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And they came to the other side of the sea. The other side of the sea would be the south-east side of the sea. Into the country of the Gadarenes, or rather, Gerasenes, which is now generally admitted to be the true reading, from Gerasa, Gersa, or Kersa. There was another Gerasa, situated at some distance from the sea, on the borders of Arabia Petraea. The ruins of the Gerasa, here referred to, have been recently discovered by Dr. Thomson, ('The Land and the Book'). Immediately over this spot is a lofty mountain, in which are ancient tombs; and from this mountain there is an almost perpendicular declivity, literally ( κρημνός ) corresponding accurately to what is required by the description in the narrative of the miracle. Dr. Farrar ('Life of Christ') says that in the days of Eusebius and Jerome, tradition pointed to a "steep place" near "Gerasa" as the scene of the miracle. The foot of this steep is washed by the waters of the lake, which are at once very deep.
Mar_5:2-5
There met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. St. Matthew says that there were two. St. Luke, like St. Mark, mentions only one, and him "possessed with devils," The cue mentioned by St. Mark was no doubt the more prominent and fierce of the two. This does not mean merely a person with a disordered intellect. No doubt, in this case, as in that of instantly, physical causes may have helped to lay the victim open to such an incursion; and this may account for cases of possession being enumerated with various sicknesses, though distinguished from them. But our Lord evidently deals with these persons, not as persons suffering from insanity, but as the subjects of an alien spiritual power, external to themselves. He addresses the unclean spirit through the man that was possessed, and says," Come forth thou unclean spirit" (Verse 8). There met him out of the tombs. The Jews did not have their burial-places in their cities, lest they should be defiled; therefore they buried their dead without the gates in the fields or mountains. Their sepulchres were frequently hewn out of the rock in the sides of the limestone hills, and they were lofty and capacious; so that the living could enter them, as into a vault. So this demoniac dwelt in the tombs, because the unclean spirit drove him thither, where the associations of the place would accord with his malady and aggravate its symptoms. St. Matthew, speaking of the two, says that they were "exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass that way." The demoniac particularly mentioned by St. Mark is described as having been possessed of that extraordinary muscular strength which maniacs so often put forth; so that all efforts to bind and restrain him had proved ineffectual. No man could any more bind him, no, not with a chain ( οὐδὲ ἁλύσειύ ). Chains and fetters had often been tried, but in vain. Frequently too, in the paroxysms of his malady, he would turn his violence against himself, crying out, and cutting himself with stones.
Mar_5:6
And when he saw Jesus from afar. These words, "from afar," explain the fact of our Lord being immediately met by the man as soon as he left the boat. Mar_5:3-5 inclusive must be regarded as parenthetical. They describe the ordinary condition of the demoniac, and his sad wild life from day to day. From the high ground which he frequented he had seen the boat, in which Jesus was, nearing the shore. He had seen the other boats. Perhaps he had seen the sudden rise of the storm and its equally sudden suppression; and he, like others who witnessed it, was affected by it. So he hastened to the shore; he ran and worshipped him. He felt the power of his presence, and so he was constrained through fear to do him reverence, for "the devils also believe and shudder ( φρίσσουσι )" (Jas_2:19).
Mar_5:7
He cried with a loud voice; that is, the evil spirit cried out, using the organs of the man whom he possessed. What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? From hence it appears that, although at the great temptation of our Lord in the wilderness, Satan had but an imperfect knowledge of him: yet now, after the evidence of these great miracles, and more especially of his power over the evil spirits, there was a general belief amongst the hosts of evil that he was indeed the Son of God, the Messiah. I adjure thee by God, torment me not. The torment which he dreaded was that which tie might suffer after expulsion. So St. Luke says that they entreated him that he would not command them to depart into the abyss. Great as this mystery of evil is, we may believe that the evil spirits, although while they roam about upon this earth they are in misery, still it is some alleviation that they are not yet shut up in the prison-house of hell, but are suffered to wander about and their depraved pleasure in tempting men; so that, if possible, they may at last drag them down with them into the abyss. For they are full of hatred of God and envy of man; and they find a miserable satisfaction in endeavoring to keep men out of those heavenly mansions from which, through pride, they are themselves now for ever excluded.
Mar_5:8, Mar_5:9
For he said unto him, Come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the man; literally, for he was saying ( ἔλεγε ). The unclean spirit endeavored to arrest, before it was spoken, that word of power which he knew he must obey. So in what fellows, He was asking him ( ἐπηρώτα ), What is thy name? Why does our Lord ask this question? Clearly to elicit from him an answer that would reveal the multitude of the evil spirits, and so make his own power over them to be fully known. And he saith unto him, My name is Legion; for we are many. The Roman legion consisted of six thousand soldiers. But the word is here used indefinitely for a large number. St. Luke so explains it where he says (Luk_8:30), "And he said, Legion: for many devils were entered into him." This revelation is doubtless designed to teach us how great is the number as well as the malignity of the evil spirits. If one human being can be possessed by so many, how vast must be the host of those who are permitted to have access to the souls of men, and if possible lead them to destruction! Satan here imitates him who is "The Lord of hosts." He too marshals his hosts, that he may fight against God and his people. But "for this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."
