Mark 5

Mark 5:1-20

**B. THE FIERCE DEMONIAC. 5:1-20.

TEXT 5:1-20**

And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. And when he was come out of the boat, straightway there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling in the tombs: and no man could any more bind him, no, not with a chain; because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been rent asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: and no man had strength to tame him. And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him; and crying out with a loud voice, he saith, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God, torment me not, For he said unto him, Come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the man. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he saith unto him, My name is Legion; for we are many, And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there on the mountain side a great herd of swine feeding. And they besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered into the swine: and the herd rushed down the steep into the sea, in number about two thousand; and they were choked in the sea. And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they came to see what it was that had come to pass. And they come to Jesus, and behold him that was possessed with devils sitting, clothed and in his right mind, even him that had the legion: and they were afraid. And they that saw it declared unto them how it befell him that was possessed with devils, and concerning the swine. And they began to beseech him to depart from their borders. And as he was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with devils besought him that he might be with him. And he suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and how he had mercy on thee. And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 5:1-20

Please locate on a map the country of Gerasenes.

It would seem the demons would run from Jesusnot to Himexplain.

What is a demon? Why are they called unclean.

State five facts about the demoniac?

What distinction is there in fetters and chains.

Was there more than one demon in the man? How many?

Why ask his name?

What torment did the demon expect from Jesus?

Why did not the demon wish to leave the country?

Why would demons wish to enter swine?

Wasn-’t it wrong to destroy the property of another?

Why ask Jesus to depart?

Why did the man who was healed wish to be with Jesus? Why did Jesus refuse?

Give two facts added by Matthew and Luke.

COMMENT

TIMEAutumn, A.D. 28. The morning after the stilling of the tempest on the Sea of Galilee, which followed the parables. PLACEThe country of the Gadarenes, on the southeastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. It was in the country of the Gergesenes (so named from Gergesa, the modern Gersa, directly across the lake from Tiberias), which was a portion of the larger region of the Gadarenes (so named from their capital, Gadara, a large city seven or eight miles southwest of the southern point of the lake). The demoniac may have belonged to Gadara, but have met Jesus in the vicinity of Gergesa. Gadara was one of the ten confederated Gentile cities which, with the district in which they were located, were called Decapolis (The Ten Cities). Though they were located in Palestine, yet in the time of Christ they had a Gentile instead of Jewish population. Matthew speaks in the parallel passage of the Gergesenes. The Gadarenes and Gergesenes were simply two different names for the same people. Gadara and Gergesa were in the same district. Mark and Luke, in this account, speak of the Gadarenes, while Matthew calls the people the Gergesenes. This difference for a long time caused a difficulty to biblical students and caused rationalists to throw a doubt over the whole narrative. Gadara is three hours-’ journey south of the lake and it is not likely that the miracle was wrought there. The discovery of Gergesa, now called Gersa, on the eastern shore of the lake and on the borders of the district of Gadara, has made all plain. This discovery, made by Dr. Thompson (Land and Book, Vol, II, pp. 34, 35), reconciles every difficulty. Two of the writers, writing for Gentiles, mention Gadara, one of the best known Gentile cities of Palestine, in the territories of which it occurred, while Matthew, a tax-gatherer on the shores of the lake and familiar with every locality upon its borders, mentions the obscure village, right on the shores, where it took place. The modern Gersa, or Chersa, is within a few rods of the shore. A mountain rises immediately above it, so near the shore that the swine rushing madly down could not stop, but would be inevitably driven into the sea and drowned; the ruins of ancient tombs are still found on this mountain side, and Capernaum was in full view over against it (Luke 8:26) on the other side. See map of Sea of Galilee.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 8:28-33; Luke 8:26-39.

OUTLINE1. The Gadarene Demoniac. 2. The Legion and the Swine. 3. Christ and the Gadarenes.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE GADARENE DEMONIAC. Mark 5:1-8.

The Lord Crosses to Gergesa. Mark 5:1; Matthew 8:30; Luke 8:26.

The Fierce Demoniacs. Mark 5:2-5; Matthew 8:30; Luke 8:27.

Runs and Appeals to Christ. Mark 5:6-7; Matthew 8:29; Luke 8:28.

II.

THE LEGION AND THE SWINE, Mark 5:9-13.

The Name Legion, Mark 5:9; Luke 8:30.

The Appeal of the Demons. Mark 5:10-11; Matthew 8:31; Luke 8:32.

The Maddened Swine. Mark 5:13; Matthew 8:32; Luke 8:33.

III.

CHRIST AND THE GADARENES. Mark 5:14-20.

The Gadarenes Hear and See, Mark 5:14-16; Matthew 8:33; Luke 8:35.

Desire Christ to Depart. Mark 5:17; Matthew 8:34; Luke 8:37.

A Home Missionary. Mark 5:20; Luke 8:39.

INTRODUCTION

After the discourse in parables, in the evening the Savior with his apostles embarked to the other side of the lake. On the way a great storm arose, which filled the disciples with terror, but was quieted at the voice of the Lord. Crossing over to the southeastern shore of the lake they disembarked in the country of the Gadarenes. On the voyage the Lord quelled the storm of winds and waves; across the sea he quelled a fiercer storm in a human soul. There is something very striking in the connection in which this miracle stands with that other which went immediately before. Our Lord has just shown himself as the pacifier of the tumults and the discords in the outward world. But there is something wilder and more fearful than the winds and the waves in their fiercest moodseven the spirit of man, when it has broken loose from all restraints, and yielded itself to be the organ, not of God, but of him who brings uttermost confusion wheresoever his dominion reaches. And Christ will do here a mightier work than that which he accomplished there: he will speak, and at his potent word this madder strife, this blinder rage, which is in the heart of man, will allay itself; and here also there shall be a great calm.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I. THE GADARENE DEMONIAC.Mark 5:1. In the country of the Gadarenes. See remarks above on the PLACES. Gadara was a great city which gave name to all the people in the district, while Gergesa was a small village on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

