Mark 5

Mark 5:1

“Let us pass over unto the other side,” Jesus had said in chapter 4. And here in chapter 5, we see the disciples doing just that, for His Word always comes to pass. Leaving Capernaum on the north shore of the Sea of Galilee, it was a five-mile journey by water to Gadara, located on the eastern shore.

Mark 5:2

Unlike God, Satan is not omnipresent; he can’t be everywhere at once. So he carries out his work through demonic, or unclean, spiritsthe angels who fell with him when he rebelled against God (2Pe_2:4). And in this man of Gadara, we see the results of the demonization of an individual…

Mark 5:3

He was robbed of his family and friends. Dwelling among the tombs, infatuated with death and darkness, he was as good as dead. Secondly, he was robbed of sanity and self-control, hell-bent on his own destruction.

Mark 5:4

Notice what society did with this man. First, they sought to bind him with chains. We do the same. Statistics show, however, that 72 percent of those released from prison return for similar or worse crimes.

Mark 5:5

Second, society sought to isolate him. Luke tells us a guard actually stayed with him. But even he couldn’t stop the man’s propensity for annihilation.

Mark 5:6

It is neither society’s isolation nor its attempts at rehabilitation that will make a genuine, lasting difference in the lives of menbut only the hope of regeneration through this One who crossed through a storm to reach this man.

Mark 5:7

James says the devils believeand tremble (Jas_2:19). Demons know who Jesus is. And they quake in their boots when they are aware of His presence.

Mark 5:9

A legion is a Roman military term used to denote a unit of six thousand soldiers, so it is possible that there were thousands of demons within this man.

Mark 5:11

Jesus did not command the demons to go into the pigs. Rather, the demons requested it, and Jesus simply allowed it. It makes no difference to demons whether they inhabit people or pigs because they can make people into pigs by getting them to trade their God-given natures for animal behavior. In light of the current epidemic of teen suicide, I find it more than coincidental that the demons caused the pigs to prefer suicide to life.

Mark 5:14

Evidently, the fact that this man was torturing himself to death was less frightening to these people than the fact that he was now clothed and in his right mind.

Mark 5:16

Pigs were more important to these people than a man’s soul. The fact that they prioritized pigs above people should not shock us, however, when we see people petition and protest today on behalf of the spotted owl or snowy plover while they allow babies to be aborted by the hundreds of thousands.

Mark 5:18

How was this man delivered so completely that he wanted to stay with Jesus continually? By His Word. So, too, the weapons of our war are not carnal, but the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (2Co_10:4; Heb_4:12).

Mark 5:19

“You are the one who can witness most effectively to the people who knew you previously,” Jesus said to the man delivered from demons. “I want you to go home to those who knew you before and let them see the reality of My touch upon your life.” Remember once again that we are called not to be defense lawyers, prosecuting attorneys, judges, or juries. We’re called to be witnesses (Act_1:8). What does a witness do? He doesn’t argue the case. He doesn’t try to persuade or judge. He simply reports what he has seen. All too often, I believe, we’ve been intimidated by thinking we have to defend the veracity of the Bible, prove the fallacy of evolution, or justify church history. No, we’re simply called to be witnessesto share what the Lord has done in and for us.

Mark 5:20

There are three prayers offered in this story… “Let us go into the pigs,’ the demons cried. And Jesus said, “Go.” “Leave our region,” said the Gadarenes. And Jesus left. “I want to follow You,” said the previously demonized man. And Jesus said, “No.” When you and I wage war spiritually, when you and I petition and pray perhaps reverently, we must remember, even as this story illustrates so dramatically, that Jesus can say, “No,” and “No” is just as much an answer as “Yes.” In fact, “No” is sometimes what God reserves especially for those He loves. Why? In the case before us, Jesus answered the prayers of the demons and of an unbelieving, cynical, hostile society according to their request. But He answered the prayer of a believer in a way that changed his course rather than affirmed his request. No doubt, this once-demonized man was disappointed initially, but he realized he must keep the directive of his Deliverer and thus returned to speak to his communityhis obedience brought to fruition in church history, which records the group of believers that began to surface in the region. The church had a powerful expression in the areamost likely birthed by the man Jesus sent home. Take hope, dear friend. Your prayers not being answered in the way you desire are not indicative of God not hearing or not caringfor He only said, “No,” to the one who loved Him.

Mark 5:21

One crowd sighed with relief when Jesus left. On the other side of the lake, however, another crowd was set to receive.

