“THE GIFT OF LIFE”

Mark 5:21-43

2/3/2008                                                                                                                                      Pastor Harpold

This is a remarkable chapter in the Gospel of Mark.  There are more mir­acles in this gospel than in any other, and this chapter contains three outstand­ing miracles.  They could be performed only by the hand of Omnipotence.

Jesus had taught on the other side in parables.  He was weary and so crossed the sea.  Chapter 4 ended with the disciples in holy fear after Jesus had calmed the storm.  Why fear?  Perhaps because it is a fearful thing to be in the very presence of such tremendous power.  Jesus merely spoke the word and the awesome power of nature immediately obeyed.

They arrive in Gadara.  This is the land given to the tribe of Gad on the east side of the Jordan.  Gad chose the wrong side of Jordan.  They stayed on the east side, and now they are in the pig business.  When you stray from God, you just keep going away.

They meet a man living among the tombs.  He is in a desperate condition, but he is still a man.  That is what the Lord Jesus saw - a man.  In spite of his condition, Jesus saw the man.  He acts like a maniac.  Notice the description of the man.

This is a desperate case of a man possessed with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs.  This was his ghetto.  The tombs were unclean places.  The dead were there, and sometimes the bodies were ex­posed.  He no longer enjoyed the society of normal men as he lived among the dead.  But the dead were no company to him.  He was alone.  We are told he possessed superhuman power; so they could not bind him.  Just because a man demonstrates supernatural power, does not prove God gave it to him.  This case is a typical example.  He was a wild man.  He was miserable.  He inflicted great physical harm on himself.  Humanly speaking he is a hope­less case.  What an awful condition! And all due to de­mon possession!  But he worshipped Jesus.

It was the man who worshiped Him, not the demon.  He was afraid of Jesus.  He suffered from what we might call spiritual schizophrenia, a split personality.

Demons recognize Jesus and acknowledge who He is.

Jesus asks the man’s name. The answer is baffling but it’s not bad grammar.  He says, “My name is…” indicating that the man was trying to speak, but then the demons take over and they say, “We are many.”  Legion means many.

There is a tremendous occurrence presented to us here.  The demons made a very peculiar request.  They preferred swine to the abyss. 

This would be a good time to talk about demon possession:

1.   Not only Mark, all Scripture bears witness to the reality of demons.  For those who accept the authority of Scrip­ture, you must accept the real­ity of demons.

2.   They were especially evident during the ministry of Jesus.  We’re living in a day right now when there is a resurgence and a manifestation of demonism again.

3.  For some reason they seek to indwell mankind.  They seek to manifest their evil nature through human beings.  They are extremely restless.  This description is clear.  “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, I will return unto my house whence I came out” (Luke 11:24).  Is this not the characteristic of all evil, even evil men?

Good spirits never seek to take possession of men.  The Holy Spirit is the exception, but He only indwells believers.  As truly as He indwells believers so demons can possess the unsaved.  Demons cannot possess the saved.  We are told that He who is in you (the Holy Spirit) is greater than he who is in the world (Satan) (1 John 4:4).

4.   In this incident the demons would rather go into a herd of swine than the abyss.

5.   They should be called demons and not devils.  There is only one Devil.  They are called “unclean spirits” because of their nature.

7.   There seems to be many of them.

8.   They are under the control of Satan.  Strong opinion is that when Satan fell, these were the angels that followed him.

9.   Their purpose is the undoing of man.  They are working on Satan’s program.

10. The Lord Jesus Christ has power over demons.  That, I think, is the great lesson for us to learn.

Demons must obey the commands of Jesus.

There is no reason for any believer to be afraid of demons.  If you are bothered with them, then just ask the Lord Jesus to deliver you.  They have been cast out in His name, and it is a lack of faith in the Lord Jesus to walk in fear of them today.  Remember that the Lord Jesus Christ has power over demons.

Now, Jesus gave this man the gift of life.  Before, he was physically alive, but in every other respect he was as good as dead.

