Mark 5: God Walked Among the People

 

The woman with an issue of blood sought healing from Jesus.

Welcome to a study of the Gospel according to Mark, a cooperative effort of Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. The Introduction to chapter 5 is followed by 10 questions. The answers may be found by scrolling to the bottom of the post.

Prepare for this lesson by reading Mark Chapter 5.

Let's begin with prayer.

Holy Father, you call each soul to repentance that we might have eternal life through your Son, Jesus. May our lives be consecrated to you day by day. Illumine our minds as we meditate on the Holy Scriptures. This we ask through Jesus Christ, your eternally glorified Son. Amen.



INTRODUCTION

Jesus crossed the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes (Gadarenes in Matthew's Gospel). He was met by a demon possessed man who was living among the tombs. The "Legion" of demons recognized Jesus as the Son of God and begged him to send them into a herd of 2000 pigs. Jesus agreed, and the pigs rushed down the bank and drowned in the sea. The people of the town were frightened by this event and asked Jesus to leave. The man delivered from demons wanted to leave with Jesus, but Jesus told him to return home to his friends. The man became an evangelist, proclaiming what Jesus did for him throughout the Decapolis (10 Cities).

A local ruler named Jairus begged Jesus to come to his house where his 12-year-old daughter was dying. On his way to help Jairus, Jesus was pressed by a large crowd. A woman who had suffered from bleeding for 12 years approached him, hoping to touch Jesus' cloak and be healed. As soon as she touched his garment, her bleeding stopped. When Jesus felt power go out from him, He turned around to find her. He commended her faith, and told her to go in peace.

While delayed by the bleeding woman, news arrived that Jairus' daughter had died. Jesus told Jairus not to be afraid, only to believe. Entering the house with Peter, James, John, and the girl's parents, Jesus took the girl's hand and said in Aramaic, "Talitha koumi" ("Little maiden/lamb, arise"). The girl immediately stood up and began to walk, leaving the witnesses astonished. Jesus directed the household to give the girl something to eat.

Questions

1. Why is the place where Jesus delivered the man identified in the Gospels by the different names "Gerasenes" and "Gadarenes"? 

2. What were the signs that this man was severely tormented by demons?

3. How did Jesus deliver the man?

4. The townspeople and the delivered man reacted very differently to what Jesus had done. Describe the difference.

5. What became of the man delivered from demon possession?

6. Who was Jairus and what did he want Jesus to do?

7. What interruption stopped Jesus from going immediately to Jairus' house?

8. In Mark 5, Jesus restores a dead daughter to her father. How does this contrast to the story of a child's restoration to life in Luke 7:11-17?

9. What is the significance of Jesus allowing only Peter, James and John to witness the raising of Jairus' dead daughter?

10. What details about the raising of Jairus' daughter indicate tenderness on the part of Jesus?

Answers

1. In ancient writings a place could take its name from its primary urban center or capital, or a nearby town. The term Gerasene refers to a resident of Gerasa. The term Gadarene refers to a resident of Gadara. Mark identifies the region where Jesus healed the demoniac with a nearby town called Gerasa. In his encyclopedia, Natural History (Book 5, Section 74), Pliny described Gerasa as one of the 10 cities of the Decapolis founded after the Roman conquest. In Matthew 8:28 the region where Jesus met the demoniac was named after Gadara, a prominent regional city of the Decapolis located about 5 miles southeast of the Lake. The place where Jesus delivered the man was near the two towns of Gerasa and Gadara.

2. He lived among the tombs, had supernatural strength, thrashed about causing himself to be bruised, and he habitually cried loudly. 

3. Jesus commanded the demons to come out of the man and they obeyed, recognizing Him as the Son of God.

4. The townspeople were so frightened by the events that they pleaded with Jesus to leave the area. The man begged Jesus to allow him to leave with Him. 

5. The man traveled around the region of the Ten Cities (Decapolis) telling people what Jesus had done for him. He witnessed to Jesus' authority and became the first male evangelist in the New Testament. The first female evangelist was Photini, the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well (John 4). 

6. Jairus was a prominent leader of the local synagogue. When his young daughter became seriously ill, he sought Jesus' help, asking Him to come to his house and heal his daughter.

7. A woman who had been bleeding for 12 years approached Jesus and touched his garment, believing that she would be healed. Jesus experienced her healing as "power" going out from Him. He wanted to know who had touched his garments. The woman came forward in fear and trembling and fell down before Him. Jesus told said that her faith had made her well and to go in peace.

8. In Mark 4, a daughter is restored to her father. In Luke 7, a son is restored to his mother. These stories speak of gender balance in the biblical narratives. There are many other examples. (See this BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Orthodoxy Requires Binary Reasoning).

9. Jesus apparently had selected Peter, James and John to be witnesses to certain events which would strengthen their faith because they would become important Apostles after Jesus' resurrection. Peter would need strengthening because he would become one of the pillars of the early Church. James was the first of the disciples to be martyred for Christ, and John was the last of the Apostles to die. Jesus chose these 3 because from James to John his followers would be persecuted. However, within 58 years of John's death around 95 A.D., Christianity had already spread throughout the Roman world.    

10. Jesus refused to make a spectacle of her death and resurrection. He raised her in a private place. He took her by the hand. He spoke to her using a term of endearment. Talitha koumi carries a sense of tenderness and affection. It means something like Little girl, or precious lamb, arise. He told the family to give the girl nourishment right away.

Related reading:  Mark 1: The Barmore-Linsley Study of Mark; Mark 2: Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath; Mark 3: Religious Leaders Who Blaspheme; Mark 4: Parables of the Kingdom