Mark 5-6 CSB
Mark 5 and 6 are probably my two favorite chapters in all of
Mark, and there is just so much to talk about. I’ve been wondering how I would
boil it down to a single devotion and realized I just can’t. 😊
With your permission, I will do two today (part 1 and part 2). Perhaps this
will make up for another day I miss.
Mark 5 has three amazing stories all packed together into
one chapter: The deliverance of the Gerasene demonic, The healing of the woman
with an issue of blood, and the rising from the dead of Jairus’ daughter. In a
single chapter, Mark recounts Jesus’ power over Satan, over Sickness and over
Death. It is a powerful vignette that helps us see who Jesus really is and what
He is all about. I love Mark’s account of the Gerasene demoniac, because he gives
so many details. He talks about how this man lived in the tombs (likely
subsisting on the flesh of rotting corpses), how he had superhuman strength and
could not be bound with chains, how he was always crying out in the wilderness
and cutting himself with stones, and how everyone in the entire region feared
him.
Yet, the one thing this man feared (or better said the
thousands of demons inside him feared) was the Son of God, Jesus Christ. I have
dealt with demon possession many times here in Africa and while every situation
is different, there are always some commonalities. We cast them out by the
power of Jesus and not by our power, shouting, wisdom or anything else. Also,
demons are very evil and very clever. If you read the passage carefully you see
that they were resisting Jesus and trying to debate with Him; even trying to
bargain with Him. I have seen this many times where demons try to change the
subject, trick you or make it all about something else and not about submitting
to the authority of Jesus. In the end, they were no match for Jesus and he cast
them into the pigs. Even when they thought they had won, as the pigs rush down
the steep bank you see the demons actually lost.
But what I think is more shocking in this chapter than the
power of Jesus and the wiles of the enemy, is the depravity and hypocrisy of
people. So many characters are mentioned in this one chapter that it makes your
head spin. There are the people who witnessed the deliverance of the demoniac.
Rather than rejoice that the demoniac they feared was now changed, or worship
the Messiah, they begged Jesus to go away because they were scared of His power
and angry with Him for destroying their pigs. There are the crowds that pressed
around Jesus, not because they loved Him but because they wanted something from
Him. Yet, they were willing to stand in the way of a poor unclean woman who
needed to get to the Savior. Some tried to convince Jairus to despair and leave
Jesus alone because his daughter had already died… and there were the mourners
at his house who were crying one minute (because they were paid to) and then
laughing the next when Jesus suggested she would live again.
We see Jesus ministering in a world that was religious and
yet confused, broken and resistant to truth. It reminds me a lot of what I see
every day when I go outside my gate. I wonder how Jesus wasn’t constantly
frustrated and annoyed with the sinfulness, the selfishness, the faithlessness
and the hypocrisy of everyone He met (even His disciples). It is enough to
drive a well-meaning missionary to despair. But, then, those are not the only
characters in the chapter. Consider the former demoniac whose first reaction
was to follow Jesus and Jesus (shockingly) said “No,” and sent him to be the
first missionary to Decapolis and the ten cities heard the gospel from his
lips. Consider the woman who had faith enough to break every social and
religious barrier to get close enough to Him to touch the hem of his garment
and be healed. Consider Jairus who after hearing the word that his daughter had
died, looked Jesus in the eye and heard him say, “Don’t be afraid, only
believe.” And he did, and he received his daughter back from the dead that day.
Ministry in this world is tough, ministry at this time in history (especially
with COVID-19) is exhausting, but Jesus is on the throne. Even though there are
many people out there who don’t get it and who won’t respond, there are still
those out there who understand their need and who will respond. He is always at
work around us. Instead of despairing, let's lift our eyes and see where He is
moving amid the chaos.
Blessings in Christ,
Kevin W. Rodgers
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