Mar_5:10
And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. It would appear as though this evil spirit felt (speaking in the name of the other evil spirits) that if they were driven out from their present dwelling-places, their condition would be changed for the worse; and that until the time should come when they were to be cast into the abyss, their best relief was to possess some materialism, to occupy flesh and blood, and that flesh and blood tenanted by a spiritual being, through whom they might torment others. They could find no rest, no relief, but in this. "The unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and findeth it not" (Mat_12:43). Even the swine were better than nothing; but that dwelling did not serve the evil spirits long.
Mar_5:11
Now there was there nigh unto the mountains—literally, on the mountain side ( πρὸς τὰ ὅρη )—a great herd of swine feeding. St. Matthew says (Mat_8:30), "There was a good way off from them:" our Lord's interview with the demoniac was on the seashore. "The herd of swine," two thousand in number, were at a distance, feeding on the slopes of the mountain; The Jews were not allowed to eat swine's flesh. But Jews were not the only inhabitants of that district. It had been colonized, at least in part, by the Romans immediately after the conquest of Syria, some sixty years before Christ. It was in this district that ten cities are said to have been rebuilt by the Romans, whence the territory acquired the name of "the Decapolis." And though the Jews were forbidden their Law to eat this kind of food, yet they were not forbidden to breed swine for other uses, such as provisioning the Roman army.
Mar_5:12
Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And he gave them leave. They could not enter even into the swine without Christ's permission; how much less into "the sheep of his pasture"!
Mar_5:13
The unclean spirits came out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place ( κατὰ τοῦ κρημνοῦ )—literally, down the steep—into the sea,... and were choked in the sea. By this Christ shows of how little worth are earthly possessions when set in the balance with the souls of men. The recovery of this demoniac was worth far more than the value of the two thousand swine.
Mar_5:14
And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. St. Matthew mentions only the city. St. Mark's narrative is more full. No doubt many of these swineherds lived in the country districts; and so the fame of the miracle was spread far and wide. The swineherds would take care that the owners should understand that it was through no fault or carelessness on their part that the swine had perished; but that the destruction was caused by a power over which they had no control. And they—i.e. the owners—came to see what it was that had come to pass. Their first care was to see the extent of their loss; and this was soon revealed to them. They must have seen the carcases of the swine floating hither and thither in the now calm and tranquil sea; and when they had thus satisfied themselves as to the facts, "they came to Jesus." St. Mark here uses the historic present, "they come to Jesus," that they might behold him of whom these great things were told, as well as the man out of whom the evil spirits had gone when they entered into the swine. They were, of course, concerned to know the magnitude of their loss, and the mode in which it had happened, that they might see whether there were any means by which it might be made up to them.
Mar_5:15
And they come to Jesus, and behold him that was possessed with devils sitting, clothed and in his right mind, even him that had the legion; and they were afraid. St, Luke adds that they found him sitting at the feet of Jesus. It is likely enough that the man, as soon as he found himself dispossessed, had east himself at the feet of Jesus, and was worshipping him; but that, when hidden by Christ to sit, he chose to place himself at his feet. "He was clothed, and in his right mind." What a contrast to the previous description! "And they were afraid." They dreaded Christ's power. They saw that he was almighty; but they did not seek to know his love, and so to attain to that love which "casteth out fear."
Mar_5:16, Mar_5:17
How it befell him that was pessessed with devils, and concerning the swine. The loss of the swine. They could not get over that. They thought far more of the worldly loss than of the spiritual gain; and they began to beseech him to depart from their borders. St. Luke (Luk_8:37) says that "they were taken ( συνείχοντο ) [literally, were holden] with great fear." This was the dominant feeling. They did not entreat him to depart out of humility, as though they felt themselves unworthy of his presence; but out of servile, slavish fear, lest his continued presence among them might bring upon them still greater losses. They saw that Jesus, a Jew according to the flesh, was holy, powerful, Divine. But they knew that they were Gentiles, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Wherefore they feared lest he should punish them more grievously, both on account of their being Gentiles and on account of their past sins. It was not, therefore, so much on account of hatred, as out of a timorous fear, that they besought Jesus that he would depart out of their borders.
Mar_5:18-20
And as he was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with devils besought him that he might he with him. It was natural that he should desire this. It would be grateful and soothing to him to be near to Christ, from whom he had received so great a benefit and yet hoped for more. And he suffered him not, but saith unto him; Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee. Our Lord here takes a different course from what lie so often took. He saw, no doubt, that this restored demoniac was fitted for missionary work; and there was no reason to apprehend any inconvenience to himself in consequence from a people who wished to get rid of him. And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis—in Decapolis, i.e. through the whole district of the ten cities—how great things Jesus had done for him. This would bring him into contact alike with Gentiles and with Jews; and so this dispossessed demoniac became a missionary to both Jew and Gentile. Here he planted the standard of the cross.
Mar_5:21
Jesus now crosses over the sea again, and apparently in the same boat, to the other side, the opposite shore, near to Capernaum. St. Matthew (Mat_4:13) distinctly tells us that he had left Nazareth, and was now dwelling at Capernaum, thus fulfilling the ancient prophecy with regard to Zebulun and Nephthalim. The circumstances under which he quitted Nazareth are given by St. Luke (Luk_4:16-31). St. Matthew (Mat_9:1) calls Capernaum his own city. Thus as Christ ennobled Bethlehem by his birth, Nazareth by his education, and Jerusalem By his death, so he honored Capernaum by making it his ordinary residence, and the focus, so to speak, of his preaching and miracles. When Jesus returned, a great multitude was gathered unto him; and he was by the sea. St. Luke says that the people welcomed him, for they were waiting for him. Again he placed himself by the sea, probably for the conveniences of addressing a multitude, and of relieving himself of the pressure, as before, by taking refuge in a boat.
