Jesus there in the first place. After all, Jairus had already been told not to bother bringing Jesus with him. His daughter was dead. Period.

The death certificate has already been signed. It was time to prepare for the funeral.

Those were the cold hard facts staring everyone in the face, including Jesus.

But Jesus makes a startling statement: “The child is not dead, but asleep.”

To paraphrase Arnold from Different Strokes: “Whatcha talking about, Mr. C?”

Jesus ignores their mocking laughter, kicks them all out of the house and enters the room where the little girl is. Only the parents and His inner circle of Peter, James and John are with him.

“Talitha Koum!”

“Little girl, I say to you: Get up!”

You wouldn’t ask a dead girl to just get up, would you?

“Be raised!” “Rise up!” “Come back to life!” “I speak life into you!” “Spirit of death, be gone!”

Any one of the above would’ve been an appropriate choice.

“Wakey, wakey!” “Get up out of bed!” are words reserved for a sleepyhead, not one who is dead, wouldn’t you say?

As he takes her by the hand, she gets out of bed, as a little girl would when she wakes up from sleep.

No wonder He said: “The child is not dead, but asleep.”

Those who said she was dead were stating the facts.

But the One who said she was asleep was declaring the truth.

Raising the dead girl was no more of a chore than awakening a sleeping child.

Clearly, Jesus proves that He spoke the truth about her condition.

This example of Jesus notwithstanding, isn’t it true that we are often tempted to focus on the facts and not the truth?

The apostle Paul gives us a great example of this in the passage quoted in yesterday’s DWOD from II Corinthians 4:8-9:
“We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.”

FACT: “We are hard-pressed on every side.” TRUTH: “We are not crushed.”
FACT: “We are perplexed.” TRUTH: “We are not in despair.”
FACT: “We are persecuted.” TRUTH: “We are not forsaken.”
FACT: “We are struck down.” TRUTH: “We are not destroyed.”

Jesus shows us, as does Paul, that we do not deny the facts, we simply state the truth despite the facts!

How could this work in your life today?

FACT: The doctors have diagnosed cancer. TRUTH: “By His stripes, we were healed.” (I Peter 2:24)
FACT: There is no money in your bank account. TRUTH: “My God supplies all my need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:13)
FACT: You have been put down all your life. TRUTH: “I am seated with Christ in heavenly places.” (Ephesians 2:6)
FACT: You have just buried your loved one in the grave. TRUTH: “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)

We can die by the facts or live by the truth.

Followers of Jesus would be wise to opt for the truth, amen?