Legion and the Little Girl
Then Jesus gave strict orders that no one should know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat. Mark 5:43 · Berean Standard Bible
Jesus tells them to keep this quiet and then adds something wonderfully practical: 'Give her something to eat.' After raising her from the dead, he makes sure she gets lunch.
It's so like Jesus: cosmic power and everyday care in the same breath. He raises the dead and then thinks about whether the girl is hungry.
Jesus gives final instructions to the parents and disciples.
The God who raises the dead also remembers that a twelve-year-old needs a meal. It's a beautiful reminder that Jesus cares about every detail of your life — the miraculous and the mundane.
Jesus issues 'strict orders' (diesteilato pollа) for secrecy — consistent with Mark's messianic secret motif — and the practical instruction to feed the girl confirms the reality and physicality of the resurrection.
The secrecy command, paradoxical given the public mourning, serves Mark's theological purpose of controlled messianic revelation. The feeding instruction demonstrates Jesus' concern for ordinary, physical needs alongside the miraculous.
Jesus gives two final directives: keep this quiet, and feed the child.
Jesus orders silence about the miracle and instructs the parents to give the girl food — a beautifully human touch after a supernatural act, showing his care for the whole person.
41Taking her by the hand, Jesus said, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”
42Immediately the girl got up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). And at once they were utterly astounded.
43Then Jesus gave strict orders that no one should know about this, and He told them to give her something to eat.
Read all of Mark 5 — A man possessed by a thousand demons, a woman who has bled for twelve years, a father whose daughter has just died — all healed in a single chapter.
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