MARK 5 COMMENTARYEDITED BY GLENN PEASE

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man

1 They went across the lake to the region of the

Gerasenes.[a]

CLARKE, "The Gadarenes - Some of the MSS. have Gergasenes, and some of them Gerasenes. Griesbach seems to prefer the latter. See the note on Mat_8:28.

The Gadarenes were included within the limits of the Gergasenes. Dr. Lightfoot supposes that, of the two demoniacs mentioned here, one was of Gadara, and consequently a heathen, the other was a Gergesenian, and consequently a Jew; and he thinks that Mark and Luke mention the Gadarene demoniac because his case was a singular one, being the only heathen cured by our Lord, except the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman.

GILL, "And they came over unto the other side of the sea,.... Of Galilee, or Tiberias;

into the country of the Gadarenes: in the Evangelist Matthew it is called, "the country of the Gergesenes", as it is here in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions. The Vulgate Latin reads, "of the Gerasenes", and so some copies, from Gerasa, a place in the same country; but the Syriac and Persic versions read, "Gadarenes", as do most copies; so called from Gadara, a city either adjacent to, or within the country of the Gergesenes; which was called by both names, from these different places. It was not far from Tiberias, the place from whence this sea has its name, over which Christ and his disciples passed, Joh_6:1. Chammath was a mile from (e) Tiberias, and this

Chammath was so near to the country of Gadara, that it is often called, חמת�דגדר,

"Chammath of Gadara" (f); unless it should be rather rendered, "the hot baths of Gadara": for so it is (g) said, that at Gadara are the hot baths of Syria; which may be the same with the hot baths of Tiberias, so often mentioned in the Jewish writings (h); hence the town of Chammath had its name, which was so near to Tiberias, that it is sometimes reckoned the same with it (i): Pliny (k) places this Gadara in Decapolis, and Ptolemy (l) in Coelo Syria; and Meleager, the collector of epigrams, who is called a Syrian, is said (m) to be a Gadarene, a native of this Gadara. Mention is made of the whirlpool of Gadara (n), which remained ever since the flood. It appears to be an Heathen country, both from its situation, and the manners of the people.

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HENRY, "We have here an instance of Christ's dispossessing the strong man armed, and disposing of him as he pleased, to make it appear that he was stronger than he. This he did when he was come to the other side, whither he went through a storm; his business there was to rescue this poor creature out of the hands of Satan, and when he had done that, he returned. Thus he came from heaven to earth, and returned, in a storm, to redeem a remnant of mankind out of the hands of the devil, though but a little remnant, and did not think his pains ill bestowed.

In Matthew, they were said to be two possessed with devils; here it is said to be a man possessed with an unclean spirit. If there were two, there was one, and Mark doth not say that there was but one; so that this difference cannot give us any just offence; it is probable that one of them was much more remarkable than the other, and said what was said. Now observe here,

I. The miserable condition that this poor creature was in; he was under the power of an unclean spirit, the devil got possession of him, and the effect of it was not, as in many, a silent melancholy, but a raging frenzy; he was raving mad; his condition seems to have been worse than any of the possessed, that were Christ's patients.

1. He had his dwelling among the tombs, among the graves of dead people. Their tombs were out of the cities, in desolate places (Job_3:14); which gave the devil great advantage: for woe to him that is alone. Perhaps the devil drove him to the tombs, to make people fancy that the souls of the dead were turned into daemons, and did what mischief was done, so to excuse themselves from it. The touch of a grave was polluting, Num_19:16. The unclean spirit drives people into that company that is defiling, and so keeps possession of them. Christ, by rescuing souls out of Satan's power, saves the living from among the dead.

JAMIESON, "Mar_5:1-20. Glorious cure of the Gadarene demoniac.

And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

LIGHTFOOT, "[Into the country of the Gadarenes.] So also Luke: But

Matthew, into the country of the Gergesenes. And, which ought not to be passed

over without observation, Mark and Luke, who call it the country of the

Gadarenes, make mention only of one possessed person; but Matthew, who calls

it the country of the Gergesenes, speaks of two. We know what is here said by

commentators to reconcile the evangelists. We fetch their reconciliation from the

very distinction of the words which the evangelists use, and that from those

conclusions:

I. We say the region of the Gergesenes was of broader extent and signification

than the region of the Gadarenes was, and that the region of the Gadarenes was

included within it. For whether it were called so from the old Gergashite family

of the Canaanites, or from the muddy and clayey nature of the soil, which was

called Gergishta by the Jews, which we rather believe; it was of wider extension

than the country of the Gadarenes; which denoted only one city, and the smaller

country about it, and that belonged to Gadara. But this country comprehended

within it the country of Gadara, of Hippo, and of Magdala, if not others also.

II. We say Gadara was a city of heathens, (hence it is less marvel if there were

swine among them) which we prove also elsewhere, when we treat of the region

of Decapolis.

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III. We say there were two possessed persons according to Matthew, one a

Gadarene, another coming from some other place than the country of Gadara,

namely, from some place in the country of the Gergesenes.

IV. We believe that that Gadarene was a heathen; and that Mark and Luke

mentioned only him on set purpose, that so they might make the story the more

famous. Any one skilled in the chorography of the land of Israel might

understand that the country of the Gadarenes was of heathen possession: they

therefore mark him with that name, that it might presently be perceived that

Christ now had to do with a heathen possessed person; which was somewhat

rare, and except the daughter of the Syrophoenician woman, without any

example. Matthew would describe the greatness of the miracle; he therefore

mentions two most miserably possessed persons: but Mark and Luke choose out

only one, and him more remarkable for this very thing, that he was a Gadarene,

and by consequence a heathen. These things, well weighed, do not only confirm

the concord between the evangelists, but render the story far clearer. For,

First, It is to be marked that the devil adjures Christ not to "torment" him, verse

7, which is not elsewhere done by him: as though he were without Christ's

jurisdiction among the heathens. And,

Secondly, Christ does not elsewhere ask any about their name, besides this alone,

as being of more singular example and story.

Thirdly, The heathen name legion, argues him a heathen concerning whom the

story is.

Fourthly, The devils besought him much that he would not send them out of the

country; for being among heathens, they thought they were among their own.

Our Saviour, therefore, healed those two in Matthew together, the one, a

Gadarene and heathen, and the other from some other place, a Gergesene and a

Jew; and that not without a mystery; namely, that there should be comfort in

Christ both to Jews and Gentiles, against the power and tyranny of Satan. Of

those two, Mark and Luke mention the more remarkable.

CONSTABLE, "Mark and Luke called this area the country of the Gerasenes,

but Matthew called it the country of the Gadarenes. Gergesa (also referred to as

Gersa and Kersa) was a small village about midway on the eastern shore of the

lake. Gadara was a larger town six miles southeast of the lake's southern end.

This incident apparently happened somewhere near both towns on the southeast

coast of the lake. Another town with a similar name, Gerasa (Jarash), stood 37

miles southeast of the lake, too far southeast to qualify as the site of this miracle.

"At the site of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. But about a mile

further south there is a fairly steep slope within forty yards from the shore, and

about two miles from there cavern tombs are found which appear to have been

used for dwellings." [Note: Ibid., p. 181.]

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BARCLAY, "THE BANISHING OF THE DEMONS (Mark 5:1-13)

5:1-13 They came to the other side of the lake, to the territory of the Gerasenes.

Immediately Jesus had disembarked from the boat, there met him from the

tombs a man in the grip of an unclean spirit. This man lived amongst the tombs.

No one had ever been able to bind him with a chain, because he had often been

bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been wrenched apart by him

and the fetters shattered; and no one was strong enough to tame him.

Continually, night and day, in the tombs and in the hills, he kept shrieking and

gashing himself with stones. He saw Jesus when he was still a long way away,

and he ran and knelt before him. "What," he said, "have you and I to do with

each other, Jesus, you son of the most high God? In God's name, I adjure you, do

not torture me!" For Jesus had been saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of

the man!" "What is your name?" he asked him. "Legion is my name," he said,

"for we are many." And he kept begging Jesus with many an entreaty not to

send them out of the country. Now a great herd of swine was feeding on the

mountain-side. "Send us into the Swine," they urged him, "that we may go into

them." And Jesus permitted them to go into them. And the unclean spirits came

out and entered into the swine and the herd--there were about two thousand of

them--rushed down the precipice into the lake, and were drowned in the lake.

Here is a vivid and rather eerie story. It is the kind of story in which we have to

do our best to read between the lines, because it is thinking and speaking in

terms quite familiar to people in Palestine in the days of Jesus but quite alien to

us.

If this is to be taken in close connection with what goes before--and that is

Mark's intention--it must have happened late in the evening or even when the

night had fallen. The story becomes all the more weird and frightening when it is

seen as happening in the shadows of the night.

Mark 5:35 tells us that it was late in the evening when Jesus and his friends set

sail. The Lake of Galilee is 13 miles long at its longest, and 8 miles wide at its

widest. At this particular part it was about 5 miles across. They had made the

journey and, on the way, they had encountered the storm, and now had reached

land. It was a part of the lake-side where there were many caves in the limestone

rock, and many of these caves were used as tombs in which bodies were laid. At

the best of times it was an eerie place; as night fell it must have been grim indeed.

Out of the tombs there came a demon-possessed man. It was a fitting place for

him to be, for demons, so they believed in those days, dwelt in woods and

gardens and vineyards and dirty places, in lonely and desolate spots and among

the tombs. It was in the night-time and before cock-crow that the demons were

specially active. To sleep alone in an empty house at night was dangerous; to

greet any person in the dark was perilous, for he might be a demon. To go out at

night without a lantern or a torch was to court trouble. It was a perilous place

and a perilous hour, and the man was a dangerous man.

How completely this man felt himself to be possessed is seen in his way of

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speaking. Sometimes he uses the singular, as if he himself was speaking;

sometimes he uses the plural, as if all the demons in him were speaking. He was

so convinced that the demons were in him, that he felt they were speaking

through him. When asked his name he said his name was Legion. There were

probably two reasons for that.

A legion was a Roman regiment of 6,000 troops. Very likely the man had seen

one of these Roman regiments clanking along the road, and he felt that there was

a whole battalion of demons inside him. In any event the Jews believed that no

man would survive if he realized the number of demons with which he was

surrounded. They were "like the earth that is thrown up around a bed that is

sown." There were a thousand at a man's right hand and ten thousand at his left.

The queen of the female spirits had no fewer than 180,000 followers. There was a

Jewish saying, "A legion of hurtful spirits is on the watch for men, saying, 'When

shall he fall into the hands of one of these things and be taken?'" No doubt this

wretched man knew all about this, and his poor, wandering mind was certain

that a mass of those demons had taken up their residence in him.

Further, Palestine was an occupied country. The legions, at their wildest and

most irresponsible, could sometimes be guilty of atrocities that would make the

blood run cold. It may well be that this man had seen, perhaps even witnessed his

loved ones suffer from, the murder and rapine that could sometimes follow the

legions. It may well be that it was some such terrible experience which had

driven him insane. The word Legion conjured up for him a vision of terror and

death and destruction. He was convinced that demons like that were inside him.

We shall not even begin to understand this story unless we see how serious a case

of demon-possession this man was. It is clear that Jesus made more than one

attempt to heal him. Mark 5:8 tells us that Jesus had begun by using his usual

method--an authoritative order to the demon to come out. On this occasion that

was not successful. Next, he demanded what the demon's name was. It was

always supposed in those days that, if a demon's name could be discovered, it

gave a certain power over it. An ancient magical formula says, "I adjure thee,

every demonic spirit, Say whatsoever thou art." The belief was that if the name

was known the demon's power was broken. In this case even that did not prove

enough.

Jesus saw that there was only one way to cure this man--and that was to give him

unanswerable demonstration that the demons had gone out of him, at least,

unanswerable as far as his own mind was concerned. It does not matter whether

we believe in demon-possession or not; the man believed in it. Even if it all lay in

his disordered mind, the demons were terribly, real to him. Dr. Rendle Short,

speaking about the supposed evil influence of the moon (Psalms 121:6) which

emerges in the words lunatic and moonstruck, says, "Modern science does not

recognize any particular harm as coming from the moon. Yet it is a very

widespread belief that the moon does affect people mentally. It is good to know

that the Lord can deliver us from imaginary dangers as well as from real ones.

Often the imaginary are harder to face."

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This man needed deliverance; whether that deliverance was from literal demon-

possession, or from an all-powerful delusion does not matter. This is where the

herd of swine comes in. They were grazing on the hillside. The man felt that the

demons were asking to be not totally destroyed but sent into the swine. All the

time he was uttering the shrieks and going through the paroxysms which were

the sign of his malady. Suddenly, as his yells reached a new pitch of intensity, the

whole herd took flight and plunged down a steep slope into the sea. There was

the very proof that the man needed. This was almost the only thing on earth that

could have convinced him that he was cured. Jesus, like a wise healer who

understood so kindly and sympathetically the psychology of a mind diseased,

used the event to help the man climb back to sanity, and his disordered mind was

restored to peace.

There are ultra-fastidious people who will blame Jesus because the healing of the

man involved the death of the pigs. Surely it is a singularly blind way to look at

things. How could the fate of the pigs possibly be compared with the fate of a

man's immortal soul? We do not, presumably, have any objections to eating meat

for dinner nor refuse pork because it involved the killing of some pig. Surely if

we kill animals to avoid going hungry, we can raise no objection if the saving of a

man's mind and soul involved the death of a herd of these same animals. There is

a cheap sentimentalism which will languish in grief over the pain of an animal

and never turn a hair at the wretched state of millions of God's men and women.

This is not to say that we need not care what happens to God's animal creation,

for God loves every creature whom his hands have made, but it is to say that we

must preserve a sense of proportion; and in God's scale of proportions, there is

nothing so important as a human soul.

COFFMAN, "This chapter records the events regarding the Gerasene demoniacs

(Mark 5:1-20), and the raising of the daughter of Jairus from the dead (Mark

5:21-24,35-43), and the parenthetical miracle of healing the woman with the issue

of blood (Mark 5:25-34).

THE GERASENE DEMONIACS

And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.

(Mark 5:1)

Other side of the sea ... that is, the eastern shore of Galilee.

Gerasenes ... In the parallel accounts (Matthew 8:28-35; Luke 8:26-40), Luke has

"Gerasenes" as here, and Matthew has "Gadarenes." The actual site has been

identified as being on the south bank of the Wady-es-Semak on the eastern shore

of Galilee, a place called GERASA, now a ruin, on a narrow rim of the lake,

about 120 feet wide, at the base of a steep incline to the sea.[1] Gadara was the

principal town of the area, so Matthew called the area "the country of the

Gadarenes."

ENDNOTE:

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[1] William Taylor, The Miracles of Our Lord (New York: Richard R. Smith,

Inc., 1930), p. 212.

BURKITT, "This piece of history gives us a very sad relation of a person that

was possessed with a legion of devils: we read of few, if any, in the Old

Testament, that were thus possessed, but of many in the New Testament. Our

Saviour came into the world to destroy the works of the devil; therefore he

suffered Satan to enter some human bodies, to show his divine power in casting

him out.

Note here, 1. That the evil angels by their fall lost their purity, but not their

power; for with God's permission they have power, not only to enter into men's

bodies, and to possess them, but also to distemper their minds, and drive them to

frenzy and madness, causing them to offer violence to their own lives and to do

hurt and mischief to their own bodies. Thus did this possessed person here,

wounding and cutting himself with stones.

Note, 2. That the reason why the evil angels do not oftener exert their power in

doing mischief to the bodies and lives of men, is from the restraining power of

God. The devils cannot do all the mischief they would, and they shall not do all

they can.

Note, 3. The place where these evil spirits delighted to make their abode; among

the tombs or graves, places desolate, forlorn, and solitary, which are apt to breed

horror of mind, and give advantage to temptations.

Learn thence, That it is dangerous, and very unsafe, for persons, especially in

whom melancholy prevails, to give themselves to solitariness, to frequent desolate

and forlorn places, and to affect the being much alone; it giving advantage to

Satan to set upon them with powerful temptations. It is better to frequent human

society and communion of the saints, by means whereof we may be more and

more strengthened and fortified against Satan's temptations.

Note, 4. That the devils own Christ to be the Son of God, and that he came into

the world to be a Saviour, but not a Saviour to them; therefore they cry out,

What have we to do with thee, or thou with us? O what an uncomfortable

confession and acknowledgment is this, to own Christ to be a Saviour, and at the

same time to know that he is none of our Saviour!

Note, 5. That though the devils do own Christ to be the Son of God, and do pay

homage and worship, and yield service and subjection to him, as his slaves and

vassals, yet it is not a free and voluntary service, but extorted rather, and forced

from them by the power of Christ: He worshipped, and cried out, saying, What

have I to do with thee?

Note, 6. What a multitude of evil spirits do enter into one man. O the extreme

malice and cruelty of the devil against mankind, in that so many evil spirits did

at once afflict and torment a single person; even a legion, many thousands of

them.

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Observe also, The unity and agreement which is amongst these evil spirits in

doing mischief: though there was a legion of them in this one person, yet they

have all but one name.

Learn, That the very devils have a sort of unity amongst themselves, and in their

malice and mischievous designs against mankind they are as one. How happy

were it, if good men were as much united in designs and endeavours for the glory

of God, as devils conspire and combine against it!

Note, 7. The outcry which the devil makes at the appearance and approach of

Christ, Art thou come to torment us before the time?

From thence learn, (1) That there are tortures appointed to the spiritual natures

of evil angels.

(2) That the devils are not so full of torment as they shall be. Although they are

as full of discontent as they can be, there will be a time when their torments shall

be increased, when they shall have their fill of torment. This they know, and

accordingly thus they pray, Torment us not before our time; that is, increase not

our torments before the appointed time of their increase.

Note, 8. The devil's request, Not to send them out of the country, ver. 10: for

being now among heathens, they thought they were among their own, and not in

Christ's jurisdiction, as being not amongst his people.

Next, for permission and leave to go into the herd of swine.

Where observe, First, The devil's malice; he will hurt the poor beasts rather than

not hurt at all.

Secondly, His powerful restraint; he cannot hurt a pig without permission:

Suffer us to enter. Satan's malice indeed is infinite, but his power is bounded; it

is postestas sub postestate, a power under a power. If he could not hurt the

swine, much less can he afflict the body or soul of man without leave or licence.

Note, 9. How Satan's request is yielded to by our Saviour: he permits the devils

to enter into the swine; not to satisfy their desire in doing mischief; but, first, to

show his power over the devils, that they could do nothing without his

permission: next, to show how great the power and malice of the devil would be,

if not restrained: and lastly, That the miracle of casting out such a multitude of

devils might appear to be the greater.

Learn hence, That sometimes Almighty God, for wise ends and just causes, doth

suffer the devil to enjoy his desire in doing hurt and mischief unto the creatures:

Jesus said unto them, Go.

Note, 10. What a contrary effect this miracle which Christ wrought had upon

these people; instead of believing his divine power, upon the sight of his

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miraculous healing the possessed, the loss of their swine enrages them, and

makes them desire Christ to depart from them. Carnal hearts prefer their swine

before their Saviour, and had rather lose Christ's presence than their worldly

profit. So desirous were these Gadarenes to get rid of our Saviour's company,

that they pray and beseech him to depart out of their coasts.

Learn hence, Sad is the condition of such from whom Christ departs; more sad

the condition of such who say unto Christ, Depart; but most sad the case of them

who pray and beseech Christ to depart from them; which accordingly he did,

and we read no more of his return to them.

Note lastly, How desirous the possessed man was to continue with Christ: after

he was ocme to himself, he prayed that he might be with him. This he might

desire, partly to testify his thankfulness to Christ, partly out of fear of being

repossessed again by Satan, or perhaps to have the opportunity of hearing

Christ's doctrine,and seeing his miracles. For such as have once tasted that the

Lord is gracious, and experienced the pleasure and profit of Chirst's company,

are very desirous of the continuance of it, and exceeding loth to part with it.

However, our Saviour at this time did not think fit to suffer him, knowing that

more glory would redound to God, by publishing the miracle to his friends.

Christ expects, after eminent deliverances wrought for us, that we should be the

publishers of his praise, and declare to all, far and near, the great things which

God hath done for us. Add to this, that our Saviour might not permit this man to

be with him to avoid the suspicion of vain-glory; by which he might have given

some umbrage, had he carried about with him those upon whom his greatest

miracles were wrought.

And lastly, To show that Christ in his absence, as well as when present, is able to

protect those that believe and trust in him from the malice of evil spirits.

MACLAREN, "THE LORD OF DEMONS

The awful picture of this demoniac is either painted from life, or it is one of the most wonderful feats of the poetic imagination. Nothing more terrible, vivid, penetrating, and real was ever conceived by the greatest creative genius. If it is not simply a portrait, Ƴchylus or Dante might own the artist for a brother. We see the quiet landing on the eastern shore, and almost hear the yells that broke the silence as the fierce, demon-ridden man hurried to meet them, perhaps with hostile purpose. The dreadful characteristics of his state are sharply and profoundly signalised. He lives up in the rock-hewn tombs which overhang the beach; for all that belongs to corruption and death is congenial to the subjects of that dark kingdom of evil. He has superhuman strength, and has known no gentle efforts to reclaim, but only savage attempts to ‘tame’ by force, as if he were a beast. Fetters and manacles have been snapped like rushes by him. Restless, sleepless, hating men, he has made the night hideous with his wild shrieks, and fled, swift as the wind, from place to place among the lonely hills. Insensible to pain, and deriving some dreadful satisfaction from his own wounds, he has gashed himself with splinters of rock, and howled, in a delirium of pain and pleasure, at the sight of his own blood. His sharpened eyesight sees Jesus from afar, and, with the disordered haste and preternatural agility which marked all

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his movements, he runs towards Him. Such is the introduction to the narrative of the cure. It paints for us not merely a maniac, but a demoniac. He is not a man at war with himself, but a man at war with other beings, who have forced themselves into his house of life. At least, so says Mark, and so said Jesus; and if the story before us is true, its subsequent incidents compel the acceptance of that explanation. What went into the herd of swine? The narrative of the restoration of the sufferer has a remarkable feature, which may help to mark off its stages. The word ‘besought’ occurs four times in it, and we may group the details round each instance.

I. The demons beseeching Jesus through the man’s voice.

He was, in the exact sense of the word, distracted-drawn two ways. For it would seem to have been the self in him that ran to Jesus and fell at His feet, as if in some dim hope of rescue; but it is the demons in him that speak, though the voice be his. They force him to utter their wishes, their terrors, their loathing of Christ, though he says ‘I’ and ‘me’ as if these were his own. That horrible condition of a double, or, as in this case, a manifold personality, speaking through human organs, and overwhelming the proper self, mysterious as it is, is the very essence of the awful misery of the demoniacs. Unless we are resolved to force meanings of our own on Scripture, I do not see how we can avoid recognising this. What black thoughts, seething with all rebellious agitation, the reluctant lips have to utter! The self-drawn picture of the demoniac nature is as vivid as, and more repellent than, the Evangelist’s terrible portrait of the outward man. Whatever dumb yearning after Jesus may have been in the oppressed human consciousness, his words are a shriek of terror and recoil. The mere presence of Christ lashes the demons into paroxysms: but before the man spoke, Christ had spoken His stern command to come forth. He is answered by this howl of fear and hate. Clear recognition of Christ’s person is in it, and not difficult to explain, if we believe that others than the sufferer looked through his wild eyes, and spoke in his loud cry. They know Him who had conquered their prince long ago; if the existence of fallen spirits be admitted, their knowledge is no difficulty.

The next element in the words is hatred, as fixed as the knowledge is clear. God’s supremacy and loftiness, and Christ’s nature, are recognised, but only the more abhorred. The name of God can be used as a spell to sway Jesus, but it has no power to touch this fierce hatred into submission. ‘The devils also believe and tremble.’ This, then, is a dark possibility, which has become actual for real living beings, that they should know God, and hate as heartily as they know clearly. That is the terminus towards which human spirits may be travelling. Christ’s power, too, is recognised, and His mere presence makes the flock of obscene creatures nested in the man uneasy, like bats in a cave, who flutter against a light. They shrink from Him, and shudderingly renounce all connection with Him, as if their cries would alter facts, or make Him relax His grip. The very words of the question prove its folly. ‘What is there to me and thee?’ implies that there were two parties to the answer; and the writhings of one of them could not break the bond. To all this is to be added that the ‘torment’ deprecated was the expulsion from the man, as if there were some grim satisfaction and dreadful alleviation in being there, rather than ‘in the abyss’-as Luke gives it-which appears to be the alternative. If we put all these things together, we get an awful glimpse into the secrets of that dark realm, which it is better to ponder with awe than flippantly to deny or mock.

How striking is Christ’s unmoved calm in the face of all this fury! He is always laconic in dealing with demoniacs; and, no doubt, His tranquil presence helped to calm the man, however it excited the demon. The distinct intention of the question, ‘What is thy name?’ is to rouse the man’s self-consciousness, and make him feel his separate existence, apart from the alien tyranny which had just been using his voice and usurping his personality. He had said ‘I’ and ‘me.’ Christ meets him with, Who is the

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‘I’? and the very effort to answer would facilitate the deliverance. But for the moment the foreign influence is still too strong, and the answer, than which there is nothing more weird and awful in the whole range of literature, comes: ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’ Note the momentary gleam of the true self in the first word or two, fading away into the old confusion. He begins with ‘my,’ but he drops back to ‘we.’ Note the pathetic force of the name. This poor wretch had seen the solid mass of the Roman legion, the instrument by which foreign tyrants crushed the nations. He felt himself oppressed and conquered by their multitudinous array. The voice of the ‘legion’ has a kind of cruel ring of triumph, as if spoken as much to terrify the victim as to answer the question.

Again the man’s voice speaks, beseeching the direct opposite of what he really would have desired. He was not so much in love with his dreadful tenants as to pray against their expulsion, but their fell power coerces his lips, and he asks for what would be his ruin. That prayer, clean contrary to the man’s only hope, is surely the climax of the horror. In a less degree, we also too often deprecate the stroke which delivers, and would fain keep the legion of evils which riot within.