Mark 5:2. There met him out of the tombs. Matthew mentions two demoniacs, while Mark and Luke speak only of one, probably the fiercer of the two. When the Savior and his disciples landed, the demoniac, with his companion, starting from the tombs, which were their ordinary dwelling-place, rushed down to encounter the intruders that had dared to set foot on their domain. Or it may have been that they were at once drawn to Christ by the secret instinctive feeling that he was their helper, and driven from him by the sense of the awful gulf that divided them from him, the Holy One of God. The tombs were caves formed by nature, or cut in the rocks, with cells at the sides for the reception of the dead. They were ceremonially unclean (Numbers 19:11; Numbers 19:16; Matthew 23:27; Luke 11:44), and dwelling in them was of itself a sign of degradation. With an unclean spirit. A demon; called unclean because it produced uncleanness of body and of soul; the exact opposite of pure. It is not easy to answer the question, What was this demoniacal possession? But we may gather from the gospel narrative some important ingredients for our description. The demoniac was one whose being was strangely interpenetrated by one or more of those fallen spirits, who are constantly asserted in Scripture (under the name of demons, evil spirits, unclean spirits, their chief being the devil, or Satan) to be the enemies and tempters of the souls of men. He stood in a totally different position from the abandoned, wicked man, who morally is given over to the devil. This latter would be a subject for punishment, but the demoniac for deepest compassion. There appears to have been in him a double will and double consciousnesssometimes the cruel spirit thinking and speaking in him, sometimes his poor crushed self crying out to the Savior of men for mercy; a terrible advantage taken, and a personal realization, by the malignant powers of evil, of the fierce struggle between sense and conscience in the man of morally divided life. It has been not improbably supposed that some of these demoniacs may have arrived at their dreadful state through various progressive degrees of guilt and sensual abandonment. Lavish sin, and especially indulgence in sensual lusts, superinducing, as it would often, a weakness in the nervous system, which is the especial bond between body and soul, may have laid open these unhappy ones to the fearful incursions of the powers of darkness.Alford. To the frequent inquiry, How comes it that similar possessions do not occur at the present day? it may be answered: (1) It cannot be proved that they do not sometimes occur even now. It cannot be said that in many cases of insanity, and in some cases of spiritualism, the malady may not be traced to the direct agency of demons. (2) But, admitting that such possessions are not common, yet there was a reason in our Savior’s day for the external manifestation of Satan’s power. The crisis of the moral history of the world was at hand. The devil was allowed to exercise unusual power in temptation on the souls and bodies of men, in order that Christ might meet him openly and manifest his power in his victory over him. When God was manifested in the flesh, then demons may have been permitted to manifest themselves specially among men.Clark.

Mark 5:3. Had his dwelling among the tombs. This implies habitual residence, and long absence from the homes of the living. Evil or unclean spirits are generally represented as haunting waste, desolate places and tombs. The tombs are not infrequently used in Palestine by certain of the poorer classes as dwelling-places. Their character (caves cut in the rock) makes them a perfect shelter. No man could bind him. The better MSS. give, no man could any longer bind him, The attempt had been so often made and baffled that it had been given up in despair.

Mark 5:4. Bound with fetters and chains. The case was probably one of long standing, and repeated efforts had been made to confine him (Luke 8:29). Fetters were for the feet, chains for any other part of the body.Schaff. Luke says (Luke 8:29), that oftentimes it (the unclean spirit) had caught him; and, after mentioning how they had vainly tried to bind him with chains and fetters, because he brake the bands, he adds, and was driven of the devil (or demon) into the wilderness. The dark tyrant-power by which he was held clothed him with superhuman strength, and made him scorn restraint. Matthew (Matthew 8:28) says he was exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. He was the terror of the whole locality.J. F. and B, Chains had been plucked asunder. This is nowise incredible; for there are still some forms of mania in which the sufferer, notwithstanding the constant exhaustion of mind and body, gains a daily increase of muscular strength, and is able to break the strongest bonds and even chains.Kitto.

Mark 5:5. Night and day. in the tombs. It is a sad story that is told of the unfortunate. He wandered about night and day in the solitudes, like a spectre, but crying aloud like a ravenous beast. Cutting himself with stones. There is sometimes a strong propensity in maniacs to wound and even maim themselves. V. Swieten says that he himself saw a maniac who lacerated all the integuments of his body, and who, during the inclemency of a severe winter, lay naked on straw for weeks, in a place rough with stones.

Mark 5:6. Ran and worshipped him, Probably when he saw him land he ran from his lurking place among the tombs on the mountain side. There seems to be a kind of double life in the man; one his own, and the other the overpowering influence of the spirit that possessed him. Olshausen refers the act of going to Jesus, and bowing down before him, to the man in contradistinction to the demon. The man wanted help, and sought it in Jesus; and the will of the demon trying to overpower him made the terrible paroxysms of conflict, Godet says: He felt himself at once attracted and repelled by Jesus; this led to a violent crisis in him, which revealed itself first of all in a cry. Then, like some ferocious beast submitting to the power of his subduer, he runs and kneels, protesting all the time, in the name of the spirit of which he is still the organ, against the power which is exerted over him.

