Mark 5

CHAPTER 5THEME: Demoniac of Gadara; woman with issue of blood; daughter of Jairus raised from dead (supernatural)We come now to one of the most important chapters in the Gospel of Mark. I’m sure some of you are smiling now, because I think I say that about every chapter we study. Well, every chapter is the most important chapter when you are studying it! But this one is important because the Gospel of Mark is a Gospel of action. There are more of the miracles given in this Gospel than in any other, and in this chapter there are three outstanding miracles related. They could be performed only by the hand of Omnipotence. That is why I think this is a remarkable chapter. Let me say just a word today about demon possession. We promised it on several occasions in Matthew, and when we began Mark we said that we’d have something a little more detailed to say concerning it. This is the place.

Mark 5:1

DEMONIAC OF GADARAOur Lord had taught on the other side and had given them parables. He was weary and so had crossed the sea. The Gadarenes were the inhabitants of Gadara, and this is the land that was given to the tribe of Gad on the east side of the Jordan River. They were the ones who stayed on the east side, and now we find them in the pig business. You see, when you start away from God, you just keep going away from Him.

Mark 5:2

He’s “a man,” a human being. Note that first of all and write it down. He is in a desperate condition, but he is still a man. That is what the Lord Jesus sawa man. In spite of his condition, Jesus saw the man. His conduct suggests that the man was a maniac. Notice what it says about him.

Mark 5:3

This is a desperate case of a man possessed with an unclean spirit. He dwelt, which means he settled down, among the tombs. This is where he lived; this was his ghetto. The tombs were unclean places. The dead were there, and sometimes the bodies were exposed. He no longer enjoyed the society of normal men but he lived among the dead.

We find from Matthew that there was another man, but Mark and Luke center on this one. We gather that the other man was no companion to this man; nor, of course, were the dead any company to him. He was alone. Yet we are told that he possessed superhuman power; so they could not bind him. Just because a man demonstrates power which is supernatural does not prove that God gave it to him. This case is a typical example.

He was a wild man; no one could confine him. He was miserable. He suffered great physical harm which he inflicted on himself. He’s a creature of pathos and pity, and on the human plane he is a hopeless case. He’s inarticulate and just crying out. What an awful condition!

And all due to demon possession!

Mark 5:6

It was the man who worshiped Him, not the demon. He was afraid of Jesus. He suffered from what I suppose would be called spiritual schizophrenia, a split personality. Sometimes it is the man and sometimes it is the demon speaking. In verse Mar_5:7 it literally says, “What is there to thee and me?” That is, “What have we in common?” This poor manpossessed by demons!

Mark 5:9

The answer of this man is baffling but it’s not bad grammar. He says, “My name is …” indicating that the man was trying to speak, but then the demons take over and they say, “We are many.”

Mark 5:10

There is a tremendous occurrence presented to us here. The demons made a very peculiar request. They preferred swine to the abyss. The permission of Jesus here has been severely criticized by men who are liberal in their theology. Their objection has been that He would not destroy the swine, as the “gentle Jesus” wouldn’t do things like that. That’s nonsense, of course.

I was having breakfast in Chicago with a man who had gone into liberalism. I had known him in school, and he had been sound then, but the way he was talking about Jesus and describing Him was totally fictitious. And he used this illustration, saying he didn’t believe Jesus would destroy swine because that was such a terrible thing. Well, to begin with, these people shouldn’t have been in the pig business. The Mosaic Law forbade it. And then I reminded this fellow that the two thousand pigs destroyed here were insignificant compared to the pigs that were destroyed in the Flood at the time of Noah.

And the third interesting thing was that as we were having breakfast together, he was eating bacon. “Oh, my!” I said to him, “I wish the little piggie that you are eating this morning were here to tell you what he thinks of you, for you weep like the walrus and the carpenter.” (You remember, they just kept on eating the oysters but they wept because there was a lot of sand, not because they were eating the oysters. They wept for the wrong thing.) Well, I think we have a lot of that type of thinking about us today. Now let me come back and say some things about this matter of demon possession:

