We will consider Mark 5 in 2 lengthy sections. First we have the famous account of Jesus healing the demon-possessed man and driving those demons into the heard of pigs, which subsequently runs off the edge of a cliff and drowns in the sea, causing the townspeople to plead with Jesus to leave their region. And then second we have another famous account, where Jesus goes with the synagogue ruler to heal his daughter. Of course, Jesus is delayed when He pauses to affirm the woman who touched Him and was healed of her bleeding. Let’s read the passages and notice some key points in our study:
V1-20 – 1They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes [or Gadarenes or Gergasenes]. 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil [or unclean] spirit came from the tombs to meet Him. 3This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of Him. 7He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that You won’t torture me!” 8For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil [or unclean] spirit!” 9Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” 10“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area. 11A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. 12The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs; allow us to go into them.” 13He gave them permission, and the evil [or unclean] spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. 14Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. 16Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man –and told about the pigs as well. 17Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. 18As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with Him. 19Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.” 20So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis [or the Ten Cities]how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.
While the region Jesus arrived at by crossing the lake is shown to be 3 possibilities, including the Gerasenes, Gadarenes, or Gergasenes, scholars suggest that all three names refer effectively to the same region, the area between the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee and the small cities of Gerasa (about 30 miles southeast) and Gadara (about 6 miles east). The specific coastal village there was called Gergesa. It would have been common for Jews in the area to be familiar with “the country of the Gadarenes,” which explains why Matthew clearly used this word in writing his account to a primarily Jewish audience. And the Romans (and Gentiles) less familiar with the specifics of the region would have been more familiar with the city of Gerasa, which, even though farther away from the specific location in view, explains why Mark and Luke use that reference for the familiarity of the audience. It might be like someone from New York City telling me to come and visit by flying to LaGuardia for convenience to Manhattan or JFK for proximity to Brooklyn, without referring to any of the 5 specific boroughs (Queens, Bronx, Staten Island).
In v2-4 we learn that a demon-possessed man approached Jesus from where he lived in the nearby tombs. We also get the insight that no one could bind this man because of his physical strength. Therefore (v5), he spent his time wandering in the hills and among the tombs cutting himself with stones and crying out. Isolated from society and beyond any form of control, the man was tormented and had no recourse but self-harm. He ran to Jesus and fell on his knees before Him (v6), and because Jesus had called for the demon to come out of the man (v8), he begged Jesus not to torture him (v7). Notice that Jesus was the One who initiated contact, recognizing the demonic possession from afar. We could certainly say that this man was the specific reason for Jesus coming to this location in the first place. It’s a divine appointment, something that every believer should appreciate and without which we would all be in a much worse state. This man would have undoubted caused fear of those who knew of him, yet Jesus seems to welcome him into His presence, and clearly the demonic hoard controlling this man recognized Jesus, identifying Him as “the Son of the Most High God” (v8). I find it especially revealing that the man asked Jesus not to torture him for two reasons: first, he knew that is what he deserved; second, he knew Jesus had the power and authority to exercise that fate upon him. We should be so observant with our own circumstances. But clearly the man hopes that Jesus will show mercy and forgo the torture that he deserves, and Jesus uses this hope to bring more facts to light.
In v9, Jesus asks the man’s name. Of course, Jesus knew that in advance, but it’s a question that invites dialogue and reason, rather than irrationality and violence. In v10, the man answers with the name “Legion,” and the singular shifts to plural, as we learn that this man is possessed by many demons. Again, he pleads with Jesus not to send them out of the area. I imagine the demons were comfortable in their surroundings, having control of this man and ruining his life, and terrifying those who might try to confront or even serve him. Instead, they asked Jesus to let them go into the herd of pigs nearby (v11-12). This seems strange to me, as we know the result, which is the demise of some 2000 pigs (v13). Why would Legion – who clearly knows that Jesus has demanded that they leave the man – request to go into the pigs only to run off the side of the cliff and drown? Why would that be a better fate than being removed “from the area” (v10)? I wonder if being removed from the area refers to removal from the dominion of the earth. Perhaps the demons preferred to be scattered in a watery grave, wreaking havoc on the earth, rather than banned from the earth once and for all. Of course, Jesus will exercise that final judgment in the end, but for now, He has come to save.
V14-17 reveal the effects of Jesus’ saving ministry on this day and in this region. The demon-possessed man is self-controlled, sitting in his right mind and at peace. But the townspeople are afraid; no longer of this man, but of the One who conquered the demons in this man. And they ask Jesus to go away. Of course, it makes complete sense that this man wants to go with Jesus (v18). But Jesus did not allow him (v19). Instead, Jesus told him to become an ambassador for the mercy of God in Jesus, which he did as perhaps the first Gentile missionary, letting everyone in the Decapolis know what God did for him – and the people who heard were amazed (v20). The glory of God spreads among the Gentile cities even before the ministry of Jesus was understood among the Jews.
V21-43 – 21When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the lake. 22Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet 23and pleaded earnestly with Him, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put Your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” 24So Jesus went with him. 25A large crowd followed and pressed around Him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His cloak, 28because she thought, “If I just touch His clothes, I will be healed.” 29Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. 30At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched My clothes?” 31“You see the people crowding against You,’ His disciples answered, “and yet You can ask, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. 33Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at His feet and, trembling with fear, told Him the whole truth. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” 35While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the Teacher anymore?” 36Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” 37He did not let anyone follow Him except Peter, James and John the brother of James. 38When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. 39He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40But they laughed at Him. 41After He put them all out, He took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with Him, and went in where the child was. He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” (which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 42Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished. 43He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Jesus crosses back over the lake after completing His healing and sending mission with the demoniac, and He is met by a massive crowd (v21). This was the norm, it seems, at this still early stage of Jesus’ public ministry. While we are about to hear of Jesus’ compassionate service to Jairus and his daughter, as well as to the bleeding woman, I wonder if, as John’s Gospel hints, there were many more people from the crowd that Jesus touched in such an amazing way during His ministry that we simply don’t have enough books to tell of those accounts (John 21:25).
