"‘Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping.’ And they ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by the hand, and the little girl arose." (Mt. 9:24-26)

"Mourners" were quasi-professional women assigned to cry, whine, whimper and lament at funerals in accord with the folklore and tradition of the people of the day. It was also the practice of the day to hire flautists to play dirges to make the whole ambiance even more painful and sad.

"When Jesus arrived at the official’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd who were making a commotion." (Mt. 9:23)

In Matthew’s recounting of the story, one has to marvel at the official’s faith: "Come, lay your hand on her, and she will live." (Mt. 9:18)

Jesus gave in to the begging of that official and accompanied him to his house.

The mourners already had been working -- doing their duty.

Jesus ordered them to be quiet and to LEAVE -- and then He told them that the girl wasn’t dead but just sleeping! They, began to make fun of Jesus.

But they all sure shut up quick when they saw Jesus raising the girl from the dead. The mourners that had come to work their trade began to spread the news of Jesus’ miracle. "News of this spread throughout all that land."

Those who received that singular favor from Jesus must have been incredibly grateful!

Our faith only needs to be in His goodness and His power... all our other concerns need to take a back seat to HIM.

Psalm 36: "How precious is your love, O God! For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light."