Introduction
I recently had the opportunity to preach from Luke 8:40-56 (yet again), the story of Jairus and his daughter. I do not usually like to re-preach sermons, but this was a last-minute fill-in for a pastor who was ill. I have had plenty of time to meditate on this text, having written the initial sermon over a year ago, and have come back to the passage many times for my own personal sanctification. I dealt with the context of the entire story in a previous article, arguing that the story of Jairus and the story of the woman with the issue of blood are intended to be taken as one literary unit. You can find that article here.
In this post, I would like to examine a narrow section of this account and focus on the importance of careful thinking when doing interpretation. Most interpreters can agree on the importance of reading the text of Scripture with thoughtful care. Oftentimes much can be missed when we read rapidly or read for completion without taking the time to ponder and process the content we have read. Sometimes, an interpreter must slow down and “put oneself into the story” to truly understand what is conveyed by the original author. The story of Jairus in Luke 8:40-56 serves as a great example for us, teaching the importance of careful reading when interpreting the words of Scripture. Let me show you what I mean.
A Slow Pass
When studying the Bible, we often need to take a “slow pass” and deliberately think through what is being communicated. For instance, consider Luke 8:52-53 (NASB): Now they were all weeping and mourning for her; but He said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.” And they began laughing at Him, knowing that she had died. What do you notice about these verses? Take a slow pass and read them again. Do you see it? Here is the question I am asking: why are they laughing?
Let us remember the context here. Jesus was with a man who has just found out that his daughter died. Jesus returned to this man’s house with Jairus and his wife, and three of Jesus’ disciples. Imagine walking into a room with the body of a little girl. Her parents are hysterical; I mean they would have to be. This is the first time seeing their daughter after she died. Now she’s just a corpse.
Personally, I can understand where these parents were at. I have lived this text very closely. My younger brother died at 24 years old, 6 ½ years from the time I am writing. My wife and I cried our share long before we flew to Pennsylvania for the funeral, and long before we got to the funeral home. But I remember walking into that room with my family and gathering around my brother’s dead body lying in a coffin. A 24-year-old man does not belong in a coffin. But I remember just standing around and looking at the body of my little brother and sobbing. All of us—my parents, myself, my wife, my sister and her husband, my other sister and her boyfriend at the time, and my grandparents. We were all there sobbing uncontrollably. That is what would have been happening at the house of Jairus. A bunch of broken people in misery!
You can understand then when I find it a bit odd that nearly all conservative translations say that they “laughed” at Jesus when he told them to stop weeping because she is merely asleep. Given my own experience in a situation like this, I can’t help but think: “who laughs at a time like this?”
A Deeper Look
Nearly every translation of this passage uses some version of the word laugh for describing the response to the words of Christ. But given the above description, could a different translation be used?
Those of us who have been trained in the original languages of Greek and Hebrew have found this knowledge incredibly useful in interpreting the Bible. This does not, however, eliminate the need to read carefully. Even interpreters with stellar knowledge of the original languages can miss an intended meaning or implication in the text if they are not careful to make sure the context of a passage governs the interpretation. I think the passage at hand demonstrates just the necessity of translating a passage through with the context in mind.
The word used here for “laugh” is not the traditional word for the type of laughter that might come to our mind when we think of the word laugh. The word is only used three times in the New Testament, and each time it occurs in a parallel gospel account of this story (Mt. 9:24; Mk. 5:40). In the twenty-one times this Greek word appears in the Septuagint, every time the word refers to laugh in the sense of mock or scorn. Upon closer study, one can see that the word used here (καταγελάω) takes on the nuance of mock or scorn. Given this, the answer to the question “who laughs at a time like this” is “nobody;” no one laughs at a time like this. They were not laughing in the sense of “haha, good one Jesus.” They were laughing in the sense of “Jesus! Do you not get it? She is dead! She is never coming back! How could you even say something like that at a time like this? If only you would have come right away instead of wasting your time Jesus, you might have been able to save her!”
You could argue that this might be a slight nuance; perhaps even I am playing semantics here. But I think this subtlety opens one’s understanding of what was actually going on in the text. As such, I think a better translation would be something like this: But Jesus said: “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep.” And they were ridiculing him, knowing that she had died. I mentioned that most translations use the word “laughing” in their translation. The only exception, as far as classic or conservative translations go, are the New King James Version and the Youngs Literal Translation. The NKJV says “they ridiculed him” and the YLT says “they were deriding him.” Given the context of the story in this passage, I think these are helpful alternatives to what is found in most other translations.
Final Thoughts
We need to think carefully when doing Bible interpretation. We can very easily accept a text at face value or even based on popular understanding if we do not do a “slow pass” and attentively read the text of Scripture. Careful, critical reading is vitally important to how we interpret a passage. We must also make sure our translation of a passage, if you do your own translation, reflects a clear and careful reading. Oftentimes we need to integrate the lexical definition or definitions of a word with what is happening in the context of a text. This takes time, effort, and discipline, but the result is worth it!