Mar_5:22, Mar_5:23
One of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name. He appears to have been one of the "college of elders," who administered the affairs of the synagogue. The name Jairus, or "Ya eiros," is probably the Greek form of the Hebrew Jair, "he will illuminate." He fell at his feet, and besought him greatly; it is literally ( πίπτει καὶ παρεκάλει ), he falleth at his feet, and beseecheth him. We picture him to ourselves, making his way through the crowd, and as he approached Jesus, kneeling down, and then bending his head towards him, until his forehead touched the ground. My little daughter is at the point of death. St. Matthew says, "is even now dead;" St. Luke says, "she Jay a dying." The broken sentences of the father are very true to nature. All the expressions point to the same conclusion, that she was in articulo mortis. In each narrative the ruler is represented as asking that Christ would hasten to his house. He had not reached the higher faith of the Gentile centurion, "Speak the word only."
Mar_5:24
And he went ( καὶ ἀπῆλθε μετ αὐτοῦ )—literally, and he went away with him—and a great multitude followed him, they thronged him ( συνέθλιβον αὐτόν ); literally, pressed close upon him, compressed him. This is mentioned purposely by St. Mark, on account of what follows. St. Matthew says (Mat_9:19), "And Jesus arose, and so did his disciples." Observe here the promptitude of Christ to assist the afflicted. St. Chrysostom suggests that our Lord purposely interposed some delay, by healing, as he went, the woman with the issue of blood, in order that the actual death of the daughter of Jairus might take place; and that so there might be full demonstration of his resurrection power.
Mar_5:25, Mar_5:26
A woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years. All the synoptic Gospels mention the length of time during which she had been suffering. Eusebius records a tradition that she was a Gentile, a native of Caesarea Philippi. This disease was a chronic hoemorrhage, for which she had found no relief from the physicians. Lightfoot, in his 'Horae Hebraicae,' gives a list of the remedies applied in such cases, which seem quite sufficient to account for St. Mark's statement that she was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse. St. Luke, himself a physician, says that she "had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be healed of any."
Mar_5:27, Mar_5:28
This woman, having heard of Jesus—literally ( τὰ περί τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ), the things concerning Jesus—came in the crowd behind, and touched his garment. St. Matthew and St Luke say "the border ( τοῦ κρασπέδου ) of his garment." St. Matthew tells us that "she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole." From this it appears that, though she had faith, it was an imperfect faith. She seems to have imagined that a certain magical influence was within Christ and around him. And the touching of the border of his garment (the blue fringe which the Jews were required to wear, to remind them that they were God's people) was supposed by her to convey a special virtue. Yet her faith, though imperfect, was true in its essence, and therefore was not disappointed.
Mar_5:29
And straightway—St. Mark's favourite word—the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt ( ἔγνω )—literally, she knew—in her body that she was healed of her plague ( ὅτι ἴαται ἀπὸ τῆς μάστιγος ); literally, that she hath been healed of her scourge, The cure was instantaneous.
Mar_5:30
The words in the Greek are ἐπιγνοὺς ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν ἐξ αὑτοῦ δύναμιν ἐξελθοῦσαν : Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power emanating from him had gone forth, turned him about in the crowd, and said, Who touched my garments? Christ sees the invisible grace in its hidden operations; man only sees its effects, and not always these.
Mar_5:31
St. Luke (Luk_8:45) adds here, "When all denied, Peter said, and they that were with him, Master, the multitudes press thee and crush thee. But Jesus said, Some one did touch me; for I perceived that power had gone forth from me." This incident shows the mysterious connection between the spiritual and the physical. The miraculous virtue or power which went forth from the Saviour was spiritual in its source and in the conditions on which it was imparted, but it was physical in its operation; and that which brought the two together was faith. Multitudes thronged the Saviour, but only one of the crowd touched him.
Mar_5:32
He looked round about ( περιεβλέπετο )—another favourite word of St. Mark.
Mar_5:33
The woman fearing and trembling, etc. Every word in this verse is expressive. It was her own act. She seemed to herself as though without permission she had stolen a blessing from Christ; and so she could hardly venture to hope that the faith which had prompted her would be accepted. Hence her fear and terror, and her free and full confession. We thus see the gentleness of Christ in his dealings with us. Perhaps the woman had intended to escape, satisfied with a temporal benefit, which would hardly have been a blessing at all, if she had been suffered to carry it away without acknowledgment. But this her loving Saviour would not permit her to do. It was the crisis of her spiritual life. It was necessary that all around should know of the gift which she had endeavored to snatch in secret. Our Lord might have demanded from her this public confession of her faith beforehand. But, in his mercy, he made the way easy to her. The lesson, however, must not be forgotten, that it is not enough to believe with the heart. The lips must do their part, and "with the mouth confession must be made unto salvation."