Mark 5:7. Cried with a loud voice. It was the man’s voice that cried out, but it was the controlling spirit that dictated the words. He had not the control of his own organs, just as I have seen those under hypnotic influence who could not control their words or thoughts. It is no uncommon thing in our time for a person to be absolutely under the influence of another will. What have I to do with thee? What have we in common? Why interferest thou with us? Why wilt thou not let us alone? Son of the most high God. The spirits, who had possession of the poor man’s body, wielded his organism of speech as if it were their own. These demons knew the Lord and confessed him. The demons believe and tremble. I adjure thee by God. To adjure is to entreat solemnly, as if under oath, or the penalty of a curse. This is the language of the demon, not of the man; not a mere blasphemy, but a plausible argument. Nothing is more common than swearing by God, on the part of the ungodly, the infidel, and even the atheistic. Torment me not. In Matthew, Art thou come hither to torment us before the time? i.e.; we implore thee to deal with us as God himself does; not to precipitate our final doom, but to prolong the respite we now enjoy.Alexander.

Mark 5:8. Come out of the man. Leave him; no more control him.

II. THE LEGION AND THE SWINE.Mark 5:9. What is thy name? The Lord asks this question of the afflicted man. For what purpose? There is nothing so suitable as a calm and simple question to bring a madman to himself. There is no more natural way of awakening in a man who is beside himself the consciousness of his own personality than to make him tell his own name. A man’s name becomes the expression of his character, and a summary of the history of his life. The first condition of any cure of this afflicted man was a return to the distinct feeling of his own personality. And he answered. The man was asked, but the demon answered, showing his entire mastery over him. My name is Legion, the unclean spirit answers. The Roman legion consisted of about six thousand. The word had come to signify any large number, with the ideas of order and subordination. It is about equivalent to host, and explained by the unclean spirit himself: For we are many. One chief, superior one, with inferior ones under him.

Mark 5:10. He besought him. not send them out of the country. He is used in the singular because the man speaks, but he speaks under the influence of the spirits, and pleads for them. The petition of the devils may be regarded as equivalent to, Send us anywhere, anywhere but to perdition; send us to the most shattered man; send us to the lowest creature, into man or beast, bird or reptile, anywhere but to hell! The demons knew well that Christ had come to destroy the power of the devil, and had already (Mark 5:7) implored, Torment me not.

Mark 5:11. There was there nigh unto the mountains. The Revision says: Now there was there on the mountain side a great herd of swine feeding. The mountain rises a short distance from the lake. A great herd of swine feeding. They were the property either of Gentiles, or of Jews engaged in a traffic which was unclean according to the Mosaic law.

Mark 5:12. The devils besought him. .. Send us, etc. How could there it is asked, be such a desire on the part of the demons? Why should there not? we would answer. The wish might, on their part, be a mere outburst of wantonness. Or there might be eagerness for anything on which to wreak their evil energy. They might be wishing, as Richard Baxter has it, to play a small game, rather than none. Or there might be cunning malice in their intentmalice toward Christ and toward all the other parties concerned.Morison. They aimed at this, that they might move the owners of the herd, and the rest of the people of the country, to be discontented at our Savior.Petter.

Mark 5:13. Forthwith Jesus gave them leave. The fact is stated, but why he should have granted their request is in part conjecture. The following reasons have been suggested: (1) To show the disciples Christ’s control over the movements of the spirits. (2) To test the Gergesenes. (3) To make the miracle more notorious, and thus to enhance the effect of the cured demoniac’s preaching. (4) The owners, if Jews, drove an illegal trade; if heathens, they insulted the national religion; in either case the permission was just. Ran violently down a steep place. Not a cliff, but a steep beach. The declivity at the base of the mountain at Gersa is said to be almost perpendicular. The bluff behind is so steep, and the shore so narrow, that a herd of swine, rushing frantically down, must certainly have been overwhelmed in the sea before they could recover themselves. Tristram’s Land of Israel. About two thousand. Immense herds of swine were kept in many provinces of the Roman Empire specially for the provisionment of the Army. A heavy loss was certainly recognized by the people of the city.Cook. Why should they have destroyed the herd of swine, and so deprived themselves, so to speak, of a terrestrial abode? Perhaps the act of the swine was the result of panic, and in spite of the evil spirits. It is the very nature of evil thus to outwit itself.

III. CHRIST AND THE GADARENES.Mark 5:14. They that fed the swine. The herdsmen, fled affrighted, in consternation at the loss and the marvel, to the city, to Gergesa or Gadara.

Mark 5:15. They come to Jesus. Matthew says (Mark 8:34), Behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. Note the present come. The Evangelist begins to depict the scene as if he and we were present in the midst of it and looking on. See him that was possessed. And (they) behold the demoniac sitting clothed and in sound mind. Note the word behold. It is more than see. They gaze upon the man. Sitting and clothed. There is a fine harmony between the statement that the demoniac was now clothed, and the statement in Luke that formerly he ware no clothes (Mark 8:27). The contrast of the man’s former condition sets off to advantage the marvel of his present state. They were afraid. They felt in the presence of a power which inspired them with awe and alarm. It might, for aught that they could comprehend, be something weird or uncanny. There was, moreover, the terror of a guilty conscience.

Mark 5:16. And also concerning the swine. A notable climax. The people who had witnessed the transaction tell the citizens what had been done for the demoniac and about the swinetheir swine: that settled their minds. They cared far more for the swine, than for the man who had been healed. They would rather have swine than Christ.

Mark 5:17. They began to pray him to depart. Jesus had overcome the rage of the storm that met him when approaching their coast. He had cast out the legion of devils that opposed his entrance into their country. The only thing which could effectually turn away the Savior was the will of man. Christ appears never to have visited the country of the Gadarenes again. He does not abide where he is not wanted.

Mark 5:18. Prayed. that he might be with him. Was it that he feared, lest in the absence of his deliverer the powers of hell should regain their dominion over him, and only felt safe in immediate nearness to him? or merely that out of the depth of his gratitude he desired henceforth to be a follower of him to whom he owed this mighty benefit?Trench.