II. The demons beseeching Jesus without disguise.

There seems to be intended a distinction between ‘he besought,’ in Mar_5:10, and they ‘besought,’ in Mar_5:12. Whether we are to suppose that, in the latter case, the man’s voice was used or no, the second request was more plainly not his, but theirs. It looks as if, somehow, the command was already beginning to take effect, and ‘he’ and ‘they’ were less closely intertwined. It is easy to ridicule this part of the incident, and as easy to say that it is incredible; but it is wiser to remember the narrow bounds of our knowledge of the unseen world of being, and to be cautious in asserting that there is nothing beyond the horizon but vacuity. If there be unclean spirits, we know too little about them to say what is possible. Only this is plain-that the difficulty of supposing them to inhabit swine is less, if there be any difference, than of supposing them to inhabit men, since the animal nature, especially of such an animal, would correspond to their impurity, and be open to their driving. The house and the tenant are well matched. But why should the expelled demons seek such an abode? It would appear that anywhere was better than ‘the abyss,’ and that unless they could find some creature to enter, thither they must go. It would seem, too, that there was no other land open to them-for the prayer on the man’s lips had been not to send them ‘out of the country,’ as if that was the only country on earth open to them. That makes for the opinion that demoniacal possession was the dark shadow which attended, for reasons not discoverable by us, the light of Christ’s coming, and was limited in time and space by His earthly manifestation. But on such matters there is not ground enough for certainty.

Another difficulty has been raised as to Christ’s right to destroy property. It was very questionable property, if the owners were Jews. Jesus owns all things, and has the right and the power to use them as He will; and if the purposes served by the destruction of animal life or property are beneficent and lofty, it leaves no blot on His goodness. He used His miraculous power twice for destruction-once on a fig-tree, once on a herd of swine. In both cases, the good sought was worth the loss. Whether was it better that the herd should live and fatten, or that a man should be delivered, and that he and they who saw should be assured of his deliverance and of Christ’s power? ‘Is not a man much better than a sheep,’ and much more than a pig? They are born to be killed, and nobody cries out cruelty. Why should not Christ have sanctioned this slaughter, if it helped to steady the poor man’s nerves, or to establish the reality of possession and of his deliverance? Notice that the drowning of the herd does not appear to have entered into the calculations of the unclean spirits. They desired houses to live in after their expulsion, and for them to plunge the swine into

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the lake would have defeated their purpose. The stampede was an unexpected effect of the commingling of the demonic with the animal nature, and outwitted the demons. ‘The devil is an ass.’ There is a lower depth than the animal nature; and even swine feel uncomfortable when the demon is in them, and in their panic rush anywhere to get rid of the incubus, and, before they know, find themselves struggling in the lake. ‘Which things are an allegory.’

III. The terrified Gerasenes beseeching Jesus to leave them.

They had rather have their swine than their Saviour, and so, though they saw the demoniac sitting, ‘clothed, and in his right mind,’ at the feet of Jesus, they in turn beseech that He should take Himself away. Fear and selfishness prompted the prayer. The communities on the eastern side of the lake were largely Gentile; and, no doubt, these people knew that they did many worse things than swine-keeping, and may have been afraid that some more of their wealth would have to go the same road as the herd. They did not want instruction, nor feel that they needed a healer. Were their prayers so very unlike the wishes of many of us? Is there nobody nowadays unwilling to let the thought of Christ into his life, because he feels an uneasy suspicion that, if Christ comes, a good deal will have to go? How many trades and schemes of life really beseech Jesus to go away and leave them in peace! And He goes away. The tragedy of life is that we have the awful power of severing ourselves from His influence. Christ commands unclean spirits, but He can only plead with hearts. And if we bid Him depart, He is fain to leave us for the time to the indulgence of our foolish and wicked schemes. If any man open, He comes in-oh, how gladly I but if any man slam the door in His face, He can but tarry without and knock. Sometimes His withdrawing does more than His loudest knocking; and sometimes they who repelled Him as He stood on the beach call Him back, as He moves away to the boat. It is in the hope that they may, that He goes.

IV. The restored man’s beseeching to abide with Christ.

No wonder that the spirit of this man, all tremulous with the conflict, and scarcely able yet to realise his deliverance, clung to Christ, and besought Him to let him continue by His side. Conscious weakness, dread of some recurrence of the inward hell, and grateful love, prompted the prayer. The prayer itself was partly right and partly wrong. Right, in clinging to Jesus as the only refuge from the past misery; wrong, in clinging to His visible presence as the only way of keeping near Him. Therefore, He who had permitted the wish of the demons, and complied with the entreaties of the terrified mob, did not yield to the prayer, throbbing with love and conscious weakness. Strange that Jesus should put aside a hand that sought to grasp His in order to be safe; but His refusal was, as always, the gift of something better, and He ever disappoints the wish in order more truly to satisfy the need. The best defence against the return of the evil spirits was in occupation. It is the ‘empty’ house which invites them back. Nothing was so likely to confirm and steady the convalescent mind as to dwell on the fact of his deliverance. Therefore he is sent to proclaim it to friends who had known his dreadful state, and amidst old associations which would help him to knit his new life to his old, and to treat his misery as a parenthesis. Jesus commanded silence or speech according to the need of the subjects of His miracles. For some, silence was best, to deepen the impression of blessing received; for others, speech was best, to engage and so to fortify the mind against relapse.

SBC, "This story may be viewed in four aspects.

I. The human. (a) The human aspect as seen in shadow: (1) Man impure—unclean

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spirit; (2) Man dis-socialised—his dwelling was among the tombs; (3) Man unrestrained—no man could tame him; (4) Man self-tormented. (b) As seen in light: (1) Man tranquillized—sitting; (2) Man civilised—clothed; (3) Man intellectualised—in his right mind.

II. The Divine. (1) Christ identified by His holiness; (2) Christ feared for His power; (3) Christ recognised in the realm of spirit.

III. The Diabolic. (1) As showing great resources, "we are many"; (2) as displaying subordination—they besought Christ; (3) as revealing destructiveness—whatever they touch, man or beast, they destroy.

IV. (1) Society trembling under manifestations of spiritual power—"they were afraid." (2) Society caring more for beasts than for men—they prayed Him to depart out of their coasts.

Parker, City Temple, 1871, p. 83.

BI 1-20, "Into the country of the Gadarenes.

The country of the Gadarenes

I spent a night and part of two days in the vicinity of the Lake of Tiberias. My tent was pitched near the Hot Baths, about a mile south of the town of Tiberias, and, consequently, near the south end of the lake. In looking across the water to the other side, I had before me the country of the Gadarenes, where the swine, impelled by an evil spirit, plunged into the sea. I was struck with a mark of accuracy in the sacred writers which had never occurred to me till then. They state that “the swine ran violently down the steep place, or precipice” (the article being required by the Greek), “and were choked in the sea.” It is implied here, first, that the hills in that region approach near the water; and, secondly, that they fail off so abruptly along the shore that it would be natural for a writer familiar with that fact to refer to it as well known. Both these implications are correct. A mass of rocky hills overlook the sea on that side, so near the water that one sees their dark outline reflected from its surface, while their sides are in general so steep that a person familiar with the scenery would hardly think of speaking of a steep place or precipice, where so much of the coast forms but one continuous precipice. Our translators omit the definite article, and show, by this inadvertence, how naturally the more exact knowledge of the evangelists influenced their language. (H. B. Hackett, D. D.)

The tombs

These tombs were caverns, natural or artificial, in the sides of the rocks, containing cells in which the dead bodies were placed and closed up. The entrance to the cave itself was not closed, and thus it might be used as a habitation. Such ancient tombs still exist in the hills above Gersa, as well as at Gadara, indeed the whole region, as Mr. Tristram remarks, is so perforated with these rock chambers, that a home for the demoniac might be found, whatever locality be assigned as the scene of the miracle. (Dean Mansel.)

Eastern tombs

In the East the receptacles of the dead are always situated at some distance from the abodes of the living; and if belonging to kings or men of rank, are spacious vaults and

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magnificent structures, containing, besides the crypt that contains the ashes of their solitary tenants, several chambers or recesses which are open and accessible at the sides. In these the benighted traveller often finds a welcome asylum; in these the dervishes and santons, wandering mendicants that infest the towns of Persia and other eastern countries, generally establish themselves, and they are often, too, made the haunts of robbers and lawless people, who hide themselves there to avoid the consequences of their crimes. Nor are they occupied only by such casual and dangerous tenants. When passing through a desolate village near the Lake of Tiberius, Giovanni Finati saw the few inhabitants living in the tombs as their usual place of residence; and at Thebes the same traveller, when he was introduced to Mr. Beechy, the British Consul, found that gentleman had established himself, while prosecuting his researches among the ruins of that celebrated place, in the vestibule of one of the tombs of the ancient kings. Captain Light, who travelled over the scene of our Lord’s interview with the demoniac, describes the tombs as still existing in the form of caverns cut in the live rock, like those at Petra-as wild and sequestered solitudes, divided into a number of bare and open niches, well suited to be places of refuge to those unhappy lunatics for whom the benevolence of antiquity had not provided a better asylum. (R. Jamieson, D. D.)

Power of evil spirits, and power over them

I. The power of evil spirits.

1. As seen in its extensiveness. Their field is the world.

2. As seen in its effects.

(1) In institutions: paganism; pseudo-Christian forms; governments.

(2) In society: amusements; sentiments; prejudices; practices; vices; crimes; results.

II. Christ’s power over evil spirits.

1. Feared by them-“I adjure Thee by God, torment me not.”

2. Hated of them-“What have we,” etc.

3. Absolute over them-“Come out of him, thou unclean spirit,” etc.

(1) This exercise of Christ’s power over evil spirits a prophecy of their ultimate subjection to Him.

(2) Christ only can deliver us from the power of Satan.

(3) The contrast between Satan’s power and Christ’s is here graphically and historically delineated.

(4) The power of worldliness to dry up human sympathy exemplified in the Gergesenes sending Jesus away from their coasts.

(5) The power of Christ in delivering us from the power of evil involves grateful obligations-“Go home to thy friends,” etc. This is the true method of spreading the gospel. (D. C. Hughes, M. A.)

Demoniacal possession

The four evangelists give themselves very little concern about pathology and

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diagnosis, although one of them was a physician. But taking the Gospels as an honest and not unintelligent record of the phenomena, we make out two points very clearly concerning this demonism.

I. It was not mere lunacy or epilepsy, for these diseases are recognized and clearly distinguished from the work of the evil spirits. There are patients in whom the work of the infesting spirit produces symptoms like epilepsy, and other patients in whom it produces symptoms of dumbness, and there are still other manifestations, but beneath these symptoms they detect indications, which the sufferer himself confirms, of something different from the mere physical diseases of like symptoms by which these eases were surrounded.

II. As this demonism was not mere disease, so, on the other hand, it was not mere wickedness-the wilful giving up of one’s self to the instigation of the devil-a mistake to which we are inclined by the unhappy mistranslation of demon into devil. It is always spoken of and dealt with as an involuntary affliction, looked upon by the Lord with pity rather than censure. Neither is it treated as if it were in any special sense a visitation for sin. Doubtless these sufferers were sinners, and doubtless their sufferings stood in some relation to their sins, but it was not this relation, that they were “sinners above all others.” The truth seems to be this: that sin, unbelief, opened the way for this awful curse, and that when the alien spirit had taken hold of body and mind and will, it had the power of plaguing with various disorders-with wild, moping, melancholic madness, or with epileptic convulsions, or blindness, or dumbness. Both the disciples and the evangelists, and even the popular apprehension of the Jews, distinguished clearly between such of these maladies as were merely physical, and such as were inflicted by malign spirits. (L. W. Bacon.)

Christ and the demoniac

From this strange but suggestive incident we may learn-

I. The immediate connection of the world of darkness with the evil heart. Today men break through moral and social restraints, and with else unaccountable recklessness destroy their every interest; suffer disgrace, lose their situations, break up their homes, and for a mess of pottage sacrifice all their hopes in life. Human passion, or even selfishness, is no explanation of such follies. They have a demon; they are possessed.

II. The great power of the inhabitants of darkness over the evil heart. To drive men from the comforts of an honourable life, and to lead them to seek happiness in vagrancy; to make them think they are all right, though daubed with dirt and pollution; to cause men who are sane in the ordinary affairs of life to frequent such places and cherish such companions as reveal to others their moral madness.

III. The utter impotency of man to deliver the possessed from the power of the inhabitants of darkness.

IV. The weakness of the powers of darkness in conflict with Christ. A legion of demons expelled by a word!

V. Conclusion.

1. Beware of tampering with evil. The “little sin” may open the door of the heart for the entrance of a whole legion of demons.

2. The wish of evil will ever be self-destructive.

3. If Jesus has cured you, show it by causing joy and gladness where you have

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caused so much misery-in your home. (F. Wallace.)

The demoniac of Gadara

I. The misery of the man.

II. The majesty of Christ.

III. The mischief of the devils. (J. B.)

The Gadarene demoniac

1. That there are ether intelligent and finite creatures beside men.

2. Some of these are wholly wicked, while others are wholly good.

3. Wicked spirits can tempt men to sin.

4. Yet it is conceivable that in some instances they should acquire an absolute physical control over a human being, so as to coerce him irresistibly and make him act against his own will.

5. Cases of possession were peculiarly numerous at the time of Christ’s ministry upon earth.

Lessons:

1. See the exceeding terribleness of sin, in ruining two orders of creatures and making one the means of ruin to the other.

2. Be thankful to be saved from the physical tyranny of the devil. He would make us all howling demoniacs if he could: but he is restrained by the power and interference of Jesus Christ.

3. Consider the dreadful doom of sinners who hereafter will be absolutely under the power of evil spirits. Hell is a pandemonium of devils, and a bedlam of demoniacs.

4. As still subject to the moral temptations of the evil one, look stedfastly to Jesus, who has power to bring you off more than conqueror in every conflict with the powers of darkness. (Congregational Pulpit.)

Sin and salvation

I. Some aspects of sin.

1. Its contagiousness. The man was “possessed.” Evil is always reaching beyond itself for something of which it may lay hold, and which it may drag downwards.

2. Its anti-social tendency. “Neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.” Iniquity isolates men, as ferocity does the wolf, the tiger, the eagle.

3. Its embrutalization of character.

(1) Evidenced in the man; naked, dwelling like a beast amongst the caves: “about two thousand” demons dwelling in one man!

(2) Evidenced in the evil spirits. Spirits, who had been inhabitants of heaven,

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fallen so low that they desire to take up their abode in the swine I

4. Its dread of righteousness. The devils cry out when Christ draws near. Always vice fears and hates virtue.

II. Some aspects of salvation.

1. It is begun in the expulsion (not repression) of evil principles and desires.

2. God accounts as nothing whatever material loss may be incurred in its effectuation. Souls are more to Him than swine.

3. Its moral and spiritual results have a counterpart, and external evidence in improved material and social condition. “Clothed,” etc.

4. The surest proof of the reality of its accomplishment is renunciation of personal preferences in obedience to Christ’s command. “Not my will, but Thine be done.” (The Pulpit Analyst.)

The evil spirits

I. The personality of evil spirits: or, in other words, that they are distinct personal beings. For every feature of the narrative bespeaks their true personality. Their first meeting with our Lord; their direct perception that He was their great antagonist; that He was man, and yet that in some way He was the Son of the most high God: that He was of the race over whom they had of old triumphed, and yet that He was their judge; their trembling entreaty that the appointed time of their full sorrow might not be forestalled:-all of these bespeak the manifest meeting of the person of the Christ with the person of the evil one. For all parts of this narrative are equally incompatible with the supposed solution of imaginative language; and all equally agree with the simple meaning of the declaration, that these spirits were separate, lost, personal beings, under whose strange and cruel power the demoniac had been brought. But, above all, this is so clearly established by their entering into the swine, that it furnishes us with the most probable reason for that permission.

II. And as their personality, so, further, their great number is established by this history. Their name was Legion, for many devils had entered into this single victim: a clear intimation of the exhaustless multitude of these hosts of darkness.

III. Again, concerning their condition we may gather much. For their meeting with Christ, as it called forth their name, so did it compel the disclosure of their state. We see them wandering restlessly over the earth, held even now in the strong chain of an ever present despair, and looking on to the full accomplishment of their appointed punishment. So that their present condition is plainly one of active, unresting, sinful misery; their hell is already within them, though its outer bars close not utterly around them until the accomplishment of all things.

IV. And in this condition their power is manifestly great. The strength which they administered to this their victim, by which “chains had been plucked asunder by him, and fetters broken in pieces,” was but the outward exhibition of the awful might with which he was himself subdued to their will. For what is meant by their “entering into him,” save that they had the mastery over him; that his spirit was controlled by theirs, so that his outer actions were now the coming forth of an evil power within him? In this sense they had “entered into him.” But it is as plain that this power, great as it was, was limited; for they could do no more than they were suffered.

V. And but for this gracious help of the Almighty, surely man would be swept away before the flood of their bitter hatred; for we may see here their malignity as plainly

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as their power. These wretched men, with their foul haunt amidst the pollutions of the tomb, who wore no clothes, but were “always night and day crying out and cutting themselves with stones;” how plainly do they bear their witness to the character of Satan’s rule! What else was all this their proclaimed misery but the evident display, in those given over utterly to him, of the true working of that will of his which is now making men sensual, and brutish, and violent, and fierce, and dark in spirit! The pleasant baits of sin are cast aside as soon as they have served their turn, and an absolute malignity seeks to overwhelm his prey with unmixed misery. Surely the tender mercies of that wicked one are cruel; he hates God without measure, and therefore hates in man even the obscured image of his heavenly Father. What a fearful intimation is all this of what hell shall be, where there shall be no limitation to his power of tormenting those who heretofore have joined him in rebellion, and thereby made him master over them! Lessons: And, first, we may see here the greatness of our redeemed life. Every one of us, how narrow soever be his sphere, is, as it were the champion of the great King. There is a mighty warfare raging throughout all His wide dominions. The hosts are gathered for the battle. An expectant world is looking on. Not men only, but all the armies of heaven, are ranged on this side and on that. Our common temptations, they are these times of trial. In them we either maintain God’s truth, or go basely over to His enemies. And if there be this greatness in our redeemed life, let us see next its fearfulness. For who are we that we should have to face these mighty ones, thus armed with power, thus inevitable in presence, thus skilled in the arts of the destroyer, thus malignant, numerous, nimble, and daring from the blackness of despair and the bitterness of hatred? Surely, then, our life, which leads us into the midst of them, must be fearful. Can it be safe for such men as we are to be sleepy and careless; to be ungirded, as those who live for pleasure; unarmed, as those who loll idly, courting ease or slumber? But once more; see not only the greatness and the fearfulness of the life which, in this view, we are leading, but see also its blessedness and true security. There is, indeed, this enemy to meet; our temptations to common sins involve this mighty struggle as coming from him; but there is also great joy even in this very thought; for as we cannot doubt the presence of evil, surely it is a blessed thing to know that it is thus a temptation cast in from without; that it is not necessarily part of us. “God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1Co_10:13). We are Christ’s soldiers, will He suffer us to perish? let us look at His cross, that we may deem better of His love. We know not how greatly we are every day protected by His present might; we know not how He has already succoured us; how He has curbed the power of the enemy; we know not how to measure aright the common blessing of being in His Church, amongst His saints, where the power of Satan even now is manifestly bound and straitened; we cannot tell from what bodily inflictions, from what mental struggles, from what fearful falls He has actually kept us. (Bishop Wilberforce.)

Nature sitting at the feet of Jesus

I. The difficulty felt by some, and expressed by not a few, as to there being or not being any real distinction between what are called demonical possessions in the new testament and mania, or maladies of various sorts and degrees of intensity.

1. They are distinct and separate things (Mat_4:24; Mat_8:16; Mar_1:32).

2. The language of our Lord on the occasion of His casting out devils is such as to warrant us in concluding that it was an actual or literal demoniacal possession.

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The theory of Strauss and the Rationalistic school.

3. These demoniacs were not necessarily, or in every instance, the guiltiest of men, but they were in all instances the unhappiest of men. There was a groaning under the tyranny they endured.

4. There seemed to have been two wills in the person-the will of the victim, and the will of the spirit driving him wherever he would.

II. A few reasons for supposing that demoniac possessions may have ceased, and some reasons for believing it may still continue.

1. If demoniac possessions were in those days, how is it that demoniac possessions are not now? How is it that epidemics that existed once do not exist now? etc.

2. Why does God suffer it to be so? The answer to that difficulty is, that we know very little why evil was introduced, we know not why evil is continued, etc. Evil is not unripe good, as Emerson and others of his school allege.

3. Another reason why demoniac possessions may have ceased is, that Satan, beyond all dispute, at our Redeemer’s birth, and at our Redeemer’s atonement, received a blow from which he has never recovered.

4. And there remains this fact, too-whatever God does in the world, Satan always gets up something very like it, because his hope of progress is by deception.

III. The special and individual portrait sketched in the text.

1. The most awful specimen of demoniacal possession that we can well imagine.

2. It is very remarkable to notice the contrast in his character-the bureau in its agony, groaning to be delivered, and the fiendish in its depravity, imploring to be let alone.

3. It appears that when Jesus drew near to the man he was not delivered of the demons instantly, but underwent a tremendous paroxysm of suffering and distress.

4. The prayer of the demons occasion a great deal of difficulty and of scoffing (confer Luk_8:31). It seems to us a mystery that Christ should answer the prayer of the demons at all. If there is any other way of disposing of them, why let the demons take possession of the swine, and why let the swine be thus destroyed?

5. The Gadarenes also presented a petition to Christ; and what is that petition? (Mar_5:17.) Strange, startling, painful fact! And yet it is possible for us to imitate their example. (J. Cumming, D. D.)

The Gadarene demoniac

I. Human efforts exerted. Picture his state. He was a pest to his family and the city. So are great sinners, who are the devil’s instruments for disturbing society. Something must be done. But what? Men can think only of fetters, etc. They did all that they had the wit to devise, or the power to accomplish. Perhaps congratulated themselves on baying done so much. Notice modern human restraints. Law, prisons, reformatories, policemen, and punishments. Besides these there are public opinion, fashion, custom. These are often used to keep the unruly in check. Suitable efforts employed among children. Parental restraints (Psa_32:9) hence (Lam_3:27).

II. Human efforts frustrated. No restraints could be found that were strong enough.

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Apply this and the personal injuries received to the case of those, especially children and young people, who break through restraints. He cut himself with the rocks; they are injured by contact with evil companions, bad habits, etc. Liberty only good for those who have some power of self-control. Observe how futile are human efforts in restraining sin. What multitudes break through every restraint! This to be prevented, not by strengthening the bonds, but by removing the inclination. This was what Jesus did.

III. Human efforts superseded. Jesus did not rebuke those who had done their best, but He did something better. He exorcised the evil spirit. The man was at once reduced to tractability; tamed without a fetter. Power of evil spirits illustrated by the fate of the swine. Superior value of the man proved by the permitted destruction of the swine, so the man might be saved. Selfishness of the Gadarenes illustrates that of the world in general, who would rather preserve personal property than sacrifice it for the religious and permanent good of man.

Learn-

I. The malignity, power, craft, and blindness of evil spirits.

II. The wretched state, personally and relatively, of man under their influence.

III. The utter helplessness of the best-concerted human means for the restraint of evil.

IV. The sufficiency of the word of Jesus (Col_2:15). (C. Gray.)

Our great enemy

From this history we learn three truths of great importance.

I. That the devil is a spirit of great malice and power.

II. That both his malice and his power are altogether under the government of God.

III. That God often permits him to do great mischief, for the profit of worldly men and for the trial of the faith of good men. (Bishop Wilson.)

The demoniac of Gergesa

I. The Gergesene in bondage. Was he not a free man, one who would not be bound by others-would go his own way? Yet he was a miserable slave (Mar_5:15-18). Here was one who seemed to be free, yet was really a slave.

II. How the Gergesene was rescued. Could not escape himself-the evil spirit too strong. Friends could not rescue him. Hopeless until someone stronger than the devils should come-then deliverance (compare Luk_11:21-22). Jesus not only stronger than one evil spirit-an army of them here (Mar_5:9). Yet see His supremacy.

1. They could go nowhere against His will.

2. Besought Him.

3. Even when He defeated them.

III. The Gergesene at liberty.

1. Is it like a free man to be sitting at another’s feet like that?

2. What does he ask of Jesus? Would it be freedom to have to follow another

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everywhere?

3. Jesus gives him an order; is that like liberty, to obey it so implicitly? Yes, for it is his own free choice to be, like St. Paul afterwards, the “slave of Christ” (Rom_1:1). (E. Stock.)

Sin destructive

Satan’s work is a work of destruction. Nearly seven hundred years ago, Jenghis Khan swept over Central Asia, and it is said that, for centuries after, his course could he traced by the pyramids of human bones-the bones of slaughtered captives-which his armies left behind them. If the bones of Satan’s slain captives could be piled up in our sight, what a pyramid that would be! Self-mutilation has always been common among the worshippers of false gods; to this day the fakirs of India cut and gash themselves with knives. The devil sets his servants at the same unprofitable task. Alo-ed-Din, the chief of the Assassins, succeeded in persuading his men that whoever would fall in his service was sure of Paradise; and so, at a nod of their chief, the poor dupes would stab themselves to the heart, or fling themselves over precipices. Satan’s one aim is to blind his captives and lead them to self-destruction. (Sunday School Times.)

A man in ruins

Can anything be more sad than the wreck of a man? We mourn over the destruction of many noble things that have existed in the world. Men, when they hear of the old Phidian Jupiter-that sat forty feet high, carved of ivory and gold, and that was so magnificent, so transcendent, that all the ancient world counted him unhappy that died without having seen this most memorable statue that ever existed in the world-often mourn to think that its exceeding value led to its destruction, and that it perished. It was a great loss to art that such a thing should perish. Can any man look upon the Acropolis-shattered with balls, crumbled by the various influences of the elements, and utterly destroyed-and not mourn to think that such a stately temple, a temple so unparalleled in its exquisite symmetry and beauty, should be desolate and scattered? Can there be anything more melancholy than the destruction, not only of such temples as the Acropolis and the Parthenon, but of a whole city of temples and statues? More melancholy than the destruction of a statue, or a temple, or a city, or a nation, in its physical aspects, is the destruction of a man, the wreck of the understanding, the ruin of the moral feelings, the scattering all abroad of those elements of power that, united together, make man fitly the noblest creature that walks on the earth. Thousands and thousands of men make foreign pilgrimages to visit and mourn over fallen and destroyed cities of former grandeur and beauty; and yet, all round about every one of us, in every street, and in almost every neighbourhood, there are ruins more stupendous, more pitiful, and more heart-touching than that of any city. And how strange would be the wonder if, as men wandered in the Orient, there should come someone that should call from the mounds all the scattered ruins of Babylon, or build again Tadmor of the desert! How strange it would be to see a city, that at night was a waste heap, so restored that in the morning the light of the sun should flash from pinnacle, and tower, and wall, and roof! How marvellous would be that creative miracle! But more marvellous, ten thousand times, is that Divine touch by which a man, broken down and shattered, is raised up in his right mind, and made to sit, clothed, at the feet of Jesus. (H. W. Beecher.)

