Did Jesus heal an insane man of demon possession who had not asked for it? Was a woman healed because of her faith? Did Jesus heal a man’s daughter despite other people’s lack of faith? Do we have faith? Let’s discuss this in Mark 5.
On the other side of the lake, who came out to meet Jesus?
So they arrived at the other side of the lake, in the region of the Gerasenes. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out from the tombs to meet him. (Mark 5:1-2 NLT)
Where did he live and why? What was he doing?
He lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Nobody had the strength to tame him. Always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. (Mark 5:3-5 WEB)
What did the demons say to Jesus through this man’s voice?
When he saw Jesus from far away, he ran and knelt before him, shouting, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me!” (Mark 5:6-7 CEB)
What had Jesus said? The Roman legion was about 5,000 men.
The man said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to come out of him. Jesus asked, “What is your name?” The man answered, “My name is Lots [Legion], because I have ‘lots’ of evil spirits.” He then begged Jesus not to send them away. (Mark 5:8-10 CEV)
What did the demons beg for from Jesus?
Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. (Mark 5:11-13 ESV)
Why did Jesus leave the area? Could fear be a reason that people still avoid even talking about Jesus?
The men who tended them ran off and reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed by the legion, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. The eyewitnesses described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and told about the pigs. Then they began to beg Him to leave their region. (Mark 5:14-17 HCSB)
What did Jesus ask him to do other than become a disciple? What can someone think about doing, if rejected for a ministry in the church that they wanted?
As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging him to let him go with him. But Jesus wouldn’t let him. Instead, he told him, “Go home to your family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been to you.” So the man left and began proclaiming in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone was utterly amazed. (Mark 5:18-20 ISV)
After Jesus again moved on, did even a synagogue ruler come to Jesus in desperation for his daughter?
And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. (Mark 5:21-23 KJV)
As Jesus was leaving with Jairus what happened? What expression of her faith did the woman exhibit?
And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him. And a woman—who had a hemorrhage for twelve years and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His garment. For she was saying, “If I just touch His garments, I will be saved from this.” (Mark 5:24-28 LSB)
What did Jesus say to her? Whose faith made her well?
And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman, fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be cured of your disease.” (Mark 5:29-34 NASB)
There is a phrase that is criticized by unbelievers and believers alike, “Just believe!” Is there a time and place where that is exactly the right advice?
While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?” Overhearing what they said, Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.” (Mark 5:35-36 NIV)
When Jesus commented that the child was not dead, what did people do?
And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, He said to them, “Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him. (Mark 5:37-40a NKJV)
By whose faith was the girl healed, because the crowd doubted?
But he made them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and mother and his three disciples into the room where the girl was lying. Holding her hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means “Little girl, get up!” And the girl, who was twelve years old, immediately stood up and walked around! They were overwhelmed and totally amazed. Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and then he told them to give her something to eat. (Mark 5:40b-43 NLT)
Did Jesus heal an insane man of demon possession who had not asked for it? Was a woman healed because of her faith? Did Jesus heal a man’s daughter despite other people’s lack of faith? Do we have faith? You decide!