Mar_5:34
Our Lord here reassures this trembling woman, who feared, it may be, lest, because she had abstracted the blessing secretly, he might punish her with a return of her malady. On the contrary, he confirms the benefit, and bids her be whole of her plague. The Greek expression here is stronger than that which is given as the rendering of what she had used when we read that she said within herself, "I shall be saved ( σωθήσομαι )." Here our Lord says, Go in peace, and be whole ( ἴσθι ὑγιὴς ). It is as though he said, "It is not the mere fringe of my garment, which you have touched with great faith, and with some hope of obtaining a cure—it is not this that has cured you. You owe your healing to my omnipotence and your faith. Your faith (itself my gift) has delivered you from your issue of blood; and this deliverance I now confirm and ratify. 'Go in peace.'" The original Greek here ( ὕπαγε εἰς εἰρήνην ) implies more than this. It means "Go for peace." Pass into the realm, the element of peace, in which henceforth thy life shall move. It is here obvious to remark that this malady represents to us the ever-flowing bitter fountain of sin, for which no styptic treatment can be found in human philosophy. The remedy is only to be found in Christ. To touch Christ's garment is to believe in his incarnation, whereby he has touched us, and so has enabled us by faith to touch him, and to receive his blessing of peace.
Mar_5:35
Our Lord had lingered on the way to the house of Jairus, perhaps, as has already been suggested, that the crisis might first come, and that so there might be full evidence of his resurrection power. The ruler must have been agonized with the thought that, while our Lord lingered, the life of his dying child was fast ebbing away. And now comes the fatal message to him. Thy daughter is dead ( ἀπέθανε ); the aorist expresses that her death was now a past event. Why troublest thou the Master any further? ( τί ἔτι σκύλλεις τὸν διδάσκαλον ). The Greek word here is very strong. It is to vex or weary; literally, to flay. The messengers from the ruler's house had evidently abandoned all hope, and so probably would Jairus, but for the cheering words of our Lord, "Fear not, only believe."
Mar_5:36
The words of the narrative, as they stand in the Authorized Version, are: As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. But there is good authority for the reading παρακούσας instead of εὐθέως ἀκούσας which requires the rendering, but Jesus, not heeding, or overhearing. This word ( παρακούω ) occurs in one other place in the Gospels, namely, in Mat_18:17, "And if he refuse to hear them ( ἐὰν δὲ παρακούσῃ αὐτῶν )." Here the word can only have the meaning of "not heeding," or " refusing to hear." This seems to be a strong reason for giving the word a somewhat similar meaning in this passage. And therefore, on the whole, "not heeding" seems to be the best rendering. Indeed, it seems to cover both meanings. Our Lord would overhear, and yet not heed, the word spoken.
Mar_5:37
Here we have the first occasion of the selection of three of the apostles to be witnesses of things not permitted to be seen by the rest. The other two occasions are those of the transfiguration, and of the agony in the garden. We now follow our Lord and these three favored disciples, Peter and James and John, to the house of death. They are about to witness the first earnest of the resurrection.
Mar_5:38
St. Matthew here says (Mat_9:23) that when Jesus came into the ruler's house, he" saw the minstrels ( τοὺς αὐλητὰς )," i.e. the flute-players, "and the people making a noise." This was the custom both with Jews and with Gentiles, to quicken the sorrow of the mourners by funeral dirges. The record of these attendant circumstances is important as evidence of the fact of death having actually taken place.
Mar_5:39
Some have regarded the words of our Lord, the child is not dead, but sleepeth, as really meaning that she was only in a swoon. But although she was actually dead in the ordinary sense of that word, namely, that her spirit had left the body, yet Christ was pleased to speak of death as a sleep; because all live to him, and because all will rise at the last day. Hence in the Holy Scriptures the dead are constantly described as sleeping, in order that the terror of death might be mitigated, and immoderate grief for the dead be assuaged under the name of sleep, which manifestly includes the hope of the resurrection. Hence the expression with regard to a departed Christian, that "he sleeps in Jesus." Then, further, this child was not absolutely and irrecoverably dead, as the crowd supposed, as though she could not be recalled to life; since in fact our Lord, who is the Lord of life, was going at once to call her back by his almighty power from the realms of death into which she had entered. So that she did not appear to him to be dead so much as to sleep for a little while. He says elsewhere, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go that I may awake him out of sleep." Christ, by the use of such language as this, meant to show that it is as easy with him to raise the dead from death as sleepers from their slumbers.
Mar_5:40
They laughed him to scorn. He suffered this, in order that the actual death might be the more manifest, and that so they might the more wonder at her resurrection, and thus pass from wonder and amazement to a true faith in him who thus showed himself to be the Resurrection and the Life. He now put them all forth; and then, with his three apostles, Peter, James, and John, and the father and the mother of the child, he went in where the child was. The common crowd were not worthy to see that in which they would not believe. They were unworthy to witness the great reality of the resurrection; for they had been deriding him who wields this power. It is remarked by Archbishop Trench that in the same manner Elisha (2Ki_4:33) cleared the room before he raised the son of the Shunammite.
Mar_5:41
The house was now set free from the perfunctory and noisy crowd; and he goes up to the dead child, and takes her by the hand and says, Talitha cumi; literally Little maid, arise. The evangelist gives the words in the very language used by our Lord—the ipsissima verba, remembered no doubt and recorded by St. Peter; just as he gives "Ephpbatba" in another miracle.