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2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an

impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him.

CLARKE, "A man with an unclean spirit - There are two mentioned by Matthew, who are termed demoniacs. See on Mar_1:23 (note).

GILL, "And when he was come out of the ship,.... As soon as he was landed,

immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit. The Jews have a notion, that a man by dwelling among the tombs, becomes possessed with an unclean spirit: hence they say of one that seeks to the dead, or a necromancer (o), this is he that starves himself, and goes "and lodges in the tombs";

that so an unclean spirit may dwell upon him": which notion" ,כדי�שתשרה�עליו�רוח�טומאה

may arise from unclean spirits hurrying persons possessed by them, unto such places; partly for the terror, both of themselves and others; and partly to possess the minds of men with a persuasion, that they have power over the dead, and which is very great in such places. This case is the same with that, which is mentioned in Mat_8:28 as appears partly from its following the storm, from which the disciples had a remarkable deliverance; and partly from the country, in which this affair happened; for the country of the Gergesenes, and of the Gadarenes, is the same, as has been observed; only it is called by different names, from two principal places in it: as also from various circumstances in this relation; as the character of the possessed being exceeding fierce, dwelling among the tombs, and coming out from thence; the expostulation of the devil with Christ, and adjuration not to torment him; his entreaty to go into the herd of swine, and the leave he had; the destruction of the swine in the sea; the fear and flight of the swine herds; the report they made to their masters and others; and the request of the people in general to Christ, that he would depart out of their coasts. And though Matthew makes mention of two that were possessed, and Mark but of one, there is no contradiction in the one to the other; for Mark does not say there were no more than one; had he, it would have been a glaring contradiction to the other evangelist; but as he has put it, there is none, and it creates no difficulty: wherefore the Jew (p) has no reason to object this as he does, as if the evangelists clashed with one another; and Mark may only take notice of this one, because he was the fiercest of the two, and had the most devils in him, having a legion of them; and because the conversation chiefly passed between Christ and him; and because the power of Christ was more manifestly seen in the dispossession of the devils out of him.

JAMIESON, "And when he was come out of the ship, immediately — (see Mar_5:6).

there met him a man with an unclean spirit — “which had devils [demons] long time” (Luk_8:27). In Matthew (Mat_8:28), “there met him two men possessed

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with devils.” Though there be no discrepancy between these two statements - more than between two witnesses, one of whom testifies to something done by one person, while the other affirms that there were two - it is difficult to see how the principal details here given could apply to more than one case.

COFFMAN, "One's interpretation of this miracle will inevitably reflect his belief

concerning demon possession and concerning the incarnation. Concerning the

latter, the conviction followed in this commentary is that Jesus was indeed God

come in human form, and yet possessing all of the attributes of God. Concerning

demon possession, a more general statement is proper.

CONCERNING DEMON POSSESSION

Trench called this miracle "the most important, and, in many respects, the most

perplexing of all the cures of demoniacs";[2] and this is an appropriate place to

give attention to this phenomenon which is mentioned in all the gospels. Demon

possession may not be identified merely as mental disorders, or various kinds of

sickness, because a differentiation between them is clearly made in the gospels.

Furthermore, the conversations Jesus carried on with demons, their recognizing

him as "Son of God Most High," and his addressing them as personal cannot be

adequately explained as a mere accommodation on the part of the Lord to

superstitions of his contemporary generation. The integrity of the sacred gospels

as history must be set aside in any view that denies the reality of demon

possession in the New Testament.

Are there difficulties in such a view? Indeed yes; but the difficulties derive from

what people do not know, rather than from what they know: (1) It is generally

supposed that no such thing as demon-possession exists on earth today; and, if

that supposition is correct, it would simply mean that the power of Jesus Christ

in destroying the works of the devil, which was his purpose in coming into this

world (1 John 3:8), was effective and that Satan's demonic followers are not able

to work the havoc upon human personality in this age, as formerly. The

multiplication of such disorders in the times of Christ should, in such a view,

have been expected as the demons recognized the holy Saviour and his purpose

of destroying them. (2) However, it is by no means certain that the phenomenon

has actually disappeared. Trench suggested that if one with apostolic

discernment today should enter a madhouse "he might recognize some of the

sufferers there as `possessed.'"[3] Cranfield thought that "There may be more

truth here in the New Testament picture than has sometimes been allowed," and

asks if perhaps "The spread of a confident certainty of the demons' non-

existence has not been their greatest triumph."[4] He also pointed out that witch

burnings were not due to taking the New Testament too seriously, "but they were

due to failing to take it seriously enough."[5] So, take it either way: whether or

not demon-possession still exists or not, the reality of it THEN is certain. In the

unreasonable and atrocious crimes, abnormal bestiality, and senseless

wickedness exploited on the front pages of newspapers every day, there is far

more than a possibility that satanic possession is the cause of at least some of it.

[2] Richard C. Trench, Notes on the Miracles (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming

23

H. Revell Company, 1943), p. 162.

[3] Ibid. p. 176.

[4] C. E. B. Cranfield. The Gospel According to St. Mark (Cambridge:

University Press, 1966), p. 75.

[5] Ibid.

NISBET, "‘FROM THE POWER OF SATAN UNTO GOD’

‘A man with an unclean spirit.’

Mark 5:2

After the storm our Lord landed from the boat at Gerasa, on the east bank of the

lake, in the country of the Gerasenes. In the gorge, leading from the water up to

the high land on which the town was situated, were numerous tombs in the

rocks. From one of them came a man dreadfully afflicted.

I. The demoniac’s wretchedness.

(a) Possessed with an unclean spirit. In those days the devil had power to send

some of his messengers (demons) into men. This man had ‘many’ (Mark 5:9),

who all belonged to Satan’s army. When he spoke it was the demons speaking

through him.

(b) Lived in the tombs. He had been driven from the town, and lived in some

empty tomb.

(c) Violent. So fierce ‘no man might pass by’ (Matthew 8:28). This poor

demoniac is like the sinner, ‘led captive by the devil’ (2 Timothy 2:26)—a slave to

sin.

II. His healing.—Notice the stages:—

(a) He came to Jesus.

(b) Jesus commanded the spirits to come out, when the demons made him cry

out, ‘What have I to do with Thee.’ These spirits always knew Jesus (see ch.

Mark 1:24). St. James (Mark 2:19) says of demons that they ‘believe and

shudder” (R.V.). After begging our Lord not to send them into the deep they

came out of the man.

(c) The change. When the Gerasenes came—probably next morning—what did

they see? (Mark 5:14-15). The man was ‘sitting,’ Luke adds, ‘at the feet of Jesus,

clothed, and in his right mind.’ Jesus did for him what no one else could, for He

only had power over the ‘strong man,’ and could ‘bind him’ (ch. Mark 3:27). The

changed demoniac should represent those who have found deliverance from sin’s

tyranny. They should be found sitting at Jesus’ feet—the place of learning, love,

and lowliness; clothed with the ‘garments of salvation’ (Isaiah 61:10); in right

mind, i.e. a changed mind.

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III. His gratitude.—Jesus was about to leave when the man ‘prayed Him that he

might be with Him.’ But Jesus ‘suffered him not,’ for (a) he must have faith in

Jesus’ power, though absent, and (b) He had other work for him to do—to be a

missionary among his own people. How? By simply telling what the Lord had

done for him. The man accepted the task. See how he discharged it (Mark 5:20).

What an example to all whom Jesus has blessed! ‘Made free from sin’ we

‘become servants to God’ (Romans 6:22).

Rev. R. R. Resker.

Illustrations

(1) ‘The ruins right over against the Plain of Gennesaret, which still bear the

name of Kersa or Gersa, must represent the ancient Gerasa. This is the correct

reading in Mark’s, and probably in Luke’s, perhaps also in Matthew’s Gospel.

The locality entirely meets the requirements of the narrative. About a quarter of

an hour to the south of Gersa is a steep bluff, which descends abruptly on a

narrow ledge of shore. A terrified herd running down this cliff could not have

recovered its foot-hold, and must inevitably have been hurled into the lake

beneath. Again, the whole country around is burrowed with limestone caverns

and rock-chambers for the dead, such as those which were the dwelling of the

demonised.’

(2) ‘The whole subject of the demoniacs, or cases of Satanic possession recorded

in the New Testament, is unquestionably full of deep mystery. The miserable

sufferings of the unhappy people possessed—their clear knowledge that our

Lord was the Son of God, their double consciousness, sometimes the spirit

speaking, sometimes the man—all these are deep mysteries. And it can hardly be

otherwise. We know little of beings that we cannot see and touch. We know

nothing of the manner in which a spirit operates on the mind of a creature with

flesh and bones like ourselves. We can see plainly that there were many persons

possessed with devils during our Lord’s earthly ministry. We can see plainly that

bodily possession was something distinct from possession of heart and soul. We

can conjecture the reason of their permitted possession—to make it plain that

our Lord came to destroy the works of the devil. But we must stop here. We can

go no further. Let us, however, beware of supposing that Satanic possession was

entirely confined to our Lord’s time, and that there is no such thing in our own

days. This would be a rash and unwarrantable conclusion. Awful as the thought

is, there are sometimes cases in asylums for the insane, which, if they are not

cases of Satanic possession, approach as nearly to it as possible. Human nature is

not changed since our Lord was on earth. Satan is not yet bound. Satanic

possession is therefore neither impossible nor improbable, though limits may be

set to the frequency of it through the mercy of God.’

3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could

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bind him anymore, not even with a chain.

CLARKE, "Who had his dwelling among the tombs - See Mat_8:28.

GILL, "Who had his dwelling among the tombs,.... Which is one of the characters of a madman among the Jews; who say it is (q).

"the sign of a madman, that he goeth out in the night, והלן�בבית�הקברות, "and lodges

among the tombs", and rends his garments, and loses what is given to him.''

The same they say, in the same place, of an hypochondriac, and melancholy man; and of Kordiacus, which they give out (r) is a demon that possesses, and has power over some sort of persons:

and no man could bind him, no, not with chains; so as to hold him for any length of time: not only cords were insufficient to hold, but even chains of iron; so strong was he through the possession; for this could not be by his own natural strength.

HENRY, "2. He was very strong and ungovernable; No man could bind him, as it is requisite both for their own good, and for the safety of others, that those who are distracted should be. Not only cords would not hold him, but chains and fetters of iron would not, Mar_5:3, Mar_5:4. Very deplorable is the case of such as need to bethus bound, and of all miserable people in this world they are most to be pitied; but his case was worst of all, in whom the devil was so strong, that he could not be bound. This sets forth the sad condition of those souls in which the devil has dominion; those children of disobedience, in whom that unclean spirit works. Some notoriously wilful sinners are like this madman; all are herein like the horse and the mule, that they need to be held in with bit and bridle; but some are like the wild ass,that will not be so held. The commands and curses of the law are as chains and fetters, to restrain sinners from their wicked courses; but they break those bands in sunder, and it is an evidence of the power of the devil in them.

JAMIESON, "Who had his dwelling among the tombs — Luke (Luk_8:27) says, “He ware no clothes, neither abode in any house.” These tombs were hewn out of the rocky caves of the locality, and served for shelters and lurking places (Luk_8:26).

CALVIN, "Mark 5:3.And no man could bind him, not even with chains

Naturally, he was not able to break the chains; and hence we infer that Satan is

sometimes permitted to make extraordinary movements, the effect of which goes

beyond our comprehension and beyond ordinary means. We often perceive in

madmen much greater strength than belongs to their natural capacity; and we

are not at liberty to deny that, in such cases, the devil does his part when God

permits him: but the force, which is described by the Evangelists, was far

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greater. (548) It was 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, and also that bodily agony, however violent or cruel, is not more to be

dreaded than distress of mind.

COFFMAN, "Mark stressed the unnatural strength of this troglodyte, using two

entire verses to stress it; but Matthew supplied the significant fact that his

ferocity had closed the area to human traffic, and Luke the equally significant

fact that he was naked. Such a human monster had no doubt cast a terror over

the entire village. See Zechariah 13:1,2.

4 For he had often been chained hand and foot,

but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons

on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue

him.

BARNES, "Mar_5:4

He had been often bound with fetters and chains - Efforts had been made to confine him, but his great strength - his strength increased by his malady - had prevented it. There often appears to be a great increase of strength produced by insanity, and what is here stated in regard to this maniac often occurs in Palestine and elsewhere now. Dr. Thomson (“The Land and the Book,” vol. i. p. 213) says respecting this case: “There are some very similar at the present day - furious and dangerous maniacs, who wander about the mountains, and sleep in tombs and caves. In their worst paroxysms they are quite unmanageable and prodigiously strong.” Luk_8:27 says of him that “he were no clothes,” or that he was naked, which is also implied in the account in Mark, who tells us that after he was healed he was found “clothed and in his right mind,” Mar_4:15. This is often a striking characteristic of insanity. Dr. Pritchard (on “Insanity,” p. 26) quotes from an Italian physician’s description of raving madness or mania: “A striking and characteristic circumstance is the propensity to go quite naked. The patient tears his clothes to tatters.” So Dr. Thomson (“The Land and the Book,” vol. i. p. 213) says: “It is one of the most common traits in this madness that the victims refuse to wear clothes. I have often seen them absolutely naked in the crowded streets of Beirut and Sidon. There are also cases in which they run wildly about the country and frighten the whole neighborhood. These poor wretches are held in the greatest reverence by Muslims, who, through some monstrous perversion of ideas, believe them to be inspired and peculiarly holy.”

CLARKE, "With fetters and chains - His strength, it appears was supernatural, no kind of chains being strong enough to confine him. With several, this man would have passed for an outrageous madman, and diabolic influence be entirely left out of the question; but it is the prerogative of the inspired penman only,

27

to enter into the nature and causes of things; and how strange is it, that because men cannot see as far as the Spirit of God does, therefore they deny his testimony. “There was no devil; there can be none.” Why? “Because we have never seen one, and we think the doctrine absurd.” Excellent reason! And do you think that any man who conscientiously believes his Bible will give any credit to you? Men sent from God, to bear witness to the truth, tell us there were demoniacs in their time; you say, “No, they were only diseases.” Whom shall we credit? The men sent from God, or you?

GILL, "Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains,.... Trial had been made several times, to no purpose; his arms had been bound with chains, and his feet with fetters, which was very proper to prevent doing hurt to himself, and injury to others:

and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces; as if they had been twine threads; such was his strength, through the force of madness, and the possession of Satan, and his diabolical influence:

neither could any man tame him; by any methods whatever; even such who undertook the cure of madness, or to exorcise those that were possessed: this man was so furious and outrageous, that he was not to be managed any way, either by art or force.

JAMIESON, "Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, etc. — Luke says (Luk_8:29) that “oftentimes it [the unclean spirit] had caught him”; and after mentioning how they had vainly tried to bind him with chains and fetters, because, “he brake the bands,” he adds, “and was driven of the devil [demon] into the wilderness.” The dark tyrant-power by which he was held clothed him with superhuman strength and made him scorn restraint. Matthew (Mat_8:28) says he was “exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.” He was the terror of the whole locality.

5 Night and day among the tombs and in the

hills he would cry out and cut himself with

stones.

BARNES, "Mar_5:5

Cutting himself with stones - These are all marks of a madman - a man bereft of reason, a wretched outcast, strong and dangerous. The inspired penman says that this madness was caused by an unclean spirit, or by his being under the influence of a devil. That this account is not irrational, see the notes at Mat_4:24.

CLARKE, "Crying and cutting himself with stones - In this person’s case we see a specimen of what Satan could do in all the wicked, if God should permit

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him; but even the devil himself has his chain; and he who often binds others, is always bound himself.

GILL, "And always night and day, he was in the mountains,.... And this being in an Heathen country, would have rendered him an unclean person, if he had not been possessed with an unclean spirit; for so runs one of the Jewish canons (s):

"he that walks in an Heathen land, on mountains and rocks, is unclean.''

And in the tombs: which very likely were on the mountains, and cut out of them, it being usual to cut their sepulchres out of rocks:

crying, and cutting himself with stones; with sharp pieces of stone, which he picked up among the broken tombstones, or from off the mountains, where he was night and day; and besides taking up stones with his hands, and cutting himself with them, he might cut his feet with the sharp stones of the mountains, in which he ran about; these mountains were those, that encompassed the sea of Tiberias; for of it is

that the mountains surround it" (t): for the place where this man" ,שהרים�מקיפין�אותה

was, was near the sea of Tiberias, over which Christ was just now come; and soon as he arrived on shore, he met him, and found him in this condition. This man was a lively emblem of a man in a state of nature and unregeneracy: he had "an unclean spirit", as every natural man has; his soul or spirit is defiled with sin, particularly his mind and conscience: this pollution is natural to him; he brings it into the world with him; it is very universal, it has spread itself over all the powers and faculties of his soul, and is what he cannot cleanse himself from: "who can say I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?" Pro_20:9. Nothing that he can do, or can be done for him by a mere creature, can free him from it: nothing but the blood of Christ, and that cleanses from all sin: this man, through the possession of Satan, was a madman, and exceeding fierce and furious: there is a spirit of madness in all unregenerate men; they are exceeding mad against God, and Christ, and the saints, as Saul was before conversion, Act_26:9. For who but madmen would stretch out their hands against God, strengthen themselves against the Almighty, run upon him, even on his neck, and upon the thick bosses of his bucklers? Job_15:25. Who but such would oppose themselves to the Son of God, or do despight to the Spirit of grace, who are equal in power and glory with God the Father? or kick against the pricks, by persecuting the members of Christ? Who but men out of their senses, would seek to ruin and destroy themselves, both soul and body? This man was altogether under the power and influence of Satan, and had a legion of devils within him. Satan is in every unconverted man, in every child of disobedience; and works effectually in him, and leads him captive at his will: and he has besides a swarm of fleshly lusts in him, which have the government over him. This man had his dwelling among the tombs, where the dead lay: so unregenerate men dwell among dead sinners, they have their conversation among the men of the world, who are dead in trespasses and sins, and according to the course of it: and as this man could not be bound with chains and fetters, but these were broke asunder by him; so wicked men are not to be bound, restrained, and governed, by the laws, commands, and ordinances of God; they despise them, break through them, and cannot be subject to them, their language is, "let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us", Psa_2:3. And as no man could tame this man, so it is not in the power of men, by the force of moral persuasion, by all the arguments, expostulations, exhortations, promises, or threatenings, they can make use of, to influence the carnal minds of men, or make

29

any real change in them: or bring them into a subjection to the law of God, or Gospel of Christ, and remove from them the spirit of madness, and opposition to all that is good: and to say no more; as this man was mischievous to himself, and cut himself with stones, so carnal men are the worst enemies to themselves; they cut and wound themselves with their sins, though, like the madman, they are not sensible of it; and if grace prevent not, will destroy themselves, both soul and body, with their transgressions.

HENRY, "3. He was a terror and torment to himself and to all about him, Mar_5:5. The devil is a cruel master to those that are led captive by him, a perfect tyrant; this wretched creature was night and day in the mountains and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones, either bemoaning his own deplorable case, or in a rage and indignation against heaven. Men in frenzies often wound and destroy themselves; what is a man, when reason is dethroned and Satan enthroned? The worshippers of Baal in their fury cut themselves, like this madman in his. The voice of God is, Do thyself no harm; the voice of Satan is, Do thyself all the harm thou canst; yet God's word is despised, and Satan's regarded. Perhaps his cutting himself with stones was only cutting his feet with the sharp stones he ran barefoot upon.

JAMIESON, "And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones — Terrible as he was to others, he himself endured untold misery, which sought relief in tears and self-inflicted torture.

6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran

and fell on his knees in front of him.

BARNES, "Mar_5:6

Worshipped him - Bowed down before him; rendered him homage. This was an acknowledgment of his power, and of his control over fallen spirits.

CLARKE, "But when he saw Jesus afar off,.... For it seems the tombs among which this man dwelt, were at some distance from the sea shore: wherefore when it is said, Mar_5:2, that this man met Jesus, as soon as he came out of the ship: the meaning that he then came forth to meet him, as he might do upon sight of persons landing afar off; though he might not know then, who Jesus was: but coming nearer, and perceiving who he was, such was the power of Christ over the devils in him, that though sore against their wills, they obliged him to move on speedily towards him; so that

he ran and worshipped him: he made all imaginable haste to him; and when he came up to him, fell down at his feet before him, acknowledging his superiority and power, whom no chains nor fetters could bind, nor any man tame; nor durst any man pass that way, for fear of him: and yet, upon sight of Christ, without a word spoken to him, he runs and prostrates himself before him. This is an instance of the superiority

30

of Christ over the devils, who knowing who he is, are filled with horror at him, fall down before him, and in their way do homage to him; though it is impossible they should be spiritual worshippers of him: unless this is rather to be understood of the man himself, who, at the sight of Christ, might have his senses for the present restored, and a knowledge of Christ given: to whom he ran speedily, and threw himself at his feet, hoping for relief from him: however, it may be an emblem of a poor awakened sinner, having a distant sight of Christ, who, upon it, makes haste unto him, and prostrates itself before him, believing he is able, if willing, to save him from the power of Satan, the evil of sin, and from eternal ruin and damnation.

GILL, "But when he saw Jesus afar off,.... For it seems the tombs among which this man dwelt, were at some distance from the sea shore: wherefore when it is said, Mar_5:2, that this man met Jesus, as soon as he came out of the ship: the meaning that he then came forth to meet him, as he might do upon sight of persons landing afar off; though he might not know then, who Jesus was: but coming nearer, and perceiving who he was, such was the power of Christ over the devils in him, that though sore against their wills, they obliged him to move on speedily towards him; so that

he ran and worshipped him: he made all imaginable haste to him; and when he came up to him, fell down at his feet before him, acknowledging his superiority and power, whom no chains nor fetters could bind, nor any man tame; nor durst any man pass that way, for fear of him: and yet, upon sight of Christ, without a word spoken to him, he runs and prostrates himself before him. This is an instance of the superiority of Christ over the devils, who knowing who he is, are filled with horror at him, fall down before him, and in their way do homage to him; though it is impossible they should be spiritual worshippers of him: unless this is rather to be understood of the man himself, who, at the sight of Christ, might have his senses for the present restored, and a knowledge of Christ given: to whom he ran speedily, and threw himself at his feet, hoping for relief from him: however, it may be an emblem of a poor awakened sinner, having a distant sight of Christ, who, upon it, makes haste unto him, and prostrates itself before him, believing he is able, if willing, to save him from the power of Satan, the evil of sin, and from eternal ruin and damnation.

HENRY, "II. His application to Christ (Mar_5:6); When he saw Jesus afar off,coming ashore, he ran, and worshipped him. He usually ran upon others with rage,but he ran to Christ with reverence. That was done by an invisible hand of Christ, which could not be done with chains and fetters; his fury was all on a sudden curbed. Even the devil, in this poor creature, was forced to tremble before Christ, and bow to him: or, rather, the poor man came, and worshipped Christ, in a sense of the need he had of his help, the power of Satan in and over him being, for this instant, suspended.

JAMIESON, "But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him — not with the spontaneous alacrity which says to Jesus, “Draw me, we will runafter thee,” but inwardly compelled, with terrific rapidity, before the Judge, to receive sentence of expulsion.

COFFMAN, "The demon-possessed seem always to have been able to recognize

Christ. The man's worshipping Jesus is a reference to his falling down before

him; and, in view of the man's behavior after he was healed, it must also have

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included (on the man's part, if not the demon's) an adoration of the Lord

spiritually. The effect of his possession was that of splitting the personality,

making it impossible, in each instance, to distinguish between what was done by

the demon and what was done by the man.

CONSTABLE, "The way the man related to Jesus shows that the demons within

him recognized Jesus as someone superior to them. The demons controlled the

man's physical movements and his words. They addressed Jesus as "Son of the

Most High God" recognizing His deity (Genesis 14:18-24; Numbers 24:16; Isaiah

14:14; Daniel 3:26; Daniel 4:2; cf. Mark 1:23-24). The fact that the man knelt

before Jesus likewise shows that the demons regarded Jesus as their superior.

The demons feared that Jesus would send them to their eternal judgment then,

something only God could do (Revelation 20:1-3; cf. Matthew 8:29; Luke 8:31).

The tormentor appealed for deliverance from torment. [Note: R. Jamieson, A. R.

Fausset, and D. Brown, A Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Old and

New Testaments, 2:70.] Ironically he appealed to Jesus for mercy in God's name.

He probably did this because he knew that Jesus was subject to His Father.

7 He shouted at the top of his voice, “What do

you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High

God? In God’s name don’t torture me!”

CLARKE, "What have I to do with thee - Or, What is it to thee and me, or why dost thou trouble thyself with me? See on Mar_1:24 (note), and Mat_8:29(note), where the idiom and meaning are explained.

Jesus - This is omitted by four MSS., and by several in Luk_8:28, and by many of the first authority in Mat_8:29 (note). See the note on this latter place.

