The Sarcophagus of Adelphia
Detail, The Daughter of Jairus
Jesus holds a scroll to signify his authority and Jairus the synagogue official holds one that is a bit smaller. Jesus points his staff at the girl to reference his words in the gospels, "Little girl, arise." To clarify that she had been dead, the artist pictures her bed as a sarcophagus with the "strigillated" pattern of wavy lines common in ancient Rome.
Most sarcophagi restrict the scene to just these three figures, either because they are following Matthew's account, where the disciples wait outside Jairus's home, or simply because the space available is so small.
This panel has been identified elsewhere as the resurrection of the son of the widow of Naim (Luke 7:11-15), but in images of that miracle it is the widow who accompanies her son's bier, not a male authority figure with a scroll.
View this image in full resolution.
View the entire sarcophagus.
Read more about Jesus and the daughter of Jairus and the widow of Naim.
Photographed at the Syracuse Archeological Museum, Sicily, by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.