Mark 5:38-40 (NLT)
38 When they [Jesus, Peter, James, John & Jarius] came to the home of the synagogue leader [Jarius], Jesus saw the commotion and the weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and spoke to the people. “Why all this weeping and commotion?” he asked. “The child isn’t dead; she is only asleep.” 40 The crowd laughed at him, but he told them all to go outside…
DRAWING NOTES:
TIME OF DAY:
Unspecified in the Bible narrative. I have set this scene in the mid afternoon, some time after the previous scenes.
LIGHTING NOTES:
There are two sources of light in this picture. The sun (unseen, producing a green/white light) illuminates this scene through the open front door of Jarius’s house. The sun is casting shadows through the door, to the right & below figures & objects. The second source of light is a fire or candles (unseen) in front of the three figures in the foreground, which creates a warm yellow glow on these people.
CHARACTERS PRESENT:
Jesus (in his usual blue outer robe) is in the middle of the room, pointing at the front door.
To the left of Jesus is John (the son of Zebedee), with James (the son of Zebedee) closest to the door. Jesus referred to the sons of Zebedee as “the sons of thunder” (Boanerges (Mark 3:17)), which is why I have shown their facial expressions in terms of frowning & looking cross at the laughing crowd of mourners!
Simon/Peter is standing to the right of Jesus, looking rather doubtful!
To the right of Simon/Peter is Jarius (with tears in his eyes), holding/comforting his wife, who is crying (unseen) at the death of their daughter.
Various mourners.
RESEARCH/ADDITIONAL NOTES:
This scene is set in Jarius’s house. I don’t know how far his house was from the Sea of Galilee, so I don’t know how long it would have taken Jesus, his followers, Jarius & his messengers to walk to this location. That’s why I have set this scene in the mid afternoon, some time after the previous scenes.
Here is the scene without the figures in the foreground.
Background of Mark 05 – Woman healed and girl resurrected – Scene 07 – The child is asleep
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Background of Mark 05 – Woman healed and girl resurrected – Scene 07 – The child is asleep
Notice that Jesus looks happy, he is not cross about the people laughing at his words. Nevertheless, he is pointing at the door & ushering everybody out expect the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples.
I have put the crowd of people in Jarius’s house in dark coloured clothing since they are mourning the death of Jarius’s daughter. Despite the fact that these people are mourning with Jarius’s family, I have illustrated the foreground figures laughing, since verse 40 informs us that the crowd laughed at Jesus’s assertion that the little girl was asleep & not dead.
I have assumed that Jarius’s household would have provided some refreshments for the mourners, hence the food & drink on the table in the foreground.
Since Jarius was the leader of a synagogue (see Mark 5:22) I have assumed he was wealthier than some other Israelites. The ceramic tiled floor, the tiles on the plastered walls & the painting of his family are my way of showing his wealth in his house.
I drew this greyscale version to work out where the highlights & shadows occur in this picture.
Mark 05 – Woman healed and girl resurrected – Scene 07 – The child is asleep – Greyscale