Gospel of Mark Study #15

“A Dad’s Worst Nightmare”

Mark 5:21-24, 35-43

Study #15 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

Being a father is not an easy job. It never has been, at least not if you are doing it correctly. Bringing children into the world and then doing your best to see that they turn out to be good, honest, loving, godly people is a big challenge! And being a dad to daughters is especially challenging. Raising boys is somewhat easier for us because from the get-go we speak the same language, being from the same planet and all. But with little girls it is a different story. They are a mystery to us, just like their mothers.

That is because little girls are filled with cuteness and craftiness, sweetness and trickery, coyness, and orneriness, all at the same time. Poor old dad is pretty much at sea from day one. This beautiful little girl suddenly pops into his life, and he has no idea what to do with her. But in no time at all she has her daddy wrapped around her cute little pinky finger. She has herself all entwined in his heart in such a way that he will never get loose.

TRANSITION:

In our passage for today we see a man experiencing what would be a “worst nightmare” situation for any loving father. His little daughter has become ill, and she is nearing death. The doctors have been unable to help her. It is obvious to everyone that she has little time left unless a miracle occurs.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 21: When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake, a large crowd gathered around Him while He was by the lake.

·         It seems that after the casting out of the demons from the Gadarene demoniac, Jesus and His disciples made their way back up north 13 miles across the Sea of Galilee to the region of Capernaum and Bethsaida. The text does not tell us exactly where this next event occurred, but it must have been close to Capernaum.

·         Once again Jesus is surrounded by a large crowd of people, pushing in, wanting to see Him, and touch Him.

Verses 22-24: Then one of the synagogue rulers, named Jairus, came there. Seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet ²³ and pleaded earnestly with Him, “My little daughter is dying [lit. at the point of death]. Please come and put your hands on her so that she will be healed and live.” ²⁴ So Jesus went with him. A large crowd followed and pressed around Him.

·         “...one of the synagogue rulers...” Jairus was one of the Jewish leaders from that region. He may have been the leader of the synagogue in Capernaum, or he may have been from one of the nearby towns where Jesus had preached (cf. 1:39). His name was derived from the Hebrew word, “ya’ir,” meaning “Yahweh enlightens.” His name is given by Mark and Luke but not by Matthew. In the original Greek text, he is called an ἀρχισυνάγωγος (archisunágogos), meaning synagogue ruler. His duties included the conducting of the synagogue service and the selection of those who were to lead the prayer, read the Scriptures, and comment on them. There was generally only one archisunágogos to each synagogue. If he was the ruler of the Capernaum synagogue, then he likely was one of the people mentioned way back in 1:21-27 and 3:1-6.

·         Mark does not give us any details about the little girl here, but down in verse 42 he tells us that she was 12 years old. In our world that means she would have been a 6^th grader, on the line between being a little girl and becoming a young woman. Can you imagine the pain and grief in this father's heart? He is desperate to find help for his little girl. When speaking of her Jairus used the diminutive form as a term of endearment— “my little daughter.” And when he describes her condition to Jesus he says, literally, “She is at the point of death.” He knew that her condition was critical and that every minute counted. If this story had occurred in 2023, she would already have been on the LifeFlight helicopter headed to the nearest pediatric hospital.

·         “...he fell at [Jesus’] feet and pleaded earnestly with Him.” Imagine what it cost Jairus to come to Jesus and publicly ask for His help. He had to lay down his prejudice, his dignity, his pride, his friends, and his future. This was professional suicide for him, but he did not care now. Saving his little girl’s life was his highest priority, far above his own personal interests.

·         Something else important... in verse 23 the form of the verb here translated “pleaded earnestly” means he kept on begging, repeatedly and desperately. He lost all semblance of propriety or formality. This was a desperate father, on his knees before the Lord, pleading for the life of his daughter. Notice that Jairus knew exactly what he was asking of Jesus, although the Greek reveals that he was having a hard time expressing himself. His plea was coming out in short phrases, emotional bursts from a breaking heart. Look in verse 23 at the specific elements of what he wanted from Jesus:

Ø  “Please come.”

Ø  “Put Your hands on her.”

Ø  “So that she will be healed.”

Ø  “So that she will live.”

·         What was the result of his plea? The text says, “So Jesus went with him.” The Lord responded immediately. What relief Jairus must have felt, knowing that Jesus was on his way to save his little daughter. But then the Lord got stopped by the crowd and specifically by a little old lady who was sick and needed help. What frustration Jairus must have felt as the minutes ticked by as he stood there watching Jesus dealing with someone else’s problem, someone who in a sense had jumped the queue and had now put the life of his little girl in even more jeopardy.

·         This is where we make a big jump. In our next study we will look at the story within this story about the sick lady, but for now we are going to skip over it and continue with Jairus’s story. Jesus was still talking with the lady that he had just healed on His way to Jairus’ place when some friends arrived from Jairus’ house with terrible news. 