Mark 5:19. Jesus suffered him not. To be a missionary for Christ, in the region where he was so well known and so long dreaded, was a far nobler calling than to follow him where nobody had ever heard of him, and where other trophies, not less illustrious, could be raised by the same power and grace. Go home to thy friends. The first act God requires of a convert is, Be fruitful. The good man’s goodness lies not hidden in himself alone: he is still strengthening his weaker brother. All are not called on to be foreign missionaries. The Lord called upon this man to become a home missionary.

Mark 5:20. In Decapolis (ten cities). The region (of ten cities east of the Jordan) of which this immediate district formed a part. The healed man became a preacher, not only where Christ had been rejected, but where he had not gone. His message was his own experience. How much his preaching effected history does not record, but we know that near forty years later this district of Decapolis became the refuge of the church of Jerusalem when that city was destroyed.

FACT QUESTIONS 5:1-20

Gadara was a great —-. while Gergesa was a small —- on the shores of the Sea of Galilee

Was there only one demoniac? Explain the reference in Matthew to two.

Why dwell in the tombs?

Why call a demon an unclean spirit?

In what sense did a demon possessed man stand in totally different position from the abandoned, wicked man, who morally is given over to the devil?

How have some imagined that men became demon possessed?

Give two answers to the question, do we have demon possession today?

What had been done to bind this wild one?

Isn-’t it incredible that this one would have such superhuman strength?

Why did he cut himself?

Show how the man was both attracted and repelled by Jesus.

What is meant by I adjure thee by God?

Why ask the man his name?

What is meant by the name Legion?

What is the thought of send us not out of the country?

Why ask to go into the swine?

Show three possible answers as to why Jesus gave permission for the demons to enter the swine.

Show how the traffic in swine was wrong i.e. the raising and selling swine was wrong for both Gentiles and Jews.

Just where did they enter the Sea?

What caused the whole city to come out to see Jesus?

What was the response of the crowd when they saw the former demon possessed man?

What is the only thing that can effectually turn the Savior away?

What was the far nobler calling of the man who was healed?

Where and what was Decapolis?

Mark 5:1-43

SUMMARY 4:345:43

The argument of this section is the same as that of the corresponding section in Matthew. (See Matthew 8:1 to Matthew 9:35.) It proves the divine power of Jesus by showing that he could control by a word the winds and the waves of the sea; could direct and compel the movements of demons; could by his touch remove incurable diseases; and could instantly raise the dead. In other words, it proves the Sufficiency of his power to save to the uttermost all who come to him, by proving that all the dangers to which we are exposed, whether from the forces of the physical world, the malice of evil spirits, the power of disease, or the hand of death, may be averted at his command, and that they will be in behalf of all who put themselves under his protection.

A very marked distinction is observable between Mark’s treatment of this argument, and that adopted by Matthew. The latter presents an array of ten miracles without much elaboration of any one of them; the former selects four out of the ten, and devotes almost as much space to these as Matthew does to the ten. The one writer depends more on the number of miracles reported, and the other on the character of those selected and on the minuteness with which they are described. Each mode of treatment has its advantages, and the wisdom of God is displayed in giving us both.McGarvey.

Mark 5:21-24

4. THE RAISING OF JAIRUS DAUGHTER 5:21-43.

a. The urgent request of Jairus. 5:21-24

TEXT 5:21-24

And when Jesus had crossed over again in the boat unto the other side, a great multitude was gathered unto him: and he was by the sea. And there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and seeing him, he falleth at his feet, and beseecheth him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death: I pray thee, that thou come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be made whole, and live. And he went with him; and a great multitude followed him, and they thronged him.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 5:21-24

Where did the boat land in which Jesus crossed the Sea? Who was there to meet Him?

What is meant by the expression rulers of the synagogue.

Show the humility and sincerity of Jairus.

Why call his daughter My little daughter?

Why was the multitude so interested?

COMMENT

TIMEAutumn, A.D. 28. Probably in the afternoon of the same day He healed the demoniac. PLACECapernaumat the house of Matthew.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 9:18-19; Luke 8:40-42.

OUTLINE1. Jesus comes back to Capernaum, Mark 5:21. 2. Jairushis needhis request, Mark 5:22-23. 3. Jesus goes with him, Mark 5:24.

ANALYSIS

Since this is but the beginning of the incident we will offer an analysis in the later section.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Mark 5:21. The miracle on the eastern side of the lake took place in the early morning, and later in the day Jesus and his company were back on the western side, but not in the town of Capernaum. He was nigh unto the sea, and there the crowd gathered to him, having been waiting (Luke) for his return. Possibly the change in his mode of teaching and the introduction of parables had for the time quickened the popular curiosity.

