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Lesson 6: Miracles, Mark 4:35-5:43 by
Brad Anderson
Remember Mark’s purpose in his book—to
show that Jesus is the Christ by his mighty teaching and miraculous
works. The last section we looked at, the Parables of the Kingdom,
contained a lengthy recounting of Jesus’ teaching. Today’s
section will examine some of the miraculous works of Christ.
Calming the storm (4:35-41)
The calming of the storm on the Lake of Galilee is a classic example
of a nature miracle. Miracles of this kind seem to present the greatest
problem to contemporary man. The NT, however, makes clear that Jesus
Christ is not only Lord over his church but also Lord of all creation
(see Col 1:16-17).
Why did Jesus and the disciples go to the other side of the lake
(.35)? Because Jesus wanted to go. There was a purpose in this trip.
Jesus planned the whole thing out. The storm is no accident or coincidence.
He intended to show the apostles how weak and inconsiderable their
faith still was. This is a trial of their faith.
Just as there was a plan for the disciples in this story, so God
has a plan for our lives. Note the following table.
Atheistic
Fatalism:
I am enslaved by fate/circumstances
Theistic
Determinism:
God is sovereignly directing
my circumstances
Events have no real meaning or purpose
Events have both meaning and purpose.
Events are impersonal
Events are personal.
The future is uncertain and worrisome.
The future is certain and bright.
I have no control over my fate.
God has control over my fate.
The Sea of Galilee was notorious for its violent and sudden storms.
The hills surrounding the Sea acted like a funnel to channel fierce
winds that would whip up the surface into towering waves. Mark describes
the scene as a “great storm of wind” or a “furious
squall” (NIV). These words describe a storm of whirlwind or
hurricane force that threatened to swamp the boat. The waves were
beating into the ship, causing it to take on water. Even the fishermen
among the disciples, who had spent their lives on this very lake,
feared for their safety.
Note the details in the story: the mention of the time of day (.35),
the reference to Jesus "just as he was" (.36), the statement
about the "other boats," the position of Jesus in the
boat (.38), the mention of the cushion, the sharp rebuke made by
the disciples, and their terror and bewilderment. Taken together
these suggest the report of an eyewitness (Peter?).
How did the disciples respond to the storm? 1. They were worried
about drowning; 2. They questioned the character of Jesus—“don’t
you care if we drown?” This was a rebuke: “Teacher,
are we to drown for all you care?” is the sense of the question.
What did Jesus do? 1. He got up, rebuked the wind and the waves;
2. He rebuked the disciples for their fear and their lack of faith.
"Faith" here means faith in God's saving power as it is
present and active in the person of Jesus. This is the first of
several rebukes of the disciples by Jesus for their lack of understanding
and faith (cf. 7:18; 8:17-18, 21, 32-33; 9:19).
Why did the disciples deserve to be rebuked? They should have realized
that if Jesus really was the Messiah, there’s no way he’d
allow a storm to hurt or kill him. Thus, the disciples were perfectly
safe with Jesus.
How did the disciples react to the miracle? They were terrified
and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves
obey him!” (NIV). Amazement and heightened sense of awe and
respect for Jesus.
Is every kind of fear sinful and contrary to faith? No. It’s
not the fear, but their timidity, their dread based on a lack of
faith, that Jesus rebukes them for. It is not every kind of fear
that is opposed to faith. Fear sometimes awakens faith. So it’s
the fear that fails to trust in God that is sinful.
This was a faith-building crisis which served to strengthen and
deepen the disciples’ faith in Jesus. The storm accomplished
its purpose.
Healing the demon-possessed man (5:1-20)
After the storm, Jesus and the disciples land on the eastern side
of the lake. That the population of this region was largely Gentile
is shown by the name Decapolis (.20) and the presence of a large
herd of pigs, animals considered unclean by Jews and therefore unfit
to eat (Lev 11:7-8). The Decapolis was a league of ten Greek cities
located on the east side of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River.
Where did the demoniac live? The possessed man lived in the tombs
(v. 3). Often in Palestine people were buried in natural caves or
in tombs cut out of the limestone rock. Matthew states that there
were two demoniacs (Matt 8:28-34).