Verse 35: While Jesus was still speaking (i.e., to the woman), some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

·         No one wants to be the bearer of bad news. It is a horrible job. And believe me, I know what it is like because I have had to do it many times. As a police chaplain I had to do many death notifications and to deliver other bad news. I have also had to be the one to deliver bad news about what the surgeon found when he performed a person’s surgery. Believe me, it is no fun to be the bearer of bad news! But it is even worse to be on the receiving end! Imagine Jairus’ pain as he heard those words— “Your little girl is dead. Come home and don’t bother the teacher anymore.” Obviously, they had no faith that Jesus could do anything about the situation.

·         And imagine the thoughts that might have started racing around inside his head— “If Jesus had just been in a little bit more of a hurry, maybe He could have saved her. Or if I had left home a little sooner maybe I could have gotten to Jesus in time.”

Verse 36: Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

·         Jairus heard their words and for a moment thought that all hope was gone. Jesus heard their words and ignored them, knowing full well that He had the power to bring her back to life. In that moment, Jairus had to make a choice about who to listen to—the voices of those who said, “Hope is lost” or the One who said, “Do not be afraid, just trust Me.” The English text leaves out the emphasis that we find in the Greek text. Literally, Jesus said to Jairus: “Stop fearing! Keep on believing!” Both verbs are in the present tense in a strong negative construction. Jesus knew that hearing their report had struck fear into Jairus’ heart, but the Lord urged him not to forsake the faith that had brought him to Jesus in the first place. Fear is the opposite of faith. The one condition of God’s working for us is that we trust Him.

·         This story reminds me a lot of the story of the raising of Lazarus in John 11. Lazarus was Jesus’ dear friend. He knew that Lazarus was deathly sick, yet Jesus deliberately waited until after Lazarus had died to begin the journey from Galilee to Bethany. And He took His sweet time about getting there—4 days! Why? Because He knew exactly what He was going to do. He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead right in front of a multitude of mourners. And before He did it, He told Mary and Martha, Lazarus’ sisters, “I am the Resurrection and the Life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die.” 

Verse 37: He did not let anyone follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

·         Jesus dismissed the crowd and then picked only three of His 12 disciples to accompany Him to the home of Jairus. Why? I have wondered about that for a long time. Perhaps these three were the ones who were closest to Jesus. They were the same three who were at the Transfiguration. Perhaps Jesus knew that Jairus’ house would not accommodate the crowd. Perhaps He knew that there would already be a lot of people gathered there and did not want to add to the confusion. I do not know, and the Bible does not tell us.

Verses 38-40a: When they came to the home of the synagogue ruler, Jesus saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly. ³⁹ He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.” ⁴⁰ But they laughed at Him.

·         As they approached Jairus’ house they came upon a group of people crying and wailing, mourning for this little girl who had just died. Matthew reports in 9:23 that the professional mourners had already arrived (“flute players”) and they were making a lot of noise. Jairus was a leader in the Jewish community and was apparently well-loved. The little group of five made their way into the house. There Jesus addressed the crowd that had gathered outside the bedroom where the body was resting.

·         “Why all this commotion and wailing?” Jesus said. “The child has not died but is asleep.” Their mouths must have all dropped to their chests! How could He say such a thing? Did He not know a dead body when He saw one? Remember, these people lived with death. They were used to seeing it. They knew a dead person when they saw one, and this girl was as dead as a proverbial doornail!

·         “But they laughed at Him.” This was not light-hearted humorous laughter, but rather the laughter of derision, scorn, and unbelief. They thought they knew better than Jesus. It was this false “knowledge” that blinded their eyes to the truth of what was taking place.

·         Some have taken Jesus’ words about the child not being dead but asleep to mean that she was not truly dead but was only in a coma of some sort. However, Luke 8:55 says, “...And her spirit returned...” making it clear that she had been dead. Christ’s reference to death as sleep was intended to suggest that the little girl’s condition was temporary, not permanent, and that she would awaken again. It is interesting that Jesus said the same thing about Lazarus in John 11:11, 14 and he had been dead for 4 days by the time Jesus showed up! He had even started to decompose and stink. Still, Jesus said, “He is asleep.”

·         Something I find interesting... the Early Church always described the believing dead as “asleep in Jesus” (cf. 1 Thess. 4:14). Because of that, for a long time the Greek-speaking Christians called their burial places, κοιμητήριον, “koimetérion” (sleeping place, dormitory, resting place) from the verb meaning “to sleep, to be laid to rest.” From Greek, this word was transliterated into Latin as “coemetérium” with the same meaning, a sleeping place. It is from this Latin word by way of Old French that we get our English word, “cemetery,” originally meaning a sleeping place for those who have died in Christ. On the other hand, the English word, “graveyard” merely indicates a place where holes were dug (i.e., graven in the ground). For unbelievers that is all they can look forward to—a hole in the ground.

·         We must remember that from the viewpoint of the Lord of the Universe, physical death is not that big of a deal. For us, death is the great enemy, the thing that eventually defeats every one of us, but for Jesus it posed no threat or difficulty.

Verses 40b-41: After He put them all out, He took the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with Him and went in where the child was. ⁴¹ He took her by the hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say unto you, arise!”