Mark 5:22-24. One of the rulers of the synagogue. Presumably the synagogue in Capernaum, though nothing positively determines the place.The name Jairus is the Greek form of the Hebrew Jair; it is the name of one who was a great man at the conquest of Canaan (Deuteronomy 3:14), and later of one of the Judges of Israel (Judges 10:3-5). Of Jairus nothing is known except what is recorded here, If, as is probably the case, he was a ruler of the synagogue in Capernaum, he would naturally be one of those who were sent by the centurion who had built a synagogue to intercede for him when his servant was sick (Luke 7:3). In that case he would be no stranger to the healing power of Jesus, and his confidence would be fully explained.His eagerness appears in his falling down at Jesus-’ feet and his entreating him greatly, muchi.e. earnestly and persistently.My little daughter lieth at the point of death. The phrase eschatos echei, paraphrased at the point of death, is late Greek, and is said to have been condemned by the grammarians as bad Greek. Luke says that he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying, not lay a dying. Thus Mark and Luke agree perfectly in their statement; but, in Matthew, Jairus says, My daughter just now died. The Greek verb is in the aorist, and is even now dead is not a good translation of it: that she has died already is distinctly affirmed. But the discrepancy is much less than one might think. Matthew tells the story compendiously; he omits all reference to the subsequent message from the house, in which the tidings of her death are brought; and he groups the two communications in one, making Jairus tell the whole in a single sentence. He gathers into this first request all the information about the case that was brought to Jesus before he reached the house. In Luke the request is only that he will come to the house; in Mark and Matthew the request is added that he will lay his hands upon her, with the full expression of confidence that that will be the means ofrestorationaccording to the story as it is in Mark, of restoration from the verge of death; according to Matthew, of restoration from death itself, A beautiful example of confident resorting to the grace and power of the Saviour. It was not in vain; no refusal awaited such an appeal. The request was brought to the lake-shore, where Jesus arrived in the boat, What he was doing we are not told; perhaps he had not had time to begin; or Jairus may even have been among those who were waiting for him when he came.The crowd heard the request, and followed, as Jesus went with him, up from the lakeside into the town. He let them follow for a part of the way, not turning them back until his own time had come. He was not helpless in the matter; he did escape from the crowd when he was ready to insist upon it. Both in Mark and in Luke the words that describe the pressure of the throng are very strong words; in Luke, crowd to suffocation well represents it. Not much rest for our Saviour after the overpowering weariness of the previous eveningonly the sleep on the boat. The healing and the repulse across the lake, a crowd waiting for him on his return, and now a call to go and givelife to a dying child! But his compassion never failed, and he never considered himself. We have no reason to imagine that any consideration of himself ever held him back from a deed of love. He was the one perfectly unselfish Being, never false to this divine character. God is the unselfish One, and Christ is the manifestation of God. (W. N. Clarke).

FACT QUESTIONS 5:21-24

Are we to understand that Jesus came back on the same day He delivered the two demoniacs? Did He use the same boat?

Please read Matthew 9:18-19 and get the connection of the feast of Matthew. Just when did Jairus come to Jesus?

Why did Jairus fall at Jesus feet? There could have been at least two reasons; discover them.

Why ask Jesus to place His hands upon the girl?

If she was made whole wouldn-’t she live? Why the two expressions?

Why mention the press of the crowd?

Mark 5:25-34

**b. THE TIMID WOMAN’S TOUCH 5:25-34

TEXT 5:25-34**

And a woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, having heard the things concerning Jesus, came in the crowd behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I touch but his garments, I shall be made whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her plague. And straightway Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power proceeding from him had gone forth, turned him about in the crowd, and said, Who touched my garments? And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 5:25-34

What is an issue of blood?

Why mention the fact she had suffered from the physicians?

What had it cost this woman to find out she could not be helped?

What had she heard about Jesus?

Show the determination and faith of this woman.

What was it that healed the woman?

How can we explain the perception of Jesus in this case?; was this true everytime He healed someone?

Did Jesus know who touched Him before He asked the question?

Hadn-’t others touched Him?; why no effect?

Did Jesus see the woman when He looked about the crowd?

Why did the woman make the confession she did?

Why refer to the woman as daughter?

How is the word whole or saved used in this connection?

COMMENT

TIMEAutumn, A. D. 28. Probably in the afternoon of the same day that Christ healed the demoniac of Gadara, or on a day or two after.

PLACE.Capernaum. At the house of Matthew; on the way to the house of Jairus; at the house of Jairusall within or near the city. A comparison of the three accounts makes it probable that the Lord was at the house of Matthew, at a feast, when Jairus sent for him to save the life of his daughter, and that the woman was healed while he was on the way. PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 9:18-26; Luke 8:41-56. See also Matthew 9:10-17, for intervening incidents.

OUTLINE.1. The Woman’s Faith. 2. The Woman Healed. 3. The Woman’s Confession.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE WOMAN’S FAITH. Mark 5:25-28.

The Suffering Woman. Mark 5:25-26; Matthew 9:20; Luke 8:43.

She Touches Christ. Mark 5:27; Matthew 9:20; Luke 8:44.

Moved by Faith. Mark 5:28; Matthew 9:21.

II.

THE WOMAN HEALED. Mark 5:29-31.

Saved by Faith. Mark 5:29; Matthew 9:22; Luke 8:44.

The Secret Made Manifest. Mark 5:30; Luke 8:46.

III.

THE WOMAN’S CONFESSION. Mark 5:32-34.

The Woman at the Feet of Christ. Mark 5:33; Luke 8:47.

The Sympathy of Christ. Mark 5:34; Matthew 9:22; Luke 8:48.

INTERVENING HISTORY.Having been besought by the Gadarenes to leave their country, Christ passes over the lake again to the western side, to Capernaum, where he was immediately surrounded by the multitude, who had been waiting for him. Being invited by Matthew to a feast at his house, he there held conversation with some Pharisees, and afterwards with some disciples of John (Matthew 9:10-17). While yet speaking with them, Jairus, a ruler of the Capernaum synagogue, came to him, praying him to heal his daughter. While on his way the woman with the issue of blood, timidly pressed through the throng, touched him and was healed.

