Mark 5 - My Thoughts

Chapter 5 basically has two parts to it – the primary story is that of the exorcism of a man who is horribly demon-possessed, and then there’s a single story with two components: a little girl who is raised from the dead and a woman who is healed from an illness. Since the stories come one after the other one thing we need to try to determine is whether Mark does this deliberately: is there a point being made by having these two stories put together? Keep that basic question in mind as we work our way through the Chapter.

 

One of the more interesting things that we discover right off the top of the Chapter is that the location has shifted to what Mark describes as “the country of the Gerasenes.” This story takes place immediately after the miracle told in Chapter 4 about the stilling of the storm on the Sea of Galilee. The disciples were in that boat in the first place because Jesus had said that he wanted to go to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. They had been on the west side, which is Jewish territory. By travelling to the east side they had entered Gentile territory. This is actually really interesting because it’s one of the very few times that the Gospels record Jesus travelling in Gentile territory. The vast majority of his ministry, as he affirms himself in another Gospel, is directed towards Jews; toward Israel. His reason for being in “the country of the Gerasenes” isn’t clearly defined, but the implication of the Chapter 4 story is that it was yet another example of Jesus trying to get away from the crowds that constantly followed him. Perhaps Jesus felt he would be less known in Gentile territory and could find time to be refreshed. If that was his motivation, he was about to be dramatically disappointed.

 

There are four stories of exorcisms in Mark’s Gospel. One we looked at a couple of weeks ago, and there are a couple more later. But if one thinks of a demon possession story in the New Testament, one probably thinks of this one. This is Mark’s longest exorcism story; it’s the most complicated exorcism story; and, frankly, it’s the most disturbing and even frightening exorcism story. I love a good horror movie, and this story is one that could easily be made into a horror movie. Mark lived 1900 years too early to be a Hollywood screen writer, but he knew how to write a horror story. The setting is a cemetery and the main character is a wild man possessed by demons. He lives in the cemetery, among the dead in effect. He howled and he hit himself with stones. He apparently possessed extraordinary strength – the story tells us that he couldn’t be restrained because he would simply break his shackles and chains into pieces. All we need in this story for greater effect is an account of a full moon rising over the horizon. This is a truly horrific scene; a real tale of terror that Mark has described to us. There have been psychiatrists and psychologists who have commented on this passage, suggesting that the man could have been schizophrenic or suffering form multiple personality disorder – both of which could have been mistaken for demon possession two thousand years ago.

 

Jesus never seems to enter the cemetery. Somehow the possessed man becomes aware of Jesus’ presence and the most extraordinary thing happens. This horrific, pitiful, pathetic, wretched man spies Jesus from a distance and races to him. As always the demon speaks and knows immediately who Jesus is: “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?” This may be Gentile territory, and Jesus and his disciples may be Jewish, but apparently even the demons in Gentile territory recognize the Jewish God as being in authority: “I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” We know that this is the demon speaking and not the possessed man because of the exchange Jesus has with the man. When he asks “What is your name?” the man’s reply is “My name is Legion, for we are many.” The scope of the man’s possession is made clear. He isn’t just possessed by one demon, but by “many.” This perhaps reminds us of the account of Mary Magdalene being possessed by seven demons. The use of the word “Legion” to identify the demon or demons is also noteworthy. It would immediately bring an image into the mind of anyone who lived in that region in that era. A Legion was the largest detachment in the Roman army. It consisted of about 4200 infantry and 300 cavalry. It was huge by the standards of the day. Roman Legions stormed across the countryside and marched through the towns and cities to intimidate and subjugate people; to strike fear into the hearts of those who encountered them. Jews would have been very familiar with Roman Legions, since most of them (including Jesus) lived in Roman occupied territory. So the demonic presence inside this man is huge and powerful – which makes its submission to Jesus all the more important. There doesn’t seem to be any question in this story that Jesus possesses authority over the demons. The demons acknowledge his authority; they respond to his commands; they plead with him and their ultimate request (which Jesus grants) is probably the best known part of the entire story. The demons are sent into a herd of pigs who then rush into the sea and drown.

 

Why pigs? I suppose most obviously because they were there. Of course, there’s also the natural assumption is that it’s because pigs were believed to be unclean animals under the Jewish law. In fact, the very presence of pigs and pig farmers in the story highlights that this is Gentile territory and not Jewish territory. This is also very likely an allusion to a few verses in Isaiah 65 where God confronts an idolatrous Israel and calls them “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 swine’s flesh, with broth of abominable things in their vessels; who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.’” The reference to “tombs” and “swine’s flesh” makes a lot of people believe Mark at least had that passage in mind when he wrote the story. In any event, it’s obviously assumed by Mark that his readers will have a reaction of distaste or even disgust at the reference to pigs.

