And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
In Mark 5, we find 3 people who all desperately sought Jesus. All 3 desperate, but all 3 recognizing who the Lord truly was as well. The chapter opens on the "maniac of Gadara" who was possessed by a legion (somewhere between 3,000-6,000) of demons. His description is truly terrifying in verses 3-5:
Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
Even in his totally disoriented state, he recognized Jesus. To approach Jesus as a total social outcast was bold. The people of the city had totally abandoned this man, so why should Jesus be different, especially once he recognized Him for who he was. We see in verses 6-7:
But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
The demons knew who Jesus was, and they had no power over Him. So their voice even recognized Jesus as the one true God. Jesus ends up casting these demons out into a herd of swine who end up falling off of a cliff. This man life is immediately changed, not only physically, but spiritually. In verse 15 we read
And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
The people in this area were Gentiles, so they asked the Lord to leave. We're not exactly sure why although because they had many fake gods, perhaps they thought the Lord would use his powers to judge them. Perhaps they just didn't want anyone to effect their livestock since it was their livelihood. Either way, the Lord was going to leave. We see that our healed man is still desperate to be in Jesus' presence. In verse 18-20 we read,
And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
The Lord had compassion on this man that ran to worship him, even plagued by many demons and completely out of his right mind. He met his physical and spiritual needs because of it, and this man continued to crave the presence of Jesus. He implored or begged the Lord to be with Him. No longer possessed by demons, His heart was full of Jesus and He wanted to be a part of His ministry. Some say he was just afraid the demons would come back- but either way, He had become focused on Jesus and being in His presence. Instead, he obeyed the Lord without delay or question and told others of Jesus!
Two other people who are desperate to meet Jesus and who exert great boldness to come to Him enter the scene. Jairus, a synagogue leader responsible for coordinating worship, the building and contents of the synagogue who faced fury from the Pharisees was one. The other was a lady who had "an issue of blood" who would have been seen as unclean according to Jewish law (See Lev.15:19-30 for details). Jairus approaches Jesus because his daughter is dying and he knows who the Lord is. In verses 22-23
and, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
Again, we see that he falls at Jesus feet- an obvious sign of worship, and begged the Lord's help. While he may not have understood everything about Jesus, he knew enough to worship Him. He believed in Him enough to seek him desperately to heal his daughter. On the way there, we meet the woman with the "issue of blood." In verses 27-28 we read,
When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
She didn't want to risk making him unclean by actually touching his person, but she believed in Him enough to know He had the power to heal her. She had spent all her time and money for 12 years trying to be healed, so she desperately sought the Lord and touched his clothes. The Lord noticed and asked her about it. In verses 33-34, she responds:
But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
She again fell down at the feet of Jesus, and boldly proclaimed what she did all the while fearful of the fact that she had touched a Jewish man in any way and was considered unclean- again a social outcast. The Lord rewarded her faith by healing her and making her whole both physically and spiritually. She knew that she could not hide from the Lord her boldness is seeking Him, and because that is the Lord's desire for us all he rewarded her desire for his presence and power.
Back to Jairus, at this time, who must be frustrated in the delay. But Jesus, all knowing, knows that His timing is best and no matter what the girl's physical state when he arrived, he would be able to give her life. A person from the household comes to tell Jairus that his daughter has died. Jesus response to this in verse 36,
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
Only believe- only continue in the bold faith that you have already exhibited and all will be well. Upon arrival, the Lord reassures the scorners that the girl will be healed. He privately tells the girl to rise and she does! What rejoicing that must have been! But the Lord asks Jairus and his family to keep quiet about it. Obviously, Jairus and his family again worshipped the Lord and wanted to tell others. However, at that time and because Jesus had more ministry before confrontation with Jewish leaders, he asked them to remain silent. In verse 42 we see their reaction:
And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
The responses to Jesus' presence was worship, a bold faith, and complete awe. Oh that we would have these responses to the Lord's presence everyday! Because of Jesus' sacrifice, we must worship him as our one true Lord. Because of who He is, we can enter the throne of heaven in bold faith that is not afraid to continually seek the Lord and His power in our lives. Because of His wonderful acts, how can we not be in awe of our truly AWESOME GOD! AMEN!
No comments:
Post a Comment