Why do you suppose he lived there? Tombs provided good shelter for
anyone desiring to live in them. It was a natural place for a possessed
man to dwell because of the popular belief that tombs were the favorite
haunts of demons. He had probably been driven out from ordinary
society, and the tombs provided good shelter. Efforts had been made
to control him, but without success. Although bound "hand and
foot," he had broken the chains; and no one was strong enough
to subdue him (v. 4).
What did the man do when he saw Jesus (.6)? He ran up to Jesus and
fell on his knees. “Worship” (KJV) is literally “fall
on one’s knees.” It was an act of respect, not of genuine
worship.
Why did the demon-possessed man show this respect toward Jesus?
He recognized one who had power over him. The demon uses the title
"Son of the Most High God," a title that implies that
the demon recognized Jesus' deity.
The demoniac said that his name was “Legion.” The significance
of his name is not clear. Perhaps he had had an unfortunate experience
with a Roman legion and this had caused his madness. Or perhaps
he felt as if he was possessed by thousands of demons (a legion
consisted of over six thousand men).
Where did Jesus send the demons? Into a herd of pigs that was feeding
nearby.
What were the results of this exorcism?
The pigs — ran into the sea and drown (“choked”
KJV)
The people of the town — they were afraid (“seized
with great fear” Luke) and asked Jesus to leave; they told
others what had happened
The possessed man — dressed and in his right mind. He
wanted to go with Jesus (.18).
What did Jesus tell the man to do? He gave him the task of returning
home to his family to bear testimony to what Jesus in his mercy
had done for him (v. 19). The man obeyed without argument and began
to bear testimony of what "Jesus had done for him." (.20).
[This account is] “indeed a sad and shocking exhibition, but
may serve to remind us how wretched and alarming it is to be placed
under the tyranny of Satan . . . . Though we are not tortured by
the devil, yet he holds us as his slaves, till the Son of God delivers
us from his tyranny. Naked, torn, and disfigured, we wander about,
till he restores us to soundness of mind. It remains that, in magnifying
his grace, we testify of our gratitude.” (Calvin). The Raising
of Jairus's Daughter (5:21-24, 35-43)
Demon Possession
Taken at face value, the Bible clearly teaches that demon
possession is a reality. Nevertheless, the New Testament
does not give the believer much instruction regarding how
to deal with demons. We are told to stand against the tricks
of the Devil (Eph 6:11), to resist the Devil (James 4:7),
and to be sober and vigilant because Satan is trying to
destroy us (1 Pet 5:6f). But we are never told to cast out
demons, to bind them, or to attack them. In fact, even powerful
angels did not bring an accusation against Satan (Jude 1:9).
Believers are to dress themselves with the whole armor of
God in order to stand against Satan. They are not directed
to offensively attack him.
It has lately become popular to blame a demon for nearly
any kind of sin or weakness in someone’s life. Alcoholics,
gamblers, and other addicts are said to be motivated by
demons. Even the sins of greed, lust, anger, and bitterness
are supposedly evidences of demonic oppression or possession.
Such ideas find no support in the Bible.
This miracle story is interesting in that within it is another miracle
story, the healing of the woman with an issue of blood. Both of
these stories are significant because according to the OT Law, contact
with graves, blood, or death made one ceremonially unclean. Mark
seems to be suggesting that rather than becoming unclean himself,
Jesus’ miracles made others “clean.”
Jesus and the disciples had crossed back over to the west side of
the lake, where great crowds of people were waiting for them. One
of them was a man named Jairus, “one of the rulers of the
synagogue” (.22). These were laymen whose responsibilities
were administrative, not priestly, and included such things as looking
after the building and supervising the worship. Sometimes the title
was honorary, given to prominent members of the congregation with
no administrative duties attached. Jesus agreed to go with Jairus
to see his daughter.
What happened before Jesus arrived at Jairus’ house (.35)?
They got news that the girl was already dead.
Jesus was not dissuaded by the report of the girl’s death.
Instead, he chose three of his closest disciples to go on with him
to witness a momentous miracle. What did they find when they arrived
at Jairus’ house? A great commotion was taking place. As was
the custom, professional mourners had been hired; and they were
already at work. "The lamentations consisted of choral song
or antiphony, accompanied by hand-clapping" (Van der Loos,
Miracles of Jesus, p. 568; cf. SBK, 1:521ff.). Since Jairus occupied
a prominent position in the Jewish community, the number of professional
mourners was large. So along with members of his family, they were
making a great uproar.