·         “After He put them all out...” meaning the other relatives, friends, and professional mourners. The only ones He allowed to go in to witness this miracle were the girl’s parents and His three disciples. Everyone else was sent outside the house to wait.

·         Why did He do it this way? Maybe it was to cut down on the noise. Maybe it was to calm the situation. I think that it was also because He wanted to emphasize the result, not the means to the end. This was not about His technique of raising dead people. This was about the fact that He is Lord of life and is Sovereign God in the flesh. He could have performed this miracle in any number of different ways. He chose to do it merely by speaking to her and calling her spirit to return to her body. In the process, He healed whatever illness had caused her death in the first place. In an instant she was totally healed and restored.

·         By the way, Mark is the only one of the Gospel writers to give us Jesus’ exact words. The Lord took her by the hand and spoke to her in Aramaic, “Talitha, koum!” Those two gentle words simply mean, “Little girl, arise!” Mark inserts the words, “I say unto you,” giving us a sense of the force of Jesus’ command. This was not a prayer, but rather, a command from the Sovereign Lord of Heaven. Death had no choice but to give her up. 

Verse 42: Immediately the girl stood up and walked around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.

·         Notice the word, “Immediately...” It did not take any time at all. It happened so fast that I am sure the disciples and her parents were totally taken aback. Mark tells us, “...they were completely astonished.” Can you imagine the joy that those parents felt? Can you hear their voices lifted in praise to God? I can.

·         This is the second time that Jesus raised someone from the dead. The first one was the widow’s son in the village of Nain (cf. Luke 7:11-17). On that occasion all of Jesus’ disciples were there to witness what took place. 

Verse 43: He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this and told them to give her something to eat.

·         “He told them to give her something to eat.” Why did Jesus command that she be given food? Perhaps for two reasons:

1.       First, because He knew that she had been ill for a while and had probably been unable to eat. Now that she was healed, she would be ravenously hungry.

2.      Second, as further proof that she was indeed alive, back from the dead. Jesus used this same proof with His disciples after His own resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41-43).

·         “He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this.” Do you also find this to be a curious thing? How were they going to keep this wonderful miracle a secret? For one thing, Jairus’ house was surrounded by people waiting to hear the news, good or bad, one way or another. And certainly, when his little girl appeared, alive and happy and in perfect health, all the people were going to want to know exactly what had happened. How could Jesus possibly expect these grateful parents to obey this command to not tell anyone about this?

·         Some have said that He did not want the parents to go out talking about what had happened because He wanted to forestall a widespread furor that might precipitate a crisis situation before it was time for Him to go to the cross. Others have theorized that Jesus was using reverse psychology. By saying, “Don’t you dare tell anyone about this,” they say He was secretly prompting them to tell everyone. I do not think so because that would mean His commands are not to be followed but to be interpreted, looking for hidden meaning. I am sure He meant what He said, but they were weak and unable to keep their mouths shut.

·         Matthew reports what happened in 9:26, “And this news went out into all that land.” Apparently, these happy parents were unable to keep a secret! Good news always has a way of getting out! For example:

o   Matthew 9:31 after healing two blind men.

o   Mark 1:45 after healing a leper.

CONCLUSION:

I love this story because I can relate to it on so many levels. It cost Jairus to come to Jesus to ask for His help. We do not know the end of the story, but I imagine it cost him his position in the synagogue. We do not know what ever happened to the little girl either, but I imagine that for the rest of her life she told everyone she met the story of what Jesus had done for her.

After Lazarus was raised from the dead (cf. John 11) we know that he became a fearless witness for Christ, so much so that the Jewish leaders decided to kill him too, just to get him out of the way. John 12:9-11 says, “Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there [i.e., in Bethany at the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus] and came, not only because of Him but also to see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. ¹⁰ So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹ for on account of him [i.e., Lazarus] many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in Him.” 

You may think that you do not have a dramatic story to tell. Jesus did not save you from a life of crime, or drugs, or prostitution, or violence. Maybe you came to faith in Jesus as a child at VBS, or in Sunday School, or kneeling at your mother’s bedside. What you need to understand is that you too were dead, and Jesus brought you to life. You were “dead in trespasses and sins” and Jesus raised you to newness of life and made you a new person. You were a lost lamb and Jesus came and found you. You were a child of the devil and Jesus saved you and made you a child of God and a joint heir with Christ. Do not ever sell your conversion short! It cost God just as much to save you as it did to raise and save Jairus’ daughter!

Gospel of Mark Study #14

“It Shouldn’t Happen to a Pig!”

Mark 5:1-20

Study #14 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

I like pigs! I can’t help it; I just really like pigs, and always have! Oh sure, I like horses and goats and other farm animals too, but pigs are just remarkably interesting critters. For one thing, they are the smartest of all the barnyard animals and they have by far the most interesting personalities. In fact, scientists tell us that pigs are the fourth smartest animal on the planet, right after humans, apes, and dolphins. Moreover, they like people and can easily be taught to do all kinds of tricks. They are good parents, and they have ridiculously cute babies.