INTRODUCTION

The following from Farrar’s Life of Christ gives a bird’s eye view of the whole incident and its meaning. Among the throng there was one who had not been attracted by curiosity to witness what would be done for the ruler of the synagogue. It was a woman who had suffered for twelve years from a distressing malady, which unfitted her for all of the relationships of life, and which was peculiarly afflicting, because, in the popular mind it was the direct result of sinful habits. In vain had she wasted her substance, and done fresh injury to her health in the direct effort to procure relief from many different physicians, and now, as a last desperate resource, she would try what could be gained without money and without price from the great Physician. Perhaps, in her ignorance, it was because she no longer had any reward to offer; perhaps because she was ashamed in her feminine modesty to reveal the malady from which she was suffering; but from whatever cause, she determined, as it were, to steal from him, unknown, the blessing for which she longed. And so, with the strength and pertinacity of despair, she struggled in that dense throng until she was near enough to touch him; and then, perhaps all the more violently from her extreme nervousness, she grasped the white fringe of his robe. It was probably the tassel that she touched, and then feeling instantly that she had gained her desire and was healed, she shrank back unnoticed into the throng. Unnoticed by others but not Christ, who stopped and asked, Who touched me? * * * She perceiving that she erred in trying to filch a blessing that would have been graciously bestowed, came forward fearing and trembling, and, flinging herself at his feet, told him all the truth. All her feminine shame and fear were forgotten in her desire to atone for her fault. Doubtless she dreaded his anger, for the law expressly ordained that the touch of one afflicted as she was, caused ceremonial uncleanness until the evening. But his touch had cleansed her, not hers polluted him.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I. THE WOMAN’S FAITH.Mark 5:25. And a certain women. Like many of the New Testament characters this woman appears once and then disappears to be seen no more. Tradition has been busy weaving a fiction to supply the lack of facts. Eusebius records a tradition that she was a Gentile, a resident of Cesarea Philippi (or Banias), It is reported that she caused to be erected in front of her residence a bronze monument in commemoration of her cure, It consisted of two statues, one representing herself in the attitude of supplication; the other, her Deliverer. Elsewhere she appears under the name Veronica, who, in the presence of Pilate, proclaimed the innocence of Jesus, and on the way to Golgotha wiped his face with her handkerchief. Dismissing these fables the suggestion of Dr. W. Thompson is more to the point: I think the circumstances of the New Testament narrative render the inference almost certain that this account was meant for the consolation of those multitudes of stricken women in all ages who seem to be afflicted with sorrows in very unequal measure, compared with the stronger, and so generally, also, the more depraved sex. An issue of blood. A hemorrhage either from the bowels or the womb, probably the latter. The precise nature of the malady is of no importance. Instead of dwelling upon this point the evangelists direct attention to its long continuance and hopeless state. Perhaps the reason she turned to Jesus was that she had spent all and had nothing left to tempt the cupidity of the quack doctors. Had they not secured all she had, they would still have some way to excite her hopes. It is when our earthly resources are at an end, and human helps are powerless, that we are ready to go to the great Physician with the ailments of the soul. How sad her condition! Impoverished, sick, growing worse, helpless!

Mark 5:27. When she had heard of Jesus. She had never met him, did not it is probable live at Capernaum, but she had heard of the wonderful teacher, and of his divine power over disease. She had, it would appear, made herself acquainted with his character and conduct, with the facts of his career, and had thence come to believe that he was full of a divine and gracious energy. Came in the press behind and touched his garment (Matthew and Luke give it, hem or border of his garment); or rather, approaching from behind, touched the tassel of his outer robe. The word which we translate by the hem of the garment denotes one of the four tassels or tufts of woollen cord attached to the four corners of the outer robe. The ordinary outer Jewish garment was a square or oblong piece of cloth (worn something like an Indian blanket, or with a hole in the center for the neck) with tassels at each corner, and a fringe along the two edges. A conspicuous deep blue thread was required to be in the tassels (Numbers 15:38-40. Deuteronomy 22:12). One of the four tassels hung over the shoulder at the back, and this was the one which the woman touched.

Mark 5:28. For she said. Matthew says, within herself; but it is possible that she may have murmured it again and again as she tried to get through the crowd.Schaff. If I may touch but his clothes. She was timid, not doubtful. It is implied that she wished only to touch some part of his clothes, no matter which. She may have looked for some magical influence, but twelve years in the hands of physicians in those days would certainly excuse such a thought. If I but touch his clothes. This woman’s faith was real, notwithstanding many errors. Trench says; it would appear as though she imagined a certain magical influence and virtue diffused through his person and round about him, with which if she could put herself in relation, she would obtain that which she desired. And it is probable that she touched the hem of his garment, not merely as the extremest part most easily reached, but attributing to it a peculiar virtue. The error of her view was overborne, and her weakness of apprehension of truth covered, by the strength of her faith. And this is a most encouraging miracle for us to recollect when we are disposed to think despondingly of the ignorance or superstition of much of the Christian world: that He who accepted this woman for her faith, even in error and weakness, may accept them.Alford.

II. THE WOMAN HEALED.Mark 5:29. She felt in her body that she was healed. Literally, knew (i.e., by feeling) in the body. The first clause tells of the cessation of the ordinary symptom of her disease: this points to a new sense of health. The cure was effected by an exercise of Jesus-’ will, which responds to the woman’s faith in his miraculous power, not through the mere touching of the garment. The result was instantaneous and complete. Sharing the superstition, and imagining that Christ healed by a sort of magic, this woman touched it in hope of cure. An ordinary teacher would have rebuked her superstition; Christ used it to teach her better, but Christ, full of compassion, overlooking the errors of her ignorance, put forth his power and healed her. She had faith, even if not intelligent and clear. She believed that she was to receive something, a real blessing from Christ. This was that in her which was not in the crowd around her. They all traveled on in the highway together, talked about Christ, were interested in him in various ways, discussed his origin and nature, hoped that some good would come of him to the nation. But the woman believed that she should personally receive new life from him.

Mark 5:30. Knowing. that virtue (healing power) had gone out of him. Within that nature there was the inherent power to cure diseases, and a knowledge of all that was going on. He permitted power to go forth for the healing of the woman when her faith was properly exercised.George W. Clark. His healing was an overflow, not an efforta work so unconscious and so utterly passive that it seems like a miracle spilt over from the fullness of his divine life, rather than a miracle put forth.Gordon. Who touched my clothes? Not because he was ignorant, for his searching glance showed to the woman that she was not hid from him (Luke 8:47), but to draw out her confession of her faith. For illustration of similar questions, see Genesis 3:9; Genesis 4:9; 2 Kings 5:25; Luke: Luke 24:19.Abbott. If she had been allowed to carry away her blessing in secret as she purposed, it would not have been at all the blessing to her, and to her whole after spiritual life, that it now was, when she was obliged by this repeated question of the Lord to own that she had come to seek, and had found health from him.Trench. Christ demands that every soul that is healed should openly confess him. He will not permit that men claim him in secret who refuse to acknowledge him.