GILL, "And cried with a loud voice,.... The man possessed with the devil; or the devil in him, making use of his voice, expressing great fear, dread, and horror, at the appearance of Christ in these parts:

and said, what have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? The devils in the man, own the being of a God, and his supreme government over all, under the title of the Most High. The word here used, answers to the Hebrew

word, עליון, "Elion", a name of God known to the ancient Canaanites: hence

Melchizedek, a Canaanitish king, is called the priest of the most high God, Gen_14:18. And among the Phoenicians, he is called Elion, which a Phoenician writer (u)says, signifies "the Most High"; and hence in Plautus (w), he goes by the name of Alon, which is the same word a little differently pronounced; and by the same name

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he might be known among other neighbouring nations of the Jews, and by the Gadarenes; and the devil now being in a Gadarene, makes use of, this name. Devils believe there is one God, and tremble at him; and they confess that Jesus of Nazareth, who was born of the virgin, according to the human nature, is the Son of God, according to his divine nature: and whereas they had no interest in him, as a Saviour, they desired they might have nothing to do with him as God; and since they had no share in the blessings of his grace, they beg they might not feel the power of his hand. Truly they choose not to have any thing to do with God himself; they have cast off allegiance to him, and rebelled against him; and have left their estate, and departed from him; and still less do they care to have any thing to do with his Son: and indeed it seems as if it was the decree and counsel of God, made known unto them, that the Son of God should assume human nature, and in it be the head over principalities and powers, as well as men, which gave umbrage to them: upon which they apostatized from God, being unwilling to be under subjection to the man Christ Jesus; though whether they will or not, they are obliged unto it: for though they desire to have nothing to do with Christ, yet Christ has something to do with them; he had when he was here on earth, and when he hung upon the cross, and will have when he comes again to judge both quick and dead: they might be glad, one would think, to have to do with him as a Redeemer; but this they are not, their sin being the same with that against the Holy Ghost: they are malicious, obstinate, and inflexible, they cannot repent; and there is no pardon, nor was there any provided for them; they were passed by in the counsel and purposes of God's grace, and were not taken notice of in the covenant of grace: Christ took not on him their nature, but the nature of men; yea he came to destroy them, and their works; so that indeed they had nothing to do with him as a Saviour, though he had something to do with them as a judge, and which they dreaded: however, they own, and acknowledge him to be the Son of the most high God; they know and confess as much of him, and more too, than some that call themselves Christians, and hope to be saved by Christ; and yet at the same time own, they had nothing to do with him. Men may know much of Christ notionally; may know, and confess him to be God, to be the Son of God, in the highest and true sense of the phrase; to be the Messiah, to have been incarnate, to have suffered, died, and risen again: to be ascended to heaven, from whence he will come again; and yet have no more to do with him, or have no more interest in him, than the devils themselves; and will, at the last day, be bid to depart from him.

I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not: not that he required an oath of Christ, that he would swear to him by the living God, that he would not distress him; but he most earnestly and importunately entreated and beseeched him, in the name of God; see Luk_8:28, that he would not dispossess him from the man, and send him out of that country, to his own place, to his chains and prison; but suffer him either to lodge in the man, or walk about seeking, as a roaring lion, his prey: for it is torment to a devil to be cast out of a man, or to have his power curtailed, or to be confined in the bottomless pit, from doing hurt to men: See Gill on Mat_8:29.

HENRY, "IV. The dread which the devil had of Christ. The man ran, and worshipped Christ; but it was the devil in the man, that cried with a loud voice(making use of the poor man's tongue), What have I to do with thee? Mar_5:7. Just as that other unclean spirit, Mar_1:24. 1. He calls God the most high God, above all

other gods. By the name Elion - the Most High, God was known among the

Phoenicians, and the other nations that bordered upon Israel; and by that name the devil calls him. 2. He owns Jesus to be the Son of God. Note, It is no strange thing to hear the best words drop from the worst mouths. There is such a way of saying this as none can attain to but by the Holy Ghost (1Co_12:3); yet it may be said, after a

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sort, by the unclean spirit. There is no judging of men by their loose sayings; but by their fruits ye shall know them. Piety from the teeth outward is an easy thing. The most fair-spoken hypocrite cannot say better than to call Jesus the Son of God, and yet that the devil did. 3. He disowns any design against Christ; “What have I to do with thee? I have no need of thee, I pretend to none; I desire to have nothing to do with thee; I cannot stand before thee, and would not fall.” 4. He deprecates his wrath; I adjure thee, that is, “I earnestly beseech thee, by all that is sacred, I beg of thee for God's sake, by whose permission I have got possession of this man, that, though thou drive me out hence, yet that thou torment me not, that thou do not restrain me from doing mischief somewhere else; though I know I am sentenced, yet let me not be sent to the chains of darkness, or hindered from going to and fro, to devour.”

JAMIESON, "What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not — or, as in Mat_8:29, “Art Thou come to torment us before the time?” (See on Mar_1:24). Behold the tormentor anticipating, dreading, and entreating exemption from torment! In Christ they discern their destined Tormentor; the time, they know, is fixed, and they feel as if it were come already! (Jam_2:19).

COFFMAN, "Son of God Most High ... This name of God Most High is very

ancient, appearing in connection with Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18), Balaam

(Numbers 24:16), and in the Song of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:8). The Hebrews

did not invent or evolve monotheism, that being the original view of the Father,

even prior to Abraham.

I adjure thee by God, torment me not ... This petition of the demon seems here to

have been predicated upon God's prior promise that the demonic world would

be vanquished at some time certain in the future, hence his invoking God's name

in the request. "Art thou come hither to torment us before the time?" as in

Matthew, carries the same implication. It will be noted that Matthew mentioned

two men in this connection; but Mark and Luke restricted their accounts to the

more ferocious and prominent of the two. A glimpse of God's ultimate plan of

destroying evil surfaces here in the demonic knowledge that such a destruction is

in store for them and that an appointed time for it has already been determined.

See Acts 17:31, also Zechariah 13:1,2.

8 For Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this

man, you impure spirit!”

GILL, "For he said unto him,.... Or he had said unto him, as soon as he came up to him, and fell before him; even before he had confessed, and adjured him; and

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which indeed drew out the confession from him, that he was superior to him, and therefore became his supplicant:

come out of the man, thou unclean spirit; which was said with so much authority and power, that there was no withstanding it: the devil knew he was not a match for him; that he must, at his command, quit his possession, and therefore fell to confession and entreaty. Christ will not dwell where Satan does; when therefore he is about to take up his residence in the hearts of any, he outs with Satan; he binds the strong man armed, and dispossesses him; he causes the spirit of uncleanness to depart; he sanctifies the heart by his grace and Spirit, and so makes it a proper habitation for him to dwell in by faith; and this is done by mighty power: a man cannot deliver himself out of the hands of Satan, or cause him to quit his hold of him, or the unclean spirit to depart; nor can he sanctify and cleanse himself, and make himself meet for the master's use: this is all owing to efficacious grace.

HENRY, "V. The account Christ took from this unclean spirit of his name. This we had not in Matthew. Christ asked him, What is thy name? Not but that Christ could call all the fallen stars, as well as the morning stars, by their names; but he demands this, that the standers by might be affected with the vast numbers and power of those malignant infernal spirits, as they had reason to be, when the answer was, My name is Legion, for we are many; a legion of soldiers among the Romans consisted, some say, of six thousand men, others of twelve thousand and five hundred; but the number of a legion with them, like that of a regiment with us, was not always the same. Now this intimates that the devils, the infernal powers, are, 1. Military powers; a legion is a number of soldiers in arms. The devils war against God and his glory, Christ and his gospel, men and their holiness and happiness. They are such as we are to resist and wrestle against, Eph_6:12. 2. That they are numerous;he owns, or rather he boasts - We are many; as if he hoped to be too many for Christ himself to deal with. What multitudes of apostate spirits were there, and all enemies to God and man; when here were a legion posted to keep garrison in one poor wretched creature against Christ! Many there are that rise up against us. 3. That they are unanimous; they are many devils, and yet but one legion engaged in the same wicked cause; and therefore that cavil of the Pharisees, which supposed Satan to cast out Satan, and to be divided against himself, was altogether groundless. It was not one of this legion that betrayed the rest, for they all said, as one man, What have I to do with thee? 4. That they are very powerful; Who can stand before a legion? We are not a match for our spiritual enemies, in our own strength; but in the Lord, and in the power of his might, we shall be able to stand against them, though there are legions of them. 5. That there is order among them, as there is in a legion; there are principalities, and powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world, which supposes that there are those of a lower rank; the devil and his angels; the dragon and his; the prince of the devils and his subjects: which makes those enemies the more formidable.

JAMIESON, "For he said unto him — that is, before the unclean spirit cried out.

Come out of the man, unclean spirit! — Ordinarily, obedience to a command of this nature was immediate. But here, a certain delay is permitted, the more signally to manifest the power of Christ and accomplish His purposes.

COFFMAN, "There is no evidence that the unclean spirit had the power to resist

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Jesus' word here; therefore, we must disagree with Barclay who alleged that

Christ failed twice to cast out the demon before finally succeeding.[6] It must be

remembered that Mark did not set down "in order" the things Jesus did.

Besides, Christ did not repeat the command, once being sufficient. By the

demon's request to enter the swine, that evil being confessed the necessity of his

obeying Christ's command. Certainly, it is puerile to suppose that Christ asked

the demon's name in order to procure power over him! See under Mark 5:9.

ENDNOTE:

[6] William Barclay, The Gospel of Mark (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press,

1956), p. 118.

CONSTABLE, "Jesus evidently addressed the leading demon. The Greek

imperfect tense can mean that Jesus had been repeatedly commanding the

demons to depart, as the NASB and NIV translations imply. However, it can also

mean that something was about to follow. In this case a translation such as the

AV, "For He said unto him," is better. Apparently in Mark 5:8 Mark gave us the

reason for the demons' request in Mark 5:7 even though Jesus did not command

the demons to depart until Mark 5:13.

9 Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are

many.”

CLARKE, "Legion: for we are many - Could a disease have spoken so? “No, there was no devil in the case; the man spoke according to the prejudice of his countrymen.” And do you think that the Spirit of God could employ himself in retailing such ridiculous and nonsensical prejudices? “But the evangelist gives these as this madman’s words, and it was necessary that, as a faithful historian, he should mention these circumstances.” But this objection is destroyed by the parallel place in Luke, Luk_8:30, where the inspired writer himself observes, that the demoniac was called Legion, because many demons had entered into him.

GILL, "And he asked him, what is thy name?.... Which question Christ put, not for his own sake; for he was not ignorant of his name, nor of the number of the unclean spirits which were in the man; but partly, that it might be known what a miserable condition this poor man was in, being infested, and vexed with such a large company of devils; and partly, that his own pity and power in delivering him, might

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be more manifest;

and he answered, saying, my name is Legion: the Syriac version renders it, "our name is Legion"; the reason of which name is given,

for we are many: as a Roman legion did consist of many, though its number was not always alike: in the time of Romulus, a legion consisted of three thousand foot, and three hundred horse; afterwards, when the city was, increased, of six thousand foot, and six hundred horse; sometimes it was six thousand and two hundred foot, and three hundred horse; sometimes four thousand foot, and three hundred horse; sometimes five thousand foot, and three hundred horse (x). Some make a legion to consist of six thousand six hundred sixty six; and others make it much larger, even twelve thousand five hundred: however, the number in a legion was many; hence the word is retained among the Jews, and is used for a large number, either of persons or

things; as, לגיון�אחד�משל�זיתים, "a legion of olives" (y): that is, a large number of them;

though sometimes it is used of a single person, who has others under him, as the general of an army: thus it is said (z) that one man should say to another,

"from whence art thou? he replies, from such a "legion" am I;--the man went to the legion--the legion heard, and was afraid--the man said, woe unto me! now will the legion slay me--the legion heard, &c.''

And again (a),

"a certain legion asked R. Abba, is it not written, &c.''

Once more (b),

"Lo! such a legion shall go with thee, to keep thee, &c.''

Upon which the gloss is, שר�הצבא, "the general of an army"; so called, because he had

a legion, or a large number of soldiers under his command: and just so this unclean spirit is called by this name, because he had a great many more with him, and under him, in that man; sometimes it is only used of a single person himself, as of a king's servant sent into a foreign country, to collect his (c) tax: a legion was reckoned by the Jews unclean and defiled, whatsoever place they entered into (d); how much more unclean must this man be, that had a legion of unclean spirits in him! From hence it appears, that the devils are very numerous; for if there was a legion of them in one man, how many must there be in all the children of disobedience, to maintain their ground, and support their interest among them? As there is an innumerable company of holy angels to encamp about the saints, and do them all the service they can, and axe appointed to; so there is undoubtedly an innumerable company of devils, who do all the hurt they can, or are permitted to do, unto the sons of men: hence they are expressed by words, which signify number as well as power; as principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places, the power or posse of the air, the angels of Satan, the angels that sinned and left their habitations, &c. As also that they are in a body, and in the form of an army; with a general at the head of them, the prince of devils, and king of the bottomless pit: there are whole squadrons and regiments of them, yea, even legions; which are formed in battle array, and make war against Christ, the seed of the woman; as they did when he was in the garden, and hung upon the cross, which was the hour and power of darkness; and against his members; as they did in

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Rome pagan against the Christian church, and in Rome papal, against the same, Rev_12:7, and what a mercy it is for the saints, that besides twelve legions of good angels and more, which are ready to assist and protect them, they have God on their side, and therefore it signifies not who is against them; and they have Christ with them, who has spoiled principalities and powers; and greater is the Holy Spirit that is in them, than he that is in the world.

HENRY, "V. The account Christ took from this unclean spirit of his name. This we had not in Matthew. Christ asked him, What is thy name? Not but that Christ could call all the fallen stars, as well as the morning stars, by their names; but he demands this, that the standers by might be affected with the vast numbers and power of those malignant infernal spirits, as they had reason to be, when the answer was, My name is Legion, for we are many; a legion of soldiers among the Romans consisted, some say, of six thousand men, others of twelve thousand and five hundred; but the number of a legion with them, like that of a regiment with us, was not always the same. Now this intimates that the devils, the infernal powers, are, 1. Military powers; a legion is a number of soldiers in arms. The devils war against God and his glory, Christ and his gospel, men and their holiness and happiness. They are such as we are to resist and wrestle against, Eph_6:12. 2. That they are numerous;he owns, or rather he boasts - We are many; as if he hoped to be too many for Christ himself to deal with. What multitudes of apostate spirits were there, and all enemies to God and man; when here were a legion posted to keep garrison in one poor wretched creature against Christ! Many there are that rise up against us. 3. That they are unanimous; they are many devils, and yet but one legion engaged in the same wicked cause; and therefore that cavil of the Pharisees, which supposed Satan to cast out Satan, and to be divided against himself, was altogether groundless. It was not one of this legion that betrayed the rest, for they all said, as one man, What have I to do with thee? 4. That they are very powerful; Who can stand before a legion? We are not a match for our spiritual enemies, in our own strength; but in the Lord, and in the power of his might, we shall be able to stand against them, though there are legions of them. 5. That there is order among them, as there is in a legion; there are principalities, and powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world, which supposes that there are those of a lower rank; the devil and his angels; the dragon and his; the prince of the devils and his subjects: which makes those enemies the more formidable.

JAMIESON, "And he asked him, What is thy name? — The object of this question was to extort an acknowledgment of the virulence of demoniacal power by which this victim was enthralled.

And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many — or, as in Luke (Luk_8:30) “because many devils [demons] were entered into him.” A legion, in the Roman army, amounted, at its full complement, to six thousand; but here the word is used, as such words with us, and even this one, for an indefinitely large number - large enough however to rush, as soon as permission was given, into two thousand swine and destroy them.

CALVIN, "Mark 5:9My name is Legion. The devil was compelled by Christ to

pronounce this word, that he might more fully display the greatness and

excellence of his grace. There must have been good reasons why this man should

have endured so severe a punishment as to have an army of devils, so to speak,

dwelling within him. What compassion then was it, to rescue from so many

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deaths a man who was more than a thousand times ruined! It was a magnificent

display of the power of Christ., that by his voice not one devil, but a great

multitude of devils, were suddenly driven out. Legion denotes here not a definite

number of men, but merely a great multitude.

Hence it is evident what a wretched creature man is, when he is deprived of the

divine protection. Every man is not only exposed to a single devil, but becomes

the retreat of vast numbers. This passage refutes also the common error, which

has been borrowed by Jews and Christians from the heathens, that every man is

attacked by his own particular devil? On the contrary, Scripture plainly

declares, that, just as it pleases God, one devil (554) is sometimes sent to punish a

whole nation, and at other times many devils are permitted to punish one man:

as, on the other hand, one angel sometimes protects a whole nation, and every

man has many angels to act as his guardians. There is the greater necessity for

keeping diligent watch, lest so great a multitude of enemies should take us by

surprise.

COFFMAN, "What kind of believers are those who represent Christ as

attempting here, by interrogation, to discover the demon's name, in order to be

able through such knowledge to cast the demon out? Can they really mean that

God in Christ needed to ask anything like that? No. Christ asked THE MAN his

name, not because the Lord did not know it, but because he sought thereby to

bring the man back to a sense of his own identity, an identity the demon had

usurped as shown in the reply.

My name is Legion; for we are many ... The confusion of the singular and plural

pronouns here is further indication of the fission which the demon had inflicted

upon the man. A legion was four or five thousand men; and, although no truth

may be certain in such a reply from such a source, it is at least in harmony with

the idea of multiple possessions in some cases, Mary Magdalene being another

example (Mark 16:9).

LIGHTFOOT, "[My name is Legion.] I. This name speaks a numerous company,

the devil himself being the interpreter; "Legion (saith he) is my name, for we are

many."

And among the Jews, when a man would express a great number of any thing, it

was not unusual to name a legion: "R. Eliezer Ben Simeon saith, It is easier for a

man to nourish a legion of olives in Galilee, than to bring up one child in the land

of Israel."

II. Among the Talmudists, a legion bespeaks an unclean company; at least, they

reckoned all the legions for unclean: "The Rabbins deliver: a legion that passeth

from place to place, if it enter into any house, the house is thereby become

unclean. For there is no legion which hath not some carcaphalia. And wonder

not at this, when the carcaphalion of R. Ismael was fastened to the heads of

kings." "'Carcaphal' (saith the Gloss) is the skin of a head pulled off from a dead

person, which they make use of in enchantments."

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III. What the Romans thought of their legions, take from the words of Caesar to

the Spaniards: "Did ye not consider, if I were overthrown, that the people of

Rome have ten legions, which could not only resist you, but pull down even

heaven itself?" What then is the power of "more than twelve legions of angels"!

NISBET, "SATAN’S LEGIONS

‘And (Jesus) asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name

is Legion: for we are many.’

Mark 5:9

I. Our spiritual dangers.—May we not say of our spiritual dangers, ‘Their name

is Legion!’ Satan is constantly changing his form of attack. His servants and his

tactics are ‘Legion’! What then? Are you going to give up the fight? Nay, surely

not! Think of yourselves rather as soldiers in a weary desert warfare—such

warfare as our British soldiers have been called upon to wage.

II. Never let us grow faint-hearted because our difficulties and our temptations

are legion. The heart is attacked by hosts of evil. The fierce sun of temptation

beats down upon it, it is in itself treacherous, and so you must watch it well. Our

temptations are legion. Then we must not attempt to fight them all at once; that

would be beating the air; but we must take them one by one. We must

concentrate all our efforts upon one sin, our besetting one; and when in God’s

great might we have conquered that, attack another. We must use all the help

God gives us; especially must we seek fresh strength in our Communions. These

must be regular, not fitful. We must kneel at the altar humbly, crying that we

have no power of ourselves to help ourselves, and then rise up to go and fight

again against a legion of foes, saying: ‘The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of

Jacob is our Refuge.’

Rev. J. B. C. Murphy.

Illustration

‘It remains that the wise and the wary must set on their guard the simple and the

innocent by the best possible device of keeping clear themselves from the snares

of wickedness. That Holy Book we profess to take as our guide dwells at far

greater length upon the necessity of avoiding sin than it does upon restoration

after sin, yet the usual religious teaching is far more of repentance than of the

defences in case of temptation. It is strange there are numbers enjoying safety in

a state of salvation, who can see their servants, neighbours, relations, and others

on the verge of eternal condemnation, and never say the right word at the right

time to warn them. “If only I had known!” is the sad cry of the hopeless, while

we might have changed it into, “But for you I should now have been—an

unbeliever, a drunkard”—or what not.’

10 And he begged Jesus again and again not to

send them out of the area.

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CLARKE, "Out of the country - Strange that these accursed spirits should find it any mitigation of their misery to be permitted to exercise their malevolence in a particular district! But as this is supposed to have been a heathen district, therefore the demons might consider themselves in their own territories; and probably they could act there with less restraint than they could do in a country where the worship of God was established. See on Mar_5:1 (note).

GILL, "And he besought him much,.... The devil that was at the head of this legion, who had the rest under his command, he, in their name, and on their behalf, entreated Jesus with great earnestness. This shows the authority Christ has over the devils, and their subjection to him; they are not only obliged to quit their former possession, when he gives orders, but they cannot go any where else, or where they would, without his leave: though the man they were in could not be bound and held with chains and fetters of iron, through the great strength they put forth in him; yet these themselves are bound and held in chains, and cannot move without Christ's permission, or as he is pleased to lengthen out the chain unto them: and though they are no humble supplicants to him for grace and mercy, yet they are, that they may continue where they are; or be suffered to be somewhere else, to do mischief to the souls and bodies of men: and though they are such proud spirits, they be, they are very willing to humble themselves and in the most submissive and pressing manner ask a favour, even of him whom they hate, when they have an end to answer by doing injury to others; and in this, as well as in many other things, they are imitated by them who are truly called the children of the devil, and do the lusts of him their father.

That he would not send them away out of the country; that if he did think fit to dispossess them from that man, that however he would permit them to stay in that country, and not drive them wholly from thence; and which they might be the more desirous of, because it was an Heathen country, inhabited by the blind Gentiles, that knew not God, or apostate Jews, or both; among whom their power and authority were very great; and where they had long been, and had had a large experience of the tempers and dispositions of men, and knew how to bait their temptations with success.

HENRY, "VI. The request of this legion, that Christ would suffer them to go into a herd of swine that was feeding nigh unto the mountains (Mar_5:11), those mountains which the demoniacs haunted, Mar_5:5. Their request was, 1. That he would not send them away out of the country (Mar_5:10); not only that he would not commit them, or confine them, to their infernal prison, and so torment them before the time; but that he would not banish them that country, as justly he might, because in this poor man they had been such a terror to it, and done so much mischief. They seem to have had a particular affection for that country; or, rather, a particular spite to it; and to have liberty to walk to and fro through the rest of the earth, will not serve (Job_1:7), unless the range of those mountains be allowed them for their pasture, Job_39:8. But why would they abide in that country? Grotius saith, Because in that country there were many apostate Jews, who had thrown themselves out of the covenant of God, and had thereby given Satan power over them. And some

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suggest, that, having by experience got the knowledge of the dispositions and manners of the people of that country, they could the more effectually do them mischief by their temptations. 2. That he would suffer them to enter into the swine,by destroying which they hoped to do more mischief to the souls of all the people in the country, than they could by entering into the body of any particular person, which therefore they did not ask leave to do, for they knew Christ would not grant it.

JAMIESON, "And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country — The entreaty, it will be observed, was made by one spirit, but in behalf of many - “he besought Him not to send them, etc.” - just as in Mar_5:9, “he answered we are many.” But what do they mean by entreating so earnestly not to be ordered out of the country? Their next petition (Mar_5:12) will make that clear enough.

CALVIN, "Mark 5:10.And entreated him earnestly Luke says, they requested

that they might not be sent into the deep Some explain these words to mean that

they wished to avoid uninhabited places. (555) I rather view it as referring to

their rage for doing mischief. As the devils have no other object than to prowl

among men, like lions in search of prey, they are grieved at being plunged into

the deep, where they will have no opportunity of injuring and ruining men. That

this is the true meaning may be inferred from the words of Mark, who says that

they requested that they might not be compelled to go out of the country In a

word, they manifest their disposition to be such, that there is nothing which they

more eagerly desire than the destruction of mankind.

COFFMAN, "He ... them ... The same confusion in the evil spirit prevailed here,

as if he cannot make up his mind where he is one or a Legion! It has been

suggested that the speaker was the leading demon speaking for all the rest, but

the view is precarious. Of course, we do not have the exact words of the petition,

only Mark's account which gives it indefinitely.

One thing is clear. The demons were fearful of having to depart the dwelling they

had usurped in the wretched creature before the Lord, and they pleaded not to

be sent away.

11 A large herd of pigs was feeding on the

nearby hillside.

GILL, "Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains,.... Where this man often was, Mar_5:5 according to Beza, the mountains of Galaad, which ran through that country, or the mountains that surrounded Tiberias. Some copies, as the Alexandrian copy and others, read "at", or "about the mountain", in the singular

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number. The Vulgate Latin and Arabic versions read, "about the mountain". The Syriac and Ethiopic, "at the mountain"; so in Luk_8:32,

a great herd of swine feeding; on one side of the mountain, or mountains; it may be called a great one, for there were about two thousand hogs in it.

HENRY, "VI. The request of this legion, that Christ would suffer them to go into a herd of swine that was feeding nigh unto the mountains (Mar_5:11), those mountains which the demoniacs haunted, Mar_5:5. Their request was, 1. That he would not send them away out of the country (Mar_5:10); not only that he would not commit them, or confine them, to their infernal prison, and so torment them before the time; but that he would not banish them that country, as justly he might, because in this poor man they had been such a terror to it, and done so much mischief. They seem to have had a particular affection for that country; or, rather, a particular spite to it; and to have liberty to walk to and fro through the rest of the earth, will not serve (Job_1:7), unless the range of those mountains be allowed them for their pasture, Job_39:8. But why would they abide in that country? Grotius saith, Because in that country there were many apostate Jews, who had thrown themselves out of the covenant of God, and had thereby given Satan power over them. And some suggest, that, having by experience got the knowledge of the dispositions and manners of the people of that country, they could the more effectually do them mischief by their temptations. 2. That he would suffer them to enter into the swine,by destroying which they hoped to do more mischief to the souls of all the people in the country, than they could by entering into the body of any particular person, which therefore they did not ask leave to do, for they knew Christ would not grant it.

JAMIESON, "Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains — rather, “to the mountain,” according to what is clearly the true reading. In Mat_8:30, they are said to have been “a good way off.” But these expressions, far from being inconsistent, only confirm, by their precision, the minute accuracy of the narrative.

a great herd of swine feeding — There can hardly be any doubt that the owners of these were Jews, since to them our Lord had now come to proffer His services. This will explain what follows.

COFFMAN, "Whereas "he" besought the Lord in Mark 5:10, it is "they" who

do the beseeching here, making it sure that the demons were the ones pleading.

Great herd of swine ... Of all the lower creation, only the serpent and swine are

revealed in Scripture as possessed of an evil spirit. As Taylor said, "The serpent

is a symbol of intellectual cunning and the swine of gross uncleanness,"[7]

suggesting that in both categories there is great temptation to the human family.

ENDNOTE:

[7] William Taylor, op. cit., p. 231.

CONSTABLE, "Evidently the demons requested permission to enter the swine

so they could destroy them. Jesus' permission resulted in everyone seeing the

great destructive power and number of the demons, and that the man had

experienced an amazing deliverance. Only Mark recorded the number of swine.