The problem is that pigs have gotten a bad rap for a long time. It started from the fact that they were one of the “unclean” animals listed in the Law of Moses (cf. Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8). However, I would just like to remind you that dogs and cats are also on that same list of “unclean” animals, and it has not kept us from loving them and thinking they are adorable. I believe that God chose to put my piggy friends on that list at that time for two purely hygienic reasons. First, the pig, as an omnivore and frequent scavenger, might pick up diseased material and either transport it from place to place, or may itself become infected. Secondly, the pig can be a host of the tapeworm that causes trichinosis. This parasite passes one stage in the muscles of a pig and can be transmitted only by being eaten. The tapeworms then invade various tissues in humans and can even cause death. Thorough cooking kills the worms, but this was not always possible when firewood was scarce, so that only a complete ban was safe for God’s people. The full story of the life cycle of trichinosis was proved only in the 20^th century. I believe that God in His great wisdom banned the eating of pork in the Old Testament, not because pigs are bad animals or inherently evil, but because there was no way for people to understand the medical issues until many years later. However, this scriptural dietary prohibition turned into a national loathing with the Jews, with the pig coming to symbolize for them all that they found despicable, dirty, and hated.

But this reputation is unfair. Pigs are not bad or evil creatures. Moreover, when it comes to personal hygiene, they are much cleaner than dogs and cats or any other domesticated animal, including cows, chickens, ducks, sheep, and goats which were all included among the “clean” animals. For example, pigs are the only one of the aforementioned animals that will not foul its own sleeping area. Pigs, when given enough space, will always relieve themselves in one corner of their pen and will teach their babies to do the same. They never poop in their beds or eating areas like the other animals.

Their biggest problem is man! For centuries humans have raised pigs in cramped pens where they end up tearing up the ground and turning it into a mud hole because their tremendous weight is balanced on four ridiculously tiny feet, which tend to plow up the ground. If they are raised “free range” like cows, this does not happen. The other well-known fact about pigs is that they have no sweat glands in their skin and must have water to cool off. Pigs love water and they love to swim. They also like to roll in mud, because it cools them off and the mud keeps off the flies and biting insects.

TRANSITION:

I realize, of course, that is way more than you wanted to know about pigs and you are undoubtedly wondering what it has to do with our study for today. Stick with me and I will try to tie things together for us. Last week we studied Mark 4:35-41 and the story of Jesus taking His disciples for a hair-raising boat ride. They set out from Capernaum in the evening headed south across the Sea of Galilee. Somewhere out in the middle of the lake a great storm arose. But Jesus calmed the storm and, in the process, taught His disciples an important lesson about faith. Now we continue the story of that same boat ride. 

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 1: They went across the lake [i.e., Sea of Galilee] to the region of the Gerasenes.

·         Scientists and Bible scholars have for years disputed where this next event occurred. Greek manuscripts are divided among three similar names here—Gadarenes, Gerasenes, and Gergesenes. Matthew and Luke’s accounts in the ASV and Revised Versions has it as “Gadarenes.” Matthew’s account in the KJV says “Gergesenes.” However, in Mark and Luke’s Gospels in the NIV and NASV, along with most other modern versions, the translators go with “Gerasenes.”

·         The problem with these last two translations is that the city of Gerasa, home to the Gerasenes, was nowhere near the Sea of Galilee. In fact, it was 45 miles away to the southeast of the lake, in the region known as Perea, just 20 miles north of the Dead Sea, and thus had no connection whatsoever to Galilee. Gergesa, on the other hand, the modern village of Khersa, sat on the eastern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee on a flat plain with smooth beaches, again not fitting the description found here in Mark 5. Only Gadara to the south fits with the story, given the details of the biblical account. The city of Gadara itself was located about 8 miles inland to the southeast of the bottom tip of the lake, but the whole region between there and the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee was known as “the region of the Gadarenes.” That southern shoreline is very rocky with lots of cliffs and drop-offs, exactly as described here in our text. Therefore, I must go with the traditional reading, “...the region of the Gadarenes.”

·         Interestingly, most of the inhabitants of the Gadara region were Gentiles, not Jews, and for that reason did not share Jewish scruples regarding the raising of swine. We know that herds were kept there by local Gentile communities in New Testament times, both for their own use and to be sold to the Romans, who loved bacon, ham, and pork chops almost as much as I do. I know, that sounds contradictory that I like pigs but still don’t mind eating them. You will have to sort all that out with my shrink.

Verse 2: When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet Him.

·         It is interesting that this man came toward Jesus rather than run away from Him. Apparently, the demons knew they were subject to Jesus and always would prostrate themselves before Him. We do not know how much of the man’s will was involved here. His will seems to have been totally enslaved by the demon.

·         Matthew and Luke add some details: they say that this man was very fierce, that he wore no clothes, that he no longer lived in a house, and that he had terrified the inhabitants of the area for many years.

·         At first, we are told that the man had “an” evil spirit. Later we will learn that he had many. 

Verses 3-5: This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴ For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. ⁵ Night and day among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

·         This is a man with a long history. He was well-known in the area. He was every kid’s worst nightmare. Mothers would threaten their children by mentioning his name. He was a local celebrity—the crazy old demoniac that lived out in that cemetery close to the lake.