 

That part of the story has a rather tragic history actually. The pigs had done nothing wrong – they were just innocent animals, they were there and they became (according to the story) the receptacle for demonic spirits and the means through which those demonic spirits were destroyed. That unfortunately influenced Christian thought about the treatment of animals for many centuries. Saint Augustine of Hippo, a bishop in North Africa who lived in the 4^th and 5^th centuries, used the story to promote the idea that Christians had no moral responsibilities to treat animals humanely. He wrote that “Christ himself shows that to refrain from the killing of animals and the destroying of plants is the height of superstition, for judging that there are no common rights between us and the beasts and trees, he sent the devils into a herd of swine and with a curse withered the tree on which he found no fruit.” In the 13^th century Thomas Aquinas wrote that the story showed that while a Christian was responsible to promote the good of human souls, they weren’t required to be concerned for their bodies or their property (including their animals.) These views, of course, would be countered by someone like Francis of Assisi, who believed that Christians had a moral responsibility toward all of creation, but in general Christians were rather late in appearing on the side of animal rights and this story is a part of the reason why.

 

With the demons being destroyed and the pigs killed the pig farmers are at first afraid of the change in the formerly possessed man (again, you would think they would be relieved, but it’s easy to be afraid of that which we don’t understand) and then they ask Jesus to leave – perhaps partly out of fear but also since Jesus, having destroyed at least some of their herd of pigs, seems to be a threat to their livelihood. The formerly possessed man wants to go with Jesus, but Jesus told him not to, and instead to go back to tell people “how much the Lord has done for you, and what mercy he has shown you.” Notice that this is the reversal of the Messianic secret – this man is told to share the story. Is it because he’s a Gentile who will presumably be sharing the story with other Gentiles? It’s an interesting difference from what we’ve become accustomed to.

 

Mark then makes one of his sudden shifts: Jesus has simply “crossed again in the boat to the other side” – but “the other side” is an important difference. Jesus has moved from Gentile territory back into Jewish territory. We know that because after the crowds gather around him again he meets a man named Jairus – one of the leaders of the local synagogue. There are two stories Mark is going to tell here – or, more accurately he’s going to tell a story and a story within that story. Jairus has come to Jesus looking for help for his daughter. Jairus is an important character. He may not be a Pharisee or a scribe, but he is one of the leaders of the synagogue. This is really the first time we encounter someone who could be considered a high profile Jewish leader seeking out Jesus to ask for assistance. Jairus tells Jesus that his daughter is very ill and asks Jesus to come with him: “Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well, and live.” Clearly Jairus has heard of the healing miracles Jesus has performed and perhaps he’s even encountered some of those who had been healed and he believes that Jesus is his daughter’s only hope. Jesus agrees to go, but gets sidetracked on the way by the woman suffering from 12 years of hemorrhaging.

 

     The woman also has faith in Jesus. While Jairus wanted Jesus to lay hands on his daughter, this woman doesn’t even feel the need to touch Jesus – she wants only to touch his clothes: “If I but touch his clothes I will be made well.” In that sense her faith is even greater than Jairus’ faith. So she touches Jesus’ clothes and is instantly healed. Mark provides a fairly detailed description of Jesus knowing that the woman had touched his clothing. He refers to it as power having gone out of him. One thing we learn there is that healing someone is not without effort on Jesus’ part. It does sap him of some degree of strength, which perhaps explains why he often felt the need to escape the crowds. Jesus knows that somehow this “power had gone forth from him” but perhaps surprisingly doesn’t seem to know who had actually touched him. Given the size of the crowds, who are presumably jostling around Jesus, the disciples are surprised that he was even aware of one particular person who had touched him. The woman is said to be afraid and trembling. She seems worried that she’s done something wrong; that Jesus might be angry with her. I find myself wondering if this is the result of how she had been treated throughout her life. She falls down before Jesus submissively and almost apologetically, and instead of being rebuked, Jesus commends her for her faith. The woman’s bleeding stopped, but I find myself wondering if the real healing might have been that a woman who may have been ridiculed and looked down upon her whole life (considered unclean because of the Jewish laws around menstruation, which may have been her problem) was suddenly treated with kindness and respect and compassion. In any event, back on Jewish territory, Jesus once again challenges a societal norm and implicitly states that offering compassion is more important than strict observance of the law.

 

Having healed the woman, Jesus continues on to Jairus’ home. On the way they’re told that the little girl has died. Not surprisingly there is a lot of doubt among the people when Jesus suggests that she can be awakened. That’s a normal reaction to anyone who suggests that the dead can be raised. Jesus, however, ignores the doubts, takes his disciples and the girl’s parents with him, and raises her to life. The resurrection of a little girl is a dramatic thing, but Mark tells the story quickly and it seems somewhat anti-climactic, especially after the drama and horror of the story of the demon possession. But the story does represent another splinter in the Jewish community. Now you have a synagogue official who is presumably among Jesus’ followers. We should notice that unlike what happened in Gentile territory, here in Jewish territory the Messianic secret re-appears: “He strictly ordered them that no one should know about this” (although how the entire community was going to be kept quiet once they saw the girl alive and well isn’t clear.” The story ends on the most natural note: you can imagine that when the girl arises everyone is stunned and shocked into silence. Jesus gently reminds them that she’s probably hungry, “and told them to give her something to eat.”

 

Chapter 5 shows us Jesus at work in both the Gentile and Jewish communities. So while Jesus may emphasize his ministry to the Jews, he isn’t oblivious to the Gentile community or unconcerned with them. While he may be the Jewish Messiah, he’s more: he’s the embodiment of the God of the universe, and his authority extends throughout the world.