Mark 5

It is a fact of Old Testament revelation that God's saving plans always included the nations of the world, the Gentiles, and not merely His special people, the Jews, from whom came the Messiah. Here the Jewish Messiah, who generally stayed fairly close to home, at least compared with some of His later followers, is presented as deliberately moving out into the pagan territory of the Decapolis. Immediately He meets a dangerous man who no one can control, a man who lives in a cemetery. Here is the Son of God moving out into a world of death. Will He be strong enough for this kind of challenge? Will the actions of the One who came first for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, reflect the Lord's promise to Abraham, that through his seed all the families of the earth would be blessed?

This wretched grave-dwelling man, who was no small challenge to his neighbors, immediately knows who Jesus is. He has some access into unseen realms, but not for good. His life is a life of danger to himself, and a life that could only bring harm and grief to others. Yet this man knows that Jesus is the Son of the Most High God, and he begs, in the name of God, that he not be tormented. Jesus is the Son of the Most High God, and He knows exactly what is going on in this boy. The boy is not in his right mind. What the boy thinks is freedom is in fact the cruelest bondage. He is a victim of massive demonic oppression. Jesus is able to address malevolent beings, beings that would seek to destroy such a young man, and to give them authoritative commands that cannot ultimately be resisted. This man has many demons within him, yet our Lord can cast them out with a simple word.

A large number of demons inside this one soul beg Jesus not to send them out of that country. They want to do what they are doing to this man's life, and they especially want to do what they are doing in this place, in the Gentile and pagan world of the Decapolis. They do not want there work there stopped by the Son of God, but to do anything they will need His permission. Their proposal to Jesus is for a command to inhabit a herd of pigs; and though this is their request, we know that there is always the matter of the most free and independent will of Almighty God, who does all that pleases Him. His purposes are good. He grants them their strange and depraved desire, and they demonstrate to those who are there that day, and to us who read this account, the overwhelming evil that they are, as two thousand pigs rush down a steep bank into the sea, and are drowned. This is what this young man has been dealing with in his life, something that Jesus can see, while others look at such a person with understandable horror and fear, wondering what is going on in his dangerous and crazy existence near the graves.

That boy will never be the same. He has been delivered of the powers of hell, and heaven's best Word has given Him true life. This is unmistakable to see, yet the people from the town are afraid at this display of divine power, and they beg Jesus to leave their region. He complies. Meanwhile the man who has been delivered from this horrid host begs Jesus for permission to travel with the Lord as Jesus returns to Jewish settlements. The boy's request is denied, but he is given a very surprising commission. So many Jews who are healed are told to be very quiet about what has happened to them, but this Gentile man is sent off as an evangelist to His friends, to tell them about the Lord's mercy, and about how much God has done for him. This is what he does, and we are told that it made quite an impression on everyone.

As Jesus returns to the other side of the lake, we hear of a ruler of a synagogue who has a young daughter who is about to die, and also about a woman who has had a discharge of blood for twelve years, making her ceremonially unclean. As Jesus is on His way to help the girl, the woman secretly touches him, in the faith that she will be made well by this quiet action. The Lord is aware of faith. This is how we need to approach Him. Do we know that He loves us? Do we know that He is making all things new? We need to come to Him with that confidence of faith, and the humility to trust that He does all things well, everything in its proper season.

The woman is right, and the effect of her faith is immediate. The father pleading for His daughter is right to turn to Jesus, but when they arrive there at his home, it appears that He is too late. The mourners are already weeping. She is gone. The woman has been healed. She heard the words of the Lord, "Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease." Would there be nothing left for the little girl? Was the Messiah too late? We know that God is the Lord of space and time. He has a place that He has won for us through the blood of the Lamb, and He has a time that He has secured for His people through that same blood. There is no "too late" or "too difficult" for Jesus, though our sons be inhabited by a legion of demons, and though our daughters die, and observers laugh at the Son of God, when He says these great words, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping."

He is well able to take us and our loved ones by the hand, and say to us and to them, "Arise!" Though we may not see that in our timing, we will certainly see it in His. He too inhabited the grave for a time. He was not spared that fate. He did this so that we could have hope when we place others in that tomb of sleep, that in that moment and in the turmoil and grief beyond, we might have confidence in the resurrection. After His blood flowed for His bride on the cross, His voice was soon heard beyond the grave, and His body was very much alive. When He comes again with His angels and all His beloved to give the command "Arise," His power and wisdom will be undeniable to all. It is our privilege today to hear His words, and to trust Him, for the King of the Jews, who is also the Savior of the world, says to us, "Do not fear, only believe."