·         Notice the word, “...anymore.” He had apparently gotten stronger over time as the demons got a deeper hold on him. He could even break iron chains. That is supernatural power from a demonic source. Do not ever let anyone tell you that the devil is not powerful, because he is, but his power is always used for evil purposes. The Bible says Satan comes only “to kill, steal, and destroy.” That is exactly the work he had done in this poor man's life.

·         Can you hear the tortured, mournful cries coming from this man? “Night and day among the tombs and in the hills, he would cry out...” Not only that, but he was also self-destructive. “He would...cut himself with stones.” What a tragic picture of someone in the clutches of Satan and his evil minions.

·         But you must understand this truth… That poor man was no more lost than the nice guy down the block who thinks he has no need for a Savior because he is already such a good person. In truth, that nice guy is just as lost as the demoniac hiding in the tombs, although the world certainly does not see it that way. 

Verses 6-8: When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of Him. ⁷ He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” ⁸ For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”

·         I am trying to figure out the order of events here. The way I see it, as Jesus was getting out of the boat, while the man was still at a distance, Jesus must have perceived the problem and ordered the demons to leave the man. Then the man came running up to Jesus and prostrated himself at Jesus’ feet. That is when the demon spoke out of the man, recognizing Jesus for who He was, and begging Him not to cast them out of the man. Notice the fear in their voices: “Swear that you won’t torture me.” I believe that the demons all know the future that awaits them. They were terrified to be in the presence of the Son of God, knowing full well the extent of His power and authority.

Verses 9-10: Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” ¹⁰ And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

·         Why did Jesus take the time to question the demon? Was He trying to gain information? Of course not! There is nothing that Jesus does not already know. He already knew that demon’s name, just like He knows your name. I believe He did all of this for the benefit of the disciples who were with Him. He wanted them to get a glimpse of the power of evil at work in this man’s life, and to see that He had all power and authority over the spirits of Hell.

·         The spokesman for the resident demons said, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” Very curious! So was there one demon, or many? I believe there were many. The word “Legion” is used 4 times in the NT and comes from the Latin word, légio, which was the main division of the Roman army and comprised of approximately 6,000 men. The legion was then subdivided into 10 “cohorts” of 600 men each. Each cohort was comprised of 6 “centuries” of 100 men each led by a “centurion.” Beyond its technical use, the word is used in the NT to suggest a very great number, as in Matthew 26:53 where it is used to describe a large group of angels, and in Mark 5:9, 15 of demons.

·         “He begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.” Why would they want to stay in that specific area? What was there about that place that was special to them? Nothing really. Luke, in his account, tells us that they were afraid that Jesus would send them to “the abyss,” the place of detention, to remain in a disembodied state until the final judgment. This may be what Rev. 9:1 refers to as “the bottomless pit.” Rather than being disembodied, they begged to be sent into the swine that were nearby.

·         NOTICE: We learn several important things about demons from this passage:

1.       Demons recognize the deity of Christ.

2.      They are limited in their knowledge and power.

3.      They know they will ultimately be judged by Christ.

4.      They cannot act without the permission of a higher authority—namely, Christ. 

Verses 11-13: A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹² The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs, allow us to go into them.” ¹³ He gave them permission, and the evil spirits came out and went into the pigs. The herd, about two thousand in number, rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned.

·         This is where the story truly starts to get weird! Just over the hill from where Jesus was chatting with the demons was a large herd of free-range pigs, grazing and minding their own business. By the way, I told you that I would eventually get back to the pigs. It seems that their herders had heard the demoniac’s screams and were watching the proceedings with interest. Verse 16 says they saw the whole thing.

·         I have lots of questions and very few answers, so maybe you can help me.

ü  Why did Jesus let the demons go into that herd of helpless, innocent pigs? It seems cruel.

ü  More than that, why did Jesus give in to the repeated request of the demons in the first place? Was He just being nice to them, or was there a greater purpose?

ü  Why did the pigs run off when the demons went into them? What did they feel?

ü  It says there were about 2,000 pigs in the herd. Does that mean there were 2,000 demons in the man? Not necessarily, but maybe.

ü  Who dragged the 2,000 pig carcasses out of the lake? That must have been a mess!

ü  And I have another question. When the pigs ran over the cliff and drowned themselves, where did the demons go after that? Inquiring minds want to know this stuff.

·         The demons’ plea to be sent into a nearby herd of swine would not appear strange to a Jew, who considered swine and demons of the same order, but this sure freaked out the pig herders.

·         One more thing... Jesus bears no responsibility for the action the demons took; He did not command them to run the swine into the lake. Either the pigs did that on their own, or else it was a tactic of the demons to try and discredit Jesus in the eyes of the local people.

Verses 14-15: Those tending the pigs ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. ¹⁵ When they came to Jesus, they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.

