Actress Alexa PenaVega is turning a familiar Gospel account into an invitation for her followers to open their Bibles and pay closer attention to what they read.
“Scripture is so fascinating,” PenaVega wrote in the caption of an Oct. 5 Instagram post about Jesus raising Jairus’ daughter.
The SPY KIDS actress focused on the scene at the family’s house, where Jesus encountered people weeping and wailing. Her caption acknowledged that the mourners believed the girl had died, then urged her followers to study the passage for themselves.
“Study it!!! Read it!!” PenaVega wrote.
The account appears in more than one Gospel, giving readers a chance to follow its details rather than stop with a familiar summary. Mark 5:21–43 begins with Jairus, a synagogue leader, pleading with Jesus to come to his dying daughter.
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Jesus went with him, but the journey included another encounter: a woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years touched His clothes and received healing. Before Jesus reached Jairus’ home, messengers arrived with news that the girl had died.
Jesus told Jairus not to be afraid and to believe. At the house, He put the crowd outside and brought the girl’s parents and three disciples into the room, where He took her hand and raised her.
Mark’s account ends with a practical detail alongside the astonishment. Jesus told the family to give the girl something to eat. It is the kind of small moment a reader can miss when racing toward the miraculous ending. Mark also notes that the girl was 12 years old when she stood up and walked.
Luke 8:40–56 also records the parents’ astonishment and the instruction to feed their daughter. Matthew 9:18–26 describes Jesus taking the girl’s hand after the crowd had gone outside.
PenaVega’s invitation to keep reading offers a straightforward place to begin: open the passage, notice the people and follow what Jesus actually does. The account’s center is His authority over death, not a formula for securing a particular outcome from God.
Her interest in Scripture also has roots beyond this latest post. In a 2022 book excerpt of What If Love Is the Point?published by The War Cry, PenaVega and her husband, actor Carlos PenaVega, described the role of God’s Word in their shared life: “And we committed to building a life together based on God’s Word.”
The excerpt also described how the couple made room for prayer amid family and work responsibilities. That older reflection provides context for Alexa’s new encouragement: spending time with God belongs in ordinary life, not only in its dramatic moments.
“Wrestle with it! It will change your life,” PenaVega closed her recent post.
For a reader deciding where to start, the Gospel passage is right there. Take time with it, compare the accounts and resist the urge to turn a complex scene into a quick slogan — the very act of reading carefully gives her invitation somewhere to go.
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