Mar_5:42, Mar_5:43
Here, as in other miracles, the restoration was immediate and complete: straightway the damsel rose up, and walked. Well might the father and the mother of the maiden and the three chosen apostles be amazed with a great amazement ( ἐξέστησαν ἐκστάσει μεγάλῃ ). And then, for the purpose of strengthening that life which he rescued from the jaws of the grave, our Lord commanded that something should be given her to eat. It has often been observed that in the examples of his resurrection power given by Christ there is a gradation:
1. The daughter of Jairus just dead.
2. The widow's son from his bier.
3. Lazarus from his grave.
The more stupendous miracle is I pledge, when "all that are in their graves yet to come, of which our Lord's own resurrection is at once the example and the pledge, when "All that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth."
I. We have here a representation of THE WRETCHED STATE OF THE SINNER.
1. That state is attributable to possession by an evil power. This does not, indeed, affect man's responsibility, but it affirms the action of supernatural agency. Sinners "have fallen into the snare of the devil."
2. The signs of that state are many and distressing. Like the demoniac, the sinner is injurious to himself, is harmful to others, and consequently is unfit for society.
3. A picture is here painted of the sinner's hopeless condition. As the demoniac's possession was manifold ("we are legion"), was prolonged, and Was so severe that all human efforts had failed to bring relief, so was the condition of the heathen world when the Saviour came to earthen condition so debased and so confirmed in its misery that to the human eye no dawn-streak of hope was visible. And the heart, abandoned to the control of evil, is in a state for which no human relief or help is available.
II. We have here a representation of THE SINNER'S MIGHTY SAVIOUR. A greater contrast than that between the wretched and raving maniac and the calm and holy Jesus it would not be possible to imagine. Yet the two came together. Divine authority and compassion encountered human sin, foulness, and degradation, and the demon was exorcised and the sufferer made whole.
1. Observe the Divine authority of the Lord is acknowledged. It is certainly remarkable that from the month of the demoniac should come the confession that Jesus is "the Son of the Most High God." This Christ is; and, were he not this, his approach would bring no comfort to the sinner's heart.
2. In addition to this verbal acknowledgment, we observe an actual submission to and experience of Christ's power. "The unclean spirit came out." Jesus is "mighty to save." As during his ministry, so wherever the gospel is preached, the power of Christ is proved in actual experience. However formidable the foe may be, Jesus is the Conqueror.
III. We have here a representation of THE SINNER'S SALVATION.
1. There is complete deliverance from the tyranny of former enemies. "Taken captive by the Lord's servant unto the will of God"—such is the description given by an apostle of the great and spiritual emancipation which nevertheless brings souls into a new and better bondage.
2. Sanity is a consequence of our Lord's interposition. "When he came to himself" is the description of the change which took place in the repenting prodigal. Only he who turns to God can be truly said to be "in his right mind."
3. Tranquility is a natural sign of a spiritual restoration. The Saviour is the Prince of peace, and the gospel is a gospel of peace, and peace is a fruit of the Spirit. True religion calms agitation, stills the tempests of the soul, and brings harmony to human life.
IV. We have an example of the WITNESS OF THE SAVED SINNER TO THE SAVIOUR. The conduct of the healed demoniac is an emblem of the consecrated testimony of the ransomed soul to the great Deliverer.
1. It is prompted by grateful affection—A affection that would fain abide in the valued society of the Redeemer.
2. It is appointed and authorized by the Lord himself: "Go to thy house," etc.
3. It is borne especially to those nearest and dearest: "thy friends."
4. It consists of personal experience: "how great things the Lord hath done for thee."
5. It excites interest and wonder. Such testimony from such a witness cannot be without effect. The saved lead others to the same Saviour whose virtue they have themselves experienced.
Mar_5:21-24, Mar_5:35-43
I. MAN IS TROUBLED, AND JESUS IS COMPASSIONATE. The distress of a father's heart, when his child lies at the point of death, is intense indeed. Jesus comprehended and entered mentally into all relations and all experiences of humanity, for he was himself the Son of man. How touching in its simplicity is the record of our Lord's response to the ruler's appeal: "He went with him "! He is ever the same, "touched with a feeling of our infirmities." He will go with us to the house of mourning, to the chamber of sickness, to the bed of death; and his presence will lighten the sufferer's load and soothe the sufferer's heart.
II. MAN IS IN HASTE, AND JESUS LINGERS. The entreaty of the father and the concern of the thronging multitude are vividly portrayed. How natural that, in so critical a case, there should be a general anxiety to reach the abode where the dying maiden lay! Yet the great Physician pauses to entertain another application for relief, to speak words of grace to another—to a timid, downcast spirit. There is no haste in Christ's methods. It often seems to those who seek him that he delays his succor. In their impatience they may think themselves unheeded. But it is not so; the Divine leisure with which the Lord of grace is wont to act should awaken our admiration and our confidence.
III. MAN DESPAIRS, AND JESUS REASSURES. There was a limit to the faith which was cherished towards Christ. It was thought that he could heal the sick, but it was not dreamt that he could raise the dead. When the little maiden had breathed her last, the household was abandoned to hopeless grief. But this was the moment when the Divine Friend displayed the deepest tenderness of his nature. "Fear not, only believe." Such were his words of comfort, fitted to soothe and to inspire desponding hearts with heavenly hope. Let us learn the lesson that, where Jesus is, there is no place for despair. These words of his come to us when downcast, cheerless, and oppressed beneath the cares and woes of life.
