1They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2When he had come out of the boat, immediately a man with an unclean spirit met him out of the tombs. 3He lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, 4because 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. 5Always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and bowed down to him, 7and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don’t torment me.” 8For he said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9He asked him, “What is your name?”
He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10He begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country. 11Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding. 12All the demons begged him, saying, “Send us into the pigs, that we may enter into them.”
13At once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea. 14Those who fed the pigs fled, and told it in the city and in the country.
The people came to see what it was that had happened. 15They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid. 16Those who saw it declared to them what happened to him who was possessed by demons, and about the pigs. 17They began to beg him to depart from their region.
18As he was entering into the boat, he who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. 19He didn’t allow him, but said to him, “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you.”
20He went his way, and began to proclaim in Decapolis how Jesus had done great things for him, and everyone marveled.
21When Jesus had crossed back over in the boat to the other side, a great multitude was gathered to him; and he was by the sea. 22Behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came; and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23and begged him much, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live.”
24He went with him, and a great multitude followed him, and they pressed upon him on all sides. 25A certain woman who had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26and had suffered many things by many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather grew worse, 27having heard the things concerning Jesus, came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. 28For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be made well.” 29Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
30Immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31His disciples said to him, “You see the multitude pressing against you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’”
32He looked around to see her who had done this thing. 33But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be cured of your disease.”
35While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue ruler’s house, saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?”
36But Jesus, when he heard the message spoken, immediately said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.” 37He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. 38He came to the synagogue ruler’s house, and he saw an uproar, weeping, and great wailing. 39When he had entered in, he said to them, “Why do you make an uproar and weep? The child is not dead, but is asleep.”
40They ridiculed him. But he, having put them all out, took the father of the child, her mother, and those who were with him, and went in where the child was lying. 41Taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi!” which means, being interpreted, “Girl, I tell you, get up!” 42Immediately the girl rose up and walked, for she was twelve years old. They were amazed with great amazement. 43He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and commanded that something should be given to her to eat.
He Touched Me
Mark 5
He Touched Me
The people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid. 16 Those who saw it declared to them what happened to him who was possessed by demons, and about the pigs. 17 They began to beg him to depart from their region. (Mark 5:14b-17 WEB)
Mark chapter five chronicles one of the most moving stories in the New Testament. It is one of those wild, otherworldly things that happened during the ministry of Jesus. He and the disciples reached the northeast corner of the Sea of Galilee, and they ran up on a bizarre guy living among the tombs. The locals had done their best to control him. I am sure that he confronted anyone who passed by and would scare the daylights out of them. They had chained him up to try to contain him, but he just broke the chains. They wanted to tie him down, but he was too strong to bind. He was a real problem for the community. He just existed up there in the hills and the tombs, cutting himself and screaming out. I envision him like some of these homeless people we see on the street, pitifully wandering around, shouting out to invisible listeners. It was just plain scary.
When the demon-possessed man saw Jesus from afar, he ran up to Him and bowed down and acknowledged who he was. The guy cried out something like, "Son of God. Leave me alone. In God's name, don't bother me!" Jesus immediately commanded the demon to come out of him and asked him his name. The demon answered back, "My name is legion, for we are many." This poor man wasn't just possessed by one demon, but he had a whole slew of demons in him. Most of us know the story. Jesus commanded the group of demons into a pack of pigs, and they raced down to a cliff and threw themselves into the Sea of Galilee. I've actually been to the place where this is believed to have happened, and it's quite a drop off into the water.
And then the miracle was seen. The townspeople came out, and they found that the man of the tombs had undergone a radical change. Scripture tells us, "The people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid." (Mark 5:14b-15 WEB). Although it might sound extreme, there is a little bit of the man of the tombs in each of us. We might not have been demon-possessed, but before we met Jesus we were out "among the tombs". We were living like dead people who were yet to be made alive. We might have been involved in self-destructive behavior. We were not in our right minds. Yet Jesus came along and touched us, making us whole. We who were once lost are now "seated, clothed, and in our right minds." As Bill and Gloria Gaither penned many years ago, "He touched me, oh, He touched me and oh, the joy that floods my soul Something happened, and now I know He touched me, and made me whole".