·         These were probably Gentile pig herders who lived in the area. They knew this demon possessed guy. They had probably thrown stones at him to keep him at bay. Now here he was, seated at the feet of Jesus, with clothes on, in his right mind, talking normally, eating and drinking, using a napkin, not drooling on himself, or barking like a dog, etc. It scared them spitless! They liked the guy better when he was nuts! His demon possession was something they could at least understand. But this? To come face to face with the power of Jesus scared them witless. They could not explain it. They could not understand it. They could not confront it. So, they ran from it.

·         That is what a lot of people do. They cannot explain Jesus, so they run from Him. Some of us did that for a long time. But when you finally quit running you found out that He was not out to harm you but to save you. That is what Jesus did for that demoniac and it is what He wanted to do for all the people of that city.

Verses 16-17: Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon possessed man—and told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷ Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.

·         What you have here is a perfect description of what it means to be a “witness.” Those who has been there and seen what Jesus did, went running to tell others. That is exactly what we are called by the Lord to do. Jesus told His disciples, “Go, and be My witnesses.”

·         But look at the result of the witness and testimony of the pig herders. The people “began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.” How tragically sad! Their response was precisely the opposite to what it should have been.

Verses 18-19: As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with Him. ¹⁹ Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how He has had mercy on you.”

·         If people push Jesus away long enough and enough times, He might leave them alone, but at what cost? To say “NO!” to Him repeatedly hardens a person’s heart.

·         Notice that the man wanted to get into the boat with Jesus. He wanted to go with Him. But Jesus had a work for this man to do, and that job was right back where he came from. Jesus sent him back into the very city that he had been terrifying for so long, so that he would give testimony of God’s grace and mercy. He was to become a living testimony to the power and love of God.

·         Jesus told him to go home to his family and friends. The man might have been thinking that no one in town would want to see him. Apparently, it had been years that he had been out living among the tombs. Who knows if there were even any of his family members left in town? But I believe that Jesus knew, and I believe that Jesus restored this man to his family and loved ones. That is the power of the Gospel. Paul says in Romans 1:16, “It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.” 

Verse 20: So, the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

·         Notice this man’s obedience to the commission of Christ. He did exactly as he was told, and God used his witness to point others to the Savior. After he was saved, he had his own idea of how he could best serve Christ (i.e., by going in the boat with Jesus), but the Lord had a different plan for his life. The man chose to obey Christ and just look how well it worked out! His life was restored, and he became a precious tool in God’s hand to tell others about God’s grace, love, and mercy. He not only witnessed to people in his own town, but the verse says that he witnessed “in the whole Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him.” The Decapolis was not a city, but a large Greek-speaking region made up of ten strategic cities that had been settled many years earlier by the Greeks as far back as 200 BC. The word Decapolis comes from Greek. Deca means ten and Polis means city. Gadara was one of those ten original cities. After he met Jesus, this man went out telling his story in the whole region. What an amazing story of a life changed by the power of God!

CONCLUSION:

In reading this story I cannot help but compare it to another one, found in John 4. In both stories you have a person with a seriously messed up life—the Gadarene demoniac in Mark 5, and the Samaritan woman in John 4. In both cases they were radically changed by their encounters with Jesus. In both cases the people from their towns came to see for themselves what had transpired. However, in Mark 5 the people came, they saw, they listened, and then they begged Jesus to leave their region and not come back. In John 4 the people came, they saw, they listened, and they begged Jesus to stay with them and to never leave. Day and night, black and white, death and life. At the end of the Mark 5 story there was anger and sadness over lost pigs. At the end of the John 4 story there was joy and rejoicing over saved, redeemed people. What a contrast!

One more thing... I told you that I like pigs. I must confess that this story has always made me feel sorry for the pigs. But then it finally hit me. The loss of those pigs was nothing compared to the loss of all those people who were blinded by Satan. The people of the village were every bit as much consumed and condemned by the devil as was that demoniac in the tombs. Without Jesus they were all headed for Hell! It was sad that so many pigs died, but it was much more tragic that so many men, women, and children were just as surely rushing headlong toward eternal destruction. To reject Christ is an absolute death sentence. Their rejection of Jesus and their decision to push Him out of their lives sealed their doom.

The same is true for everyone who rejects Jesus Christ. To reject Him is to reject any hope of Heaven, for He is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Him.” Have you put your faith and trust in Him as your own personal Lord and Savior? If not, won’t you do it right now? Please do not put it off even for another minute.

Gospel of Mark Study #13

“FEAR - The Great Teacher”

Mark 4:35-41

Study #13 in Mark Series

INTRODUCTION:

Can fear ever be a positive thing? Can fear ever be productive and helpful in our lives? What do you think? How about these scenarios?

·         A child’s fear after first touching a hot stove.

·         A fear of unknown dogs.

·         A fear of living recklessly. (i.e., dark alleys, unlocked doors, hitchhiking, etc.)

·         A fear of guns.

·         A fear of going to war.

TRANSITION:

I found a couple of insightful quotes that deal with this subject of fear as a learning tool:

v  Michael Ignatieff, author, and critic said, “Living fearlessly is not the same thing as never being afraid. It’s good to be afraid occasionally. Fear is a great teacher. What’s not good is living in fear, allowing fear to define who you are. Living fearlessly means standing up to fear, taking its measure, refusing to let it shape and define your life.”

v  Steven Pressfield wrote in The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle, “Fear is good. Like self-doubt, fear is an indicator... The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.”