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"Few animals are so individually stubborn as swine, yet the rush was

simultaneous." [Note: Matthew B. Riddle, "The Gospel According to Mark," in

International Revision Commentary on the New Testament, p. 60.]

"The story of the deliverance of a man becomes the story of the deliverance of a

land." [Note: Guelich, p. 283.]

Some interpreters believe the owners of the swine were Jews who disregarded

the Mosaic prohibition against eating pork (Leviticus 11:7). Jesus would then

have been punishing them by allowing their pigs to perish. However this

explanation is unlikely because of the population composition of the Decapolis

region of which this area was a part (cf. Matthew 8:31).

12 The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among

the pigs; allow us to go into them.”

CLARKE, "All the devils - Παντες, all, is omitted by many MSS. and versions;

Griesbach leaves it out of the text. Ο$�δαιµονες is omitted also by several: Griesbach

leaves it doubtful. Probably it should be read thus, And they besought him, saying.

GILL, "And all the devils besought him,.... The whole legion of them, not only their chief, in the name of the rest, but all of them earnestly entreated him; they were all humble supplicants, not from love, but fear, and with a view to do mischief: though the word "all" is omitted in some copies, as it is in the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Persic versions; neither has the Ethiopic the word devils, but both are retained in the Arabic version:

saying, send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. The Persic version renders it, "seeing thou drivest us from the man, give leave that we may enter into the swine": which is rather a paraphrase than a version, and expresses the sense very well. They chose to be any where, rather than depart the country; and especially than to be sent into the deep, the abyss, or bottomless pit; and they chose to be sent into the swine, as being impure creatures like themselves; and no doubt with a view to destroy them, that they might satisfy themselves as much as they could with doing mischief; though not to that degree they would, nor to those persons they were desirous of; and so bring as much odium and reproach upon Christ as they could, who gave them leave. The devils are unwearied in doing mischief, they cannot rest unless they are about it; and they choose to be concerned in doing it in a lesser way, if they are not allowed to do it as largely as they would; if they are not suffered to touch the lives of men, or ruin their souls, it, is some satisfaction to them to be suffered to hurt their bodies; and if that is no longer permitted, rather than be doing nothing, they are desirous of doing injury to irrational creatures, the property of men; all which shows the malice and wickedness of these evil spirits: See Gill on Mat_8:31.

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JAMIESON, "And all the devils besought him, saying — “if thou cast us out” (Mat_8:31).

Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them — Had they spoken out all their mind, perhaps this would have been it: “If we must quit our hold of this man, suffer us to continue our work of mischief in another form, that by entering these swine, and thus destroying the people’s property, we may steel their hearts against Thee!”

13 He gave them permission, and the impure

spirits came out and went into the pigs. The

herd, about two thousand in number, rushed

down the steep bank into the lake and were

drowned.

CLARKE, "Gave them leave - For επετρεψεν, DH, three others, and three copies

of the Itala have επεµψεν, sent them.

GILL, "And forthwith Jesus gave them leave,.... For the reason of this See Gill on Mat_8:32.

and the unclean spirits went out; of the man, in whom they had for some time dwelt:

and entered into the herd of swine; according to the leave given them by Christ: this shows not only the existence of spirits, but their going from one to another shows that they are circumscribed by space; that they are here, and not there, or there, and not here: there is an "ubi", a somewhere, where they are; and whilst there, are not elsewhere:

and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea. The Syriac and Arabic versions read, "the herd ran to the rock", or "promontory", and "fell into the sea". The Ethiopic, the "herd grew mad, and was carried headlong into the sea": the sense is, that the devils having entered into them, it had a like effect on them, as on the man possessed; they ran mad, and were hurried on by the devils, to the rocks on the sea shore; where, falling down the precipice, they were all lost; and a considerable loss it was to their owners; for

they were about two thousand; a very large herd, but there were devils enought

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in that one man, to possess all these, and run them into the sea:

and were choked in the sea; not suffocated by the devils, but drowned in the waters of the sea, or lake, as Luke calls it; the lake of Gennesareth, or sea of Tiberias and Galilee; which, as often observed, were the same. Though some think it was not this lake or sea, but some other place of water near Gadara. Strabo says (e), that in the country of Gadara, there was a very bad laky water, of which if cattle tasted, they cast their hair, hoofs, and horns; which perhaps may be the same with what the

Talmudists call (f), בלועה�דגדר, "the whirlpool of Gadara"; said to be from the time of

the deluge, and so called from its swallowing up every thing that came into it; but the sea of Tiberias seems rather to be the place, where this herd perished. The Jew (g)objects to the destroying this herd of swine as an unjust action, being a great injury to the owners; and seeks to blacken the character of Christ, as being concerned in it: but, as Bishop Kidder (h) well observes, it does not appear that Jesus destroyed it; it was the devils that did it: he suffered them indeed to go into it, nor did he restrain the natural power which they had; nor did he think fit to do it, nor was he obliged to it: but had he destroyed it himself, since he is Lord of all, the proprietor of all creatures, who has all under him, and at his disposal, can give and take away as he pleases, no charge of evil and injustice can be brought against him: and this should be satisfactory to a Christian, who believes him to be God over all blessed for ever; though it will not be to a Jew: let it therefore be further observed, that the owners of these swine were either Jews or Gentiles; if they were Jews, and they brought up these swine in order to eat them themselves, to destroy them was a just punishment, for their violation of the law of God, Deu_14:8. And if they brought them up to sell to others, this was contrary to their own canons; See Gill on Mat_8:30, to the rules and customs of their own country, which were made as a fence to keep off from breaking the above law; and such a practice could only proceed from an avaricious disposition, of which this was a proper rebuke: or if they were Gentiles that were the owners of them, these were idolatrous persons, worshippers of devils; and it was but a righteous thing, to suffer the devils, whom they worshipped, to do this mischief to their property, to whom they devoted themselves soul and body; and a Jew cannot well find fault with this, who believes that idolaters cannot be punished too severely: add to this, what the above learned prelate observes; this practice of the Gentiles in breeding hogs, was a temptation to the Jews to follow the same business, and even to taste of the forbidden flesh; so that to use his words, it was in truth an act of grace and favour to the Jews, to remove from them so dangerous a snare, and so bad an example: and it may be added, by suffering the devils to go into the swine, several valuable ends were answered, infinitely preferable to the herd of swine; such as evincing the truth of the dispossession; showing the greatness of the mercy to the dispossessed; the power of Christ over the devils; and making for the spread of the fame of this miracle the more; as well as giving further proof of the malignity and mischievous disposition and actions of these evil spirits; by which the inhabitants of the adjacent places might learn, how hurtful they were to them, and what a blessing it was to be rid of them: and therefore ought to have been thankful to Christ for this dispossession, notwithstanding the loss of their swine; but such an effect it had not upon them, but the reverse, as the words following show.

HENRY, "VII. The permission Christ gave them to enter into the swine, and the immediate destruction of the swine thereby; He gave them leave (Mar_5:13), he did not forbid or restrain them, he let them do as they had a mind. Thus he would let the Gadarenes see what powerful spiteful enemies devils are, that they might thereby be induced to make him their Friend, who alone was able to control and conquer them, and had made it appear that he was so. Immediately the unclean spirits entered into

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the swine, which by the law were unclean creatures, and naturally love to wallow in the mire, the fittest place for them. Those that, like the swine, delight in the mire of sensual lusts, are fit habitations for Satan, and are, like Babylon, the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird (Rev_18:2), as pure souls are habitations of the Holy Spirit. The consequence of the devils entering into the swine, was, that they all ran mad presently, and ran headlong into the adjoining sea, where they were all drowned, to the number of two thousand. The man they possessed did only cut himself, for God had said, He is in your hands, only save his life. But thereby it appeared, that, if he had not been so restrained, the poor man would have drowned himself. See how much we are indebted to the providence of God, and the ministration of good angels, for our preservation from malignant spirits.

JAMIESON, "And forthwith Jesus gave them leave — In Matthew (Mat_8:32) this is given with majestic brevity - “Go!” The owners, if Jews, drove an illegal trade; if heathens, they insulted the national religion: in either case the permission was just.

And the unclean spirits went out — of the man.

and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently — rushed.

down a steep place — down the hanging cliff.

into the sea (they were about two thousand) — The number of them is given by this graphic Evangelist alone.

and were choked in the sea — “perished in the waters” (Mat_8:32).

COFFMAN, "We reject views like that of Barclay who thought that the cries of

the man frightened the swine into their destruction, and that the Lord used this

to "convince" the man the demons had left him; and also the view that the hogs

committed suicide rather than allow the demons to possess them! Mark here

stated that the demons entered the swine, and there is no reason for dissociating

their immediate destruction from that evident cause of it.

Here is a great difficulty in the eyes of some; but it is a difficulty founded on

prior disbelief of demon-possession and the power of the incarnate God in

Christ. The destruction of the swine was necessary in order that Christ might

thereby show what is the true intent and purpose of Satan. If people desire to

know what Satan is and what he will do to them who permit his evil domination,

let them behold the example of these swine. Look what Satan did to the family of

Job in a single day; solely because he had God's permission to do it. From the

gates of Paradise to the present hour, Satan has had one invariable purpose, that

of the total destruction of man. The example of the swine is an instructive

example of Satan's perpetual intent. But what about the property issue? Christ

did not destroy the swine; the demons did. Christ's permission of such a thing is

no more than God's permission of all natural disorders like earthquakes,

volcanoes, floods, droughts, and tornadoes, etc., which kill millions of people (not

swine alone); and yet all thoughtful persons find no difficulty reconciling this

with God's love and justice.

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14 Those tending the pigs ran off and reported

this in the town and countryside, and the people

went out to see what had happened.

CLARKE, "The swine - Instead of τους�χοιρους, BCDL, three others, Syriac,

Coptic, Ethiopic, Vulgate, and Itala, read αυτους, them - And they that fed Them fled.

Griesbach has adopted this reading.

GILL, "And they that fed the swine,.... Not the owners, but the keepers of them, the swine herds, "fled"; being astonished at the power of Christ, affrighted at the noise of the devils, and terrified at the sight and loss of the swine:

and told it in the city and country; or "in the fields": they went into the city of Gadara, and told the story of the dispossession of the devils out of the man, that had been for some time troublesome in those parts; and of their entrance into the swine, and the destruction of them: and they went into the fields, or country adjacent; they went to the "villages" thereabout, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions render the word; or to those houses that were in the fields, scattered about, here, and there one, and where perhaps the owners of the herd lived: and they not only hasted away to the owners of the swine, to acquaint them with what had happened, in order to remove all blame from themselves, and any suspicion of negligence in them; to make it appear that it was not their fault, or owing to any carelessness of theirs the swine perished; as that they suffered them to go too near the sea side, and did not keep a good lookout, and were not, as they should have been, between them and the sea, to have prevented such an accident: this they not only did, but the affair, in all its circumstances, being such an amazing one; as the dispossession of the devils out of the man; the health, the calmness, and happy condition the dispossessed was in; the entrance of the devils into the swine; their madness, and precipitant running into the sea, and suffocation there; that they told it to every body they met with, whether in the fields belonging to Gadara, or in the city itself; which drew out a large concourse of people to see what was done to the man that had been possessed, and to the swine, and also to see the person who had done all this; and which made the miracle the more notorious; city and country rung of it: so that, as Matthew says, "the whole city came out to meet Jesus", Mat_8:34; and Luke observes, that "the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart", &c. Luk_8:37. So we sometimes read, in the Jewish writings, of the men, or inhabitants of the field, as opposed to the men, or inhabitants of the city, who differed both in their clothes and diet.

"The garments, דבני�מחוזא, "of the children", or "inhabitants of the city", who live

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deliciously, and do no work, are broad, like women's; but the garments, דבני�חקליתא,

"of the children of the field"; such as do business in the field, are short (i):''

and so of their food, it is observed (k), that the bread, דחקלאי, "of the men of the

field", which the gloss explains by בני�כפר, "the children", or "inhabitants of a village",

is what they put much flour into; but the bread, דמחוזא, "of a city", which the gloss

interprets of בני�כרך, "the children", or "inhabitants of a walled town", or "city", is

what they do not put much flour into.

And they went out to see what it was that was done: that is, the inhabitants of the city of Gadara, and those that dwelt in the villages, and in lone houses in the fields, went forth to the places where the possessed man used to be, and where Jesus and he now were, and where the swine used to feed, to see with their own eyes, and satisfy themselves of the truth of the narration the swineherds gave them.

HENRY, "VIII. The report of all this dispersed through the country immediately. They that fed the swine, hastened to the owners, to give an account of their charge, Mar_5:14. This drew the people together, to see what was done: and, 1. When they saw how wonderfully the poor man was cured, they hence conceived a veneration for Christ, Mar_5:15. They saw him that was possessed with the devil, and knew him well enough, by the same token that they had many a time been frightened at the sight of him; and were now as much surprised to see him sitting clothed and in his right mind; when Satan was cast out, he came to himself, and was his own man presently. Note, Those who are grave and sober, and live by rule and with consideration, thereby make it appear that by the power of Christ the devil's power is broken in their souls. The sight of this made them afraid; it astonished them, and forced them to own the power of Christ, and that he is worthy to be feared. But, 2. When they found that their swine were lost, they thence conceived a dislike of Christ,and wished to have rather his room than his company; they prayed him to depart out of their coasts, for they think not any good he can do them sufficient to make them amends for the loss of so many swine, fat swine, it may be, and ready for the market. Now the devils had what they would have; for by no handle do these evil spirits more effectually manage sinful souls than by that of the love of the world. They were afraid of some further punishment, if Christ should tarry among them, whereas, if they would but part with their sins, he had life and happiness for them; but, being loth to quit either their sins or their swine, they chose rather to abandon their Saviour. Thus they do, who, rather than let go a base lust, will throw away their interest in Christ, and their expectations from him. They should rather have argued, “If he has such a power as this over devils and all creatures, it is good having him our Friend; if the devils have leave to tarry in our country (Mar_5:10), let us entreat him to tarry in it too, who alone can control them.” But, instead of this, they wished him further off. Such strange misconstructions do carnal hearts make of the just judgments of God; instead of being by them driven to him as they ought, they set him at so much the greater distance; though he hath said, Provoke me not, and I will do you no hurt,Jer_25:6.

JAMIESON, "And they that fed the swine fled, and told it — “told everything, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils” (Mat_8:33).

in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that

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was done — Thus had they the evidence, both of the herdsmen and of their own senses, to the reality of both miracles.

LIGHTFOOT, "[Told it in the country.] Told it in the fields. But to whom? To

them that laboured, or that travelled in the fields? So chapter 6:36: That they

may go away into the 'fields' round about, and buy themselves bread. From

whom, I pray, should they buy in the fields? And verse 56: And wheresoever

they entered into towns or 'fields,' they laid the sick in the streets, or markets.

What streets or markets are there in the fields?

"Rabba saith, That food made of meal, of those that dwell in the fields, in which

they mingle much meal, over it they give thanks." Dwellers in the field, saith the

Gloss, are inhabitants of the villages. And the Aruch saith, "private men who

dwell in the fields": that is, in houses scattered here and there, and not built

together in one place, as it is in towns and cities.

BARCLAY, "BIDDING CHRIST BE GONE (Mark 5:14-17)

5:14-17 The men who were feeding the pigs fled, and brought news of what had

happened to the town and to the farms. They came to see what it was that had

happened. They came to Jesus, and they saw the demon-possessed man--the man

who had had the legion of demons--sitting fully clothed and in his senses, and

they were afraid; and those who had seen what had taken place told them what

had happened to the demon-possessed man, and told them about the pigs; and

they began to urge Jesus to get out of their territory.

Very naturally the men who had been in charge of the pigs went to the town and

to the farms with news of this astounding happening. When the curious people

arrived on the spot they found the man who had once been so mad sitting fully

clothed and in full possession of his faculties. The wild and naked madman had

become a sane and sensible citizen. And then comes the surprise, the paradox,

the thing that no one would really expect. One would have thought that they

would have regarded the whole matter with joy; but they regarded it with terror.

And one would have thought that they would have urged Jesus to stay with them

and exercise still further his amazing power; but they urged him to get out of

their district as quickly as possible. Why? A man had been healed but their pigs

had been destroyed, and therefore they wanted no more of this. The routine of

life had been unsettled, and they wanted the disturbing element removed as

quickly as possible.

A frequent battle-cry of the human mind is, "Please don't disturb me." On the

whole, the one thing people want is to be let alone.

(i) Instinctively people say, "Don't disturb my comfort." If someone came to us

and said, "I can give you a world that will be better for the mass of people in

general, but it will mean that your comfort will, at least for a time, be disturbed

and upset, and you will have to do with less for the sake of others," most of us

would say, "I would much rather that you would leave things as they are." In

point of fact that is almost precisely the situation through which we are living in

the present social revolution. We are living through a time of redistribution, not

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only in this country but in the developing nations as well. We are living through

a time when life is a great deal better than ever it was for a great many. But it

has meant that life is not so comfortable as it was for quite a number of people;

and for that very reason there is resentment because some of the comforts of life

have gone.

There is a great deal of talk about what life owes us. Life owes us precisely

nothing; the debt is all the other way round. It is we who owe life all that we have

to give. We are followers of one who gave up the glory of heaven for the

narrowness of earth, who gave up the joy of God for the pain of the Cross. It is

human not to want to have our comfort disturbed; it is divine to be willing to be

disturbed that others may have more.

(ii) Instinctively people say, "Don't disturb my possessions." Here is another

aspect of the same thing. No man really willingly gives up anything he may

possess. The older we get the more we want to clutch it to us. Borrow, who knew

the gypsies, tells us that it is the fortune-telling gypsy's policy to promise to the

young various pleasures, and to foretell to the old riches and only riches "for

they have sufficient knowledge of the human heart to be aware that avarice is the

last passion that becomes extinct within." We can soon see whether a man really

accepts his faith and whether he really believes in his principles, by seeing if he is

willing to become poorer for them.

(iii) Instinctively people say, "Don't disturb my religion."

(a) People say, "Don't let unpleasant subjects disturb the pleasant decorum of

my religion." Edmund Gosse points out a curious omission in the sermons of the

famous divine, Jeremy Taylor. "These sermons are amongst the most able and

profound in the English language, but they hardly ever mention the poor, hardly

ever refer to their sorrows, and show practically no interest in their state. The

sermons were preached in South Wales where poverty abounded. The cry of the

poor and the hungry, the ill-clothed and the needy ceaselessly ascended up to

heaven, and called out for pity and redress, but this eloquent divine never

seemed to hear it, he lived and wrote and preached surrounded by the suffering

and the needy, and yet remained scarcely conscious of their existence."

It is much less disturbing to preach about the niceties of theological beliefs and

doctrines than it is to preach about the needs of men and the abuses of life. We

have actually known of congregations who informed ministers that it was a

condition of their call that they would not preach on certain subjects. It was a

notable thing that it was not what Jesus said about God that got him into

trouble; it was what he said about man and about the needs of man that

disturbed the orthodox of his day.

(b) People have been known to say, "Don't let personal relationships disturb my

religion." James Burns quotes an amazing thing in this connection from the life

of Angela di Foligras, the famous Italian mystic. She had the gift of completely

withdrawing herself from this world, and of returning from her trances with

tales of ineffably sweet communion with God. It was she herself who said: "In

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that time, and by God's. will, there died my mother, who was a great hindrance

unto me in following the way of God; my husband died likewise, and in a short

time there died all my children. And because I had commenced to follow the

aforesaid way, and had prayed God that he would rid me of them, I had great

consolation of their deaths, albeit I did also feel some grief." Her family was a

trouble to her religion.

There is a type of religion which is fonder of committees than it is of housework,

which is more set on quiet times than it is on human service. It prides itself on

serving the Church and spending itself in devotion--but in God's eyes it has got

things the wrong way round.

(c) People say, "Don't disturb my beliefs." There is a type of religion which says,

"What was good enough for my fathers is good enough for me." There are

people who do not want to know anything new, for they know that if they did

they might have to go through the mental sweat of rethinking things and coming

to new conclusions. There is a cowardice of thought and a lethargy of mind and a

sleep of the soul which are terrible things.

The Gerasenes banished the disturbing Christ--and still men seek to do the same.

15 When they came to Jesus, they saw the man

who had been possessed by the legion of

demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right

mind; and they were afraid.

BARNES, "Sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind - There could be no doubt of the reality of this miracle. The man had been well known. He had long dwelt among the tombs, an object of terror and alarm. To see him all at once peaceful, calm, and rational, was proof that it was the power of God only that had done it.

They were afraid - They were awed, as in the presence of God. The word does not mean here that they feared that any evil would happen to them, but that they were affected with awe; they felt that God was there; they were struck with astonishment at what Jesus had done.

CLARKE, "That - had the legion - This is omitted by D, and two others, Ethiopic, Persic, Vulgate, and all the Itala but one. Mill, Bengel, and Griesbach, think it should be omitted.

GILL, "And they come to Jesus,.... Who had wrought this miracle, and of which, and whom, the keepers of the swine had given them some account:

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and see him that was possessed of the devil, and had a legion. The Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions leave out the last clause, "and had a legion", and so Beza's ancient copy; the Persic version renders it, "the legion being gone out of him": they saw, along with Jesus, the man who had been possessed with a legion of devils, whom they knew very well to be the same man;

sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind, and they were afraid; not of the man, as they were before, when he was possessed, not daring to come that way because of him; but of Christ, and his amazing power; who was able to dispossess a legion of devils, and restore a man to his perfect senses, to such composure and decency, who was before in such a dreadful condition, and so exceeding furious and outrageous: they saw the man was still and quiet, harmless and inoffensive; they had nothing to fear from him; but they knew not what to make of Christ: they might take him for an exorcist, or a magician, and fear that he would exercise his art to the ruin and destruction of them: they did not fear and reverence him as a divine person, but they dreaded him, as one possessed of a power of doing hurt: they were conscious to themselves of their sins, and that they deserved the just judgments of God upon them; and they were afraid that Christ was sent to execute them upon them: and it is observable, that they say not one word to him, by way of complaint, for the loss of their swine; but thought themselves well off, could they but get rid of him. There was a strange change and alteration in the man; he, who before was running about among the tombs, and upon the mountains, and scarce ever sat still, but was always in motion, as persons distracted commonly are, was now sitting at the feet of Jesus, his kind benefactor, Luk_8:35, and he who before was naked, and whenever any clothes were put upon him, tore them off again, and to pieces, as madmen usually do, was now "clothed"; perhaps with some the swine herds had left behind them, in their fright, or the disciples had with them: and he who before was quite out of his senses, knew not what he said, or did, was now "in his right mind"; of a sound mind, of a good understanding, sober, modest, and knowing. This man, as whilst under the possession of Satan, was an emblem of a man in a natural estate; so, being now dispossessed, he very aptly represented a converted man; who, being brought out of a state of nature, out of an horrible pit, a pit wherein is no water, is "sitting" at the feet of Jesus; where he places himself, imploring his grace and mercy, entreating him to receive and save him, resolving, if he perishes, he will perish there; and where he is, as a scholar, at the feet of his master, hearing his words, and receiving instruction from him; and which also is expressive of his submission to his Gospel and ordinances, and of pleasure and continuance under them; as well as of that calmness and serenity of mind, which attends a sense of justification, pardon, reconciliation, and adoption, and hope of glory: and whereas, before he was naked, and without a righteousness, or, which was no better than filthy rags; he is now "clothed" with the robe of righteousness, and garments of salvation, with fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousness of the saints, with change of raiment, and clothing of wrought gold; the righteousness of Christ being not only imputed to him by the Father, but revealed in the Gospel, brought near by the Spirit, and put upon him, and received by faith; as well as having put on the new man, and being clothed with humility, and other graces of the Spirit, and with the garments of a holy conversation; and so will at last be clothed with the shining robes of immortality and glory. Such an one, who before was not himself, is now "in his right mind"; is come to himself like the prodigal; is become sensible of the evil of sin, and is brought to true repentance for it; and of his lost state and condition, of his need of Christ, and salvation by him; has his spiritual senses exercised upon Christ; beholds the loveliness and suitableness of him as a Saviour, hears his voice, handles him, the

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word of life, tastes the sweetness there is in him, and in his Gospel, and savours the things of his Spirit; and whose senses also are exercised to discern between good and evil, and truth and error; who likewise has a new heart, and a right Spirit created in him; and has the same mind in him, as was in Jesus Christ, for humility and lowliness; and whose mind is stayed upon him, and trusts in him.

HENRY, "VIII. The report of all this dispersed through the country immediately. They that fed the swine, hastened to the owners, to give an account of their charge, Mar_5:14. This drew the people together, to see what was done: and, 1. When they saw how wonderfully the poor man was cured, they hence conceived a veneration for Christ, Mar_5:15. They saw him that was possessed with the devil, and knew him well enough, by the same token that they had many a time been frightened at the sight of him; and were now as much surprised to see him sitting clothed and in his right mind; when Satan was cast out, he came to himself, and was his own man presently. Note, Those who are grave and sober, and live by rule and with consideration, thereby make it appear that by the power of Christ the devil's power is broken in their souls. The sight of this made them afraid; it astonished them, and forced them to own the power of Christ, and that he is worthy to be feared. But, 2. When they found that their swine were lost, they thence conceived a dislike of Christ,and wished to have rather his room than his company; they prayed him to depart out of their coasts, for they think not any good he can do them sufficient to make them amends for the loss of so many swine, fat swine, it may be, and ready for the market. Now the devils had what they would have; for by no handle do these evil spirits more effectually manage sinful souls than by that of the love of the world. They were afraid of some further punishment, if Christ should tarry among them, whereas, if they would but part with their sins, he had life and happiness for them; but, being loth to quit either their sins or their swine, they chose rather to abandon their Saviour. Thus they do, who, rather than let go a base lust, will throw away their interest in Christ, and their expectations from him. They should rather have argued, “If he has such a power as this over devils and all creatures, it is good having him our Friend; if the devils have leave to tarry in our country (Mar_5:10), let us entreat him to tarry in it too, who alone can control them.” But, instead of this, they wished him further off. Such strange misconstructions do carnal hearts make of the just judgments of God; instead of being by them driven to him as they ought, they set him at so much the greater distance; though he hath said, Provoke me not, and I will do you no hurt,Jer_25:6.