Mark 5:31. And his disciples said. Peter and they that were with him (Luke 8:45). It was much like Peter thus to speak, both for himself and as spokesman for the disciples. But Jesus affirmed that someone had touched him, implying a touch of intention and faith, and not a mere thoughtless and accidental pressing of the multitude.George W. Clark.

III. THE WOMAN’S CONFESSION.Mark 5:32. He looked round to see her. He required no one to point out the one who had pressed upon him the touch of faith, for it cannot be doubted that he was conscious all the time of what was in the woman’s heart, His glance, therefore, at once singled her out in the crowd, and fell upon her with a searching glance that showed that all was known.

Mark 5:33. But the woman fearing and trembling. The timid woman felt that she had stolen a cure, was amazed at the sudden change wrought within her and knowing little of the tender compassion of Christ was filled with dread of the wonderful being who had wrought her cure. Perhaps, too, she expected to be rebuked for touching him without his permission; perhaps, also, the woman feared Christ’s anger and his rebuke for polluting him by her touch; or, possibly, the indignation of others in the crowd, in which she had joined without in any way indicating her uncleanness, Knowing what was done in her. A sense of her cure brought her forward to testify to and for Christ. So, always, the sense of pardon and acceptance will lead the trembling believer to full confession and to an open testimony for Christ. It will embolden the timid to speak of the gospel, even before crowds. Told him all the truth. This, though it tried the modesty of the believing woman, was just what Christ wanted, her public testimony to the facts of her casethe disease with her abortive efforts at a cure, and the instantaneous and perfect relief which her touching the great Healer had brought her.

Mark 5:34.* And he said unto her, Daughter.* A term of affection, but, no doubt, as employed by our Savior, implying all that was spiritually distinctive in her character had been derived from himself. Thy faith hath made thee whole. Literally, thy faith hath saved thee, In the higher and in the lower sense, soul and body. Her faith, of course, had not been the efficient cause of her cure. Christ’s power had been that. And behind his power was his person, the real healer. But her faith was the condition on her part, that rendered it fitting on his part to put forth his curative efficiency. Hence it might be represented as having in a certain subordinate respect made her whole.Morison. The student should observe that hers was not a passive faith, but it led to action. A passive faith is a dead faith. The cure was effected by an exercise of Jesus-’ will, which responds to the woman’s faith in his miraculous power, not through the mere touching of the garment. The result was instantaneous and complete.Meyer.

FACT QUESTIONS 5:25-34

What social as well as physical difficulty did this woman suffer because of her illness?

Wasn-’t the woman rather superstitious in her approach to healing? Explain why, and why excusable.

What has tradition said about this womangive three traditional facts.

How is she a grand example for us today?

Discuss the portion of the robe of Christ touched by the woman.

To whom had she said If I may touch but His clothes. ? When?

Did Jesus accept the woman’s error and weakness?what did He accept?

How did the woman know she was healedwho told her? Was it complete, final and unchangeable? How does this compare with some present day healings?

Attempt an explanation of how Jesus could heal almost accidentally through someone else’s desire and faith and yet be aware of it?

Who answered the question of Jesus?

What evidence do we have that Jesus knew what was in the heart of the woman even before she touched Him?

What filled the woman with fear and trembling?

Did Jesus want a public confession from this woman? Explain.

In what sense was the woman a daughter?

Please discuss the wonderful wholeness of this woman.

Mark 5:35-43

**c. THE RAISING OF JAIRUS-’ DAUGHTER 5:35-43

TEXT 5:35-43**

While he yet spake, they come from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? But Jesus, not heeding the word spoken, saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Fear not, only believe, And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James, And they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue; and he beholdeth a tumult, and many weeping and wailing greatly, And when he was entered in, he saith unto them, Why make ye a tumult, and weep? the child is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But he, having put them all forth, taketh the father of the child and her mother and them that were with him, and goeth in where the child was, And taking the child by the hand, he saith unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise. And straightway the damsel rose up, and walked; for she was twelve years old. And they were amazed straightway with a great amazement. And he charged them much that no man should know this: and he commanded that something should be given her to eat.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 5:35-43

What was the attitude of Jairus while Jesus stopped to speak to the woman who touched?

In what tone of voice do you imagine the message of the death of the daughter was given?

In what sense did they feel they were troubling Jesus?

What was Jairus to believe? Cf. Mark 5:36.

Why send the crowd away?

On what other occasions did Peter, James & John accompany Jesus?

What was the point in the demonstration of grief?

Did Jesus know some would misunderstand his words about sleeping? Why mention it?

In what sense was the girl asleep?

Upon what was the laugh of scorn based?

Try to understand the feelings of the mother as Jesus spoke to the girl. What were they?

Why mention that she was twelve years old?

Why ask that she be fed?

COMMENT

TIMEJust a few minutes after the preceding incident of the timid woman. PLACEIn the home of Jairusprobably in the city of Capernaum.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 9:23-26; Luke 8:49-56.

OUTLINE1. The Message of death, Mark 5:35-36. 2. To the house of Jairus, Mark 5:37-38. 3. The place of death, Mark 5:39-40. 4. The resurrection, Mark 5:41-43.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE MESSAGE OF DEATH, Mark 5:35-36.

Given while Jesus yet spoke to the woman.

No need to try further, your daughter is dead.