 

In our text for today’s study, we see the Lord deliberately leading His disciples into a fearful, dangerous situation. It was no accident. It was through no fault of their own. It was not because of any bad choice they made along the way. It was a learning experience that the Lord put them in to strengthen and fine-tune their faith in Him.

 

Now if Jesus did that to the Twelve, you can be sure that God will do the same thing to you and me. The only way to learn some lessons is to go “through the storm” and come out the other side.

NOTES on the Text:

Verse 35: That day when evening came, He said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”

·         “That day...” Which day? Look back at the beginning of this chapter: The same day that Jesus taught the Parable of the Sower and Soils and the same day that He taught them about the Kingdom of God being like a mustard seed that starts small but grows into something large and beautiful. This is now the evening of that same day.

·         “He said to His disciples...” Notice that it was not the disciples’ idea to get into the boat and travel to the other side of the lake. It was Jesus who was in charge, orchestrating all the events. Do you think He knew what was going to happen to them out on that lake? Absolutely. He set them up for that frightening experience as part of their training. It was all His doing. Jesus did it because He knows that we only grow in our faith and learn to trust Him when we are forced into frightening situations where we must rely on Him, rather than on our own strength, intellect, and ingenuity.

·         What are some “lake experiences” for us?

o   Losing our job and not being able to make the mortgage payment.

o   The death of a spouse or a child.

o   A phone call saying the lab work came back “positive.”

o   Not getting the job or the raise that we were counting on.

o   Your daughter comes out to you as a lesbian.

o   A pipe breaks and the whole house gets flooded while no one is home.

o   You find out that your spouse has been having an affair for the past year.

Verse 36: Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along,  just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him.

·         “...leaving the crowd behind...” There were times when Jesus addressed the multitude. He sometimes preached to large audiences. But then we always see Him gather His little flock of closest disciples around Him and give them special attention. Even Jesus could not do quality training of large crowds. Real life-change always happens in the context of facetime, one-on-one relational ministry. Jesus came to die for the sins of the whole world, but for 3½ years He poured His quality time into the lives of 12-15 men and a handful of women, who in turn went out and evangelized the whole world.

·         “...they took Him along, just as He was...” This strikes me as odd after just reading that it was His idea to cross the lake. Apparently, He had nothing with Him—no change of clothes or even a comb. They might have thought His request odd. But it seems that they decided to humor Him and took on the project. They were cocky! After all, several of them were fishermen and they thought they knew everything about boats and the Sea of Galilee that there was to know. So away they went!

·         “There were also other boats with Him.” This is a piece of information that only Mark supplies. Matthew and Luke do not mention the fact that there were other boatloads of His followers caught in this storm. That changes the mental picture for me. Jesus and the 12 were in one boat but apparently there were several other boats full of people who were following Him, wanting to hear more of what He had to say. They ended up being participants and witnesses to this miracle. And just think... they had to face the storm without having Jesus in their boat!

Verse 37: A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.

·         Have you ever been in a bad storm at sea? Some of you served in the Navy or Coast Guard and experienced some bad storms. The Sea of Galilee is not an ocean but rather a large inland lake, 13 miles long by 8.1 miles wide. Given the geography and climate of the area it is subject to fearsome storms that can develop in a short time, giving boaters and fishermen little time to find shelter. To make things worse, this storm in Mark 4 happened at night, making it doubly frightening.

·         The boat they were in was a small, shallow-draft sailboat, probably 14-16 feet long, with one skinny mast. It was little more than a glorified rowboat! And speaking of rowing, they were probably doing just that, because in a squall sailors will always take in the sail to keep from getting overturned. 

Verse 38: Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

·         “Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion...” With 13 people in the boat, it was already crowded. On top of that, Jesus was taking up extra space by lying down to sleep in the back of the boat. Did He not know what was going on? Couldn’t He see the danger they were in? But the real question, the BIG QUESTION was the one that they asked Him out loud, point blank. Namely...

·         “...Don’t You care if we drown?” Isn’t that typical? Do we not do the same thing, ask the same questions? “God, can’t you see, don’t you know, don’t You care about what I am going through right now?”

·         I am so glad that this story is in the Bible because it is a mirror for me. I cannot begin to remember how many times I have cried out to God asking these same ignorant questions. Because when we are in “the perfect storm” we can easily start thinking that we are all alone and that Jesus does not care what happens to us. But that is the devil’s own lie! Jesus knows, He sees, and He cares, and that is why this narrative is here for us, so that we might learn the lesson without getting our feet wet! 

Verse 39: He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

·         “He got up...” He could have just rolled over and gone back to sleep because He knew they were in no real danger. After all, He was God incarnate and God cannot die in a boating accident, for crying out loud! But He heard their cry, and got up, and attended to their need. And He does the same for us. The Bible says that the Lord harkens to our voice. That means He is constantly listening for the voices of His children calling out to Him. Moreover, He always comes running to help us! The psalmist, David, says in Psalm 34, “I sought the LORD, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears... ⁶ This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him; and saved him out of all his troubles. ⁷ The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him and rescues them... ¹⁵ The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry... ¹⁷ The righteous cry out and the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.” Praise God! What a blessing to know that!