1. Not only Mark but all of the Scriptures bear definite witness to the reality of the demons. For those who accept the authority of Scripture, there must be an acceptance of the reality of demons.
2. They were especially evident during the ministry of Jesus but, of course, were not confined to that period. By the way, we’re living in a day right now when there is a resurgence and a manifestation of demonism again. Many illustrations of this could be given.
3. For some strange reason they seek to indwell mankind. They seek to manifest their evil nature through human beings. They are extremely restless. This description is clear. “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out” (Luk_11:24). Is this not the characteristic of all evil, even evil men? There is the restlessness of seeking expression of the evil nature. Good spirits never seek to take possession of men. The Holy Spirit is the one exception, and He only indwells believers. But as truly as He indwells believers, so demons can possess the unsaved. Demons cannot possess the saved. We are told that greater is He that in us (the Holy Spirit) than he that is in the world (Satan) (1Jn_4:4). Therefore, a child of God cannot be demon-possessed.
4. In this incident the demons would rather go into a herd of swine than the abyss. That is interesting to note.
5. They should be called demons and not devils. There is only one Devil. Our translation is faulty here. They are called “unclean spirits” because of their nature.
6. Scripture does not give us the origin of them. Anything I would say today would be highly speculative.
7. There seem to be many of them.
8. They are under the control of Satan. Now I said I would not speculate, but here I go. I’m of the opinion that when Satan fell, these were the angels that followed him. Now having said that, let’s not say any more.
9. Their purpose is the final undoing of man. They are certainly working on Satan’s program.
10. There are present-day examples of demon possession. We have Satan worship right in our own neighborhoods, and there are a lot of college students and professors who are engaged in it. They say they find reality in it. I think they do, by the way. I think that Satan is prepared to give reality to those who worship him. The all-important question is: what kind of reality do they find?
11. The Lord Jesus Christ has power over demons. That, I think, is the great lesson for us to learn. There is no reason for any believer to be afraid of demons or to adopt some superstition or spooky notion concerning them. If you feel that you are bothered with them, then just ask the Lord Jesus to deliver you. They have been cast out in His name, and it is a lack of faith in the Lord Jesus to walk in fear of them today. If you feel that they can control you in any way, or possess you, or direct you, then you need counselling. Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ has power over demons. There is a very pertinent poem written by Joseph Odell about this incident. You know that the people of Gadara came and asked the Lord Jesus to leave their coast. The reason was that they would rather have swine than have Him. That’s a rather heart-searching question for the present day because there are a lot of people who would rather have other thingsthat are just as bad as pigsthan to have Christ. Rabbi, begone! Thy powers Bring loss to us and ours. Our ways are not as Thine, Thou lovest men, weswine. Oh, get Thee hence, Omnipotence! And take this fool of Thine! His soul? What care we for his soul? What good to us that Thou has made him whole? Since we have lost our swine. And Christ went sadly, He had wrought for them a sign Of love and hope and tenderness divine They wanted swine. Christ stands without your door and gently knocks, But if your gold or swine the entrance blocks, He forces no man’s holdhe will depart And leave you to the treasures of your heart. No cumbered chamber will the Master share, But one swept bare By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fair With meekness and humility and prayer. There he will come, yet coming, even there He stands and waits and will no entrance win Until the latch be lifted from within. Joseph H. Odell

Mark 5:21

WOMAN WITH ISSUE OF BLOODThe next miracle is closely connected with the miracle of the raising of the daughter of Jairus. Now Jesus has returned again to His land. In telling this incident, it is interesting that Luke, who was a physician, said she couldn’t be healed. Mark says that she had suffered many things of the physicians, and she had spent all that she had. So we see that this matter of medical expense being so great today is not new at all.

Mark 5:29

The disciples thought it was a very peculiar question since the whole crowd was pressing in on Him. But only one touched Him in faith for healing! The situation is the same today. I think we have a lot of folk around who use the name of Jesus freely. They are running around saying that it is Jesus this, and Jesus that, and people think they certainly know Him. Surely they know Him, but they have touched Him as the crowd touched Himnot like this woman touched Him, for she touched Him in faith for healing.

Mark 5:32

She had been in this condition for twelve years. Did you notice that the little girl was twelve years old? Twelve years of suffering coming to an end and twelve years of light entering into darkness, the darkness of death. The father who had come, when he saw our Lord talking to this woman and dealing with her, I’m sure thought, Oh, why doesn’t He hurry? Doesn’t He know that my little girl is so sick at home that she’ll die unless He moves? Our Lord purposely did not move. He healed this woman, and while He is dealing with her one comes with a message, which is whispered to the father.

Mark 5:35

DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS RAISED FROM DEAD (SUPERNATURAL)So Jesus goes to the home and puts out those who don’t believe. When they were out, He goes in and the record tells us:

Mark 5:41

“Talitha cumi” was an expression of the Aramaic that the little girl would have understood. It was her native tongue and I think it could be translated “Little lamb, wake up!” That’s what he said to her and that is a sweet, lovely thing. We find that our Lord raised a little girl, He raised a man in the vigor of young manhood (the widow’s son at Nain), and then probably a mature man or even a senior citizen, Lazarus. He raised them all the same way. He spoke to them! I think this little girl represents the little folk, those little ones before they reach the age of accountability. And He said to her in this lovely way, “Little lamb, wake up.” I know right now I’m speaking to a lot of folk who have lost little ones. When we lost our first little one, what a sad thing it was for us. It’s wonderful for me to know that although she has been in His presence for many years, one of these days He’s going to speak those words again, “Little lamb, wake up!” He’ll be talking to my little lamb and to your little lamb. Then that little form that we laid away will be raised from the grave, the spirit joined to the glorified body, and we will again have our little ones some day. What a wonderful, beautiful thing this is. It is a demonstration of His power.

Mark 5:42

Isn’t that practical? If a twelve-year-old girl, or boy for that matter, were waked up from sleep and were made well, what would they want? Food, of course. So He told them to feed the little one. How practical this is and how wonderful it is. These are the three great miracles that to my judgment demonstrate the great message of the Gospel of Mark. He is God’s Servant with God’s power. He is a Man of action and He has come not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. Here we see Him in this chapter doing three wonderful miracles. He casts out demons from the man in Gadara. He heals the woman with an issue of blood. He raises this little twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus.