Today’s passage opens with an urgent request from a synagogue official named Jairus. His daughter had become gravely ill and hearing that Jesus had returned to the area Jairus found Jesus, fell at his feet, and begged him to heal his daughter. Jesus went with him but arrived too late after stopping to speak to a woman on the way. When he came to the dead girl, Jesus merely commanded her to rise and brought her back from death to life. It turns out that Jesus was not late at all. In fact Jesus was early because he would reveal the end of death before its time.