·         “He…rebuked the wind and said to the waves…” Jesus did not need to brew up a potion or use incantations or use secret hand movements. All He needed to do was to say the word, because all of creation is His to command. Colossians 1:16-17 says, “For in Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” In Matthew 28:18 He told His disciples, “All authority has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth.” All Jesus had to do was speak to the storm, and it instantly calmed down.

·         We used to have a very strange dog, a Shih Tzu-Pekingese mix, named Bubba. He was a cute little guy, but he was psychotic, really. He barked at everything. He barked when the phone rang. He barked if somebody would get up and leave the room. He barked if somebody closed a door. He would go out of his mind if somebody rang the doorbell. He was nuts! Anyway, to control him and make him quit barking I would have to yell at him and tell him to “Shut up!” If I stomped my foot at the same time, it sometimes worked better because it would sort of get his attention but sometimes even that would not work. But I had a secret weapon. We always kept a spray bottle handy. Bubba hated getting sprayed with water but sometimes it was the only solution. And even that only worked temporarily until the next time when something else would set him off again. He was totally bonkers!

·         But notice this… Jesus did not need to yell at the storm, or stomp His feet, or get out His spray bottle. No, that storm was much better behaved than my Bubba. Jesus just had to say the word and the storm    stopped    dead    in    its    tracks!

Verse 40: He said to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

·         “Why are you so afraid?” A certain amount of fear in an unknown situation is normal. That is just the way we humans are wired up. But as children of God our lives should never be ruled by fear. Fear does not come from God. Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Tim. 1:7 saying: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, and of love, and of self-discipline.” At that moment, the disciples’ fear was all out of proportion to what was really going on. After all, Jesus was in the boat with them! They were not alone, adrift at sea. The Creator of the Sea was right there in the boat with them. What was screwed up was their perception of reality. They could not see Jesus for who He really was. Take Him out of the story and their fear makes perfect sense, but with Him in the boat with them, their fear was totally ungrounded.

·         “Do you still have no faith?” I believe the stress needs to be placed on the word “still.” By this time, the disciples had already seen Jesus perform a boatload of miracles. They had witnessed it all up close and personally. Yet, they still had anemic faith, faith with no muscles, faith that folded up like a cheap lawn chair the first time Jesus dropped them into a crisis. How interesting! I would like to think that I would have performed at a little higher faith level had I been in that boat, but that is just my pride talking. I would have probably been just like them, blubbering like a little girl.

Verse 41: They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!”

·         “They were terrified... they asked each other...” What were they so terrified of? Apparently, they were suddenly struck by the fact that they were in the presence of a being far more awesome and powerful than they had ever dreamed. They suddenly saw Jesus with new eyes. In that moment, they began to experience the truth of what the Word of God says in Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” However, in their terror, who did they turn to? Apparently not to Jesus! It sounds like they latched on to each other for comfort and just stood back and stared at Him. Isn’t that just like us? We look to other people to supply what only God can give us. Our first response should always be to draw near to Him, to grab on to Him, but often we look for help and comfort in the wrong places. But those are all dry wells, watering holes without water.

·         “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey Him.” That is not amazing at all. Genesis tells us that He formed all things by His word and all of creation obeys His voice. The only creature who refuses to obey His voice is man. That is because we are stupid, stiff-necked, and rebellious. It is embarrassing to have to admit that we are dumber than our own dogs and cats, but it is the truth. The rest of creation hears, knows, and obeys God’s voice. Only man is so blind, deaf, and stupid that he does not recognize the voice of his Master. Only when we begin to bow the knee to Him and give Him His rightful place in our lives will we begin to experience the peace and joy and blessings that He reserves for those who know Him, love Him, honor Him, obey Him, and are called by His name. 

CONCLUSION:

There is a lovely old hymn that asks the same question that the Twelve disciples posed to Jesus that day in the boat. You can find it in most of our hymnals.

Does Jesus Care?

Words by Frank E. Graeff / Music by J. Lincoln Hall           

            VERSES:

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained too deeply for mirth and song?

As the burdens press, and the cares distress, and the way grows weary and long?

 

Does Jesus care when my way is dark with a nameless dread and fear?

As the daylight fades into deep nightshades, does He care enough to be near?

 

Does Jesus care when I’ve tried and failed to resist some temptation strong?

When for my deep grief I find no relief, though my tears flow all the night long?

 

Does Jesus care when I’ve said goodbye to the dearest on earth to me?

And my sad heart aches till it nearly breaks—Is it aught to Him? Does He see?

 

REFRAIN:

O yes, He cares! I know He cares. His heart is touched with my grief.

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.

Whatever you are going through right now, whatever your storm might be, know this: Jesus knows, He sees, and He cares, and He will come to your aid if you just turn to Him and cry out to Him in your time of trouble. That is His personal promise to you today.