While Jesus was still speaking with the woman, a friend or a servant from Jarius’ household came to tell him that his daughter had died. What I find interesting is what else he says to Jarius: “…why trouble (G4660) the Master further?” (Mark 4:35). According to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, the Greek word means: “to skin, flay; to rend or mangle; to vex, trouble, or annoy.” It was used by the centurion in Luke 7:6 to tell Jesus he shouldn’t trouble himself by coming under his roof. That is, Jesus would have been chastised by the more finicky folks among his people (cp. Acts 11:2-3), if he had entered the home of an unclean gentile. In other words, by coming to Jarius’ home, Jesus would be entering a potentially explosive arena.
Therefore, Jarius’ friend or servant not only brought Jarius the bad news about his daughter, but it seems he may have been primarily concerned over Jesus coming into such an unpleasant environment. In other words, the Jewish authorities who had claimed Jesus was in league with the devil (cp. Mark 3:22) would be at Jarius’ home. Not only could the emotional environment at Jarius’ home erupt into something very unpleasant, but this also tells me that Jarius was in sympathy with Jesus. He believed him but, nevertheless, couldn’t bring himself to come out publicly to say so (cp. John 12:42-43). Hearing the man’s report, Jesus told Jarius not to despair but to continue to believe (Mark 4:36), continue to trust in the power of God even when it seems all is lost.
Consider for a moment what such a scene might have looked like back in the days of Jesus’ public ministry. He was probably cast out of the synagogues and treated as an outsider by the Jewish authorities (cp. John 12:42), because they claimed he was in league with the devil (cp. Mark 3:22). The line in the sand had been drawn with Jesus and his disciples on one side and the Jewish authorities and those they could intimidate on the other. They had decided to destroy Jesus. Jesus had been accused of seeking to destroy the nation by claiming to be the Messiah (Mark 1:24), so the Pharisees, together with the Herodians, plotted to destroy Jesus before he could do the nation harm (Mark 3:6). Thus, what can be referred to as the Beelzebub Controversy of Mark 3:22 was ignited. By claiming Jesus was mad and in the grips of an evil spiritual power, they effectively stemmed the tide of the people coming to believe Jesus was the Messiah (cp. Matthew 12:23; John 12:42-43).
Jesus’ defense was that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25). His point is brought into clearer focus when we understand that Beelzebub / Beelzebul means ‘lord of the house.[1] By claiming to be the Messiah, the King of the House of Judah (and Israel), he also claimed to be stronger than the ‘strong man’ over the house (Beelzebub). In other words, Jesus said he was stronger than the present authority over the house of the Jews, and the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem served that power. Thus, the Messiah warned the authorities of the consequences of taking such a stand (Luke 11:20; Exodus 8:19), because “a house divided against itself cannot stand” (Mark 3:25; Matthew 12:24-25; Luke 11:17). In other words, if the nation becomes divided against its own Messiah, the nation is doomed to destruction.
Nevertheless, Jesus, sensitive to the tumultuous situation, decided not to enter in force, that is, he didn’t bring all his disciples with him in a guise of strength. Rather, he returned with Jarius taking only the necessary witnesses with him, Peter, James and John, having a more or less disarming effect upon his adversaries (cp. Mark 5:37).
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[1] See my earlier study: The Strong Man’s House.
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