What does Luke 8:56 mean?

Jairus has tried to keep faith that Jesus can heal his daughter even though she is dead (Matthew 9:18). When he sees it actually happen, however, he and his wife are amazed. He had just walked through a crowd of professional mourners, loudly lamenting her loss. Now, there's no need: his child is alive!

In the previous two healing miracles, Jesus rescued a man from a legion of demons and healed a woman who had suffered with chronic bleeding for twelve years. He told the man to "declare how much God has done for you" to the whole region on the east side of the Sea of Galilee (Luke 8:39). He refused to allow the woman to sneak away, instead drawing attention to her wholeness in front of a great crowd (Luke 8:47–48). Now, despite those mourners, He tells the girl's parents and His disciples to keep the event quiet.

Jesus tells demons to be silent so that people will not hear evil spirits validating His identity (Mark 3:11–12). Sometimes He tells witnesses to a healing miracle to be quiet (Mark 1:44–45). It is true that His reputation as a healer complicates travel (Luke 8:42b) and teaching His disciples (Mark 6:30–34). But another reason here is that Jesus has just raised a girl, about twelve years old, from the dead. No twelve-year-old girl needs to be the center of the great hullabaloo that would inevitably follow if her situation were made known. Sadly, Jesus' words are not heeded, "and the report of this went through all that district" (Matthew 9:26).

Having shown His power in different ways, Jesus next imbues that power to His disciples, sending them to heal and preach throughout the villages (Luke 9:1–6). After Jesus feeds the five thousand (Luke 9:10–17), Luke records a series of difficult Messianic messages in preparation for the great transition of Luke's Gospel when Jesus sets "his face to go to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51). Jesus has shown the disciples His power. Soon, He will show them He needs to lay down that power to save them.