JAMIESON, "And they come to Jesus — Matthew (Mat_8:34) says, “Behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus.”

and see him that was possessed with the devil — the demonized person.

and had the legion, sitting — “at the feet of Jesus,” adds Luke (Luk_8:35); in contrast with his former wild and wandering habits.

and clothed — As our Evangelist had not told us that he “ware no clothes,” the meaning of this statement could only have been conjectured but for “the beloved physician” (Luk_8:27), who supplies the missing piece of information here. This is a striking case of what are called Undesigned Coincidences amongst the different Evangelists; one of them taking a thing for granted, as familiarly known at the time, but which we should never have known but for one or more of the others, and without the knowledge of which some of their statements would be unintelligible. The clothing which the poor man would feel the want of the moment his consciousness returned to him, was doubtless supplied to him by some of the Twelve.

and in his right mind — but now, oh, in what a lofty sense! (Compare an

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analogous, though a different kind of case, Dan_4:34-37).

and they were afraid — Had this been awe only, it had been natural enough; but other feelings, alas! of a darker kind, soon showed themselves.

Mark 5:15.And they come to Jesus We have here a striking proof that not all

who perceive the hand of God profit as they ought to do by yielding themselves

to him in sincere godliness. Having seen the miracle, the Gadarenes were afraid,

because the majesty of God shone brightly in Christ. So far they did right but

now that they send him out of their territories, what could have been done worse

than this? They too were scattered, and here is a shepherd to collect them or

rather, it is God who stretches out his arms, through his Son, to embrace and

carry to heaven those who were overwhelmed by the darkness of death. They

choose rather to be deprived of the salvation which is offered to them, than to

endure any longer the presence of Christ.

The apparent ground of their offense is the loss of the swine, but Luke assigns a

loftier cause, that they were seized with a great fear; (556) and certainly, if they

had been exasperated by the loss which they sustained, they would not have

requested him, but would rudely have driven him out. They honor him as God’s

minister, and yet are so struck with dread as to desire that he will go to a

distance from them. Thus we see that they were not at all moved by a sense of the

divine grace. And indeed, though all wicked men adore God, and bestow great

pains on appeasing him, yet if they had their choice, they would withdraw to the

greatest possible distance from him: for his face is terrible, so long as they

contemplate him as a Judge, and not as a Father. The consequence is, that the

gospel, which is more delightful than any thing that can be conceived, is

everywhere considered to be so dismal and severe, that a good part of the world

would wish that it were buried.

And yet it is true that their fear was partly occasioned by their loss. Thus at the

present day, so long as men believe that the kingdom of God is opposed to their

interest, either of a public or private nature, they are prepossessed by a depraved

and carnal fear, and have no relish for his grace. Accordingly, when he comes,

they think that God does not regard them with favor, but rather with anger, and,

so far as lies in their power, they send him to another place. It is a mark of

shameful insensibility in those men, that the loss of their swine gives them more

alarm than the salvation of their soul would give them joy.

COFFMAN, "This contrasts with the picture Mark gave of the man before the

demons were cast out. What a tragic picture he presented: naked, bleeding,

furtive, dwelling in tombs, constantly crying out, etc. Behold the change. He is

clothed and in his right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus! This shows what

Christianity does. "It clothes the naked, moderates the madness of passion, and

many a man with a ragged coat and an empty pocket before conversion now has

a purse and two coats."[8]

And they were afraid ... Such a powerful demonstration of God's power instilled

fear in a whole community.

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ENDNOTE:

[8] John Wesley, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker

Book House, 1972), en loco.

16 Those who had seen it told the people what

had happened to the demon-possessed man—

and told about the pigs as well.

GILL, "And they that saw it,.... Not the keepers of the swine, for they were fled and gone; but others that were eyewitnesses of the whole affair, who lived in houses hard by, or were working in the fields; or the disciples of Christ:

told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil; gave a particular account, how, upon first sight of Christ, he ran to meet him, and fell down and worshipped him; how Christ ordered the unclean spirit to come out of him; and how he was dispossessed of a legion of devils by a word speaking:

and also concerning the swine; how, at the request of the devils, and by the leave of Christ, they entered into them; upon which they ran mad; and betaking themselves to the rocks by the sea side, fell down the precipice, and were suffocated in the sea.

JAMIESON, "And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil — (“the demonized person”).

and also concerning the swine — Thus had they the double testimony of the herdsmen and their own senses.

SIMEON, "THE GADARENE DEMONIAC

Mark 5:16-18. And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was

possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray

him to depart out of their coasts. And when he was come into the ship, he that

had been possessed with the devil, prayed him that he might be with him.

THE miracles of our blessed Lord were certainly intended in the first instance to

attest the truth of his divine mission; in which view he himself frequently appeals

to them. But they were also intended to shadow forth the benefits which he was

to confer on the souls of men. In both these points of view the miracle before us is

deserving of the most attentive consideration. True it is that infidels have

attempted to reduce this miracle to a mere curing of a man of an epilepsy or

falling sickness. But it is evident that devils were expelled from him by the power

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of our Lord, since it was by them that the herd of swine were impelled to rush

into the sea. A single man, or two men (for St. Matthew tells us there were two

[Note: Matthew 8:28.], though St. Mark notices only one, as being by far the

greater monument of our Lord’s power,) could not drive twenty swine into the

sea, and much less two thousand, of which number this herd consisted [Note:

ver. 13.]: and this destruction of the swine consequent upon the expulsion of the

devils from the poor demoniac, shewed how great a deliverance had been

effected for him, and how entirely all the hosts of hell were subject to the

controul of our blessed Lord.

To enter into these events aright, we should consider them,

I. As they occurred on that occasion—

We notice,

1. The miracle wrought—

[Satan at that time had great power over the bodies of men: and a whole “legion”

of devils had at that time occupied that poor unhappy man, whom they endued

with a strength wholly supernatural; insomuch that no chains or fetters could

confine him [Note: ver. 3–5.]. But at the command of Jesus they came forth and

left their captive at perfect liberty. Fearing that Jesus would send them instantly

into the abyss of hell, which is, and for ever will be, their appropriate abode, the

devils requested permission to enter into the herd of swine; and, having gained

permission, they instigated the whole herd to rush down into the sea, where they

were all destroyed. Probably the devils hoped by this to incense the owners of the

swine against the Lord Jesus; and in this they succeeded altogether according to

their wish.]

2. The effects produced—

[The effect upon the Gadarenes, to whom the herd belonged, was, to make them

all, even the whole city [Note: Matthew 8:34.], anxious, that our Lord should

leave both the place and neighbourhood. One would have supposed indeed that

the mercy vouchsafed to the demoniac should rather make the Gadarenes

anxious to retain our Lord, that they might obtain similar mercies at his hands:

but a concern for their temporal interests swallowed up every other

consideration, and united them all in one request, that Jesus “would depart out

of their coasts.”

But how different was the effect upon the man whom Jesus had delivered! He

followed Jesus to the ship, and entreated that he might be permitted to wait upon

him as a constant follower and attendant. And, when Jesus, for wise and

gracious reasons, forbade that, and told him rather to go home to his friends and

relatives, and tell them what mercy God had vouchsafed unto him, he went

home, and with fidelity and gratitude proclaimed to all around him the benefits

he had received from his adorable Benefactor [Note: ver. 20.].]

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But, not to dwell on the events which then took place, I wish you more

particularly to view them,

II. As renewed yet daily before our eyes—

Of these things we may be well assured:

1. Satan has still most dreadful power over men—

[He no longer, I apprehend, possesses, as he once did, the bodies of men: but he

has not one whit less power than he had over their souls. See to what an extent

the whole race of mankind are subjected to his controul. All men without

exception are risen up in rebellion against God. Nor will they submit to any

restraint either from reason or conscience. Every one follows his own will and his

own way, even to the great injury of all around him, and to the certain

destruction of his own soul. Tell men of their fearful responsibility to God, and of

the terrors that await them in the eternal world, and “they make light of all,”

and say, like the devils in this poor demoniac, “What have we to do with these

things?” or as Pharaoh, “Who is the Lord, that we should serve him? We know

not the Lord, neither will we obey his voice.” Not even this poor demoniac acted

a more insane part than the generality around us: he wounded and destroyed his

body: but these, in all that they do, wound and destroy their immortal souls: so

true is that declaration of Solomon, “The heart of the sons of men is full of evil;

madness is in their heart, while they live; and after that they go to the dead

[Note: Ecclesiastes 9:3.].” And all this is by the instigation of the devil, who is

“the God of this world,” and “worketh in all the children of disobedience [Note:

2 Corinthians 4:4. Ephesians 2:2.].”]

2. But Jesus still exercises the same sovereign power over him—

[Truly the word of the Lord is yet quick and powerful, nor can all the powers of

hell withstand it. We see the effect, as visibly as ever the Gadarenes did, of the

word going forth in the ministration of the Gospel. Are there not even here

present some who have “passed, as it were, from death unto life [Note: 1 John

3:14.],” and have “been translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom

of God’s dear Son [Note: Colossians 1:13.]?” The Prodigal Son shews us what a

change takes place in the soul when once it is enabled to recover itself out of the

snare of the devil [Note: 2 Timothy 2:26.], and to assert its liberty. And if in him

we behold all the madness of a life passed under the influence of the devil, and all

the blessedness of a life consecrated to the service of the Most High, then may we

behold the same in many, I trust, amongst ourselves, who have, by the preached

Gospel, “been turned from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan

unto God [Note: Acts 26:18.].”]

3. But still is there the same enmity against the Saviour in the hearts of

ungodly men—

[When the power of divine grace is seen in the deliverance of sinners from the

bonds of Satan, we should naturally suppose that all who behold the change

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should rejoice in it, and desire to become partakers of the same benefits. But the

very reverse of this is found true in every place: and, as in the instance before us,

an opposition to the Saviour is raised, and persons of every description unite in a

desire to expel him from their coasts. In this, Herod and Pontius Pilate will unite

[Note: Luke 23:12.]: in this will both Jews and Gentiles concur [Note: Acts

4:27.]: in this will “devout women” be found in league with “lewd fellows of the

baser sort [Note: Acts 13:50; Acts 16:39; Acts 17:5.]:” the desire of all ranks and

orders of ungodly men are in perfect harmony on this subject; they all with one

voice exclaim, “Depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways [Note:

Job 21:14.].”]

4. Still however on the part of those who have experienced his saving

benefits is there the same desire to glorify his name—

[To commune with the Saviour, to enjoy his presence, to fulfil his will, and to

obtain richer communications of his grace, are the leading desires of all who

have been delivered by him from the power of the devil. Whatever be their

situation in life, they will be “as lights in a dark world [Note: Matthew 5:14.

Philippians 2:15.],” and will so “make their light to shine before men, that all

who behold them shall glorify the name of Jesus [Note: Matthew 5:16.].”They

feel themselves bound to stand up as witnesses for him, that he is that “stronger

man, who alone can bind the strong man armed [Note: Luke 11:22.],” and

deliver from his bonds the vassals whom “he had led captive at his will.” From a

sense of gratitude to his heavenly Benefactor, he will, like this liberated maniac,

commend him to all around him, saying with the Psalmist, “Come and hear, all

ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he hath done for my soul [Note: ver. 20.

with Psalms 66:16.].”]

Address—

1. Those who have never yet been dispossessed of the devil—

[It is humiliating to reflect on the state of our fallen world, of which “Satan is the

god,” and we all without exception are his subjects. To all who live in sin of any

kind it may be said, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father

ye do [Note: John 8:42.].” “What have we to do with thee?” was the one voice of

all the devils in the man that was possessed by them: and all of them cried,

“Torment us not.” And is not a similar apprehension expressed by men at this

day, when the Lord Jesus Christ is, as it were, introduced amongst them, “Speak

not to us of him; do not make us melancholy?” Does not the whole tenour of

men’s lives shew, “whose they are, and whom they serve?” It is not necessary

that men should rush headlong into all manner of iniquity. Sin, whether of a

more heinous or more specious kind, equally shews under whose influence they

live [Note: 1 John 3:8; 1 John 3:10.], and that they need to “be turned from idols

to serve the living God.” Satisfy not then yourselves, my brethren, with some

good feelings and some general acknowledgments. The devils acknowledged

Jesus as the “Son of the living God; and they deprecated his wrath; and yet were

they devils still. You must go much further than this if you would be partakers of

Christ’s kingdom and glory. You must be made “new creatures in Christ Jesus,”

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and must evince the reality of this change by a corresponding and visible

deportment.]

2. Those who have been made monuments of Christ’s power and grace—

[See what unbounded mercy has been vouchsafed unto you. See in the fate of

that entire herd of swine what is the final destiny of all the vassals of sin and

Satan. O bless your God for his distinguishing grace. And now, whilst you

confess your obligations, arise to the duties imposed upon you. To that liberated

man the Lord Jesus said, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great

things the Lord hath done for thee.” And this he says to every one of you. Not

that you are to do this in a way of boasting and self-complacency: God forbid:

but you must do it in order to commend the Saviour to all around you, and, if

possible, to bring them also to a participation of his saving benefits. And be

attentive also to the whole of your life and conversation, that you may “adorn the

doctrine” which you profess, and constrain all to glorify Him who has done such

great things for you.]

17 Then the people began to plead with Jesus to

leave their region.

GILL, "And they began to pray him,.... That is, the inhabitants of the city of Gadara, and of the villages round about, very earnestly importuned him

to depart out of their coasts; fearing, lest for their sins, some sorer judgment should fall upon them, than the loss of their swine; since they perceived he was a person of great power and authority; which shows great ignorance and worldly mindedness: they knew not how great a person they had among them; that he was the Son of God, and Saviour of the world: they might have known from the miracles wrought, that he was a very wonderful and extraordinary person; but then they considered him as one endued with great power, rather, to do them hurt than good; as one sent to scourge them for their sins, than to save them from them: such very contrary notions have carnal men of Christ; they are afraid of being sufferers, or losers by him: they do not care to part with their swinish lusts for him; these they prefer to a Saviour, and love the world, and the things of it, more than he, and therefore are not worthy of him; See Gill on Mat_8:34.

JAMIESON, "And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts — Was it the owners only of the valuable property now lost to them that did this? Alas, no! For Luke (Luk_8:37) says, “Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought Him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear.” The evil spirits had thus, alas! their object. Irritated, the people could not suffer His presence; yet awe-struck, they dared not order Him off: so they entreat Him to withdraw, and - He takes them at their word.

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18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man

who had been demon-possessed begged to go

with him.

GILL, "And When he was come into the ship,.... For at the request of these men, who were unworthy of his presence, and of any favour from him, either by his doctrine, or miracles, he turned back to the sea side again; and as he was about to take ship,

he that had been possessed with the devil, prayed him that he might be with him: for when Jesus turned his back upon the Gadarenes, and returned to the sea shore, this poor man, who had received so great a benefit by him, rose up and followed him; and when he perceived that he was entering on ship board, in order to go over into another country, earnestly entreated he might go over with him in the ship, and continue with him: which he did, partly to testify his great love to him, and the grateful sense he had of the mercy he had received from him; and partly, that be might enjoy his presence, and have his protection: for he might fear, that when he was gone, and should he remain in that country, the devils would repossess him with greater rage and fury. So gracious souls who know Christ, and have received out of his fulness, and grace for grace, earnestly desire to be with him, to enjoy communion with him, receive instruction from him, and be always under his care, influence, and protection. For to be with Christ, is to have his gracious presence; to have nearness to him, and fellowship with him; to have familiarity and acquaintance with him, yet more and more; to be guided with his counsel, and upheld with the right hand of his righteousness: than which, nothing can be more desirable to those that spiritually and savingly know him: for such desires arise from the knowledge they have of his personal glories and excellencies, as the Son of God; and as mediator? he has all power to protect them, all strength to support them, all grace to supply them, all wisdom to direct them, all provisions to feed them, and all blessings of grace and glory to bestow upon them; and from the gracious experience they have had of his favour and lovingkindness, which is better than life; and from the sense they have of their need of him; for without him they can do nothing; they cannot perform any duty aright, nor withstand any temptation, or bear up under any affliction: they are sensible of the blessed effects of his presence; they know it brings light to their souls in darkness; that it quickens them when dead and lifeless in their frames and duties, and enlivens their spirits when dull and heavy; that it comforts and rejoices their hearts, and puts more joy and gladness into them, than any outward blessing whatever; that it removes their fears, and emboldens, them against their enemies, and is their safety and defence; that it makes ordinances pleasant and delightful, and gives contentment in the meanest state; there is nothing enjoyed by them in this life which gives them the pleasure and satisfaction that does: and hence it is that they often desire even to depart out of this world, that they may be with Christ, which is far better; and indeed, if the presence of Christ is so sweet and desirable now, what will the, everlasting, and uninterrupted enjoyment of his presence be in the world to come? for in his presence is fulness of joy, and at his right hand are pleasures for

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evermore.

HENRY, "IX. An account of the conduct of the poor man after his deliverance. 1. He desired that he might go along with Christ (Mar_5:18), perhaps for fear lest the evil spirit should again seize him; or, rather, that he might receive instruction from him, being unwilling to stay among those heathenish people that desired him to depart. Those that are freed from the evil spirit, cannot but covet acquaintance and fellowship with Christ. 2. Christ would not suffer him to go with him, lest it should savour of ostentation, and to let him know that he could both protect and instruct him at a distance. And besides, he had other work for him to do; he must go home to his friends, and tell them what great things the Lord had done for him, the Lord Jesus had done; that Christ might be honoured, and his neighbours and friends might be edified, and invited to believe in Christ. He must take particular notice rather of Christ's pity than of his power, for that is it which especially he glories in; he must tell them what compassion the Lord had had on him in his misery.

JAMIESON, "he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him — the grateful heart, fresh from the hand of demons, clinging to its wondrous Benefactor. How exquisitely natural!

SBC, "I. The recollection of our Christless state should beget a spirit of distrust in ourselves. The healed man was naturally anxious to remain at the side of his healer.

II. We see here the possibility of being under the protection of Christ even though far from His physical presence. The healed man was as surely under the care of Christ when miles away as when within reach of His hand. Christ always pointed towards a spiritual reign, and both incidentally and directly discouraged trust in merely fleshly presence and power.

Parker, City Temple, 1871, p. 84.

BARCLAY, "A WITNESS FOR CHRIST (Mark 5:18-20)

5:18-20 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-

possessed kept begging him that he might be allowed to stay with him. He did not

allow him, but said to him, "Go back to your home and your own people, and tell

them all that the Lord has done for you." And he went away and began to

proclaim the story throughout the Decapolis of all that Jesus had done for him.

The interesting thing about this passage is that it tells us that this incident

happened in the Decapolis. Decapolis literally means The Ten Cities. Near to the

Jordan and on its east side, there were ten cities mainly of rather a special

character. They were essentially Greek. Their names were Scythopolis, which

was the only one on the west side of the Jordan, Pella, Dion, Gerasa,

Philadelphia, Gadara, Raphana, Kanatha, Hippos and Damascus. With the

conquests of Alexander the Great there had been a Greek penetration into

Palestine and Syria.

The Greek cities which had been then founded were in rather a curious position.

They were within Syria; but they were very largely independent. They had their

own councils and their own coinage; they had the right of local administration,

not only of themselves but of an area around them; they had the right of

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association for mutual defence and for commercial purposes. They remained in a

kind of semi-independence down until the time of the Maccabees, about the

middle of the second century B.C. The Maccabees were the Jewish conquerors

and they subjected most of these cities to Jewish rule.

They were liberated from Jewish rule by the Roman Emperor Pompey about 63

B.C. They were still in a curious position. They were to some extent independent,

but were liable to Roman taxation and Roman military service. They were not

garrisoned, but frequently were the headquarters of Roman legions in the

eastern campaigns. Now Rome governed most of this part of the world by a

system of tributary kings. The result was that Rome could give these cities very

little actual protection; and so they banded themselves together into a kind of

corporation to defend themselves against Jewish and Arab encroachment. They

were stubbornly Greek. They were beautiful cities; they had their Greek gods

and their Greek temples and their Greek amphitheatres; they were devoted to

the Greek way of life.

Here, then, is a most interesting thing. If Jesus was in the Decapolis it is one of

the first hints of things to come. There would be Jews there. but it was

fundamentally a Greek area. Here is a foretaste of a world for Christ. Here is the

first sign of Christianity bursting the bonds of Judaism and going out to all the

world. Just how Greek these cities were and just how important they were can be

seen from the fact that from Gadara alone there came Philodemus, the great

Epicurean philosopher, who was a contemporary of Cicero, Meleager, the master

of the Greek epigram, Menippus", the famous satirist, and Theodorus, the

rhetorician, who was no less a person than the tutor of Tiberius, the reigning

Roman Emperor. Something happened on that day that Jesus set foot in the

Decapolis.

There is now good reason to see why Jesus sent the man back.

(i) He was to be a witness for Christianity. He was to be a living, walking, vivid,

unanswerable demonstration of what Christ can do for a man. Our glory must

always be not in what we can do for Christ but in what Christ can do for us. The

unanswerable proof of Christianity is a re-created man.

(ii) He was to be the first seed of what in time was to become a mighty harvest.

The first contact with Greek civilization was made in the Decapolis. Everything

must start somewhere; and the glory of all the Christianity which one day

flowered in the Greek mind and genius began with a man who had been

possessed by demons and whom Christ healed. Christ must always begin with

someone. In our own circle and society why should he not begin with us?

GREAT TEXTS OF THE BIBLE 18-20, "Desire and Duty

And as he was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with devils

besought him that he might be with him. And he suffered him not, but saith unto

him, Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord

hath done for thee, and how he had mercy on thee. And he went his way, and

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began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all

men did marvel.—Mar_5:18-20.

The story of the healing of this man, usually called the Gadarene demoniac, is

told in the previous verses of the chapter.

1. There is some uncertainty regarding the locality. The place is given in the

manuscripts in three different forms—country “of the Gadarenes,” “of the

Gergesenes,” and “of the Gerasenes.” Gadara was six miles from the Sea of

Galilee, and therefore impossible. Gerasa was thirty miles away, and out of the

question. Still, the probability is that we should accept the reading Gerasenes,

and refer it, not to the city of Gerasa, but to an obscure place of the same name,

close to the lake, which had been lost sight of. Gergesa may be a corrupted form

of this name.

2. Before passing to the subject, notice that three requests, singularly contrasted

with each other, are made to Christ in the course of this miracle of healing the

Gadarene demoniac—(1) the evil spirits ask to be permitted to go into the swine;

(2) the men of the country, caring more for their swine than their Saviour, beg

Him to take Himself away, and relieve them of His unwelcome presence; (3) the

demoniac beseeches Him to be allowed to stay beside Him. Two of the requests

are granted; one is refused. The one that was refused is the one that we might

have expected to be granted.

For, ah! who can express

How full of bonds and simpleness

Is God;

How narrow is He,

And how the wide, waste field of possibility

Is only trod

Straight to His homestead in the human heart;

Whose thoughts but live and move

Round Man; who woos his will

To wedlock with His own, and does distil

To that drop’s span

The attar of all rose-fields of all love!1 [Note: Coventry Patmore.]

I

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The Variety of Christ’s Instructions

Three distinct instructions given by Christ to His followers are found in the

Gospels.

1. Sometimes He charged them to say nothing whatever about what He had done.

In the end of this very chapter we find the injunction laid emphatically upon

those who knew that He had raised Jairus’ daughter from the dead: “He charged

them much that no man should know this.”

There are four special cases of this injunction to silence, and they occur after the

healing of four of the greatest of human ills—dumbness (Mar_7:36), blindness

(Mat_9:30), leprosy (Mar_1:44), and death (Mar_5:43); to which must be added

the command laid on the unclean spirits (Mar_3:12). And in two cases (Mar_

1:44; Mat_9:30) a particularly strong word is used to express a stern, urgent,

even impassioned request or command.

2. He charged this man to go home and tell his friends. The explanation of the

difference between the one command and the other is to be found in the

circumstances. In the previous cases silence was necessary for Christ’s sake. In

this case speech was necessary for the sake of the man himself. Moreover, the

danger to the work of Christ in Decapolis was not as the danger would have been

in Galilee.

3. He commanded His disciples after the Resurrection to go into all the world,

and preach the gospel to every creature (Mat_28:19). In the early part of His

ministry silence is enjoined that the work may not be hampered. But the work is

saving souls, and the consideration for one soul makes an exception in the case of

the demoniac. At the end, when the work is accomplished, the demand for silence

is revoked. The order now is that the good news should be made known in all the

world, and it is laid as a charge on every one of His disciples.

II

The Conflict between Duty and Desire

The great lesson of the text is here. And it is that (1) desire is not always duty,

but that (2) duty must come before desire, and that then (3) desire and duty will

agree together. The demoniac, no longer a demoniac, but clothed and in his right

mind, desired to be with Jesus; but Jesus bade him go home and tell the story of

his healing. He went, and found his great pleasure in telling the news, at which

all men marvelled.

i. Desire

The request of the man commands sympathy. Had I been such as he, each man

seems to say, it is the very boon I should have craved. The brief period of time

between the healing and the departure seemed far too short to utter the gratitude

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welling up in his heart. It may be that he was not free from the fear that if the

Great Healer departed, the old evil, which man had tried in vain to master,

would anew take possession of him. He must live among the Gadarenes, an

object of their dull curiosity, and of their unslumbering suspicion. He must live

among those who would always remember him as the man at whose healing their

herds of swine were destroyed, and who would bear him a grudge they could not

forget. And most of all, his life would be lonely, his unique experience would shut

him out from the intimate sympathy of any other. Present with Christ, listening

to the voice that spoke his freedom and still thrills his soul, he has no further

need. And yet he shrank—who would not?—from so speedy a separation from

Him whose coming had been the cause of his salvation, whose presence was the

source of his stability, whose departing, he perhaps feared, would prove the

occasion of a new and direr bondage to evil.1 [Note: J. T. L. Maggs.]

ii. Duty

“Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not.” There were arrears of duty owing to the

neglected home-life, from which he had been a stranger for a long time (Luk_

8:27). Besides, there were virtues which would find their most congenial soil in

the very life from which he so naturally shrank. And, finally, there was some risk

that in daily dependence upon Christ the man would miss the discipline which he

needed.