One of the synagogue rulers named Jairus came and bowed before Jesus, much in the same way that the demoniac had done. He, too, recognized the power and authority of Jesus, and so he “pleaded earnestly” for Him to heal his daughter (v22-23). This was another divine appointment, so Jesus went him (v24). But along the way, a woman with a long-term bleeding problem drew near with the rest of the crowd and touched Jesus’ robe (v25-28). Her condition was not only physically challenging, but financially, spiritually, emotionally, and socially devasting as well. While her faith immediately made her physically well (v29, 34), Jesus wanted and needed to restore her fully, which included a public demonstration of this faith healing. We may wonder with the disciples how Jesus knew that someone had touched Him in a healing sort of way, especially when so many people were rubbing up against Jesus as He strived through the crowd to follow Jairus (v30-31). Jesus did not want this woman to escape the value of His public blessing for her, so He sought her out (v32). She was compelled to return to Him (v33) in what was surely a traumatic effort on her part. She trembled with fear as she told Jesus – and the surrounding crowd – the challenges of the past 12 years of her life. Jesus simply called her, “Daughter” (v34), telling her to “go in peace” while affirming her faithful healed condition, which restored her in every other way besides the already granted physical healing. There would be no more suffering from this affliction for her.
What amazing pity and joy for this woman! Sadly, for Jairus, though, v35 reveals that his daughter died while this delay was occurring. It seems quite harsh for these men from his household to tell him not to bother the Teacher any longer. Thankfully, Jesus, as He has a remarkable capacity to do, ignores them and tells Jairus not to be afraid and instead to believe (v36). Do we take that simple command to heart? When fear enters our hearts and minds, as it clearly did for Jairus when learning of his daughter’s condition, do we think, “Have courage!” or “Take heart!”? The instruction of our Lord in these moments is to believe. What is it, exactly, that we are to believe? I think there are several elements to this belief, not the least of which is faith in the power and authority of Christ to make everything right in the end. That’s what brought Jairus to fall before Jesus in the first place, and so he believed. And faced with fear (or perhaps doubt), Jairus must continue to “just believe” (v36). Of course if you’ve gone any length as a Christian in this life, then that is the simplest part of your faith, that Jesus will make it right in the end. That’s both specific – regarding Jesus as the sole and perfect benefactor of your future – and also quite generic – after all, in this world we will have trouble (John 16:33). When we say, “God is able,” that’s this belief. When we say, “God will do X, Y, and Z in this specific circumstance,” that’s dangerous. But is that not what Jesus implies here with his command to Jairus not to fear but to believe? It sure seems that way; and Jairus honors the command, and we see in v42 that the specific desired end to this circumstance is fulfilled. Jairus’ daughter is raised to life, and astonishment abounded in the small group that witnessed this miracle.
Let us remember that God is never obligated to provide physical healing. Does He say He will provide it? Yes! Does He often provide it, probably in more ways and more often than we can ever understand? Yes! Will He provide it for eternity? Yes, of course! But does He always provide it in every specific and momentary circumstance for every believer? No. Is that because our faith is not strong enough? Or misdirected? Not necessarily. When Jesus prays, “Not My will, but Yours be done,” that’s an amazing model for us to remember. No one had greater faith than Jesus Himself, and His faith did not save Him from death; in fact, He acknowledges that it was for that purpose that He came in the first place (John 12:27). As David pointed out, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me” (Psalm 23:4). Faith is not about avoiding certain circumstances or bypassing sickness and death. Faith is about acknowledging the sovereignty and presence of God in all circumstances. This can be a hard lesson to learn, especially when we see so many examples of healing in the Bible – and that by the simple element of faith!
So the basic element of faith in God is belief that His will will be done, and that’s regardless of impact on me. As Job cries out, “Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15). Beyond that, we come to learn the salvific element of faith, that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). And more, that Jesus laid down His life for His friends, and He had the power to take it up again (John 10:18). So saving faith begins with belief in the accurate revealed identity of God and ends with the perfect work of His Son, Jesus, applied to His people by grace through faith in the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a gift in itself.
Back to our text, in v37 we see that Jesus only took His closest associates on further toward the place where Jairus’ daughter lay dead. That included Peter, James, and John. Jesus accosted the professional mourners on site at this solemn occasion by proclaiming that the girl was only sleeping and not dead (v39). The fact that they laughed at Him (v40) proves their insincerity with the wailing in the first place. Removing the unfaithful, Jesus was left with the girl, her parents, and His disciples (v41). He simply commanded the girl to rise, which, to everyone’s complete astonishment, she did immediately and proved her full healing by walking around (v41-42)! Her death was real; and her resurrection was real. And because it was still early in His ministry, Jesus strictly forbid the witnesses from proclaiming the news (v43). I find it interesting that Jesus told the demoniac to proclaim the good news in Gentile lands, but the Jews were not to reveal this miracle to others yet. This proves all the more that Jesus is in full control as the sovereign God-Man of His timeline and destiny. It was another divine appointment. Had yours yet?
Footnotes
- 5:1 Some manuscripts Gadarenes; other manuscripts Gergesenes
- 5:2 Greek unclean; also in verses 8 and 13
- 5:20 That is, the Ten Cities
Bible text from
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International Bible Society.