CHAPTER 5

1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
8 For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.
10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
11 Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.
12 And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
13 And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.
14 And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15 And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.
16 And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
17 And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

The "country of the Gadarenes,"or the country of the Gergesenes " (Matt. 8:28), or the town of GERASA "is not named in Scripture, and is referred to only in the expression, "country of the Gerasenes" (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26,37; see Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Appendix, 11). This describes the district in which Christ met and healed the demoniac from the tombs, where also took place the destruction of the swine. It was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and must have been a locality where the steep edges of the Bashan plateau drop close upon the brink of the lake. This condition is fulfilled only by the district immediately South of Wady Semak, North of Qal 'at el-Chucn. Here the slopes descend swiftly almost into the sea, and animals, once started on the downward run, could not avoid plunging into the depths. Many ancient tombs are to be seen in the face of the hills. Gerasa itself is probably represented by the ruins of Kurseh on the South side of Wady Semak, just where it opens on the seashore."
(from International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Electronic Database Copyright (c)1996 by Biblesoft)

One can imagine Jesus and the disciples ascending the steep slopes from the sea shore. Then they were met by "a man with an unclean spirit." This possessed man must have been very strong, because the Bible also says he had "often been bound with fetters and chains." Each time he had broken them!

Not only was the man strong, but also he had very irratic behavior. "And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones."(vs 5)

But when this possessed man saw Jesus, he came running, bowing and worshipping Him (vs 6)! Even demons recognize that Jesus is God!! Jesus spoke to the man inhabited by the demons and said, "Come out of him thou unclean spirit." (Vs 8)

We realize that the voice of the man was controlled by the demons within. And they, the demons, asked Jesus if He had come to torture them (vs 7) They were upset, and believed that Jesus came to torment them before the judgment day.

Our God is not malicious! He is God of love, kindness, patience. He has set aside a specific day in which all unbelieving, unrelenting spirits (including both demons and men) will be judged. At that time, they will be cast away from God and tormented with the fires of justice forever! (See Revelation 20:10-15). Until that time, God does not torment even unbelievers! The only torment they receive is from the consequences of their own sin! Because God is "...longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

The demons, realizing that Jesus did not come to torment them, asked that instead of just casting them out, He send them into the swine. Perfectly fit, if ya ask me! Those ole devils want someone to inhabit. If they can't have someone, they'll even settle for PIGS!!

Jesus obliged the demons, and sent them into the herd of swine. That immediately threw the pigs into a fit! They were overwhelmed! And they ran headlong over the cliff into the sea! So the demons ended up without a habitation anyway!

People sometimes don't mind being inhabited by demons, when the demons give them strength; even if their resultant behavior is extremely irratic. They reason they don't mind is because they still have some control over deciding how they want to live their lives. And the demons certainly don't mind if the people they inhabit get drunk, do drugs, and have illicit sexual behavior.

But people, in general, have a problem with allowing Jesus to inhabit them! You see, Jesus doesn't just want BELIEF, He wants CONTROL!

This poor demon-possessed man KNEW that!! He knew that he was beyond hope and help without Jesus. And he came running to Jesus, bowing and worshipping, even though the demons had control of his tongue. You see, that poor man realized he NEEDED Jesus to have CONTROL! And he came SURRENDERING!

As a result, Jesus cast out the demons, and the man was FREE! Free to live in love, kindness, and to have hope of eternal life through Christ.
Anyone possessed by the demons of alcohol, drugs, gambling, and illicit sexual behavior can have the SAME RELEASE!! All they have to do is WORSHIP Jesus, and let Him take CONTROL! (See Luke 9:23-24).

Then we see the people of the town coming because of the news, and they saw the man "clothed, and in his right mind!" Jesus can clothe anyone in His love and righteousness! He can give them a "right mind," which is realizing that we are created for the purpose of giving God glory.

Now, the towns-people had never seen this kind of power before. And it SCARED them (vs 15). So they decided to ask Jesus to LEAVE!

This type of behavior happens all the time in the world today. People see the power of change that Jesus can make in a person's life, and they become AFRAID. Then, they want God's Holy Spirit of conviction to LEAVE THEM ALONE!

My friends, it doesn't take faith to surrender to Jesus! After all, we don't have faith until we have surrendered to Jesus (See Ephesians 2:8-9).

All it takes to surrender to Jesus is to see that there is no hope without Him, and there is hope WITH Him!
That's what this demon-possessed man saw! He saw that his life was totally wrecked without Jesus. He also saw that surrender to Jesus was the only way to get rid of the demons which had control over him.

