Not Dead, but Sleeping

Why Jesus Called It Sleep

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In Jairus' house, everyone was crying. Jesus said, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but sleeping” (Luke 8:52). The people laughed, because they knew she had died. So what did Jesus mean?

She really died. Luke says the people knew “that she was dead” (8:53), and that when Jesus spoke, “her spirit returned” (8:55). The girl had truly died. Jesus was not saying they had made a mistake.

Easy for Jesus. Waking someone from sleep is easy. For Jesus, bringing the girl back to life was just as easy. He took her hand and called her, and she got up.

Sleep ends. When you fall asleep at night, you expect to wake up in the morning. Jesus called her death sleep because it was not the end. He was about to wake her.

The Bible's word for believers. Paul called Christians who had died “those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). He used that picture because God's people will be raised again.

Asleep in Jesus. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

Stephen. Stephen was one of the first Christians to die for following Jesus. As he died, he prayed for the people who were hurting him. Then the Bible says that he fell asleep (Acts 7:59-60).

Where do they go? Sleep is a picture of the body resting. The person who trusts Jesus goes to be with Him. Paul wrote that he would rather “be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

Even better. Paul also said, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). Being with Jesus is even better than life here.

Precious to God. “Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints” (Psalm 116:15). Saints means God's people. God cares about every one of them.

God never sleeps. “Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). Our bodies sleep, but God is always awake, watching over His people.

What we learn. For people who trust Jesus, death is not the end. They go to be with Jesus, and one day He will raise their bodies, just as He woke Jairus' daughter.

What to do. If someone you love has died, it is okay to be sad. Talk to Jesus about it, and talk to a grown-up you trust.

Jesus' words in Jairus' house sound strange at first: “The child is not dead, but sleeping” (Mark 5:39). The mourners knew death when they saw it, and they laughed. Jesus was teaching them to see death the way God sees it for His people.

A real death. Luke leaves no doubt. They ridiculed Him “knowing that she was dead” (8:53), and at Jesus' word “her spirit returned” (8:55). The Bible speaks of death as the spirit leaving the body (compare James 2:26). Her spirit came back, so her life came back.

Koimaomai. When the New Testament speaks of believers who have died, it often uses koimaomai (say: koy-MAH-oh-my), to fall asleep. Paul uses it in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and 1 Corinthians 15:20. Our word cemetery comes from a related Greek word that meant a sleeping place.

Grief with hope. “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13). Paul does not forbid sorrow. He says that Christians grieve with hope.

Sleep describes the body. The picture of sleep belongs to the body, which rests in the grave until the resurrection. The person who trusts Jesus is not lost or unaware. To be “absent from the body” is “to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in Paradise that very day (Luke 23:43).

Gain, not loss (Philippians 1:21-23). “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Paul wanted to stay and serve the church, yet he said that going to be with Christ is far better.

Stephen (Acts 7:59-60). As Stephen was being stoned, he asked the Lord Jesus to receive his spirit and asked God not to hold the sin against the men who were killing him. Then Luke writes that he fell asleep. The first Christian to die for Jesus died like his Master, trusting and forgiving.

Precious (Psalm 116:15). “Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His saints.” God does not overlook the death of a single believer.

The Keeper who never sleeps. “He who keeps you will not slumber” (Psalm 121:3). While His people sleep, the Lord keeps watch.

Application. Learn to speak about death the way the Bible does: honestly, and with hope. If you have lost someone who loved Jesus, you can say with Paul that they have fallen asleep in Jesus, and that you will see them again.

Morning Is Coming

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When you sleep, morning always comes. For God's people, death is like a night, and Jesus promises a morning. That morning is coming because Jesus Himself rose from the dead.

Jesus rose first. “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Corinthians 15:20). Firstfruits were the first part of a harvest. They promised that the rest of the harvest was coming.

A living hope. God “has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3). Our hope is alive because Jesus is alive.

Not afraid of death. Jesus died so that He could “release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:15). Bondage means being trapped. Jesus sets His people free from fear.

With us in the valley. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me” (Psalm 23:4). The Lord goes with His people all the way.

A place ready. Jesus promised, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:2-3).

Nothing can separate us. Paul was sure that “neither death nor life… shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

No more tears. “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4). One day sadness will be gone forever.

A new kind of life. Jairus' daughter came back to her same life in her same body. When Jesus raises His people at the end, He will give them new bodies that never get sick and never die.

Near to the brokenhearted. “The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart” (Psalm 34:18). If you are sad because someone has died, God is very close to you.

Comfort each other. Paul told the church to comfort one another with these promises (1 Thessalonians 4:18). When a friend is sad, you can stay close to them, pray with them and remind them of what Jesus promised.

What we learn. Because Jesus rose, death is not the end for His people. Morning is coming.

What to do. Learn John 14:2-3 by heart. When you think about heaven, thank Jesus for preparing a place for you.

Jesus' words over Jairus' daughter point beyond one house in Galilee. If death is sleep for those who belong to Him, then a morning is coming, and the resurrection of Jesus is its first light.

Anastasis. The New Testament word for resurrection is anastasis (say: ah-NAH-stah-sis), a standing up again. When Luke says the girl “arose” (8:55), he uses a verb from the same family. What Jesus did for one girl, He will do for all His people.

Firstfruits (1 Corinthians 15:20). At harvest, Israel brought the first sheaf of grain to God as a pledge of the rest (Leviticus 23:10). “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.” His resurrection is the guarantee of ours.

Raised, not only revived. Jairus' daughter returned to ordinary life and would one day die again. Jesus rose to a life that death can never touch again (Romans 6:9). When He raises His people, they will share that kind of life.

Freedom from fear (Hebrews 2:14-15). Jesus shared our flesh and blood “that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.” Fear of death had held people in bondage. The risen Christ sets them free.

A living hope (1 Peter 1:3-4). God “has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Peter adds an inheritance “that does not fade away.” Christian hope is not wishful thinking. It rests on an empty tomb.

The Father's house (John 14:2-3). “In My Father’s house are many mansions.” Jesus speaks of heaven as a home, and of Himself as the One who will come and receive us. The heart of heaven is being with Him: “that where I am, there you may be also.”

The end of sorrow. Christians still mourn, but we mourn knowing that one day “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying” (Revelation 21:4).

Nothing separates (Romans 8:38-39). Paul puts death first in his list of things that cannot separate us “from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Application. Think about how you would comfort a friend whose grandparent has died. Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 together, pray with them, and remind them that for those who are in Christ, morning is coming.

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