Mark 5 (Talitha Koum)
Notes
Transcript
Mark 5 (Talitha Koum)
Mark 5 (Talitha Koum)
Today, we have three stories that I really like.
We have thousands of demons, a possessed person, and a bunch of pigs in a Roman area (not jewish)
We have a reversal of a great tragedy in the Old Testament
And we have a woman who is healed
And they all have something in common…
They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. And when he had stepped out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain, for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces, and no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him, and he shouted at the top of his voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he had said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” He begged him earnestly not to send them out of the region. Now there on the hillside a great herd of swine was feeding, and the unclean spirits begged him, “Send us into the swine; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine, and the herd, numbering about two thousand, stampeded down the steep bank into the sea and were drowned in the sea.
The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man possessed by demons sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion, and they became frightened. Those who had seen what had happened to the man possessed by demons and to the swine reported it. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
When Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered around him, and he was by the sea. Then one of the leaders of the synagogue, named Jairus, came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” So he went with him.
And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him. Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years. She had endured much under many physicians and had spent all that she had, and she was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, “If I but touch his cloak, I will be made well.” Immediately her flow of blood stopped, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. Immediately aware that power had gone forth from him, Jesus turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my cloak?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing in on you; how can you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ” He looked all around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling, fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
While he was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.” He allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. When they came to the synagogue leader’s house, he saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. When he had entered, he said to them, “Why do you make a commotion and weep? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Then he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl stood up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.
Our reading opens with some key phrases
Other side of the sea (not Israel)
Gerasenes (Gilead)
Man from the tombs
Night and day among the tombs and mountains
We have a similar event spoken of in Isaiah, and it helps us understand the context.
I was ready to be sought out by those who did not ask, to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that did not call on my name. I held out my hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, following their own devices; a people who provoke me to my face continually, sacrificing in gardens and offering incense on bricks; who sit inside tombs and spend the night in secret places; who eat the flesh of pigs, with broth of abominable things in their vessels;
This is God speaking, and we are pretty sure God is speaking to Israel, but I am suspicious of that.
The event in Mark describes a people who were not looking for Jesus
Why this story here?
Last week I made a case that Mark is telling us that Jesus is creating the idea that he is like Jonah, in that they are going to a place that is not Israel and spreading seeds, the word.
And in this case, he arrives on dry land, and he encounters a man with a demon
We learn a few things:
First, no chains can bind him (remember the conversation about a ‘strong man’)
The demon identifies Jesus as the Son of the Most High God
And ‘adjures’ Jesus do not torment me
Some struggle with this, but the demon may have legal grounds
Other incidents seem to indicate it is not time yet.
When he came to the other side, to the region of the Gadarenes, two men possessed by demons came out of the tombs and met him. They were so fierce that no one could pass that way. Suddenly they shouted, “What have you to do with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”
The language of the unclean spirit is direct and indicates their level of rebellion
‘I swear by God, you shall not torture me.’
He asks not to be sent out of the region (territorial)
And they are sent to the sea (the image of chaos)
As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. But Jesus refused and said to him, “Go home to your own people, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and what mercy he has shown you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed.
Notice the command of Jesus on the ‘other side of the sea’
Go tell everyone!
The next two stories are rather interesting.
It opens with the case of a Synagogue President coming to Jesus to help his young daughter
It would seem…the people are still divided
Some of the leadership want him gone
Some say he uses the power of the devil
Some can’t wait to follow
Some can’t wait for him to leave
And this one seeks him out
And nobody knows who he is!
Then one of the leaders of the synagogue, named Jairus, came and, when he saw him, fell at his feet and pleaded with him repeatedly, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” So he went with him. And a large crowd followed him and pressed in on him.
Jairus, the synagogue president, shares a name with another biblical character
Jair, who is a man from Gilead, Judges 10:6, which happens to be the exact same region that Jesus was just in, and may still be in.
A judge named Jephthah follows Jair.
Israel had fallen into the worship of other gods
Including Milkom, the chief deity of Ammon.
Jephthah makes a horrible vow to God
If you give me victory over Ammon (Milkom) I will offer as a burnt offering the first thing that comes out of my house.’
And the first thing is his daughter.
He ends up filling his vow to God through an Ammonite religious practice
He was victorious over them
But their beliefs were victorious over him
Here is an opportunity to right this horrible wrong.
The author of Mark is using this occasion to reverse this event
He is leaving breadcrumb clues to you and I so we know what is happening
And as this story starts to happen…
Now there was a woman who had been suffering from a flow of blood for twelve years.
A woman shows up…
She is ritually unclean according to the law
Meaning anyone she comes in contact with is also ritually unclean
Ritual impurity is contagious.
Frankly, the though of having to live like this for 12 years is horrific
but in her day, it is a death sentence.
How she has survived to this point is a wonder
She is convinced that if she simply touches the clothes of Jesus, she will be healed.
But doing that…
Makes Jesus ritually unclean
When Jesus calls out to know who touched him...
She is publically outed
In front of everyone...
And all that for Jesus to say this:
He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
And while this incredibly awkward, yet miraculously marvelous moment is happening…
While he was still speaking, some people came from the synagogue leader’s house to say, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the teacher any further?”
It adds complexity to an already busy day.
The Synagogue President has to wait on this unclean woman who has been bleeding for 12 years
And in the meantime his daughter dies.
How would you feel if you are in his shoes?
Hers?
But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the synagogue leader, “Do not be afraid; only believe.”
Which is unbelievable and continues the up and down pattern:
The woman with a flow of blood believes
Jesus asks this Synagogue leader to be like the woman
Taking her by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, get up!” And immediately the girl stood up and began to walk about (she was twelve years of age). At this they were overcome with amazement. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this and told them to give her something to eat.
Woman had a flow of blood for 12 years
The little girl is 12 years old
What do we have in common:
The man from the tombs is ritually unclean
The bleeding woman is ritually unclean
The little girl is unclean when she dies
And Jesus, becomes unclean too.
Further:
Jesus tells the tomb raider to go tell everyone!
Jesus doesn’t tell the woman to tell or not tell, and
Jesus tells the little girls parents to remain silent
The unclean spirits are cast away
The uncleanness of the woman is cast away
Jesus asserts his dominion over evil
He makes a woman ritually clean
Asserting his dominion over ritual impurity
He restores life to a young girl
Asserting his dominion over death
Talitha koum (Young one, rise)
Mark 5 (Talitha Koum)
Mark 5 (Talitha Koum)