IV. MAN IS AGITATED, AND JESUS IS CALM. There is a sublime contrast between the demeanour of the friends of Jairus and the demeanour of Jesus. A tumult of weeping and wailing is quite in accordance with Eastern manners, and it is in accordance with human nature that the same persons who bewailed the maiden's death should, when another turn was given to their excited dispositions, have laughed the Lord to scorn. How noble and dignified in such a scene appears the demeanour and the language of Christ! He rebukes the noisy crowd and puts them forth, and with tranquil and anthoritative mien leads the parents, with the three favored apostles, into the sad chamber of death. "The world is for excitement, the gospel for soothing." There is but One whose presence can banish alarm and disquietude, and can shed a sweet calm over the dwelling agitated by fear and anguish.
V. MAN IS POWERLESS, AND JESUS IS MIGHTY TO HELP AND SAVE. The anxiety of the parents, the lamentations of the mourners, were vain and powerless to save the child from death or to recall her to life; but the touch and the call of Christ summoned back the spirit that had fled. In the deepest woe the grace and might of Jesus are most conspicuous. He is able to quicken such as are dead in trespasses and sins, to breathe upon them the breath of life. The soul that hears his word, "Arise!" awakens from the long, deep lethargy of sin and lives anew.
VI. MAN IS AMAZED, AND JESUS IS COLLECTED AND CONSIDERATE. No wonder that the parents of the girl were overwhelmed with astonishment. And how like the Lord, to display an interest so tender in the reanimated damsel as to direct that she should be supplied with food! And how like him, too, instead of seeking to increase his fame and favor with the people, to arrange that the miracle should for the present, as far as possible, be concealed! Wisdom, consideration for others, were apparent in his whole demeanour.
PRACTICAL LESSONS.
1. The incident gives us a beautiful representation of the power and the love of a Divine Saviour.
2. And an example of the necessity and the advantage of faith in Jesus, in order to spiritual life and blessing.
3. And a striking instance of the efficacy of intercessory prayer. We may well be encouraged to imitate the believing and urgent entreaties of Jairus.
Mar_5:25-34
I. A PICTURE THIS OF HUMAN NEED AND SUFFERING. Amidst the thronging multitude were persons of various circumstances, character, and wants. In all companies there are those who have spiritual ills which only Christ can heal, spiritual desires which only Christ can satisfy. Sin and doubt, weakness, sorrow, and rear, helplessness and despondency,—these are to be found on every side. The case of this poor woman deserves special attention.
1. Her need was conscious and pitiable.
2. It was of long continuance: for twelve years had she suffered and had obtained no relief.
3. Her case was beyond human skill and power. She had gone to many physicians, had endured much in undergoing treatment, had expended all her means, and yet, instead of being better, was worse than before. And now apparently hope was taking flight, and the end seemed near. An emblem this of many a sinner's case—conscious of sin and of a tyranny long endured, yet helpless and despairing of deliverance.
II. A PICTURE THIS OF THE APPROACH AND CONTACT OF TREMBLING FAITH, The graphic narrative of the evangelist is very suggestive as well as very impressive.
1. There was faith, in the woman's coming to Christ at all. She might have questioned the possibility of his curing her. She might have fancied that, lost in the crowd, she should not gain his notice and help.
2. The faith, however, seems to have been imperfect. Something of superstition probably impelled her to seize the hem or sacred fringe of his garment, as though there were magic virtue in the bodily presence of the Saviour.
3. Yet the venture of faith overcame the natural shrinking and timidity she experienced. Doubt and diffidence would have kept her away; faith drew her near, and she stole to him. It was the last resource; as it were, the dying grasp.
"I have tried, and tried in vain,
Many ways to ease my pain;
Now all other hope is past,
Only this is left at last:
Here before thy cross I lie;
Here I live or here I die."
4. Faith led to personal contact, to the laying hold of the Redeemer. Jesus often healed with a touch, by the laying on of his hand; and here he acknowledged the grasp of trembling confidence. They that come to Jesus must come confessing their faults and needs, applying for his mercy, and laying hold upon him with cordial faith.
III. A PICTURE THIS OF CHRIST'S TREATMENT OF A BELIEVING APPLICANT. The conduct of Christ has been recorded in detail, for the instruction and encouragement of all to whom the gospel comes.
1. Remark his recognition of the individual. This woman was one of a multitude, yet she was not unobserved by the all-seeing and affectionate Saviour. He never overlooks the one among the many; his heart can enter into every case, and succor every needy soul.
2. Remark the immediate and efficacious exercise of his healing power. What others could not accomplish in long years, the Divine Healer effected in a moment. Thus Jesus ever acts. His grace brings pardon to the penitent, justification to the guilty, cleansing to the impure. Immediate grace is the earnest of grace unfailing.
3. We see our Lord accepting grateful acknowledgments. Pleasing to him was the courage that, spite of timidity, "told him all the truth." He ever delights in the thankful tribute of his people's praise and devotion.
