NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON’T —- HIDING IN THE TOMBS

PART TWO

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.  He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”  Mark 5:6-7

Do you see him?  Jesus is standing there and the man is on his knees in front of him.  Can you feel the tension?  The community is afraid with this man outside the tombs.  When he stays in the tombs, at least they feel safe.  Then he is shouting.  The sound causes everyone to step back.  Everyone, except Jesus and Jesus knows the voice is not the voice of the man.  It is the voice of an impure spirit.

For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you impure spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.  Mark 5:8-10

Cliff notes: Mark 5:8-14 The impure spirit is named Legion and does not want to be sent out of the area.  I guess the demons thought they could leave the man in the tombs and move quickly into the souls of the locals.  What is a demon without a soul to control?  This seemed like a good plan until Jesus did as they begged.  Into the pigs they went and into the lake went the pigs.  Bye, bye Legion.  The people came to see what was going on.

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.  Those who had seen it told the people what had happened to the demon-possessed man—and told about the pigs as well.  Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region.  Mark 5:15-17

Put yourself back into the story.  Right in front of you sits the man who was possessed.  Are you wanting to go hug the man?  Are you wanting to shake his hand and join him in praise that he is in his right mind?  Are you wondering what is wrong with all the people standing around?  Why are they still afraid of this man?  And why did they want Jesus to leave their region?

What would you be doing?  Would you go get your crazy uncle (we all have at least one) and bring him to Jesus to be healed?  Would you bring your child to be blessed?  Would you fall on your knees?  Or would you tell Jesus to leave?

All the blessings this community could have had… All the wisdom Jesus could have taught them… The gift of eternal life… and they were mad because their money ran into a lake and drowned.  They wanted the man to be back in the tombs.  That is what they understood.  They knew how to deal with that.  But this …..  This man had to leave.

As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him.  Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 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.  Mark 5:18-20

Please picture the man who used to live in the tombs one more time.  He is walking away from the boat.  His shoulders droop and he is looking at the ground.  He hears one more voice telling him no.  Why did Jesus say he could not go with him?  He had begged.  Jesus said no.  How that hurt.  Jesus had given his life back.  He wanted to be with him.  He wanted to serve him.

It was with that thought, that the man stopped.  He stood up straight.  He looked back over his shoulder and realized Jesus had not told him no.  Jesus asked him to serve as a witness to the people in the Decapolis.  Instead of hearing Jesus agree to what he wanted, the man finally heard what Jesus wanted, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

Watch just a minute more.  What man do you see now?  Do you see a man who lived in the tombs?  Do you see a man with a story to tell?

Take your eyes off the man and look toward the boat.  Jesus is watching as the man walks away.  He sees the stooped shoulders and that he is looking down.  Jesus knows the man is disappointed, but he had to tell him no.  Now Jesus is smiling.  He sees the man stand tall.  He sees the man stop and look over his shoulder.  He sees the man give him a thumbs up as he turns and walks toward his own people.

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Do you see the man in the tombs differently?  Or are you seeing the man for the first time.  Admit it.  These verses are fun to read because we like the image of the pigs running into the lake.  We like to shout and clap when Legion drowns.  We skip the part about the people asking Jesus to leave because we picture him as the good guy, wearing a big white hat, and sailing off into the sunset.  And no one remembers that the man no longer lives in the tombs.

There are so many lessons in these verses, but what do we remember?  We remember the pigs ran into the lake.  We forget that a man was so tormented that he cut himself and cried out.  We forget the man who lived among the tombs because he was taken over by an impure spirit.  We forget that a man was told he could not go with Jesus.  We forget that the man, who no longer lived in the tombs, had a story to tell.  And what an amazing story it is.

Remember:  The body is a weapon that a demon can use in attacking God.

