Chapter 5 begins with Jesus in the land
of the Gerasenes. These are gentile people and not Jewish.
As soon as he gets out of the boat he
is met by a man with an unclean siprit within him. Again the
recognition of Jesus as the Son of God is made quite clear by the
possessed man. 'What have you to do with me Jesus Son of the Most
High God?' he shouts. Once more Jesus is most clearly identified by a
disturbed ma. What are we to make of this? Are only disturbed people
able to recognise Jesus or are they less conscious of saying the
thing that would make them unpopular with others and especially the
religious professionals of that day? Another indicator of the
location as Gentile is the presence of pigs. Under Jewish dietary
rules pig meat could not be eaten but among Gentiles there were no
such rules.
The spirits as to be released and
driven into the pigs. This is done as Jesus heals the man and
immediately the pigs jump off a cliff and are killed below. This
represents a considerable loss for the farmers involved. The
swineherds ran off to tell the farmners what had happened. Jesus is
begged to leave the place because he has caused such loss. Jesus gets
back in the boat and starts to leave. The healed man wants to go with
Him. Jesus will not let this happen. Instead he tells the man to go
back to his people and tell everyone what has happened. This is the
first time we hear Jesus encourage someone to tell others. Why is
this? Why is a Gentile singled out for the role as the first
missionary of Jesus? Other disturbed people had been told to be quite
in the presence of Jesus but not this man. Why the change? What is
happening?
Again Jesus does the commute on the
lake. He is now back in Jewish territory. By the lake there is a
great crowd. There are now two stories of faith. There is the faith
of Jairus, a leader in the synagogue. Is Jairus a Pharassee? We do
not know but he is someome at the very heart of Jewish religious
life. He comes to jesus and pleads for the life of his daughter who
is ill. Jesus tells him not to fear, only believe. He's on his way to
Jairus house when there is a disturbance. A woman who is suffering
from a hemorrage for many years reaches out and touches His clothes.
Immediately she is cured. Jesus knows that something has happened so
he asks 'Who touched me?' The woman comes forward somewhat worried
that she had done something wrong but Jesus commends her for her
faith. It has made her well.
While this is happening Jairus is told
that his child has died. It is too late. Jesus words are clear. 'Do
not fear only believe'. The faith of the woman was now being demanded
of Jairus. Jesus goes to the house and after he removes those who are
ritually mourning for the child he goes inside. In one of the
gentlest scenes from the life of Jesus we hear Him call her 'little
girl get up'. He takes her by the hand and she is restored to life.
Jesus warns them to tell no one about this. This last passage is
Jesus first interaction with women through healing. Is there anything
different about these healing or anything that is similar to other
healings. Why are there differences of approach in the Gentile lands
compared to Jewish territories?
This chapter teaches us much about
faith and indicates the need for belief in healings by Jesus.
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