Jesus claimed that the child was not dead, but asleep. How did the
people receive this news? They laughed at him. Sleep is everywhere
in Scripture employed to denote
death; and there is no doubt but this comparison, taken from temporal
rest, points out a future resurrection.
Jesus stood by the side of the child, took her hand, and spoke the
Aramaic words "Talitha koum," which Mark conveniently
translates for his Gentile readers: “Little girl, I say to
you, get up!” Mark is the only Evangelist who preserves the
original Aramaic here. Aramaic was the language of Palestine in
the first century AD and was probably the language Jesus and his
disciples normally spoke.
After raising the girl from the dead, what two orders did Jesus
give? 1.Not to tell anyone; 2. To give her something to eat—a
beautiful evidence of his concern for man's ordinary needs.
Healing a woman with a hemorrhage
(5:25-34)
The text does not state the precise nature of the woman's ailment.
Probably some sort of uterine disease caused the bleeding that had
persisted for twelve years (.25). Luke (8:43) says of her condition
that “no one could heal her.” Mark includes vivid details:
she had suffered much, had been treated by many doctors, had spent
all she had; and, instead of getting better, her condition had gotten
worse (.26). Someone must have interviewed the woman to get this
information.
How did this miracle take place? The woman pressed thru the crowd
and touched the hem of his robe.
Why does Jesus’ question, “Who touched my clothes?”
seem a bit odd? 1. Because many people were pressing around touching
him; 2. Because Jesus must have known what happened and who the
woman was. Beyond all question, he knowingly and willingly cured
the woman; but he puts the question to her, that she may freely
and publicly make it known. Jesus often asked questions to which
he knew the answer.
When Jesus stopped to ask who touched him, the woman came forward,
knelt at his feet, and “told him all the truth” (.33).
This must have taken great courage, especially since she was regarded
as ceremonially unclean. Jesus addressed her as “daughter”
(.34)—the only occurrence in the Gospels of Jesus' addressing
a woman by that word. He made clear to her that it was her faith
(in Jesus, or God) that had healed her. The word translated “healed”
is “saved.” Here both physical healing and theological
salvation are in mind. In Mark's Gospel the two go closely together
(cf. 2:1-12).Conclusion: Mark is using these miracles to mount up
evidence that Jesus is exactly who he said he was—the Son
of God. Only the creator of the world could command nature and raise
the dead.
Applications:
1. The plan of God may include difficult situations. Hardship does
not imply that God no longer cares or that circumstances are beyond
His control. Believers must trust that all things are moving according
to God’s sovereign plan, and that God is trustworthy and faithful
to care for His people.
2. God may bring hardship and trials into the believer’s life
to teach him or her important lessons. Difficulties should strengthen
us, not weaken us.
3. Our adversary the Devil is alive and well, as are his helpers.
Demon possession is a reality. Fortunately, the whole of Satan’s
kingdom is subject to the authority of Christ. However, Christians
have no commission to cast out demons.
4. God deals kindly and gently with his people—accepts their
faith, though imperfect and weak—and does not hold their faults
and imperfections against them.
5. Death to the believer is little more than a temporary “sleep.”
The power of death is broken. We need not fear death, because Jesus
has power over it. Believers will be raised from their sleep of
death at the Resurrection.
Discussion:
1. How would you know demon possession if you saw it? It would be
nearly impossible to tell for sure. Many supposed manifestations
of demon possession are the result of other conditions. Point—believers
are not responsible to cast out demons.
2. Why is it that Jesus rebukes the disciples for their weak faith,
and yet commends the woman with a hemorrhage for her weak faith?
The disciples had no excuse for their lack of faith—they should
have known better. One could not expect the woman to have known
better. Principle—to whom much is given, much is required.
3. How do we know that Jesus was not ignorant of the woman touching
his robe? Because he’s the Second Person of the Trinity, God
Himself. He could not have been ignorant, neither could the woman
have been healed without Jesus actively extending such healing to
her. He asked the question for the benefit of the woman and those
looking on.