REFERENCES:

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/mhm/mark-5.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/my-name-is-Legion.html

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/gerasene-demoniac/commentary-on-mark-51-20

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-5/

 

I want to thank you for reading my blog.  I feel blessed that my blog is reaching people in the USA, Singapore, Israel, Hong Kong, Canada, Ireland, Germany, France, Finland, China, and other foreign countries.  You are giving me a valuable gift:  your time.  I pray that you find a morsel that brings joy to your day and encourages you in your faith walk.  Celebrate each day, Mary

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NOW YOU SEE HIM, NOW YOU DON’T —- HIDING IN THE TOMBS

PART ONE

We made a quick, overnight stop in New Orleans on business.  The next morning, we decided to go for a short walk.  The desk clerk saw us heading toward the door and proceeded to show us where we could safely walk.  Off we went, first down one street and then another.  We went around a corner and there it was.  A cemetery! I started to cross the street when Bill said, “That is outside the safe area.”  To which I replied, “It is just across the street and you know how I like to see cemeteries.”

Full of bravado, I walked right across the street, stepped inside the walls surrounding the cemetery, and immediately turned around.  With that first step, I had seen many homeless move behind graves.  This small-town gal was smart enough to know I had no business going any further.  I also knew this cemetery was home to people who, for one reason or another, did not fit into society.  I bet every one of them had a story to tell.

They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.  When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.  Mark 5:1-2

THE TOMBS:  The tombs would be outside of the cities, in desolate places, where the touch of the grave was polluting.  This man was lost to an impure spirit.  He was in a vicious circle: He was unclean for seven days because he touched graves, but he couldn’t come out of the tombs long enough to be clean.

This is where you join the story.  Use your imagination.  Picture a boat … no, not a cruise ship … a small boat and Jesus is stepping out onto the shore.  Notice that the disciples are not mentioned.  They must have stayed on the boat and missed all the excitement.

Look to your left.  Do you see an unkept man coming towards Jesus?  His clothes are tattered.  His hair unkept.  People were stepping back to let him through.  They were afraid of this man who lived in the tombs.

This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain.  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.  Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.  Mark 5:3-5 NIV

Surely your heart is torn as you read about this man.  Surely questions form in your mind.  The first thing we discovered was that this man had an impure spirit.  What kind of a spirit could not be tamed by chains?  What torment this man must have been going through.  What voices did he hear that made him cry out?  What was he trying to cut out with stones?

Picture how this man lived.  He was so violent that no one could bind him.  Can you see him being held down as chains were put on his hands and irons on his feet? How frightening that must have been.  Can you see him breaking free and running away to hide? Can you see him looking up and crying into the dark sky?

This man was possessed by the devil and saw no way out.  Until he saw a man stepping off a boat.  He had heard about this man.  His name was Jesus.  The possessed man started running toward Jesus.

When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him.  He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”      Mark 5:6-7

“What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most  High God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”

PART TWO NEXT WEEK

 

THE BLEEDING WOMAN — MARK 5:25-34

PART 4

And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.  But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing 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 healed of your affliction.”       Mark 5:32-34

THE REWARD

One last time, look at the woman, before Jesus.  She is scared, trembling.

I was so frightened when I heard Jesus say, “Who touched my clothes?”  I fell down before him and told him my whole story.  I told him about being unclean.  I told him about having a flow of blood for 12 years.  I told him how I had spent all my money trying to find a cure, but that my condition had only gotten worse.  I told him everything.  I saw his eyes as I told him I only wanted to touch his garment.  His eyes were only on me, as we were the only people in the universe.  I bowed my head and said, “I only wanted one touch.  I knew I would be healed.  I only wanted one touch.”

My breathing was so shallow … My heart was barely beating … My ….  What did he say?

He - Jesus - called me his daughter.  He said my faith had made me well.  He told me to go in peace.  He - Jesus - said I was healed.

And then I realized, my name is no longer ‘unclean.’

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Wow.  If you are like me, you need a minute to process this story.  The emotions of the woman were intense.  She listened as people talked about Jesus and she took what she heard seriously.  Her desire to be healed gave her the courage to act.  Her courage to take action, caused her to succeed.  When she succeeded, she was rewarded.  She received a miracle.

