This passage is often misinterpreted as Jesus denying the girl's physical death and claiming she was merely in a coma or unconscious, thus diminishing the miracle to a medical revival rather than a supernatural resurrection; alternatively, some view 'sleepeth' solely as a metaphor for spiritual unawareness, overlooking the literal restoration of life, or misuse it to promote 'positive confession' where declaring death unreal supposedly manifests healing through words alone, detached from Jesus' unique divine power.
Matthew 9:24
King James Version (1769)
24 He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.
Jesus' statement that the girl is not dead but sleeping reveals his sovereign power over death, portraying death not as final annihilation but as a temporary state akin to sleep from which he can awaken the departed, as demonstrated by his immediate resurrection of her, affirming his divine authority and offering hope of eternal life to believers.