Resurrections from the dead are rare in the Bible, even in the ministry of Jesus, who is described as restoring life to three whose loved ones sought his intervention. Though he became incarnate in order to be the resurrection and the life (John 11:25) it is apparent that even his earthly adoptive father Joseph had passed away and was not restored to life before Jesus launched his ministry. And the three who returned under his ministration from the other side of the veil between life and death still faced the penalty of sin.

The First Resurrection

The first resurrection performed by Jesus is recounted in all three of the synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Matthew 9:18–27 records the event. A certain ruler (identified by both Mark and Luke as Jairus, a ruler of the synagogue) told Jesus that his daughter was already dead, but that if he were to lay his hand on her she would revive. Jesus and his disciples joined the man on the way to his home. On the way, “a woman diseased with an issue of blood twelve years” touched the hem of Jesus' robe, believing that act would heal her. Sensing the power go out of him, Jesus turned to her and said “Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole.”

On arriving at the ruler's house, minstrels were already playing mourning music, but Jesus said the maid was only sleeping, which elicited macabre laughter from the mourners. But Jesus “went in, took her by the hand, and the maid arose.” On his way out of the neighborhood, Jesus was importuned by two blind men seeking healing.

Second Resurrection

The second resurrection is recounted only in Luke 7:11–17. As Jesus and his disciples approached the gate of Nain, a town in Galilee south of Nazareth, they met a funeral party carrying a dead man on a bier, his widowed mother mourning with many townspeople. Jesus “had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.” This miracle so impressed the witnesses that its word spread as far as Judea, the region around Jerusalem, beyond Samaria from Galilee and Nain.

Resurrection of Lazarus

The final resurrection miracle performed by Jesus was the raising of his friend Lazarus, which immediately preceded Jesus' passion week, which will be taken up in Chapter 8.

These “temporary” resurrections all pale beside the resurrection of Jesus himself, in which he returned from the grave in a totally renewed, “spiritual body,” which was permanent and indestructible (see 1 Corinthians 15). These resurrections demonstrate the power of the Creator and the Lord of Life but those who witnessed these miraculous events had seen little compared to the resurrection to come.