Returning to the story of Jairus and his daughter who had died: Matthew 9:23–26 depicts Jesus’ arrival at Jairus’s house. The atmosphere in the house had become dark. Jairus’s daughter was dead. Matthew describes flute players and a crowd reciting laments. In ancient times, those around the deceased would shout ritual lamentations containing specific words, forming a mourning assembly. In these laments, the assembly also called the deceased by name. This practice can be traced back at least to the time of King Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:25).
Against that gloomy scene, Jesus did something unusual: He sent away all who were mourning. Jesus seemed to refuse to lament the child. His reason was simple: to Jesus, the child was not dead but sleeping. When He told the crowd this, they laughed. Everyone was certain that Jairus’s child had died. Jairus and his wife may have concluded the same. But after everyone had gone, the miracle occurred. The child rose from her bed as if she had awakened from sleep.
One interesting aspect of this Jairus narrative is why Jesus dismissed everyone before raising the child by the power of the Holy Spirit. At least two possible answers present themselves. First, Jesus’ sending away of the mourning assembly may be a proclamatory act about death: with the living Spirit of God, death is not the fearful enemy. Jesus wanted to declare that the Father is the God of the living, not of the dead. Dismissing the mourners is a statement that in God there is no death.
A second possible answer is that Jesus did not want too many people to know the miracle. He preferred to perform it quietly. The more people who knew about the miracle, the greater the chance His purpose in coming would be misunderstood—He might be seen simply as a political or earthly liberator for Israel. Conversely, the fewer who knew, the less likely misunderstanding would arise. Which interpretation is more apt? Both are meaningful. But read in Matthew’s narrative flow, the second seems stronger. In the next pericope, when Jesus heals two blind men, He instructs them not to let others know about the miracle (Matthew 9:30). It appears Jesus sought to avoid misunderstanding about His arrival.
What is the lesson for us? God wants us to serve quietly. No matter how great the service or how spectacular the spiritual achievement, God wants us to serve without seeking the spotlight. Raising the dead is no ordinary miracle, yet Jesus chose only a few witnesses. He did not want people focused on the miracle the Spirit performed; He wanted them focused on the truth that transforms life. This does not mean transformed people cannot experience miracles. If we need them, God can provide. But miracles are not the primary goal of following Jesus. Following Jesus means undergoing life-change to become more like Him. A major obstacle to that change is fixation on miracles. That is why Jesus did not want the crowd to know—because it could hinder His main mission, transforming people. We should similarly regard our ministry accomplishments as small compared with God’s work for us.
Another reason is that Jesus wanted to avoid falling into sin. The miracle could lead many to glorify Him in a way that obscured the Father’s glory. In this context, kenosis (self-emptying) could fail. This is seen when people wanted to make Jesus king, and He refused (John 6:15). Jesus was aware that He must not be glorified before the appointed time (John 17:1). Thus, He avoided the crowd-born glory to remain pleasing to the Father and to receive God’s glory in God’s time. Here we see that Jesus, in His humanity, could have sinned but chose not to. This teaches us not to “exalt ourselves” outside God’s timing. God will glorify us, but not on our timetable. Those who try to glorify themselves on their own schedule effectively usurp God’s glory. We must therefore remain vigilant against that tendency. Serve God in quietness.