18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.
19 Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

The once demon-possessed man was now healed, and his greatest desire was to FOLLOW JESUS!! That's the greatest desire of ANYONE who surrenders to Christ and let's Him begin to take control of their lives.

But Jesus had a special job He wanted this man to do. He wanted this man to be a witness in his own country, and to his own people.

Have you, Christian, ever realized that when Jesus saved you, He also gave you a MISSION! That mission may not be overseas. It may not be in the pastorate. But you certainly have a mission! That mission is to tell all those in your own area about Jesus!

Some of my favorite stories in the Bible are those that have sequels. There is a sequel to this story (See Mark 6:53-56).

You see, when Jesus returned to the same place later, the healed demoniac had done EXACTLY as Jesus had told him. He had gone and told EVERYONE what "great things" (Vs 19) Jesus had done for him! Consequently, upon Jesus' return, multitudes thronged Him!

20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.
22 And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,
23 And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
24 And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
27 When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.

Here is the beginning of a story about Jairus, a ruler in the synagogue. But his story is interrupted by another person's story - that of a woman who had "an issue of blood twelve years." (vs 25) Since the story of Jairus and his daughter does not continue until vs 35, let's discuss the story of this woman first.

While Jesus was walking, the crowd gathered. Imagine a tremendously crowded street, and a woman slipping quietly behind Jesus, just so she could "touch" His garment!

Let us first realize that this woman KNEW her condition. As a result of her condition, she was considered UNCLEAN, and was not supposed to be touching other people! (See Leviticus 15:19)

Now this woman had suffered from this condition TWELVE years! What a LONELY woman she must have been!! But this woman KNEW in her heart that just a TOUCH from Jesus could heal her totally!

As soon as she touched Jesus, she was healed!!! So many folk spend time reaching out for a feel-good feeling, and all they need is a TOUCH from Jesus!

This next part is very interesting. As soon as the woman touched Jesus, He KNEW it! And Jesus IMMEDIATELY turned, asking "Who touched my clothes?" There was such a big crowd, that the disciples attempted to laugh-off Jesus' question. They said there were too many people to know who touched Him.

But Jesus wouldn't move! Again, He asked, "Who touched me?" And as Jesus was gazing around the crowd, He saw the woman. He never rebuked her, and He never exposed her to the crowd. But, just as she had known Jesus could heal her, she ALSO knew that there must be a WITNESS to His salvation!! SO she came forward and confessed!

God does not call silent lambs!

AFTER she had confessed and given witness to Jesus' saving grace, Jesus told her to depart in "peace."
There is NO peace like the peace of knowing one is accepted with God and acceptable as a witness for Him!

Now. Let's get back to the story of Jairus.

35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.
37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
40 And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
42 And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
43 And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.

While Jesus was speaking to the woman, a messenger came from Jairus' home. The messenger stated that Jairus daughter had DIED. The Greek term is apothnesko and literally means dead, or without life. This is the same sense in which Jesus used it in verse 39. The Greek term used for "sleepeth," is katheudo, which literally means resting, or lying at rest.

Note that Jesus left the crowd, and only took Peter, James and John (the brother of James) with Him. Jesus did not want the "hype" of His power revealed by the unscrupulous crowd; but He did want sufficient witnesses to the truth.

When Jesus entered the house, the whole family (and probably some friends) were weeping. Jesus told them the child was only resting, and not without life. They laughed! They could plainly see that she was DEAD! But what Jesus was referring to was the SPIRIT of the child! My friend, one is never spiritually dead unless one is without Jesus!

And this lesson is a very striking one indeed!

Jesus simply approached the little girl and said, "Talitha cumi," which means "young girl, arise." IMMEDIATELY, this young 12-year-old girl arose and walked around!

YES!! Jesus is God! And God can RAISE THE DEAD!!! And that's exactly what He will do one day! God will raise ALL the dead of the world, and bring them to His "Great White Throne" for judgment! The Bible says that John envisioned that day in Revelation 20, verse 12: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." When the body dies on this earth, the spirit, or person STILL EXISTS! And that spirit, or person, goes immediately to a transitive place awaiting final judgment (See Ecclesiastes 12:6-7)

ALSO, Jesus is raising the dead TODAY when people are saved! He is raising the spiritually dead, by speaking LIFE into their souls! He is raising them from spiritual separation, and rejoining them to Himself! "And you hath he quickened (made alive), who were dead in trespasses and sins;" (Ephesians 2:1)

If you have never surrendered to Jesus, let me share with you that He can raise you from the deadness of your sins. He can elevate you far beyond the guiltiness, the fear and the anxiety. He can give you the "peace of God, which passeth all understanding through faith in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

PLEASE CONTINUE WITH US IN BIBLE STUDY TOMORROW.