Now a remarkable thing occurs.  The local residents come out and are in such fear they ask Jesus to leave.  (Did they fear the loss of more pigs or the power of Jesus?)

People fear the power of Jesus and would prefer that He leave them alone.  Why would we fear the power of Jesus?  Maybe we fear what He could do to us.  We don’t like someone more powerful than us.

Those who have been delivered want to follow Jesus.  That is how it was with the demoniac.  He was ready to follow Jesus anywhere.  Once you have directly experienced the power of Jesus in you, you want more.  You don’t want to be separated from this one who has so radically transformed your life.

Jesus sends him to his people to tell them what the Lord has done for him.

Believers want to tell others about Jesus.  Can we remain silent when we have been touched and redeemed by Jesus?

Jesus and his disciples cross over the sea one more time.  There he again encounters the crowds and among the crowd was a ruler of the synagogue.  He was desperate.  And he asked Jesus for a miracle.

Those in high position still need Jesus.

Jesus starts out with Jairus with the crowd in hot pursuit.  But his trip was interrupted by another miracle just waiting to occur.

In telling this incident of the woman, it is interesting that Luke, who was a physician, said she couldn’t be healed.  Mark says that she had suffered many things of the physicians, and she had spent all that she had.  So we see that this matter of medical expense being so great today is not new at all.

This woman believed so strongly that she felt all she had to do was touch his garment and she would be healed.  Wow!  What a faith.  Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”  The disciples thought it was a very peculiar question since the whole crowd was pressing in on Him.  But only one touched Him in faith for healing!

It is the same today.  A lot of people around us use the name of Jesus freely.  They are running around talking about Jesus and people think they certainly know Him.  Surely they know Him, but they have touched Him as the crowd touched Him - not like this woman touched Him, for she touched Him in faith for healing.

Jesus has power over sickness.

 

She had been in this condition for twelve years. (Did you notice that Jairus’ daughter was twelve years old?)  Twelve years of suffering coming to an end and twelve years light enter­ing into darkness, the darkness of death.  The father who had come, when he saw Jesus talking to this woman must have thought, Oh, why doesn’t He hurry.  Doesn’t He know that my little girl is so sick that she’ll die unless He moves?  Now Jesus healed the woman, and while dealing with her a messenger arrives.  The young child had died.  No need to bother Jesus anymore.  We have that attitude.  Don’t bother Jesus with our problems.  He is too busy for us to trouble Him.

Jesus, however, goes to the home and puts out those who don’t believe.  When they were out, He goes in and we are told, he took the child’s hand and said, Talitha koum; which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up.“

Jesus provides victory over death.

“Talitha cumi” was an expression of the Ara­maic that the little girl would have under­stood.  It was her native tongue and it might be translated “Little lamb, wake up!”  Isn’t that a sweet, lovely thing?  We find our Lord raised the little girl.  He raised a man in the vigor of young manhood (the widow’s son at Nain), and then probably a mature man or even a senior citizen, Lazarus.  He raises them all the same way.  He spoke to them!

If a twelve-year-old girl, or boy for that matter, were awakened from sleep and were made well, what would they want?  Food, of course.  So He told them to feed the little one.  How practical this is and how wonderful it is.

These are the three great miracles that in my judgment demonstrate the great message of the Gospel of Mark.  He is God’s Servant with God’s power.  He is a Man of action and He has come not to be ministered unto but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many.  Here we see Him in this chapter doing three wonderful miracles.  He casts out de­mons from the man in Gadara.  He heals the woman with an issue of blood.  He raises this little twelve-year-old daughter of Jairus.

Is Jesus any different today?  Does He not still possess the same power?  Isn’t he ready to respond to your needs today?  The answers will vary.  We will not always be delivered from the throes of death.  We still face that prospect.  If healing came in every case, we would never die – nor would we enter the kingdom, for flesh and blood does not inherit the kingdom.

What is your response to such a powerful Savior?

© 2008, Spring Creek Church of the Brethren