4. We hear our Lord's gracious benediction. The language is very rich and full. There is an authoritative assurance of blessing; there is the adoption of the healed one into the spiritual family, conveyed in the one word, "Daughter;" there is the recognition of her saving faith; there is the dismissal in peace; and there is the assurance that the healing is complete and permanent.
APPLICATION.
1. Let this representation of the Saviour induce every hearer of the gospel to bring his case to Jesus.
2. Let every applicant to Christ be encouraged by the assurance of the Lord's individual regard and interest. 3, Let faith lay firm hold of Christ, and that at once without delay.
I. MORAL ANTAGONISM.
1. Instinctive. Spontaneous; prescient; yet furnishing no intelligible reason. "An intensified spiritual presentiment" (Lange).
2. Weakness of the demoniac shown by:
(1) Excitement.
(2) Self-contradiction. Attraction and repulsion alternating.
(3) Use of borrowed weapons.
The exorcism, doubtless so often uttered over him by magicians and ecclesiastics, is all the lore he seems to possess in the way of religion.
3. Strength of Christ proved by calmness and self-possession, and resolute pursuit of his object.
4. Utter and absolute. "What have I to do with thee?… Torment me not."
II. MORAL ASCENDANCY. (Mar_5:9-13.)
1. Instant exercise of authority. Calm, self-possessed, and fearless. He had already discerned and measured his opponent, and decided as to how he would deal with him.
2. Spiritual insight and skill. The great Physician had made diagnosis of his case. Mental surgery was needed, based upon the most profound truths of psychology. The man had to be discriminated and freed from the indwelling demon. The former had little or no sense of his own personal identity. A Roman legion had probably been quartered near, and when he saw their number and power he felt that they somewhat resembled that which had quartered itself within his own nature. With maniacal vanity he readily adopted the title, "Legion." Pride and wretchedness were probably both involved in the retention of the name; it represented the dominant principle in his confused consciousness. Christ asked him, "What is thy name?" that he might rouse him to a sense of personal identity: a wise measure.
3. Rectoral discipline. "He gave them leave:" apparently their own suggestion, but granted
(1) on principle of highest curative psychology—objective disenchantment; the character and distinctness of the unclean occupants of the man's nature being thus outwardly and visibly set forth, his better self, enfranchised, would be the more likely to assert itself;
(2) in pursuance of rectoral discipline. The unclean, unprincipled habits of the people in violating the Law being thus avenged.
III. MORAL DECISION. (Mar_5:14-20.) The Gadarenes had to make up their minds with respect to the great Stranger.
1. The data. (—Mar_5:14-16.) Material and moral stood forth in opposition, as in so many other instances. How was their relative importance to be estimated?
2. The decision. A unanimous petition for him to depart. How could such men be expected to judge otherwise? They had grand ideas of Christ, but of the wrong sort.
3. The response. Instant departure. He took them at their word. "They believed not on him," and acting upon their unbelief urged their request. The conflict of anger and fear, fawning and obstinacy. A word was enough; nay, a wish, even unexpressed, has often secured the same result. Not the storm, not the evil repute of the people, not even the horror of the demoniac, could deter him from coming; but a word sent him away! How careful should men be in their attitude to the heavenly Visitant! He went, but not without having, in the person of the restored maniac, a monument of his saving power and grace. Every region and every heart has its witness to the same.—M.
Mar_5:9, Mar_5:10
II. IMPORTANCE OF PERSONALITY FOR TRUE RELIGIOUS AND MORAL LIFE.
III. THE RESTORATION OF THIS THE GREAT WORK OF CHRIST.—M.
Mar_5:10; Mar_12:1-44, Mar_13:1-37; 17- 19
I. THE PETITION OF THE DEMONIAC. (Mar_13:10.) "He besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country." No heed is paid to this request, notwithstanding its passionate earnestness. Why?
1. The man himself was not praying. He was depersonalized and besotted by the possession of the devils, and not responsible for his words or actions. It was to free him from this thraldom Christ had undertaken his case.
2. It would have neutralized the intended mercy to the man to inflict the evil upon others.
3. There was no real submission in the real petitioners. They were still devils, unchanged in their character, and desirous of working further mischief. Powerless, they still desired to do evil.
II. THE REQUEST OF THE DEVILS. This was granted, notwithstanding the character of those who made it. A marvel, truly; devils heard and answered by Christ! Is he in league with them?
1. It was a choke of a lesser of two evils. It seemed necessary that some visible form should receive the dispossessed spirits, that all, especially the man himself (cf. on the probable principle of cure, the preceding sketch), might be able to realize that the dispossession had actually taken place. As simply dispossessed, they might have taken up their abode in some other soul; but by giving direction to them after dispossession, they were confined to brutes; and the catastrophe that resulted was probably foreseen by Christ. In the destruction of the swine the demons were dismissed speedily right out of the terrestrial sphere.
2. And in that destruction a punishment was inflicted upon the Gadarenes, who as yet were sordid, neglectful of the Law (forbidding the rearing of swine), and unspiritual.
III. THE ENTREATY OF THE GADARENES. It was at once answered, Because:
1. It involved a deliberate and intelligent rejection of the Saviour. They had seen his wondrous moral triumph and the destruction of the swine; but in their estimate the material loss far outweighed the spiritual gain.
2. There were others elsewhere who were "waiting for him."
3. The healed demoniac might be even more effectual as a preacher than himself. He was a lasting monument of his power and grace. Time might be needed to let the miracle sink into the popular conscience.