Jesus heard man but believed Godthis He wanted Jairus to do.

II.

TO THE HOUSE OF JAIRUS, Mark 5:37-38.

Just Peter, James and John were to accompany Him.

A great tumult of weeping.

III.

THE PLACE OF DEATH, Mark 5:39-40.

No need to weepshe sleeps.

Scornall are asked to leave except the parents.

IV.

THE RESURRECTION, Mark 5:41-43.

He taketh her by the hand and calls her by name.arise

She immediately arose from the dead.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Mark 5:35. While he yet spake, there came. why troublest thou the Master any further? Hitherto He had not shown His power over death, and so there may be an excuse for the message, but surely there might be some consolation in the words of such a Master! His presence need not be out of place in the house of mourning. There is a curtness and abruptness in this message which savors of unbelief.

Mark 5:36. As soon as Jesus heard (or not heeding) the word. Be not afraid, only believe. Jesus, perceiving the mischief which the message might work, at once put in a comforting and hope-inspiring word, Be not afraid, only believe.

Belief is in one sense the only thing needful, because it is the one condition on which we can receive salvation and grace from the Lord. But what does the Lord here mean by only believe? Only believe what? Why, evidently, that I have power after death, that My might reaches beyond the grave. If the man believed that his daughter was dead, and the Lord bid him fear not, it must mean fear not, but that I will give her to you again. If He added to this fear not the words only believe, it must mean, Believe that I am life to the dead. You may not know how, but let not your faith in Me fail, and you shall see. If it be said that this was too much to require of this ruler, we can only answer that the Lord thought otherwise. The man had known of the healing of the centurion’s servant, and of the woman with the issue, most probably also of the casting out of the devils out of the Gergesenes; and we know not how many more mighty works performed in Capernaum, and around the borders of the lake, and now he was asked to go one step further in the same road, i.e., to believe that death was not the termination of the Lord’s power.

Mark 5:37. And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John, etc. The three who were to be witnesses of His Transfiguration, and of His agony.

Mark 5:38. And he cometh to the house. wept and wailed greatly. From the parallel words in St, Matthew, Saw the minstrels and the people making a noise, there is no doubt that these were hired mourners, such as are described in Jeremiah 9:17-18: Consider ye, and call for the mourning women that they may come; and send for cunning women, that they may come, and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.

Dr. Thomson, in The Land and the Book, says: Every particular here alluded to is observed on funeral occasions at the present day. There are in every city and community women exceedingly cunning in this business. These are always sent for and kept in readiness. When a fresh company of sympathizers comes in, these women -make haste-’ to take up a wailing, that the newly come may the more easily unite their tears with the mourners. They know the domestic history of every person, and immediately strike up an impromptu lamentation, in which they introduce the names of their relations who have recently died, touching some tender chord of every heart, and thus each weeps for his own dead.

Mark 5:39. And when he was come in, he saith … sleepeth. There can be little doubt but that the Saviour here employs the same way of speaking as when He says, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go that I may awake him out of sleep; and immediately afterwards He told them plainly, Lazarus is dead. Some have said that the maiden had fallen into the death-like swoon which often precedes, and then passes into actual death; but those watching her must have been conscious that so far as the help of man was concerned, all was over, or they would not have sent the message to the ruler which they did.

Mark 5:40.* And they laughed him to scorn.* This ridicule would be stimulated by their interests, for their wages as mourners depended on the death having actually taken place.

Them that were with him. Only Peter, James and John.

Mark 5:41-42. And he took the damsel by the hand. Talitha cumi. astonishment. The very Syriac or Aramaic words which the Lord used are here preserved by the Evangelist, doubtless from the recollection of St. Peter. The words properly translated are, Girl, arise. Quesnel’S remarks on this are well worth reproducing: The sacred Humanity is, as it were, the hand and instrument of the Divinity, to which it is united in the person of the Word. It is from this Humanity that our life proceeds, because it was in this that Christ died and rose again, and completed His Sacrifice. He is man, since He takes the dead person by the hand; He is God since He commands her to live, and to arise, and is immediately obeyed.

Mark 5:43. And he charged them straitly. given her to eat. It is to be noticed that in the case of the Gergesene demoniac, after healing He bade him make known what God had done for Him, and He Himself compelled the woman, in the last miracle, to confess her healing before the crowd. How is it that here He forbids the parents to make it known? Very probably He foresees how in some cases the fame of some mighty deed might be an hindrance to, as in other cases it might forward His real work.

Or in each He might have had regard to the spiritual temperament of those whom He charged. Canon Farrar has a good remark: If He added His customary warning, that they should not speak of what had happened, it was not evidently in the intention that the entire fact should remain unknown, for that would have been impossible, when all the circumstances had been witnessed by so many, but because those who had received from God’s hand unbounded mercy are more likely to reverence that mercy with adoring gratitude, if it be kept like a hidden treasure in the inmost heart.

And commanded that something should be given her to eat. There must be some reason why this is specifically mentioned. It may have been to show the completeness of the recovery, in that one, a short time before so utterly prostrated and weak, should be able to take ordinary nourishment. It may be mentioned for a mystical significance, that those to whom God has given spiritual life, require spiritual food for its continuance. (M. F. Sadler)

FACT QUESTIONS 5:35-43

Who do you suppose brought the news to Jairus of the death of his daughter?

Why ask the question, Why dost thou trouble the teacher further?

Please read Isaiah 42:3 and show how it is fulfilled in the dealing of Jesus with Jairus.

Why send the crowd away?

Why take the three?

What do Matthew and Luke add to the description of the mourning?

Why did Jesus say the girl was only asleep?

Just what did Jesus say to the little girl?

How do we know for certainty the girl was dead?

Besides the physical restoration what was the purpose of this miracle? Was it accomplished?