He Spoke to the Dead Twice in Luke
Jesus issued commands to corpses — and both times, only Luke records the exact words spoken.
In the four gospels, Jesus raises the dead on three occasions: the daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus. In each case, he speaks. But the words he speaks differ strikingly by gospel. At the raising of Lazarus in John 11, Jesus calls out 'Lazarus, come forth' — an address to a named dead man. At the raising of Jairus's daughter, Mark and Luke both record the Aramaic 'Talitha cumi' (Mark 5:41) and the Greek equivalent 'Maid, arise' (Luke 8:54), but Matthew's parallel account at Matthew 9:25 contains no spoken words at all — the narrator simply records that Jesus 'took her by the hand, and the maid arose.' Only Luke records Jesus speaking to the widow of Nain's son: 'Young man, I say unto thee, Arise' (Luke 7:14). Matthew and Mark do not record this event at all. The result is that Luke alone preserves two distinct spoken commands to the dead — the word to the widow's son and the word to Jairus's daughter — making Luke the only gospel in which Jesus can be heard addressing a corpse twice. The phrasing of both Lukan commands is direct second-person address ('I say unto thee, Arise' and 'Maid, arise'), a consistent speech pattern across both raisings that does not appear in John's raising, where the command uses a third-person name rather than an imperative 'arise.'
Red Letter Sources
Luke 7:14Luke 8:54John 11:43
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 put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.
Evidence Notes
Luke 7:14 and Luke 8:54 are the two Lukan commands to the dead. Matthew 9:25 is confirmed to contain no spoken words by Jesus — narrative only. Mark 5:41 records 'Talitha cumi' in Aramaic as direct speech. John 11:43 records 'Lazarus, come forth.' The widow of Nain account appears only in Luke. Jairus's daughter account appears in Matthew, Mark, and Luke but only Mark and Luke record spoken words.
Greek Note
Luke 8:54 uses 'ἡ παῖς, ἐγείρου' (child, rise). Luke 7:14 uses 'νεανίσκε, σοὶ λέγω, ἐγέρθητι' (young man, I say to you, be raised). Both use a form of ἐγείρω. John 11:43 uses 'δεῦρο ἔξω' (come forth/out) — a different verb and construction entirely, with no direct 'arise' imperative.