A few things to think about:

Why wasn’t Jesus unclean after the woman touched his clothes?  The Law said he would be.  BUT, through Jesus the penalties of the Law are reversed, and the contamination of this world had no effect on Christ.  The woman did not make Jesus (God’s dwelling) unclean—He made her clean!

Jesus can multitask.  He was on the way to wake a sleeping child, who was dead by the standards of the world, when he healed the woman who had bleed for 12 years.  The faith of the woman was strong enough to be felt through a gentle touch.

The power of Jesus healed the woman.  Why didn’t he just nod at her and keep on walking?  Jesus stopped what He was doing and acknowledged the result of this woman’s faith:  her complete and instantaneous healing.

The emotions of the woman were intense.  Her name was no longer unclean.  He called her daughter.

Thank you for walking with the woman on her path to healing.

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References

https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2017-09-30/menstrual-cycle-taboo-holds-women-back/8996526

https://www.gotquestions.org/woman-issue-blood.html

https://www.healthline.com/health/womens-health/period-myths#Myth-2:-The-pain-of-a-period-is-just-like-anything-youve-experienced

 

 

THE BLEEDING WOMAN — MARK 5:25-34

PART 3

When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”  Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.  And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”  Mark 5:27-30

SHE SUCCEEDED

Again, picture the woman.  See her in the crowd.  Only inches away from her goal as she stretches her hand toward his garment.

This was Jesus!  She was so close.  She could almost touch his garment.  Just one more step, past one more person, and she would be able to reach out her hand …

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My clothes?”       Mark 5:29-30

For a second or for half a second, she was not sure, her fingers gently touched the robe Jesus was wearing.  Immediately the bleeding stopped.  And her very soul shouted with joy.  Then she heard Jesus say, “Who touched my clothes?”

Her mind began to race:  How did he know?  In this crowd, how could he even feel such a soft touch?

But His disciples said to Him, “You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ” Mark 5:31

What will happen to me now?  Will he be angry and the flow start again?  Will the crowds turn on me when they realize I am the unclean woman?  I will tell the truth.

She fell down, fearing and trembling …..

PART 4 NEXT WEEK

 

THE BLEEDING WOMAN — MARK 5:25-34

Part 2

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians.  She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.  When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.  For she said, “If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.”

Mark 5:25-28

SHE TOOK ACTION

 Can you see her?

Pacing in her quiet home, alone, thinking about what she had heard, the bleeding woman said, “I will go to find Jesus.  I know I am not to be in a crowd, but I will not shout or cry out.  I will not draw attention to myself.  I will slowly work my way through the crowd.  If only I can get close enough….  If only I can touch his garment… If I can touch his clothes ……

So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.  Mark 5:24

Picture the actions of the bleeding woman as she left her home ..  the only place she was safe from causing others to become unclean.

Walking out her door, the bleeding woman looked at the ground.  If no one saw her face, maybe she could get to where Jesus was without attracting attention to herself.  If only….  The streets began to fill up.  “Why are there so many?” she wondered, “I never expected the crowd to be this large.  Someone said Jesus was headed to heal a sick child.  No wonder there are so many following.  They want to see a miracle.  That is what I want too… a miracle.”

Moving slowly, the woman was searching for Jesus.  She was sure she would recognize him.  He would be the man everyone was looking at.  He would be leading the group.  “I heard he has disciples.  I hope I can get through them.  Will they have him surrounded to protect him?”

Although she was worried, she continued.  She moved through the crowd.  Her feet seemed to know where to go.  There were so many people.  It was hard for her to see one step in front of herself.  And then … Just like that … There he was.

How did she know it was Jesus?  She could feel his power.  She could see his authority by the way he walked… sure confident.  She could see the love in his eyes as he looked at all around him.

This was Jesus! She was so close.  She could almost touch his garment.  Just one more step, past one more person, and she would be able to reach out her hand …

PART 3 NEXT WEEK