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Reactions to Jesus – Mark 5
Reactions to Jesus – Mark 5
The fifth chapter of Mark records three stories about miracles that Jesus did. He casts out a legion of demons from the man of Gerasa, he heals a woman of a chronic bleeding problem, and he raises the daughter of Jairus from death. Such again show the power and authority of Jesus. As Nicodemus concluded: "No man can do these things unless God is with him" (John 3:1-2). The demons were even more direct addressing Him as "Jesus, Son of the Most High God".
How people respond to Jesus is an interesting part of this chapter. The demons 'beg him' to not send them out of the country and then beg him to send them into the pigs. They act only after he has given them permission. The man himself is now in his right mind and he 'begged him earnestly' that he might continue with Jesus. When Jesus says no and instructs him to return home and tell his friends what happened, he obeys the Lord.
The people in the area of the demon-possessed man became fearful of Him and asked him to leave. Jairus, knowing that his daughter was dying, came imploring Jesus to heal her. The people at the house of Jairus laugh at him for saying the girl was not dead. The woman with the bleeding problem, having heard the reports of Jesus's healing people, went in faith and touched the hem of His garment. Even the girl who was dead responded to His command. Mark writes that when Jesus commanded her to arise, "immediately the girl got up and began walking".
The responses to Jesus and his miraculous deeds are about as diverse as the number of people who witnessed them. Today, people continue to respond to Jesus about the same way. Some laugh, some fear, some want nothing to do with Him. Others trust Him and obey His instructions. Even when, like the demoniac who was freed, they are told to do that which they do not want to do – they willingly obey Him. This, of course, should be the reaction to the Son of God.
“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,” (Hebrews 5:8-9). Are you obeying Him?
Hugh DeLong
