The first story today is one we have heard several times, I'm sure! The demon possessed man has been shunned to the caves far outside of town but when Jesus came the man came immediately- Jesus didn't seek him out. So, does Jesus seek out people or does Jesus wait for people to come? The demons address Jesus with "Jesus, Son of the Most High God" (v 7); in ancient times- there was an idea that if you knew and said an individuals entire name- you could gain spiritual control over them. In essence, the demon was trying to control Jesus! Oh was Legion in for it! (a Roman Legion is 6000 troops- not that the man had 6000 demons inside, but there were many). Think of the "demons" that we have in us! The demons wold rather be in pigs than be sent into the abyss and not have any effect on anything (vv 10- 13); the pigs eventually ran off the cliff- showing us the destructive power of Satan. The man was "cured" and the people of the town were afraid of Jesus (v 17). People are more afraid of what Jesus would do to them than a crazy, demon possessed man living in the caves near their town! What does this say about the nature of people? The man wanted to leave with Jesus, but Jesus refused. The man had a more important ministry to do- go to town and report what had happened and declare the greatness and mercy of God (vv 18- 20)! We all have that important ministry- to witness to God's mercy and grace- are we doing that?
Jesus returns to the other side (the Jewish side) of the Sea of Galilee and is met by Jairus, a temple leader (like a priest). The request is to heal his daughter. Jairus had faith that Jesus could do it, but that Jesus needed to be present in the house for the healing to happen. They are interrupted by the woman with the hemorrhage issue. Due to her issue, she had been ostracized from the community and was unable to worship; she had no touch (if she touched anyone, then they would be unclean too), and we remember from Luke's interpretation that she had spent all her money on physicians. The woman thought that if she could just touch Jesus' clothes that she would be healed. What does that tell us about her faith? What about our faith in light of this story? She was healed and cold feel the difference in her body (v 29). Jesus has the ability to heal us inside- our spirit, our soul, our entire being. Jesus then calls her out. Imagine the fear that she might have felt,; she didn't ask permission, she didn't acknowledge Jesus, she was somewhat subversive in her actions. Jesus used this moment as a teaching moment about faith and what faith can do. How does this make you feel in our recent discussions about faith and how shaky our faith is at times? In my translation, Jesus calls her "dear woman" (v 34), but some translations say "Daughter". How would this have made her feel?
Bad news follows for Jairus-- his daughter is dead. Imagine his anger at Jesus for "wasting time" with this woman; imagine Jairus' possible disgust at the woman for interrupting their travel to his house to heal his daughter. Jesus responds with "Don't be afraid; just believe." (v 36) How many times has Jesus said this to you? Have you done it?! They get to the house and Jesus takes his "inner circle" of disciples (Peter, James, John) and mom and dad to the girl's room. Why only Peter, James, and John? Jesus revives the girl. Interesting point that I just noticed-- the girl was 12 years old (v 42) and the woman had a bleeding problem for 12 years (v 25). Notice the differences (yet similarities) in these two stories: Jairus- well know, priest; Woman- ostracized from her community. Jairus- probably wealthy; Woman- probably poor. Jairus- publicly asked Jesus to help; Woman- secretly obtained help from Jesus. Jairus' daughter- healed in secrecy; Woman healed publicly. Jesus responded to Jairus after a delay; Jesus responds to the woman immediately. Jesus' work is the same for both people- yet different. If Jesus can touch each need personally in these stories, Jesus can touch our needs too!
It has been a good week. Thanks for the comments and keeping up with the readings; I know it may be tough, but we are doing it! Remember- we are taking weekends off from the reading plan. Enjoy the weekend and I will talk with you all on Monday when we discuss chapter 6!
Shalom+
Pastor Paul
People make fun or judge, for they have little faith or are afraid. Some times seeing or reading is still hard to believe. But Jesus heals in many ways in response to your faith. But Jesus says go home and tell the good news of what wonderful and mercifully things the Lord has done for you.
ReplyDeleteGood point- lack of faith may bring out laughter or judging others. And another good point- go and tell! Nice job Rose Marie!
DeleteJesus on the Gentile side of the sea and healing a demon possessed man The demons didn't want Jesus to send them to some distant place but to send them into the herd of pigs which he did but he still destroyed them when the pigs drowned in the sea. Legion was a Gentile and wanted to go with Jesus however he told him to go home telling everyone of what had happened to him The first Gentile telling og Jesus??
ReplyDeleteinteresting that the girl was 12 and the woman had bled for 12 yrs. Not sure I fully understand this time correlation The important ideas I am getting from these stories is Jesus stresses to have faith and be confidant in that faith. That is much easier said than done as our faith can falter so easily as we go through the process of everyday living. I know i fail often when different trials have occurred in my life ie. this pandemic makes one wonder if Jesus is still there to get us thru
The demon possessed man may have been the first Gentile that told of Jesus- I'd have to look that one up! 12 years of love and family time compared to 12 years of isolation and ridicule. It is easy to say "Have faith" but when the rubber meets the road- sometimes it is tough! Good points Clara!
