Christ's Innate Nature to Heal and Restore Life

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 5:21) And when Jesus had passed over again by ship to the other side, many people gathered to Him, and He was near to the sea.

Jesus left the Gadarenes as He had been asked to do and sailed by ship back to the other side again, to Capernaum.  He came onto the shore and many people gathered around Him.  

(22) And behold, there came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and when he saw Him, he fell at His feet.

From among the crowd that gathered around Jesus, there came to Him one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus.  When he saw Jesus, he fell down at His feet.

(23) And beseeched Him greatly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death; I pray You, come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she shall live."

Jairus begged Jesus to come with him.  His daughter was at the point of death, and he begged Jesus to come with him to lay His healing hands on her, that she might be healed and live.

(24) And Jesus went with him, and many people followed Him and thronged Him.

Jesus indeed went with the man, and a multitude of people followed after Him and crowded Him.

(25) And there was a certain woman who had had an issue of blood for twelve years.

Among the people who crowded around Jesus was a woman who had had an issue with bleeding for twelve years.  This issue of blood would have made her unclean in the eyes of the Jewish law for twelve years.  That is a perfect example of what sin does to a person.  Our sin makes us constantly and indefinitely unclean in the presence of God.

(26) And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and nothing was bettered but rather grew worse.

The woman had sought treatment from many doctors, spending all the money she had to be cured, but nothing had made her condition better; it had only worsened.

(27) When she had heard of Jesus, she came in the crowd behind and touched His garment.

When the woman had heard of the fame of Jesus and the miracles He wrought, she worked herself up through the crowd from behind to merely touch His garment.  She, perhaps, having spent twelve years being shunned, considered unclean, did not dare confront Him face to face, or perhaps she was just grabbing at Him the best she could from within the crowd.

(28) For she said, "If I may touch only His clothes, I shall be whole."

Regardless of what reason it was that brought her to touch only Jesus's clothes, the woman had faith that the mere touch to His garments would make her whole again.

(29) And immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

Immediately upon touching Jesus's garment, the woman's issue of blood was dried up, and she indeed felt whole and well again.  That is remarkable.  There was no conscious effort of Jesus to heal the woman, although we know that Jesus knew what was happening.  Just touching what was touching Him was enough to completely heal the woman on the spot!  I think that shows us that no matter how unworthy we feel we are in His presence, whatever move we make toward Jesus, if done with a faithful heart, Jesus will respond willingly to save us.

(30) And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?"

Jesus, of course, knew immediately that the woman had touched His garments and had been healed.  It was not from some diminishing of His virtue or strength that He knew.  He knew a healing had taken place and that had been from His very essence, an internal omnipresent virtue in Him to cure diseases.  He turned around in the crowd and asked who had touched His clothes, knowing full well who had touched them, but doing this for the witnesses to the miracle.

(31) And His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, "Who touched Me?'"

Jesus's disciples incredulously replied to Him that there was a whole crowd of people pressing against Him; how could He ask who it was who touched Him?

(32) And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. (33) But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth.

Jesus looked around and spotted the woman who had touched Him and had been healed.  She was very afraid and trembling.  She knew she had been healed, and she, in her unclean self, had dared to touch Jesus's garment to get that healing.  However, she came forth to Jesus, fell down before Him, and confessed all she had done and what was done for her.

(34) And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you whole; go in peace and be whole from your plague."

Jesus told the woman that her faith had healed her.  Of course, that meant faith in the One who could heal, not faith in itself.  I can't help but think that is where some Word of Faith believers miss the point.  They seem to act as though it is the faith itself that produces results.  "If only I had faith enough, it would have happened..."  I've got news for them.  If it is God's will, it will happen with or without your faith!  Likewise, if it is not in God's will, it will not happen, faith that it will happen or not!  Our faith is in Christ alone!  That woman had great faith in Him, yes, knowing He would heal, and that was fully within His will to do so.  He told her to go in peace, and not be afraid, and be whole and enjoy her healing from her plague.

(35) While He was still speaking, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain ones who said, "Your daughter is dead! Why trouble the Master any further?"

Jesus had been on His way to heal Jairus's daughter when He was interrupted by this woman with the blood issue.  He had been delayed, and now came word that Jairus's daughter had died and therefore, there was no further need to inconvenience Jesus.

(36) As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Be not afraid, only believe."

Jesus heard the message that was sent that Jairus's daughter had died, but He told him not to be afraid, but keep the faith, so to speak.  You can bet Jesus's delay was purposeful to demonstrate His power.

(37) And He permitted no man to follow Him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.

Jesus would not allow anyone to accompany Him to the ruler's house, except Peter, James, and John.  It was probably much easier than normal to disperse the crowd because they had likely heard the word that the little girl was already dead.  Probably Jesus did not want a huge crowd because He was humble and did not desire the applause of men; however, He took enough witnesses to make what would happen next "truth."  "In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." (Matthew 18:16)

(38) And He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw the tumult and those who wept and wailed greatly.

