Matthew 9:23-24
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The text highlights the hired musicians, the flute players, who were present to perform a ritualistic lament. This detail subtly underscores the cultural context, where outward expressions of grief, even those professionally orchestrated, were expected, contrasting sharply with Jesus' quiet, powerful command that would soon still the commotion.
And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Jesus arrives at the home of Jairus, a synagogue leader whose daughter is dying. While Jesus was still speaking to a woman who had just been healed, messengers arrived from Jairus's house, reporting that his daughter had actually died. Upon entering the house, Jesus encountered a scene of noisy, professional mourners and a distraught crowd, a typical display of grief in that culture.
Why did Jesus encounter such a commotion at the ruler's house? It wasn't just sadness; it was a performance.
When Jesus arrived at the ruler's house, the scene was chaotic. The text describes 'flute players' and 'people making a noise.' This wasn't silent, private sorrow. It was a public spectacle of grief, common in that culture, involving hired mourners and loud wailing. These 'minstrels' played mournful music, and the crowd amplified the noise. It was a 'tumult,' a cacophony of sound meant to express extreme sorrow.
Jesus, however, had just told the father to 'not fear, but only believe.' This stark contrast between the outward, loud expressions of grief and Jesus' inward call to faith is striking. The commotion was a physical manifestation of despair, while Jesus offered a spiritual solution rooted in trust.
Why did Jesus limit who could enter the house with him? It wasn't about excluding people, but about creating space for faith.
Upon arriving at the ruler's house, Jesus didn't let everyone in. He specifically allowed only the father, the mother, and his three closest disciples—Peter, James, and John—to accompany him. This wasn't arbitrary; it was strategic.
Purpose of Exclusion:
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Understand the original words
apothnēskō · Greek Verb/Adjective
A term indicating a state of biological cessation of life, though frequently used by Jesus to describe a temporary state from which He has the authority to awaken someone, equating death to sleep in the context of His power to resurrect.
katheudō · Greek Verb
A state of physical rest; in the teachings of Jesus, it is a euphemism for death, signaling that for Him, death is not a final state but a temporary one over which He exercises authority to "awaken" the person.
The verse captures a dramatic moment within Jewish funeral customs. The hired musicians and the commotion highlight the intense, often performative, grief of the time, contrasting sharply with Jesus' calm power and his declaration that the girl was merely 'sleeping'.
c. 27-30 AD
Jesus' Public Ministry Begins
Jesus begins his public ministry in Galilee, calling disciples and performing miracles. This marks the period when many of his most notable interactions, including this one, take place.
c. 27-30 AD
Jairus Seeks Jesus' Help
Jairus, a synagogue ruler, learns of Jesus and seeks him out to heal his dying daughter. This initiates the specific event described in the passage.
c. 27-30 AD
Jesus Heals a Woman, Interrupted
While on the way to Jairus's house, Jesus is delayed by healing a woman with a hemorrhage. During this time, messengers arrive from Jairus's home with news of his daughter's death.
c. 27-30 AD— this verse
Arrival at Jairus's Home
Jesus arrives at Jairus's house and encounters the hired mourners (flute players) and the crowd engaged in loud wailing, a common but excessive custom for funerals in that era.
c. 27-30 AD
Jesus Raises Jairus's Daughter
Jesus dismisses the mourners, enters the room with only a few witnesses, and miraculously raises Jairus's twelve-year-old daughter from death.
c. 27-30 AD
Command for Secrecy and Spread of News
Jesus instructs the parents not to spread the word about the miracle, but despite this, the news of the resurrection spreads throughout the region.
This passage describes professional mourners and lamentations using music, directly paralleling the 'flute players' and commotion mentioned in Matthew 9:23, highlighting the cultural practice of hired grief.
Ezekiel 24:17Ezekiel is commanded not to mourn with 'the music of the flute' after his wife's death, indicating that professional musicians and loud lamentations were a recognized, though in this case forbidden, part of funeral customs.
2 Chronicles 35:25This verse mentions musicians, including flute players, in the context of mourning for Josiah, showing that musical lamentation was a significant and even official part of Jewish funeral rites.
John 11:11Jesus refers to Lazarus as 'sleeping' before revealing he is actually dead, mirroring His statement in Matthew 9:24 about Jairus's daughter 'sleeping,' which connects Jesus' understanding and description of death with this scene.
Mark 5:38This parallel account describes Jesus seeing 'the tumult and those who were weeping and wailing loudly,' reinforcing the chaotic and noisy atmosphere of professional mourning depicted in Matthew 9:23.
bensonMatthew 9:23: "And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,"
Matthew 9:23 . When Jesus came into the ruler’s house — It appears from the parallel places in Mark and Luke, that while Jesus spake the last-mentioned words to the woman healed by touching his garment, a messenger came from the ruler’s house to inform him that his daughter, whom he had left at the point of death, was now actually dead, and that therefore he did not need to trouble o…
barnesMatthew 9:23: "And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,"
And widen Jesus came into the ruler's house ... - Jesus permitted only three of his disciples, Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and the father and mother of the damsel, to go in with him where the corpse lay, Mark 5:37-40 It was important that there should be "witnesses" of the miracle, and he chose a sufficient number. "Five" witnesses were enough to establish the fact.…
The text highlights the hired musicians, the flute players, who were present to perform a ritualistic lament. This detail subtly underscores the cultural context, where outward expressions of grief, even those professionally orchestrated, were expected, contrasting sharply with Jesus' quiet, powerful command that would soon still the commotion.
Jesus arrives at the home of Jairus, a synagogue leader whose daughter is dying. While Jesus was still speaking to a woman who had just been healed, messengers arrived from Jairus's house, reporting that his daughter had actually died. Upon entering the house, Jesus encountered a scene of noisy, professional mourners and a distraught crowd, a typical display of grief in that culture.
Jesus arrives at the home of Jairus, a synagogue leader whose daughter is dying. While Jesus was still speaking to a woman who had just been healed, messengers arrived from Jairus's house, reporting that his daughter had actually died. Upon entering the house, Jesus encountered a scene of noisy, professional mourners and a distraught crowd, a typical display of grief in that culture.
"And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him." — The text highlights the hired musicians, the flute players, who were present to perform a ritualistic lament. This detail subtly underscores the cultural context, where outward expressions of grief,…
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Last reviewed October 2026