DeleteI think Jesus does both - He seeks them out by traveling, talking, preaching, healing; but He waits for them to come by letting them believe, have faith, not forcing the issue. Mark doesn’t really tell us that the “crazy” man was harmful. It does say they tried to restrain him and couldn’t, but it doesn’t say that he went around harming people - especially since he lived in the caves. However, Jesus, in casting the demons into the pigs - destroyed their food and their means to live - my KJV says there were about 2,000 pigs - that’s a lot to lose for the Gentiles. I am thinking that the Gentiles had not heard much about Jesus or even seen Him, so here comes this person who may cure his “crazy” man but then destroys their way of living. And now the “crazy” man is telling another story (which may have sounded crazy to them). No wonder the Gentiles were afraid and confused. But my takeaway lesson from this? Go and tell people the wonderful things God has done for me. Something I fail at. The faith of the woman with the blood issue was certainly strong. BUT she was still afraid when Jesus wanted to know who touched Him. But I would be as well, There were many people, Jairus, a powerful man, was waiting for Jesus, and she was not sure of Jesus’ reaction - she was only sure that HE would heal her. Again, sometimes faith does not always heal us physically, but it DOES help us to get through what we must get through or we are called home. Faith does give us peace. I think Jesus does heal us inside always. I think it strange that Jesus takes only the 3 disciples - except that they truly are his “inner circle” - possibly His closest friends. Plus the less people in on a secret, the less chance that it will get out. Especially since Jesus charges them that no man should know about it. Interesting about the number 12 in both stories. BTW- I agree with your comment that parables allowed the people to talk to each other and learn from their discussions. And thank you for the explanation on the different names for the apostles!
ReplyDeleteGood point about the healing and then the destruction of the pigs- never thought of the fear that the Gentiles may have had and the anger they may have had! Faith does bring peace-- but it is tough at times! The less people in on a secret the lower the chance of that secret getting out- but wouldn't Jesus want that secret out? I also think that maybe he didn't want/need to "perform" in front of an audience? Good points Donna!
DeleteWhat do you think happened to the poor “crazy” man when he went into the city and told everyone a fantastical story about demons going out of him into thousands from pigs who then drown in the sea? The Bible says everyone was amazed. I think if I had heard that I would have thought the man was “crazy” especially if I didn’t know him. Legions healing was certainly a miracle. I like Luke’s version . It sounds more believable to me.
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing how many people in the Bible die and are brought back to life. It’s interesting that when the girl came alive again “he strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.” Legion was told to go out and tell people but Jesus didn’t want people to tell about the little girl. Hmmm
Good question- I wish we had a follow up of how the many was treated by the town after telling them this crazy story! There are several times when Jesus says to people- go and tell...and then others Jesus says don't say anything! I wonder too why there is a difference? Good points Cathy!
ReplyDeleteThis is Sunday evening. I must have taken Friday off and I realized it earlier today. Better late than never.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that in Jesus's time, people with medical problems were ostracized. Case in point is the woman with the hemorrhage issue. This to me seems like a societal problem with that era. I am glad that her faith in Jesus was strong enough to heal her, even though she did it in an underhanded way - she tried to do it without Jesus knowledge. When the truth was out, Jesus acted in a caring manner toward the woman, which says a lot about Jesus's ministry. Incurring Jairus's wrath was the by-product of this healing, but Jairus's daughter was saved by Jesus, so the wrath was unfounded, fortunately. There is plenty of pain and suffering today, and we really need Jesus in the flesh to do his wonders. It is good to have faith, but faith doesn't have the 100% success rate that Jesus had in Biblical times. This is the second time that I have noticed that Jesus has asked the healed not to tell anybody. Why? Is it because He was only one man and could only do so much (even though He was the Son of God). If this is the reason, it would be even worse today since the world's population is so much denser that it was when He walked the earth.
Speaking about faith, the coming year is really going to try my faith with the political and COVID-19 situations. According to the newspaper, we should be able to get the vaccine starting around Jan 15. Our doctor, however, told us not to expect it until March or April. Do I have faith that I can avoid catching the virus before then? I do not.
I am going to digress here. Nearby is a state park named the Peoples Buffalo Jump State Park. When I read about the pigs, it made me think of this park. This park id historical and it covers ground where the native tribes would herd buffalo (who had poor eyesight) in a stampede to run off a very steep hill and the tribal warriors would then kill the badly injured buffalo and skin them for pelts, meat and whatever else they could harvest off the dying animals. The buffalo's only issue was not that they had a demon spirit inside, but that they had something the native Americans needed. Is this the same as having a demon spirit inside. I do not believe so, so please correct me if I am mistaken.
Hi Jack- you bring up some good points. You are right- people with health issues were often ostracized. This is a result of the feeling that many issues were related to sins, and if you associated with the sinner- you were a sinner! I am not sue why Jesus wanted some people to tell and others not to tell...I really need to look into that more. My thought is he didn't really want the immediate popularity for just doing miracles, he wanted people to hear the message and hear about God's kingdom.
ReplyDeleteFaith has been tough this year and it will continue to be tough! It is easy to say- oh, have faith. But when push comes to shove- it is tough!
Interesting about the park near you! I have heard that is how the Native Americans hunted buffalo!And you are correct!