Jesus came into Jairus's house and saw all the people within the house, friends and relatives, weeping and wailing over the passing of the little girl.

(39) And when He had come in, He said to them, "Why make this ado and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleeping."

When Jesus came into the house, he asked the crowd why they were making such a fuss and weeping and wailing.  He told them the little girl was not dead, but only sleeping.

(40) And they laughed at Him in scorn. But when He had put them all out, He took the father and the mother of the damsel, and those who were with Him, and entered in where the damsel was lying.

Not realizing just who had addressed them, the people laughed and ridiculed Jesus for saying the girl was only sleeping.  Jesus, in turn, turned them out of the house.  I do believe there is a good lesson in this and also when Jesus dispersed the crowd from following Him to Jairus's house.  We don't need to have a group of naysayers and non-believers around us in such a moment.  We want believers and God-fearing folk with faith to support and uplift us.  We don't want to be drug down and have our faith diminished by those who don't believe.  A good model of this in the Old Testament was the Shunammite woman in Kings 4.  Elisha, through the power of God, had given her a son, but her son died.  She went straight to Elisha to deal with her problem.  Her husband and the servant of Elisha both asked about her concerns, and she told them both she was fine, even though she surely was not fine, but there was no need to tell her problems to those people who could not help her, and especially in the case of her husband, might even try to stop her.  

After Jesus had put all the naysayers out of Jairus's house, He, the parents of the girl, and the three disciples with Him went into where the girl lay.

(41) And He took the damsel by the hand and said to her, "Talitha cumi," which being interpreted is, "Damsel, I say to you, arise."

Jesus took the little girl's hand and told her to arise.  "Talitha cumi," Jesus's actual words are written here, and they literally mean, "Damsel, arise."  "I say to you" was a parenthetical phrase added by Mark to show it was by Jesus's own authority and power over death that He told her to rise up.

(42) And immediately the damsel arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

Indeed, the little girl got up and walked.  Mark made it a point to say that she could indeed walk because she was, after all, twelve years old.  Of course, all who witnessed this miracle were utterly amazed.

(43) And He charged them strictly that no man should know it, and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

Once again, Jesus commanded that they not tell anyone of the miracle.  Once again, I say that would be a hard thing to obey, when so many had seen the little girl dead.  However, Jesus did not want it spread far and wide as it was not the time to further enrage the scribes and Pharisees against Him.  He additionally commanded them to get the girl something to eat.  In this, He was letting the parents know that she was restored completely to human life with all the needs of it.  

With these two miracles, we see the innate nature of Christ to heal and to restore life.  He had power over sickness and even death.  Sin is a sickness with which we all suffer and the consequence of that is death, but Jesus came to conquer that death and to give us an abundant life:

"The thief comes not, but to steal and to kill and to destroy; I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly." (Jesus's words in John 10:10)

Jesus Heals the Man with a Legion of Demons

Continuing a Bible study of the Gospels:

(Mark 5:1) And they came over to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

At the end of the last chapter, Jesus had suggested to His disciples that they leave the shore at Capernaum and go across the Sea of Galilee to the other side.  That is what they did, and they now arrived at the shore in the country of the Gadarenes.  This appears to be the same country as of the Gergesenes and the Gerasenes.  Whether these are misspellings of the same country or whether more than one tribe of people lived within the country, I don't know, but that is not what is important.  The basic fact is that they left Capernaum and sailed to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

(2) And when He had come out of the ship, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, (3) Who had his dwelling among the tombs, and no man could bind him, not even with chains.

As soon as Jesus had landed and came out of the ship, He was met by a man who came from among tombs who had an unclean or evil spirit.  He apparently lived among the tombs, and no one was able to bind him.  John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, made an interesting point.  Did the man get the unclean spirit because he lived among the tombs, or did he live among the tombs because he had an unclean spirit?  If it was the first, then there lies a good lesson in why we should not involve ourselves in rituals with the spirits of the dead.

(4) Because he had often been bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces.  Neither could any man tame him.

It appears that efforts had been made to bind the man but to no avail.  He could break any chains or shackles and no man could tame him.

(5) And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

The man wandered among the mountains and the tombs, crying out, and cutting himself with stones.  I can't help but notice that it took four verses to describe this poor Satan-possessed man, an illustration of just what Satan can do to a soul if allowed.  

(6) But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped Him.

When the man saw Jesus, he ran to Him and worshiped Him.  Think about that!  He was so powerfully controlled by Satan and demons, but when he saw Jesus, he was compelled to fall down and worship Him.  Isaiah 45:23 says, "...unto Me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."

(7) And cried with a loud voice, and said, "What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the most high God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me."

