285 – How Should We Interpret Jesus' Words "The Damsel Is Not Dead, but Sleepeth"?

285. How Should We Interpret Jesus' Words "The Damsel Is Not Dead, but Sleepeth"?

The Saviour's language in Mar_5:39 was as though he had used the familiar figure "she hath fallen asleep" '97the same figure that is frequently employed in the Scriptures in describing death as sleep. (See Act_7:60; 1Co_15:6, 1Co_15:18; 2Pe_3:14.) Some have interpreted the language of Mar_5:1-43 to mean that the maid was in a trance or swoon; but most commentators agree that Mar_5:35 is a clear affirmation that all the signs of death were evident, that the life had already fled and that the reassuring words of the Master (in Mar_5:36)' before he had even seen the maid, were intended to strengthen the ruler's faith and prepare him for the manifestation of divine power that followed. The last nine verses, read as a whole, bear out this conclusion.

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