There is a story of a poor but devout man who once came to a bishop of Paris,

and said with a sorrowing heart, “Father, I am a sinner; I feel that it is so, but it

is against my will. Every hour I ask for light, and humbly pray for faith, but still

I am overwhelmed with doubts and temptations. Surely if I were not despised of

God, He would not leave me to struggle thus.” The bishop answered him with

much kindness: “The king of France has two castles in different situations and

sends a commander to each of them. The castle of Mantleberry stands in a place

remote from danger, far inland; but the castle of La Rochelle is on the coast,

where it is liable to continual sieges. Now, which of the two commanders, think

you, stands highest in the estimation of the king?” “Doubtless,” said the poor

man, “the king values him the most who has the hardest task and braves the

greatest danger.” “Thou art right,” replied the bishop. “And now apply this

matter to thy case and mine; for my heart is like the castle of Mantleberry, and

thine like that of La Rochelle.”

There is no better way of keeping out devils than working for Jesus Christ.

Many a man finds that the true cure—say, for instance, of doubts that buzz

about him and disturb him, is to go away and talk to some one about his Saviour.

Work for Jesus amongst people that do not know Him is a wonderful sieve for

sifting out the fundamental articles of the Christian faith. And when we go to

other people, and tell them of that Lord, and see how the message is sometimes

received, and what it sometimes does, we come away with confirmed faith.

But, in any case, it is better to work for Him than to sit alone thinking about

Him. The two things have to go together; and I know very well that there is a

great danger, in the present day, of exaggeration, and insisting too exclusively

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upon the duty of Christian work whilst neglecting to insist upon the duty of

Christian meditation. But, on the other hand, it blows the cobwebs out of a

man’s brain; it puts vigour into him, it releases him from himself, and gives him

something better to think about, when he listens to the Master’s voice, “Go home

to thy friends, and tell them what great things the Lord hath done for thee.”1

[Note: A. Maclaren.]

“Master! it is good for us to be here. Let us make three tabernacles. Stay here; let

us enjoy ourselves up in the clouds, with Moses and Elias; and never mind about

what goes on below.” But there was a demoniac boy down there that needed to

be healed; and the father was at his wits’ end, and the disciples were at theirs

because they could not heal him. And so Jesus Christ turned His back upon the

Mount of Transfiguration, and the company of the blessed two, and the Voice

that said, “This is my beloved Son,” and hurried down where human woes called

Him, and found that He was as near God, and so did Peter and James and John,

as when up there amid the glory.2 [Note: Ibid.]

Not on some lone and lofty hill apart

Did Christ the Saviour render up His heart

For man upon the cross of love and woe;

But by the common road where to and fro

The passers went upon their daily ways

And, pausing, pierced Him with indifferent gaze.

And still the crosses by life’s highway rise

Beneath the blinding glare of noonday skies;

Still with the wrestling spirit’s anguished cry

Blends the light mockery of the passer-by,

While scorners, gathered at the martyr’s feet,

With railing tongues the olden taunts repeat.

We may not go apart to give our life

For men in some supernal, mystic strife,

Beside the common paths of earth doth love

Look from its cross to the still heavens above.

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The refusal had a threefold message to the man—a message to his will, a message

to his thought, and a message to his heart.

1. A Message to his Will.—For by the refusal of his request the man is to be

educated to a necessary independence. It was not gratitude alone that prompted

his wish to be near Christ. It was a haunting sense of insecurity. Those who have

had experience of some of the aspects of nervous disorder know the terrible

character of the fears which haunt the minds of those who are its victims. They

lose self-reliance; they dread isolation. This man has been cured of his disease,

but he fears the return of it if left alone. But Christ in His wisdom knows that it

is best that he should be thrown on his own resources. He must resume the

prerogative of his manhood, as a self-directing, self-controlling being. It is the

method of all education, human and Divine. It is the method of the mother with

her child; it is God’s method with man when He places him on the earth; it is the

way Christ dealt with His Church.

2. A Message to his Thought.—The man’s thoughts were concentrated on his

visible Healer. He must be taught to pass in thought beyond that which is seen

and realise those spiritual powers of which outward things convey but a passing

expression. He must walk by faith and not by sight. He must pass from the

material to the spiritual. This step also has its analogy in all human education.

We begin our education with the concrete. We learn to count by the use of

coloured beads upon a wire; from these we pass to figures; from figures we go

forward to algebraical signs and symbols. By the same method man has been

taught to know God. St. Paul appealed to the Athenians to give over the worship

of idols made with hands, and to worship Him in whom we live and move and

have our being. Even the visible Christ must go away. It is expedient for us.

“Touch me not,” He says to the eager Magdalene still; to Thomas, “Blessed are

they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”

3. A Message to his Heart.—Our Lord points out to the man that life is not for

self but for others. Instead of the joy of being near Himself He gives him a

duty—“Go home to thy friends.” Were the friends unworthy? Had they been

more kin than kind? It may be so. But this man had met with a wonderful

experience. He had gained knowledge of a love that did not look for return. He

can now think with sympathy of those to whom this wonderful revelation is

unknown. So every new power, and every fresh experience, carries with it

responsibility. Love is contagious; nay, it is more, it is infectious. Freely we have

received, freely we fain would give. Moreover, it is by self-forgetful effort among

others that the man is to win his own independence. And again it is the method of

all true education. The child is not merely told to try to walk. Some object to be

reached is put before him. The pupil is not simply bidden to think. Some definite

problem is submitted to his thoughts. Man’s powers of independence and self-

reliance are drawn out by the necessity of work. And that the disciples might

become assured of power, Christ set them to discharge their duty. Their task was

to teach all nations.

It has been written, “An endless significance lies in work;” a man perfects

himself by working. Foul jungles are cleared away, fair seedfields rise instead,

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and stately cities; and withal the man himself first ceases to be a jungle and foul

unwholesome desert thereby. Consider how, even in the meanest sorts of Labour,

the whole soul of a man is composed into a kind of real harmony, the instant he

sets himself to work! Doubt, Desire, Sorrow, Remorse, Indignation, Despair

itself, all these, like hell-dogs, lie beleaguering the soul of the poor dayworker, as

of every man: but he bends himself with free valour against his task, and all

these are stilled, all these shrink murmuring far off into their caves. The man is

now a man. The blessed glow of Labour in him, is it not as purifying fire,

wherein all poison is burnt up, and of sour smoke itself there is made bright

blessed flame!1 [Note: Thomas Carlyle, Past and Present, chap. xi.]

iii. Duty and Desire One

“Go home to thy friends, and tell them”; and you will find that to do that is the

best way to realise the desire which seemed to be put aside, the desire for the

presence of Christ. For be sure that wherever He may not be, He always is where

a man, in obedience to Him, is doing His commandments. So when He said, “Go

home to thy friends,” He was answering the request that He seemed to reject,

and when the Gadarene obeyed, he would find, to his astonishment and his

grateful wonder, that the Lord had not gone away in the boat, but was with him

still. “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel. Lo! I am with you alway.”

I said, “Let us walk in the field.”

He said, “Nay, walk in the town.”

I said, “There are no flowers there.”

He said, “No flowers but a crown.”

I said, “But the skies are black,

There is nothing but noise and din.”

And He wept as He sent me back,

“There is more,” He said, “there is sin.”

I said, “But the air is thick,

And fogs are veiling the sun.”

He answered, “Yet souls are sick,

And souls in the dark undone.”

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I said, “I shall miss the light,

And friends will miss me, they say.”

He answered, “Choose to-night,

If I am to miss you, or they.”

I pleaded for time to be given.

He said, “Is it hard to decide?

It will not seem hard in heaven

To have followed the steps of your Guide.”

I cast one look at the field,

Then set my face to the town.

He said, “My child, do you yield?

Will you leave the flowers for the crown?”

Then into His hand went mine

And into my heart came He,

And I walked in a light divine,

The path I had feared to see.1 [Note: George Macdonald.]

III

The Home Missionary

1. The man’s first duty was to his own house. His tale was to be told first in his

own circle. “Go home to thy friends and tell them.” It is a great mistake to take

recent converts, especially if they have been very profligate beforehand, and to

hawk them about the country as trophies of God’s converting power. Let them

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stop at home, and bethink themselves, and get sober and confirmed, and let their

changed lives prove the reality of Christ’s healing power. They can speak to

some purpose after that.

Many years ago, a friend of mine was taking an evangelistic tour through the

Highlands of Scotland in company with a young friend, recently converted.

When they came to the young convert’s native village, my friend said, “Samuel,

you must speak to-night.” “I can’t,” was the reply, “I never said half a dozen

words in public in my life.” “But you must; God tells me you are to speak to-

night.” Accordingly, at the right moment, Samuel rose in the meeting and, in

trembling awkward fashion, said, “Every one here knows me. Parents used to

point their children to me, and tell them to be like me. They called me a model

boy: but if I had died three months ago, I should have gone straight to hell.” My

friend told me afterwards he could never forget how the power of God came

down upon that meeting. But this was only Samuel’s first word for Christ. He

has spoken many since. For a long period he has been a member of Parliament,

and when a word needs to be said on behalf of the cause of God and truth in the

House of Commons, Samuel is the man to say it. And, somehow, he makes people

listen. But to-day he would trace the beginning of all that is useful in his public

career to those few trembling words, falteringly spoken, in his native village.1

[Note: W. C. Sage.]

The fear was on the cattle, for the gale was on the sea,

An’ the pens broke up on the lower deck an’ let the creatures free—

An’ the lights went out on the lower deck, an’ no one near but me.

It is the story of a strong, regardless, ungodly man helpless among the cattle

aboard ship in a fearful storm. He sees that he will certainly be horned or trod

upon. And more pens broke at every roll—so he made his Contract with God.

An’ by the terms of the Contract, as I have read the same,

If He got me to port alive I would exalt His Name

An’ praise His Holy Majesty till further orders came.

So Mulholland was saved from the cattle and the sea, although sorely damaged

by a stanchion, so that he lay seven weeks in hospital. Then when he was

convalescing he spoke to God of the Contract, and this was the reply—

“I never puts on My ministers no more than they can bear.

So back you go to the cattle-boats an’ preach My Gospel there.”

“They must quit drinkin’ and swearin,’ they mustn‘t knife on a blow,

They must quit gamblin’ their wages, and you must preach it so;

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For now those boats are more like Hell than anything else I know.”

I didn’t want to do it, for I knew what I should get,

An’ I wanted to preach Religion, handsome an’ out of the wet,

But the Word of the Lord were lain upon me an’ I done what I was set.

So the brave lad went on with his duty, turning his cheek to the smiter.

But following that, I knocked him down an’ led him up to Grace …

The skippers say I’m crazy, but I can prove ’em wrong,

For I am in charge of the lower deck with all that doth belong—

Which they would not give to a lunatic, and the competition so strong.1 [Note:

Kipling, Seven Seas: “Mulholland’s Contract.”]

2. This recovered demoniac was one of the first home missionaries. And in

regarding him as a home missionary, let us consider first his mission, next his

message, and then his motive.

(1) The Mission.—It was a modest commission that he received. He was not

required like Moses to guide the nation; he was not called with David to declare

God’s faithfulness in the great congregation; he was not selected with Paul to

confess Christ before kings. The Master set before him the open door of his own

house. But we must not regard this domestic commission as less honourable than

the wider vocation of evangelists and missionaries. Niagara makes a great noise;

it is clothed with rainbows; it is celebrated by painter and poet: yet the

fruitfulness of a country does not depend upon a cataract; the landscapes are

kept green by ten thousand hidden streams which go softly.

(2) The Message.—“Tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.”

Little good is done by way of disputation and controversy; but to declare what

God has done for our soul is a fruitful ministry anywhere. In the narrative of the

demoniac as given by St. Luke, we read “Shew how great things God hath done

for thee.” Character is to sustain testimony; those about us are to take

knowledge that grace has cured our faults and infirmities, and enabled us to

walk purely and graciously.

(3) The Motive.—The first motive is love to the Saviour. The next motive is love

to the home and friends. A few years ago, in the British House of Peers, a certain

speech was delivered on a question concerning the extreme limits of our Indian

Empire. That speech just thrilled England from end to end. It was delivered by a

plain man of action, who had done his duty in days gone by, and came to the

gilded chamber to speak out his convictions. Some say he broke down, and lost

the thread of his argument. Certainly, an average local preacher might display

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better command of language, and a board school pupil teacher might have

corrected his faults of style. But just because he could say, “I love India,” the

wisest and greatest of our land crowded to hear him. Perhaps some of us will

consider that the speech was on the wrong side; that the India which the noble

speaker loved was not that which most demands our affection; it was India’s

governing classes rather than her starving millions. But we may learn from the

effect produced, the kind of testimony that Jesus wants to-day. There are people

in this world who respect you for what you are and what you have done. If you

tell them in a few blundering sentences, “I love Christ; He loved me, and gave

Himself for me,” no one can tell the effect of your poor stammering words. The

great revival we pray for is waiting for just such testimony as this.

The Rev. J. B. Ely relates that an oculist just from college commenced business in

the city of London, without friends, without money, and without patrons. He

became discouraged, until one day, going down one of the streets, he saw a blind

man. Looking into his eyes, he said, “Why don’t you have your eyesight

restored?” The usual story was told of having tried many physicians and spent

all his money without avail. “Come to my office in the morning,” said the oculist.

The blind man went. When an operation was performed and proved successful,

the patient said: “I haven’t got a penny in the world. I can’t pay you.” “Oh yes,”

said the oculist, “you can pay me, and I shall expect you to do so. There is just

one thing I want you to do, and it is very easy. Tell it; tell everybody you see that

you were blind, and tell them who it was that healed you.”

CONSTABLE 18-19, "Why did Jesus instruct the man to tell others about what

the Lord had done for him when He had told the cleansed leper not to tell

anyone (Mark 1:44; cf. Mark 5:43; Mark 7:36)? Apparently there was little

danger in this Gentile region that the people would create problems for Jesus'

mission as they did in Jewish territory. We need not understand Jesus' command

as a permanent prohibition against following Him. Perhaps this man did return

and become a disciple after he bore witness locally. The synonymous use of the

names "Lord" and "Jesus" shows that the man regarded Jesus as God (cf. Mark

5:7; Luke 8:39).

Jesus' instructions to this man in a Gentile region would have helped Mark's

original Gentile readers know what an appropriate response to His deliverance

of them was.

"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." [Note: John Calvin,

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists, 2:436.]

19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to

your own people and tell them how much the

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Lord has done for you, and how he has had

mercy on you.”

BARNES, "Jesus suffered him not - Various reasons have been conjectured why Jesus did not suffer this man to go with him. It might have been that he wished to leave him among the people as a conclusive evidence of his power to work miracles. Or it might have been that the man feared that if Jesus left him the devils would return, and that Jesus told him to remain to show to him that the cure was complete, and that he had power over the devils when absent as well as when present. But the probable reason is, that he desired to restore him to his family and friends. Jesus was unwilling to delay the joy of his friends, and to prolong their anxiety by suffering him to remain away from them.

CLARKE, "Suffered him not - 0�δε�Ιησους, Howbeit Jesus, is omitted by

ABKLM, twenty-seven others, both the Syriac, both the Persic, Coptic, Gothic, Vulgate, and one of the Itala. Mill and Bengel approve of the omission, and Griesbach leaves it out of the text.

Go home to thy friends, etc. - This was the cause why Jesus would not permit him to follow him now, because he would not have the happiness of his relatives deferred, who must exceedingly rejoice at seeing the wonders which the Lord had wrought.

GILL, "Howbeit Jesus suffered him not,.... He being as able to preserve him from those evil spirits, when absent, as present; and besides, to take him along with him, would look like ostentation and boasting, which Christ was averse unto; and more especially, as is clear from what follows, he chose he should stay behind, because he had work for him to do in those parts, which would be for the glory of God, the spread of the knowledge of himself, and his Gospel, among his friends, relations, and countrymen: wherefore it follows,

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: he bids him go to his "own house", as it is in Luke, Luk_8:39 to the place of his former abode; to the town, or city, where he before dwelt, and where his father and mother, brethren and sisters, wife and children might live; and there relate to them what great things the Lord, or God, as the Ethiopic version reads, had done for him; by casting out a legion of devils from him, and had restored him to his perfect senses and health, and had had compassion on him, both as of his soul and body, and had wrought a great salvation for him. So such as are called by grace, and are turned from darkness to light; and from the power of Satan unto God, ought to go, to their Christian friends, and to the church of God, and declare in Zion the great things which God has done for their souls; in enlightening, quickening, converting, and comforting them, to the glory of his rich mercy, and abundant grace. They are "great things" indeed which the Lord has done for his people: he has done great things for them in eternity; he has loved then with an everlasting love; he has chosen them in his Son to holiness and happiness; he has made a covenant with him, for them, full of

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spiritual blessings and promises; he has provided him, as a Saviour, for them, and has appointed, and called him to that work; all which is more or less made known to them in the effectual calling, when they receive the Spirit of God, that they may know the things which are freely given to them of God. The Lord Jesus Christ has done great things for them, as before time, by engaging for them as their surety; so, in time, by taking upon him their nature, by bearing their sins, and suffering in their room and stead, thereby working out a great salvation, which, in conversion, is brought near, and applied unto them. And the Lord, the Spirit, does great things for them, when he calls them by his grace, and afterwards; in opening their eyes who were born blind, and who otherwise must have lift them up in hell; and in bringing them into the marvellous light of, the Gospel; in quickening them, when dead in trespasses and sins, who otherwise must have died the second death; in causing them, to hear the voice of Christ in the joyful sound of the word, who otherwise must have heard the curses of a righteous law; in taking away their stony hearts, and giving them hearts, of flesh; in rescuing them out of Satan's hands; in leading them to Christ for righteousness, life, and salvation; in discovering pardoning grace and mercy to them, through the blood of Christ; in delivering out of many and great temptations; in applying great and precious promises, suitably and seasonably; and in restoring them when backslidden, and speaking comfortably to them; in witnessing to their spirits, their adoption; and in sealing them up to the day of redemption; and all this flows from divine "compassion", and not from any motive and merit in the creature. It was sovereign pity and compassion; the Lord "has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and has compassion on whom he will have compassion", Rom_9:15. It was discriminating mercy: this man was not only dispossessed of Satan, but possessed of special grace, which caused him to desire to be with Christ, when his countrymen desired him to depart from them; it was shown him, when he had no pity on himself, when he cut and wounded himself; and it was bestowed upon him, when he could, not help himself, when he had a legion of devils within him: and now these great things, which spring from great love and mercy, should be told to others, especially to them that fear the Lord, to the churches of Christ: this is the will of God, and has been the practice of the saints in former ages; it rejoices the hearts of God's: people to hear of these things, and enhances the glory of the grace of God: and what may serve to encourage souls, to such a work is, that it is to their "friends" they are to declare these things; who are well disposed to: them, rejoice at their conversion, sympathize with them in their troubles, know what the things they speak of mean, and gladly receive them into their affections and fellowship.

HENRY, " Christ would not suffer him to go with him, lest it should savour of ostentation, and to let him know that he could both protect and instruct him at a distance. And besides, he had other work for him to do; he must go home to his friends, and tell them what great things the Lord had done for him, the Lord Jesus had done; that Christ might be honoured, and his neighbours and friends might be edified, and invited to believe in Christ. He must take particular notice rather of Christ's pity than of his power, for that is it which especially he glories in; he must tell them what compassion the Lord had had on him in his misery.

JAMIESON, "Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not, etc. — To be a missionary for Christ, in the region where he was so well known and so long dreaded, was a far nobler calling than to follow Him where nobody had ever heard of him, and where other trophies not less illustrious could be raised by the same power and grace.

COFFMAN, "On occasion, Jesus forbade the beneficiaries of his miracles to

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speak of them; but here it was commanded, the reason as discerned by

Dummelow, was that "It was a Gentile area, and there was no danger of any

popular excitement."[9] Also, it would appear that the necessity of providing

some witness of the truth for the unfortunate village whose leaders asked the

Lord to depart might have had something to do with it.

It is of the greatest significance that Jesus here referred to himself as "the Lord"

who had done for the man "great things" and "had mercy upon" him.

ENDNOTE:

[9] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan

Company, 1937), p. 727.

NISBET, "THE CHRISTIAN IN THE HOME

‘Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for

thee.’

Mark 5:19

Christianity has quite as much to do with the little things as with the great

matters of life. A true Christian never forgets his faith; he is as much a Christian

at home as in Church, and he does not lay aside his religion like a Sunday suit of

clothes.

I. Where a man shines.—It is in the little common things of life that we need to

show our Christianity. One man says, ‘I would do some great thing for Jesus; I

would give my body to be burned for the true faith, like the martyrs of old.’ But

are you prepared to bear patiently the fiery trial of some unkind, passionate

tongue? A woman says, ‘I should like to nurse God’s sick and needy; I should

like to go far off to the ends of the earth and do this work for Jesus.’ And all the

time there is an invalid relative at home whom pain and sickness have made

fretful and ill-tempered, and it never occurs to the woman that here is a work of

nursing to be done for Christ’s sake—here, at home. If we would be sure that

our religion is true and genuine we must test it in the little common duties and

trials of daily existence, rather than on occasions and under circumstances of

great importance.

II. The grace of cheerfulness.—Cheerfulness is one outward and visible sign of

the inward and spiritual grace of true religion. The person who professes

religion—yet is gloomy, morose, discontented, miserable—is making a mistake.

There is no real religion in being wretched. A true Christian is like sunshine in

the house, making everything brighter and better for its presence. Some so-called

religious people look as if they were always preparing for their own funeral. I

believe that if the love of God dwells in our hearts it will shine out through a

happy, smiling countenance. Be cheerful; if you have the Lord Jesus in your

home it must be a happy one. It is a sign of true religion to make others happy.

There are people who keep all their cheerfulness and their laughter for their

friends outside, and bring nothing but their troubles, and their ill-tempers, and

their fault-findings to their home.

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Rev. H. J. Wilmot Buxton.

Illustration

‘There was a poor hard-working woman in London who used to get up very

early on dark and frosty mornings and, before going to her own work, would

carry a heavy bag of sand and scatter its contents on the slippery roadway to

keep the horses from falling. When she died she left her hardly-earned savings to

provide a regular supply of sand for the same kindly purpose. Surely the humble

London toiler was as much God’s hero as one who founds a hospital or builds a

cathedral.’

20 So the man went away and began to tell in

the Decapolis[b] how much Jesus had done for

him. And all the people were amazed.

BARNES, "In Decapolis - See the notes at Mat_4:25.

How great things ... - This was the natural expression of right feeling at being cured of such a calamity. So the desire of sinners freed from sin is to honor Jesus, and to invite the world to participate in the same salvation, and to join them in doing honor to the Son of God. Compare Psa_66:16.

GILL, "And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis,.... He submitted to the will of Christ, though he could gladly have gone with him; he hearkened to his instructions, took his advice, and obeyed his commands, as every one that has received favours from him ought to do and he went not only to his own, or his father's house, and acquainted his nearest friends and relations with what had befallen him, but he published the account, as Luke says, Luk_8:39, throughout the whole city, very likely of Gadara, where he might be a native; and which, as Pliny (l)relates, was in Decapolis, and agrees with the accounts of both the evangelists: here he published, as Christ had ordered him,

how great things Jesus had done for him: only instead of saying the Lord had done them, for him, he attributed them to Jesus, who: is Lord and God; and by that miracle, as by many others, gave full proof of his deity, as well, as Messiahship. This is an instance of the obedience of faith, and is a considerable branch of it; for, as with the heart, men believe in Christ unto righteousness, so, with the mouth, confession must be made to the glory of that salvation which Christ has wrought out: many are backward to this part of the service of faith, through fears, through unbelief, and Satan's temptations; but this man, though to have continued with Christ was greatly desirable by him, yet he submits to his will and pleasure, and is obedient to his orders; and that at once, immediately dropping his suit: unto him, no longer insisting on his being with him; for he was sensible of the great obligations he was laid under

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to him, and saw it to be his duty to observe whatever he commanded him: and this was indeed but a reasonable, piece of service, and what if he had not been ordered to do, one would think he could not have done otherwise; at least, had he not, he would not have acted the grateful and generous part: and indeed, if such for whom the Lord has done great things as these, should hold their peace, the stones would even cry out.

And all men did marvel; at the power of Jesus, at the miracle wrought by him, and the benefit the man had received, who they all knew had been in so deplorable a condition. It is not only marvellous to the persons themselves, for whom great things are done by the Lord; but it is amazing to others, to angels and men, when it is considered who they are, on whose account they are wrought; great sinners, very unworthy of such high favours, yea, deserving of the wrath of God, and of eternal damnation; and likewise, who it is that has done these things for them, the Lord of heaven and earth; he against whom they have sinned, and is able both to save, and to destroy; he who is the great God, is their Saviour; to which may be added, the consequence of these things, they issue in everlasting glory and happiness.

HENRY, "The man, in a transport of joy, proclaimed, all the country over, what great things Jesus had done for him, Mar_5:20. This is a debt we owe both to Christ and to our brethren, that he may be glorified and they edified. And see what was the effect of it; All men did marvel, but few went any further. Many that cannot but wonder at the works of Christ, yet do not, as they ought, wonder after him.

JAMIESON, "And he departed, and began to publish — not only among his friends, to whom Jesus immediately sent him, but

in Decapolis — so called, as being a region of ten cities. (See on Mat_4:25).

how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel — Throughout that considerable region did this monument of mercy proclaim his new-found Lord; and some, it is to be hoped, did more than “marvel.”

COFFMAN, "Attempts to get rid of Jesus in all ages have generally been as futile

and ineffective as were those of the village of the Gerasenes. "Decapolis" means

"the ten cities" which lay in the area, nine of them east of lake Galilee; and it

must have been a very effective witness indeed which was provided by that

erstwhile terror of the tombs who went up and down the area extolling the power

and mercy of Jesus, whom he also, no doubt, identified as "Lord." No wonder it

is said that "All men marveled."

Lessons from this miracle include: (1) Jesus came into the world to destroy the

works of the devil, and here was an outstanding example of it. (2) Jesus must

choose for all men the area of the service they will render to his name; the man

here was denied his request and given another assignment. (3) Men frequently

need to begin at home the work of bringing others to Christ. (4) Men should

beware of permitting purely secular interests to dominate their thinking. This

wretched village made a choice which probably resulted in the eternal death of

many of their citizens.

