Luke 8:55

55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once; and he directed that something should be given her to eat.

Luke 8:55 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 8:55

And her spirit came again
Her soul, which was departed from her, upon the all-powerful voice of Christ, returned to her body; and "re-entered", as the Ethiopic version adds: this shows that the soul is immortal, and dies not with the body; that it exists in a separate state from it after death, and will hereafter re-enter the body, and be again united to it in the resurrection, of which this instance was a kind of pledge and emblem: where her spirit was during this time of separation, is needless, and would be curious and rash to inquire; it is enough to say with the Scripture, that it had returned, to God, that gave it, ( Ecclesiastes 12:7 ) and by whom it was sent back to its body again:

and she arose straightway:
from off the bed, and as Mark says, "walked"; for she was at an age capable of it, and which actions of arising and walking, clearly proved that she was alive, and in health:

and he commanded to give her meat;
which was done, partly to show, not only that she was alive, but that her disorder was removed, and her appetite restored, and that she could eat and drink, as she had done before her illness; and partly, to observe that she was raised not to an immortal life, as none were before Christ, but to an animate life, which was to be supported by eating and drinking, and so a mortal one; (See Gill on Mark 5:43).

Luke 8:55 In-Context

53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead.
54 But taking her by the hand he called, saying, "Child, arise."
55 And her spirit returned, and she got up at once; and he directed that something should be given her to eat.
56 And her parents were amazed; but he charged them to tell no one what had happened.
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.