Mark 5:22

Of the crowd set to receive Jesus, Mark draws attention to two individuals… The most visible member of the community, Jairus was famous. The woman was anonymous. Jairus was wealthy. The woman lived in poverty. Jairus was the leader of the synagogue. Because of her physical condition, the woman was forbidden from entering the synagogue. For twelve years, as his daughter grew, the house of Jairus was filled with laughter and joy. For twelve years, the house of the woman was filled with misery and despair. And so these two peopleat opposite ends of the spectrumwaited for Jesus. Like Jairus, you might be riding high. Your business might be booming. Your marriage might be blessed. Your family might be growing. Your body might be healthy. But you don’t know what the next moment holds. Before the clock strikes midnight tonight, you might find yourself totally, unexpectedly in the middle of a major tragedy. You and I do not know what the next moment holds. You who are Jairuses right now, realize this: Like this man, the next moment might bring tragedy into your world. Conversely, if, like the woman, you have either been going through an endless stream of setbacks or one persistent problem, you don’t know what the next hour holds. The next moment might bring you a miracle of astounding proportion. Pondering this keeps me from complacency when I feel like I’m in Jairus’ sandals, and from despairing when it seems like I’m standing in the woman’s shoes. Both of their stories remind me that the Lord is my Shield and my Protector. And if He allows difficulty, setback, or tragedy to come into my life, He will also be my Glory and the Lifter of my head (Psa_3:3).

Mark 5:27

As the woman broke through the crowd of people, she didn’t come to Jesus with great oration to impress Him. She simply reached out behind Him and touched the hem of His garment. But that was all it took. Why is it we think to receive from the Lord we have to impress Him with long prayers, lengthy fasts, or great discipline? If I can break through the crowd of my unbelief, apathy, and despair, and touch even the hem of His garment, I know I’ll be helped in my difficulty.

Mark 5:30

Did Jesus ask who touched Him because He wanted to embarrass the woman? No. I believe it was because He wanted to encourage Jairus…

Mark 5:34

Come on, Jesus. Let’s get going. My daughter’s dying, Jairus could have thought, not realizing that it was, in fact, the woman’s testimony that would be used to buoy his own faith. You see, the fact that he had seen a miracle in her would allow him to believe Jesus could also help him, even though his situation looked hopeless. So, too, when I wonder if the Lord can help me with any given problem, when I hear what the Lord is doing in your life, my own faith begins to grow.

Mark 5:36

“Only believe,” or, literally, “Keep on believing"even though everything looks impossible.

Mark 5:37

The presence of professional mourners would indicate that Jairus was a man of means.

Mark 5:39

The word “sleep” is the exact word Paul uses in 1 Corinthians 15 referring to the death of believers. Perhaps Jesus would whisper in our hearts concerning those who have gone on to be with the Lord or concerning those who are in the process of doing so, “Why make ye this ado and weep?” It’s not death the way the world thinks. “Today you shall be with Me in paradise,” Jesus said to the thief on the Cross. At the moment of death for a believer, the body sleeps, but the spirit celebrates in the presence of the Lord.

Mark 5:40

Like Jairus, when I’m seeking the Lord for help, when I’m in need of a miracle, I come to Him. I pour out my heart before Him. My faith might falteruntil I hear a testimony. Then it soarsuntil reports come in even more brutal than previous reports, my faith turns to fear. Then I hear Jesus saying, “Keep believing.” And I do. But then in my own heart, a laughing, a scorning, a mocking begins. Before Jesus could enter Jairus’ house and do a miracle, the mockers had to be put out. Why? Not only because without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Heb_11:6), but because the Holy One of Israel is limited by unbelief (Psa_78:41). Therefore, when the mockers start knocking, let faith answer the door. Don’t allow them to set up shop in your heart, to chuckle knowingly, to question cynically. Instead, listen to the Lord saying, “I desire to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you can ask or think"and put the mockers out.

Mark 5:41

Although I’ve seen self-proclaimed faith healers use this phrase, there’s nothing magical about it. It’s not what was said which brought Jairus’ daughter back to life. It was who said it.

Mark 5:42

Divine miracles never replace common-sense care. A miracle was done, but then Jesus said, “Make sure she gets some chicken soup.” I like that! The Word of the Servant brought victory over danger in the storm, over demons at Gadara, over disease in a woman, and even over death in a little girl. May we continue to believe in, embrace, speak out, and stand upon this glorious Word. For through it, like the disciples, we will indeed “pass over” no matter the storm.