IV. THE PRAYER OF THE RESTORED MAN. A natural desire under the circumstances. Fear lest the devils should return if he were left to himself, cud gratitude and love for his Benefactor, doubtless actuated him. But he is denied! This must have wounded his feelings, and disappointed him. But:
1. It was not prudent for Christ at that time to have one so closely identified with devils in his company and occupied in his service. The charge had been made (Mar_3:22) that he was in league with Satan.
2. It was not the best life for him to lead in his present condition. Privation and excitement were not suited to one who had been emaciated and weakened by the devils.
3. A work of greater use and personal obligation awaited him where he was. He was the only disciple of Christ in that benighted land. Those who had been scandalized by his previous life, and had suffered from it, were to be first considered. The home that had been desolated was to be revisited, and cheered by the kindly presence and saving influence of the redeemed one.
GENERAL LESSONS.
1. Prayers may be granted in anger, and denied in love.
2. Lesser evils may be allowed to prevent greater ones.
3. Duties are to be considered before privileges.—M.
Mar_5:14
II. CONTRAST THIS WITH THE RAPID SPREAD OF FALSE NOTIONS ABOUT CHRIST, HERESIES, UNSETTLING ALARMS, ETC,
III. COMPENSATIONS.
1. The existence of Christ is made known. By-and-by his character will vindicate itself.
2. Curiosity is aroused and feeling excited. Almost anything is better than indifference. And the witnesses of his truth and grace are everywhere.
3. The disciples of Christ are compelled to vindicate their Master.—M.
Mar_5:15
I. THEY ARE AN ABIDING REMINDER AND EXAMPLE.
II. THEY ARE PATENT TO ALL, AND CAN BE UNDERSTOOD BY ALL. "Living epistles, known and read of all men."
III. THEY DEFY REFUTATION, AND DEMAND TO BE EXPLAINED.—M.
Mar_5:21-34
I. CHRIST INTERRUPTED.
1. In his teaching. (Verse 21; Mat_9:18.) Yet how full of interest the subjects—eating with publicans, and fasting! How significant these breaks! How natural, in a world so full of disturbing and changing influences as this!
2. In his intended mercy. As he goes to the ruler's house the incident of the woman in the crowd takes place (verses 25—34), and he is delayed. Yet the prayer of Jairus was urgent, and broken with apprehensive emotion. Only this was still more pressing, for it was
(1) actual, present, long-endured suffering and shame;
(2) a demand of faith on behalf of its own possessor (not, as in Jairus's case, for another).
II. FRAGMENTS THAT MAKE A GRANDER WHOLE. We have no time to lament the breaking off—the seeming incompleteness—ere we are astonished at the commentary which is furnished in the incidents that follow. He is the great Physician—to the ruler's daughter, the woman with the issue, and the two blind men alike; the Bringer of joy, too, to many by his healing mercies and gracious words. All need him, if they only knew it; and, participating in the blessings of his presence, they cannot mourn or fast, but must needs rejoice. And so in the case of the ruler; the delay really rewarded his faith by an actual illustration of Christ's power, and so sustained him in the higher exercise of faith. "My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live" (Mat_9:18). This is a picture of many lives. We cannot escape interruptions. Yet are we not therefore to abandon unity of purpose. We may fail to finish all we seek to do, or to do it as we would; but God holds the connecting harmony, and will reveal it at last—or even sooner. The sermon broken off, the merciful intention delayed or frustrated, may prove greater blessings in the event than if suffered uninterruptedly to proceed to a visible or immediate completeness within themselves. The life or work divinely interrupted, but pursued with unity of faith and purpose to the end, will be a grander, more Divine thing than otherwise it could possibly have been.
LESSONS.
1. How infinite the resources of the Saviour!
2. His teaching is inseparable from action and life.—M.
Mar_5:21-43
II. PERFECTING THE SPIRITUAL LIFE OF THE BEREAVED.
II. REVEALING THE INFINITE MERCY, SYMPATHY, AND POWER OF CHRIST.—M.
Mar_5:21-43
II. CALLED INTO EXERCISE BY GREAT AFFLICTION AND NEED.
III. TRIUMPHING OVER DIFFICULTIES.
IV. REWARDED BY INEFFABLE ANSWERS AND CONFIRMATIONS.—M.
Mar_5:25-34
I. TRANSFORMING LITTLE THINGS INTO MEANS OF GRACE.
1. Many touches, but only one touch of faith. This alone was effectual and saving. It is not human effort that saves, but the spirit of faith that lays hold of Christ.
2. Only the hem of his garment. Yet as effectual as if she had touched the body of Christ. How so? Because she touched him spiritually. All ordinances and outward means of grace are in themselves little—no better than the hem of the garment of Christ. It is the Saviour who is great when appealed to by a great faith.
3. Making use of what was within reach. Not perhaps the best means possible. But enough when accompanied by faith.
II. IN IMMEDIATE EARTHLY ENDS SECURING ULTERIOR SPIRITUAL ONES. The trembling and fearing woman not only secured the physical bond; the Saviour said, "Thy faith hath saved thee,"—a word that had a larger meaning than could be exhausted by a merely temporal relief or physical wholeness.—M.
Mar_5:25-34
I. CONTRASTED