At the same time the man was compelled to bow down to Jesus, he cried out by the spirit within him to Jesus, recognizing Him for who He was, and begging Him not to torment him.

(8) For He said to him, "Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!"

Apparently, Jesus had at the same time commanded that the evil spirit come out of the man, and the spirit begged that He not torment him.

(9) And He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion, for we are many."

Of course, Jesus would have known the name of the spirit, but for the learning of His disciples, witnesses, and even for us reading about this incident, He asked the name of the spirit.  His name was Legion, for actually he was the head of many spirits within that poor man.  Imagine that for a minute.  The evil spirits of Satan have names; they are evidently known entities in the spirit world.  There was a wonderful novel by Frank Peretti, This Present Darkness, about spiritual warfare.  Although it was fiction, it will open your eyes as to the spiritual warfare that goes on in the world.  It may also allow you to see people differently, when you are able to see that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against...spiritual wickedness..." (Ephesians 6:12).

(10) And he beseeched Him much that He would not send them away out of the country.

The spirit continued to beg Jesus, this time that He would not send them out of the country.  It seems odd that demon spirits would presume to ask Jesus to be permitted to stay in their present country.  Perhaps this was a heathen district where demon spirits could act with less restraint than in other places.  Still!  To be so presumptuous as to ask Jesus to allow them to stay!

(11) Now there was near to the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.

Near to the mountains where this confrontation was taking place, there was a large herd of swine feeding.

(12) And all the devils beseeched Him, saying, "Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them."

Then the whole legion of demon spirits begged Jesus to be sent into the herd of swine.  They longed to be anywhere rather than be expelled from the country.

(13) And immediately Jesus gave them permission. And the unclean spirits went out and entered into the swine; and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea (there were about two thousand) and was drowned in the sea.

Jesus at once gave them permission.  We learned from Job and even from Peter, that Satan must get permission from God to do anything to the bodies and souls of men.  But why does God allow it when He could easily say no.  God does not force us to do anything.  He gives us a choice.  He allows us to see what choosing the ways of Satan will bring.  Sometimes we must reach the very bottom before we realize our need for Jesus.  It's in His mercy that He gives us whatever we need to come to Him for salvation and eternal life.  

As Jesus gave them permission, the demon spirits went out of the man into the two thousand head of swine, and the herd ran violently off a cliff into the sea and drowned.  Again, one might question this.  After all, two thousand swine were obviously someone's property and living.  They had nothing to do with the legion of spirits within that man Jesus healed.  However, these were Jews living in this area, who should have had nothing to do with unclean animals like swine.  Destroying their livelihood could be what brought them to Jesus, and additionally allowed people throughout the ages to see the violence that demonic spirits could exercise within us.  All is God's and He may do with any of it as He pleases, but what He pleases is always for our ultimate good.

(14) And they who fed the swine fled and told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.

Those who were tending and feeding the swine fled after the swine went over the cliff, and told what had happened to people in the city and throughout the country.  People went out to see for themselves what it was that had taken place.

(15) And they came to Jesus and saw the one who had been possessed with the devil and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

People came out to see Jesus and the man who had been so demon-possessed.  The man no man could bind or tame was sitting clothed and in his right mind, and that terrified them.

(16) And they who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been possessed with the devil and concerning the swine.

Those who had been witnesses to the incident told the people who came just what had happened concerning the demon-possessed man and the herd of swine.

(17) And they began to call on Him to depart out of their borders.

The people were so fearful of what had happened that they implored Jesus to leave their region.  Rather than see the good Jesus did in healing the demon-possessed man, they feared that something bad might befall them as had happened with the herd of swine.

(18) And when He had come into the ship, he who had been possessed with the devil begged Him that he might be with Him.

Jesus was leaving as He had been asked to do and went onto the ship.  The man who had been demon-possessed begged Jesus to go along with Him.

(19) However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and has had compassion on you."

However, Jesus told the man to stay where he was, to go home, and tell all his friends what the Lord had done for him.  Rather than being called as a disciple, this man's purpose was to give his testimony of what the Lord had done for him.  We are not all called to be preachers, but some are called to witness right where they are planted.

(20) And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him, and all marveled.

The man departed Jesus and did just as Jesus had asked him.  He proclaimed throughout his country what Jesus had done for him.  Although Jesus was asked to leave and did not teach in that country, that man witnessed to its people, and all the people marveled at what they had been told.  That man did more good for his region staying planted where he was than he would have done going with Jesus.  What a beautiful example of what we can all do right where we are if God doesn't call us to some "greater" mission.  I put the word greater in quotes because who is to say what is greater?  That man may have brought more people to Christ, certainly in his region, than Christ Himself personally did, since He had been asked to leave.  All parts of the body of Christ are important; we don't all have the same purpose.  

This seems a good place to end this post and continue the chapter in the next.