Activity from TheMoviegoer§↻

Mark 5 ought to be made into a film -- lots of action happening in a short time, seems to me :) crowds pressing in on Jesus, demons being cast out, swine rampaging over a cliff and crashing into the sea, one solitary woman singled out with a dramatic healing, and the coup de grace, the finale, a twelve year old girl raised from the dead! and Jesus giving the very practical instructions to the parents, "Hey, she's hungry, feed her ok?"

I forgot how it begins, the man in chains possessed of great strength, cutting himself, living in tombs, crying and screaming at night .... and Jesus puts him into his right mind. Truly, a great action film.

I know! Mark takes more time to unfold that opening than any other so far. And it is a very scary scene. Plus, there are some very subtle things being addressed. As scary as the guy is, he is also “unclean.” Living among tombs was the height of uncleanliness and one of the biggest barriers to proper worship. When Jesus healed the leper in chapter 1 , Mark is clear, “And immediately the leprosy left him and he was made clean.” Cleaning was part of the miracle... and done completely by Jesus. The man in chapter 5 is “sitting there, clothed and in his right mind” next to Jesus. Not as overt, but implies that there is more going on than simply removing the current problem. You’re also right about the rest of the chapter... though I am only just getting to Jairus in terms of memory work.

And I love your summary of his exhortation to the parents! Thanks, joosep

Excellent teaching! Thanks for sharing those insights.

The practicality of what He said ... "Give her something to eat" ... as set against the shock and amazement and disbelief of all the others ... really intrigues me. He did (does) amazing, incredible things, but simultaneously never loses sight of the practical.

Very true. To me, it gets at Jesus’ power and purpose to address our real need. Before salvation, we have all kinds of real tangible, physical, earthly needs. But without His work to resurrect our dead hearts, addressing those other needs is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Jesus goes right to the heart change, then addresses everything else. This may be a little abstract, but on of my favorite verses is in ch 1 when he heals Simon’s mother-in-law. “And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up and the fever left her and she began to serve them.” This is a summation of the Gospel. We are miraculously healed and are now able to serve.

Yes, I like these comments. And again, she experienced the miraculous, but immediately afterward addressed herself to the practical need of the moment.

Thanks, joosep! This so helpful.

I agree, the discussion helps me too.