THE RAISING OF JAIRUS' DAUGHTER

The significance of this wonder lies in the identity of the principals. Jairus was a

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ruler of the Jewish synagogue in Capernaum, a prominent and respected leader

of the people, and who, according to Trench, was part of "the deputation which

came to the Lord pleading for the heathen centurion (Luke 7:3)."[10] Only about

forty years had elapsed since the deed itself when Mark composed his gospel. He

may not have been an eyewitness of the miracle, but he had worked closely with

the apostle Peter for years, and Peter was an eyewitness. Furthermore, he had

heard the apostle preach hundreds if not thousands of times; and the elementary

integrity which must be assigned both to Peter and to Mark make any doubt of

this miracle an act of the will, not of intelligence. All of the gobbledegook which

has come out of the critical schools regarding Mark's "sources" has been

subjectively fabricated in the laboratories of unbelief and can never be made to

fit the fact that Mark needed no source except that of having heard the apostle

Peter preach the same thing over and over for three decades, until, it may be

assumed, Mark knew it all by heart. Since Peter was an eyewitness, there was

simply no room for any "traditions" to have grown up, no time for any

admixture of foreign elements, and no opportunity for any corruption of the

narrative. We are here face to face with historical truth.

So much for the eye-witness and the narrator; what about the person raised

from the dead? The prominence and power of Jairus, and the fact of his having

been widely known in Capernaum by at least thousands of people within a time

limit of not over forty years before Mark wrote make it absolutely impossible

that any fictitious element could have been injected into this historical event

without bringing a deluge of criticism and refutation. The rapidly spreading

faith was opposed by countless powerful and determined enemies who would

have seized upon any excuse to charge the apostles and gospel writers with

fraud; but it is a singular fact that history has produced no such denials. It must

be assumed that Jairus' contemporaries, his fellow-rulers of the synagogues of

Israel, most of whom did not accept Christianity, knew of this record in the

Christian gospels, as well as of the repeated preaching of it for forty years; but

they did not contradict it, the truth of it being so widely known, and so utterly

beyond all denial, that they could not demean themselves by any attempt to

refute the truth. It is agreed by all the world that Mark wrote his gospel prior to

70 A.D., and perhaps as early as 60 A.D.; and the nature of it is such that had

there been any element of untruth or inaccuracy in it, it could never have gained

credibility. But it did gain credibility, a credibility which has been maintained

for more than nineteen centuries. No lie could have done that.

ENDNOTE:

[10] Richard C. Trench, op. cit., p. 194.

CONSTABLE, "The Decapolis was a league of 10 Greek cities all but one of

which stood on the east side of the lake. One of these towns was Gergesa. The

others were Damascus, Kanatha, Scythopolis, Hippos, Raphana, Pella, Dion,

Philadelphia, and Gadara. [Note: J. McKee Adams, Biblical Backgrounds, pp.

150-160.]

People marveled at the man's testimony. That was good as far as it went, but it

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should have led them to seek Jesus out. Perhaps some of them did.

Mark's account of this miracle stressed Jesus' divine power and authority that

was a greater revelation of His person to the disciples than they had previously

witnessed. It also provides a model of how disciples can express their gratitude to

God for His saving work in their lives.

"Furthermore, in the flow of Mark's narrative, this story must be read against

the backdrop of the dispute between Jesus and the scribes over his exorcisms in

Mark 3:22-27. It vividly describes Jesus as the one in whom 'the Most High

God's' sovereign rule was being established through the binding of the 'strong

man' (Mark 3:27) who through Legion had so powerfully controlled a man that

no one else could successfully bind with human fetters (Mark 5:3-5)." [Note:

Guelich, p. 289.]

The raising of Jairus' daughter and the healing of a woman with a hemorrhage

5:21-43 (cf. Matthew 9:18-26; Luke 8:40-56)

This is one of the sections of Mark's Gospel that has a chiastic structure (cf.

Mark 3:22-30; Mark 6:14-29; Mark 11:15-19).

A The appeal of Jairus for his daughter Mark 5:21-24

B The healing of the woman with the hemorrhage Mark 5:25-34

A' The raising of Jairus' daughter to life Mark 5:35-43

In this case the delay caused by the healing of the woman created a greater

problem that Jesus overcame easily. This account of a double miracle further

revealed Jesus' identity to His disciples.

"The healing of Jairus's daughter shows that Jesus is the Lord of life, and the

healing of the woman with the problem of persistent bleeding shows that He is

the Lord of health." [Note: Bailey, p. 76.]

Some commentators believed that Mark did not follow a chronological order of

events but rearranged them to make his theological points. [Note: E.g., Hugh

Anderson, The Gospel of Mark, p. 151; Lane, p. 189; and Wessel, p. 660.]

However all three synoptic evangelists recorded the events in the same order, so

perhaps they occurred in this sequence. [Note: Cf. Cranfield, p. 182; Taylor, p.

289; and Hiebert, p. 125.] Mark's account is the fullest of the three.

"The stilling of the storm and the healing of the demonized were manifestations

of the absolute power inherent in Christ; the recovery of the woman and the

raising of Jairus' daughter, evidence of the absolute efficacy of faith." [Note:

Edersheim, 1:616.]

Jesus Raises a Dead Girl and Heals a Sick

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Woman

21 When Jesus had again crossed over by boat

to the other side of the lake, a large crowd

gathered around him while he was by the lake.

GILL, "And when Jesus was passed over again,.... Over the sea of Tiberias, that part of it which was necessary to go over from the country of Gadara, to Capernaum,

by ship, or "boat",

unto the other side. This may seem to some unnecessary to be added; and it may be asked, what way but by ship, or boat, could he have gone over to the other side of the sea of Galilee? To which it may be replied, there was a bridge at Chammath of Gadara (m), over an arm of this sea, over which Christ and his disciples might have passed, and have gone by land to Capernaum; so that this phrase is very necessarily and significantly used:

much people gathered unto him; who had before attended on his ministry in these parts, and had seen his miracles; as the casting out of an unclean spirit from a man, healing the centurion's servant, curing the man sick of the palsy, and Simon's wife's mother of a fever, and a man that had a withered hand:

and he was nigh unto the sea; he seems to have been at Capernaum, which was nigh unto the sea, and in the house of Matthew or Levi, whom he had called at the sea side from the receipt of custom; see Mat_9:9.

HENRY, "The Gadarenes having desired Christ to leave their country, he did not stay to trouble them long, but presently went by water, as he came, back to the other side (Mar_5:21), and there much people gathered to him. Note, If there be some that reject Christ, yet there are others that receive him, and bid him welcome. A despised gospel will cross the water, and go where it will have better entertainment. Now among the many that applied themselves to him,

I. Here is one, that comes openly to beg a cure for a sick child; and it is no less a person than one of the rulers of the synagogue, one that presided in the synagogue-worship or, as some think, one of the judges of the consistory court, which was in every city, consisting of twenty-three. He was not named in Matthew, he is here, Jairus, or Jair, Jdg_10:3. He addressed himself to Christ, though a ruler, with great humility and reverence; When he saw him, he fell at his feet, giving honour to him as one really greater than he appeared to be; and with great importunity, he besought him greatly, as one in earnest, as one that not only valued the mercy he came for, but that knew he could obtain it no where else. The case is this, He has a little daughter,about twelve years old, the darling of the family, and she lies a dying; but he believes that if Christ will but come, and lay his hands upon her, she will return even from the gates of the grave. He said, at first, when he came, She lies a dying (so Mark); but

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afterward, upon fresh information sent him, he saith, She is even now dead (so Matthew); but he still prosecutes his suit; see Luk_8:42-49. Christ readily agreed, and went with him, Mar_5:24.

JAMIESON, "Mar_5:21-43. The daughter of Jairus raised to life - The woman with an issue of blood healed. ( = Mat_9:18-26; Luk_8:41-56).

The occasion of this scene will appear presently.

Jairus’ Daughter (Mar_5:21-24).

And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side — from the Gadarene side of the lake, where He had parted with the healed demoniac, to the west side, at Capernaum.

much people gathered unto him — who “gladly received Him; for they were all waiting for Him” (Luk_8:40). The abundant teaching earlier that day (Mar_4:1, etc., and Mat_13:1-58) had only whetted the people’s appetite: and disappointed, as would seem, that He had left them in the evening to cross the lake, they remain hanging about the beach, having got a hint, probably through some of His disciples, that He would be back the same evening. Perhaps they witnessed at a distance the sudden calming of the tempest. The tide of our Lord’s popularity was now fast rising.

and he was nigh unto the sea.

COFFMAN, "The other side ... means the western shore of Galilee; and the scene

would have been the sky-sea-land theater in which the pulpit was a boat, not far

from the city of Capernaum. In a sense, Capernaum was the ordinary residence

of Jesus. As Bickersteth noted:

Matthew (Matthew 4:13) tells us that he had left Nazareth, and was now

dwelling at Capernaum, thus fulfilling the ancient prophecy with regard to

Zebulun and Naphthalim (Luke 4:16-31). Matthew (Matthew 9:1) calls

Capernaum his own city. Christ ennobled Bethlehem by his birth, Nazareth by

his education, Jerusalem by his death, and Capernaum by making it his ordinary

residence.[11]

ENDNOTE:

[11] E. Bickersteth, The Pulpit Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William

B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), Vol. 16, p. 211.

BARCLAY, "IN THE HOUR OF NEED (Mark 5:21-24)

5:21-24 When Jesus had crossed over in the boat back again to the other side, a

great crowd gathered together to him; and he was by the lakeside. One of the

rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came to him; and, when he saw Jesus,

he threw himself at his feet. He pled with him, "My little daughter is lying at

death's door. Come and lay your hands on her, that she may be cured and live."

Jesus went away with him; and the crowd were following him, and crushing in

upon him on all sides.

There are all the elements of tragedy here. It is always tragic when a child is ill.

The story tells us that the ruler's daughter was twelve years of age. According to

the Jewish custom a girl became a woman at twelve years and one day. This girl

was just on the threshold of womanhood, and when death comes at such a time it

is doubly tragic.

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The story tells us something about this man who was the ruler of the synagogue.

He must have been a person of some considerable importance. The ruler was the

administrative head of the synagogue. He was the president of the board of

elders responsible for the good management of the synagogue. He was

responsible for the conduct of the services. He did not usually take part in them

himself, but he was responsible for the allocation of duties and for seeing that

they were carried out with all seemliness and good order. The ruler of the

synagogue was one of the most important and most respected men in the

community. But something happened to him when his daughter fell ill and he

thought of Jesus.

(i) His prejudices were forgotten. There can be no doubt that he must have

regarded Jesus as an outsider, as a dangerous heretic, as one to whom the

synagogue doors were rightly closed, and one whom anyone who valued his

orthodoxy would do well to avoid. But he was a big enough man to abandon his

prejudices in his hour of need. Prejudice really means a judging beforehand. It is

a judging before a man has examined the evidence, or a verdict given because of

refusal to examine it. Few things have done more to hold things up than this.

Nearly every forward step has had to fight against initial prejudice. When Sir

James Simpson discovered its use as an anaesthetic, especially in the case of

childbirth, chloroform was held to be, "a decoy of Satan, apparently opening

itself to bless women, but in the end hardening them, and robbing God of the

deep, earnest cries, that should arise to him in time of trouble." A prejudiced

mind shuts out a man from many a blessing.

(ii) His dignity was forgotten. He, the ruler of the synagogue, came and threw

himself at the feet of Jesus, the wandering teacher. Not a few times a man has

had to forget his dignity to save his life and to save his soul.

In the old story that is precisely what Naaman had to do (2 Kings 5:1-27 ). He

had come to Elisha to be cured of his leprosy. Elisha's prescription was that he

should go and wash in the Jordan seven times. That was no way to treat the

Syrian Prime Minister! Elisha had not even delivered the message personally; he

had sent it by a messenger! And, had they not far better rivers in Syria than the

muddy little Jordan? These were Naaman's first thoughts; but he swallowed his

pride and lost his leprosy.

There is a famous story of Diogenes, the Cynic philosopher. He was captured by

pirates and was being sold as a slave. As he gazed at the bystanders who were

bidding for him, he looked at a man. "Sell me to that man," he said. "He needs a

master." The man bought him; handed over the management of his household

and the education of his children to him. "It was a good day for me," he used to

say, "when Diogenes entered my household." True, but that required an

abrogation of dignity.

It frequently happens that a man stands on his dignity and falls from grace.

(iii) His pride was forgotten. It must have taken a conscious effort of humiliation

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for this ruler of the synagogue to come and ask for help from Jesus of Nazareth.

No one wishes to be indebted to anyone else: we would like to run life on our

own. The very first step of the Christian life is to realize that we cannot be

anything other than indebted to God.

(iv) Here we enter the realm of speculation, but it seems to me that we can say of

this man that his friends were forgotten. It may well be that, to the end, they

objected to him calling in Jesus. It is rather strange that he came himself and did

not send a messenger. It seems unlikely that he would consent to leave his

daughter when she was on the point of death. Maybe he came because no one

else would go. His household were suspiciously quick to tell him not to trouble

Jesus any more. It sounds almost as if they were glad not to call upon his help. It

may well be that this ruler defied public opinion and home advice in order to call

in Jesus. Many a man is wisest when his worldly-wise friends think he is acting

like a fool.

Here was a man who forgot everything except that he wanted the help of Jesus;

and because of that forgetfulness he would remember for ever that Jesus is a

Saviour.

BURKITT, "Observe here, 1. The person who came to Christ on behalf of his

sick daughter, described by his name Jairus; by his office, a ruler of the

synagogue; by his gesture, he fell down at Jesus's feet and worshipped him. This

gesture of his was not only a sign of tender affection in him towards his

daughter, but also an evidence of his faith in our blessed Saviour; yet his

confining Christ's power to his bodily presence, and to the touch of his hand, was

a token of the weakness of his faith: Come, says he, and lay thine hand upon her,

and she shall live. As if Christ could not have cured her without either coming to

her, or laying his hand upon her.

Note, All that come to Christ are not alike strong in faith. Yet our blessed

Redeemer refuses none who come to him with a sincere faith, though in much

weakness of faith.

Observe, 2. How readily our Saviour complies with Jairus's request; Jesus went

with him. Although his faith was but weak, yet our Saviour doth not reject him,

or deny his suit, but readily goes with him.

Learn hence, How ready we should by to go to Christ in all our distresses,

afflictions, and necessities, who is so ready to hear and so forward to help us, if

we seek him in sincerity, though our faith be feeble.

Observe, 3. The great humility of our blessed Saviour in suffering himself to be

thronged by poor people: Much people followed him, and thronged him. O

humble and lowly Saviour! How free was thy conversation from pride and

haughtiness: how willing to converse with the meanest of the people for their

advantage! Our Lord did not only suffer them to come near him, but even to

throng him. What an example is here for the greatest persons upon earth to

imitate and follow, not to despise the persons, nor disdain the presence of the

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meanest and poorest of the people; but to look upon some with an eye of favour,

upon others with an eye of pity, upon none with an eye of contempt.

BI, "Jairus by name.

A proper prayer

Better prayers, perhaps, had been offered. He would have shown more faith if he had prayed like the centurion (Luk_7:7). But, though he does not show such strong faith, yet it is a good prayer. For it is

(1) humble: he falls at Christ’s feet;

(2) believing: he feels Christ is omnipotent to heal;

(3) bold: he offers it in face of all the people, many of whom would be shocked that a ruler of the synagogue should acknowledge Jesus;

(4) loving, springing from a pure affection. Distress is a great schoolmaster. It teaches men many things; among the rest the greatest of all attainments-the power to pray. (R. Glover.)

A revived flower

And that bright flower bloomed in the vase of that happy home, more beautiful because the look of Jesus had given it new tints and the breath of Jesus had given it new fragrance. (J. Cumming, D. D.)

Jairus’ daughter

Jairus was a good man. His light was small, but real. It was feeble, but from heaven.

I. He had much to try his faith. One seems to see all the father in the tenderness of his words. Hope was over,-his daughter was dead. Thus is it with the believer. Instead of the relief he hoped for, all seems as death. Thus does the Lord try the faith He gives. Thus by causing us to wait for the blessing does He endear it.

II. The effect of this trial of faith. He did not distrust the power or willingness of the compassionate Saviour. His faith takes no denial, he still continues with Jesus. Faith hopes against hope. True faith partakes of his nature who exercises it, therefore in all, it is weak at times. But it partakes also of His nature who gives it, and therefore evinces its strength in the very midst of that weakness.

III. But wherever found, it is graciously rewarded. The scorners are without; but believing Jairus and the believing mother (Mar_5:40) are admitted. They see the mighty power of God put forth on behalf of their daughter. What an encouragement here to some anxious parent to put the case of their dear child in the hands of that same Jesus. How often has domestic affliction been the means of bringing the soul to the feet of Jesus. Mark the extreme tenderness of Jesus, “Fear not, only believe.” Be not afraid convicted sinner. My blood is sufficient, My grace and love are sufficient. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)

The Humane Society

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I. The particular form of the Redeemer’s work.

1. Restoration from a special form of death.

2. Here was the recognition of the value of life-“She shall live.” It is not mere life on which Christianity has shed a richer value. It is by ennobling the purpose to which life is to be dedicated that it has made life more precious.

3. We consider the Saviour’s direction respecting the means of effecting a complete recovery. He “commanded that something should be given her to eat.” His reverential submission to the laws of nature.

II. The spirit of the Redeemer’s work.

1. It was love. He did good because it was good.

2. It was a spirit of retiring modesty. He did not wish it to be known.

3. It was a spirit of perseverance. Calm perseverance amidst ridicule. (F. W. Robertson.)

Not dead, but sleeping

Nature puts on a shroud at seasons, and seems to glide into the grave of winter. Autumnal blasts come sobbing through the trees, and leaf after leaf, shrivelling its fibres at the killing contact, comes drifting to the ground. The hedgerows where the May flowers and the dog rose mixed their scents are stripped and bare, and lift their thorny fingers up to heaven. The field where fat and wealthy-looking crops a while ago promised their golden sheaves, is now spread over with a coarse fringe of stubble, and seems a sort of hospital of vegetation. The garden shows no more its beauties, nor sheds forth its scent, but where the coloured petal and the painted cup of the gay flower were seen, there stands a blighted stem, or a drooping tuft of refuse herbs. The birds which carolled to the summer sky have fled away, and their note no longer greets the ear. The very daisies on the meadow are buried in the snow wreath, and the raw blast howls a sad requiem at the funeral of nature. But those trees, whose leafless branches seem to wrestle with the rough winds that toss them, are not dead. Anon, and they shall again be wreathed in verdure and bedecked with blossom. The softened breath of spring shall whisper to the snowdrop to dart forth its modest head, and shall broider the garden path again with flowers; the fragrance of the hawthorn bloom ere long shall gush from those naked hedge rows, and the returning lark shall wake the morning with a new and willing song. No, nature is not dead! There is a resurrection coming on. Spring with its touch of wizardry shall wake her from her slumbers, and sound again the keynote of the suspended music of the spheres. So also shall there arise out of the raging conflagration, in whose fevered heat the elements shall melt and shrivel like a scroll-even out of the very ashes which betoken its consumption-a new heaven and a new earth-an earth as ethereal and pure as heaven itself-and a heaven as substantial and as living as the earth. And consentaneously with the arising of these new worlds; the tombs shall open, and send forth the shrouded tenants, to enter on the inheritance which, in that new economy, shall be theirs. Can you believe that faded flowers shall revive at the blithe beckoning of the spring, that little leaves will quietly unfold at the mandate of the morning, and yet there shall be no spring to beckon the mortal back to life, and no morning to command the clay to clothe itself with the garments of a quickening spirit? Can you believe that the great temple shall arise with all its shrines rebuilded, and its altars purified after the final burning, but that there shall be neither voice nor trumpet to call forth the high priest from his slumber to worship at those shrines, and to lay a

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more enduring offering upon those waiting altars? Is the fuel to be ever laid, and none to kindle the burnt offering? Is the sanctuary to be prepared, and none to pay the service? Is the bridegroom to stand alone before the altar, and no bride to meet him at the nuptials? God forbid! The high priest is not dead-the bride has not perished-they are not dead, but sleep. Sound forth the trumpet, and say that all is ready, and then the corruptible will put on incorruption, and the mortal will put on immortality. Thus, when we lay our kindred in the earth, and follow to their final resting place the last remains of those who occupied a cherished chamber in our hearts-while nature finds it hard to dry the tear and quench the sigh-faith ever lifts the spirit from its sad despondency, by assuring us of a reunion beyond the grave-and robs the monster of one half his terrors-weakening his stroke and taking away his sting, by changing the mystic trance into which he throws his victims into a transient sleep, and speaking of a waking time of happiness and icy. Nature will look on death as an assassin who murders those we love; but Faith regards him as a nurse who hushes them to sleep, and sings a lullaby and not a requiem beside their bed. To faith it is a sleeping draught and not a poison which the visitor holds to the drinker’s lips; for it hails the time when the lethargy of the sepulchre shall be cast off, and the spirit shall arise like a tired slumberer refreshed by sleep, to spend an endless morning in the energy of an endless youth. (A. Mursell.)

The death of the young encourages a spirit of dependence on God in the home life of this world

It brings the unseen Hand to bear very directly and potently on the soul’s deepest and most hidden springs. Let us suppose for a moment that there was a revealed ordinance of heaven that every, human being born into this world should live to three-score years and ten, and then quietly lie down to rest, and awake in eternity. Would it enrich or impoverish the life of the human world? I venture to think that it would impoverish it unspeakably. The passage of these little ones through the veil, of infants and children, of young men and maidens, of men and women in their prime, brings God’s hand very near, and keeps its pressure on the most powerful springs of our nature, our warmest affection, and our most constant and active care. It is not the uncertainty which is the strongest element of the influence, though no doubt that keeps us vigilant and anxious, and helps to maintain the full strain of our power. It is rather the constant contact with a Higher Will, which keeps us in humble, hopeful dependence, which gives and withholds, lends and recalls, by a wisdom which we cannot fathom, but which demands our trust on the basis of a transcendent manifestation of all-suffering and all-sacrificing love. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

The death of the young imparts a consecrating influence to the home life

It brings heaven all round us when we know that at any moment the veil may be lifted, and a dear life may vanish from our sight, not, blessed be Christ, into the shades, but into the brightness which is beyond. And when the life has vanished it leaves a holy and consecrating memory in the home. Something is in the home on earth which also belongs to the home on high. Never does the home life and all its relations seem so beautiful, so profound, so sacred, as when Death has laid his touch on “a little one,” and gathered it as a starry flower for the fields of light on high. It makes the life of the home more anxious, more burdened by care and pain, but more blessed. The nearness at any moment of resistless Death makes us find a dearer meaning in the word, “the whole family in heaven and on earth”-a thought which saturates the whole New Testament, and is not dependent on one text for its

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revelation. We know then how precious is its meaning, and earth gains by its loss as well as heaven. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

The death of the young lends a tender, home life interest to the life of the unseen world

The home, remember, is where the children are. There are those of us who never found the deeper meaning of the Father’s love and the everlasting home till a dear child had gone on before. The death of the little ones, while it ought to make the earthly life heaven-like on the one hand, is meant to make heaven home-like on the other. The Lord dethroned and discrowned Death by bearing the human form, living, through His realm of terror. The living Lord abolished death by living on through death, and flashing the splendours of heaven through the shades. The children, as they follow Christ through the gloom, make Death seem beautiful as an angel. Thenceforth we, too, have, not our citizenship only, but our home life in the two worlds. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

Jesus stronger than death

And just remember, that when Jesus allows death to knock at your door, and to come in, it is not because death is stronger than He. It is because He has a good reason for permitting it. He is so completely the Master of death that He makes it His messenger to do His bidding; and when death comes to our dwelling and takes away one we love, let us bear in mind that death is not Jesus’ enemy but His messenger. He is like an angel; he takes away our friend in his bosom. He has no power at all over us without Jesus. (Anon.)

The healing of Jairus’ daughter

I. The ease brought before Jesus. A bodily disease as usual. No spiritual cases, though more important.

II. The persons who brought it. A ruler, etc. He had heard Christ’s teaching. He had seen His miracles. No mention made, etc., till distress.

III. The character in which he came-a parent.

IV. The manner in which he came. Reverently. Earnestly. Believingly.

V. At the request of Jairus, Christ arose and accompanied him. Christ encouraged such applications-He does so still (Expository Discourses.)

I. Christ’s restorative power transcends the ordinary expectations of mankind.

II. Christ’s restorative power is exerted on certain conditions.

1. Earnest entreaty.

2. A reverential spirit.

III. Christ’s restorative power accomplishes its object with the greatest ease.

IV. Christ’s restorative power confounds the scoffing sceptic with its result. Scoffing infidelity is destined to be confounded. There were scoffers in the days of Noah and

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they were confounded when the deluge came. There were scoffers in the days of Lot, and they were confounded when the showers of fire fell. There are scoffers now, and when they shall see Him “coming in His glory with all His holy angels,” these atheists, deists, and materialists, will be utterly confounded. (David Thomas, D. D.)

Death a sleep

Homer fittingly calls sleep “the brother of death”; they are so much alike. On the lips of Jesus, however, the word sleep acquires a richer and mightier import than it ever possessed before. Amply has His use of the term been justified in the last hour of tens of thousands of his devout followers. They laid themselves down to die, not as those who dread the night because of the remembrance of hours when, like Job, they were “scared with dreams” and “terrified through visions,” but like tired labourers, to whom night is indeed a season of peaceful refreshment. And how imperceptibly they sank into their last slumber! Their transition was so mild and gradual, that it was impossible for those who stood round their dying pillow to say exactly when it took place. There was no struggle, no convulsion. The angel of death spread his wide, white wings meekly over them, and then, with a smile upon their pallid countenance, serene and lovely as heaven itself, they closed their eyes on all terrestrial objects, and fell asleep in Jesus. And that sleep is as profound throughout as it was tranquil at the beginning. The happy fireside and the busy exchange-the halls of science and the houses of legislation-the oft-frequented walk and the holy temple-are nothing to them now. Suns rise and set, stars travel and glisten; but they see them not; tempests howl, thunders roll and crash; but they hear them not. Nothing can disturb those slumbers, “till the day dawn and the shadows flee away.” Then will the voice of the archangel sweep over God’s acre, and awake them all. Oh, wondrous awaking! what momentous consequences hang on thee! (Edwin Davies.)

Death a sleep

I. Sleep is rest, or gives rest to the body: so death.

1. Rest from labour and travail.

2. Rest from trouble and opposition.

3. Rest from passion and grief.

4. Rest from sin, temptation, Satan, and the law.

II. Sleep is not perpetual; we sleep and wake again; so, though the body lie in the grave, yet death is but a sleep; we shall wake again.

III. The sleep of some men differs very much from that of others: So the death of saints differs from that of the wicked.

1. Some men sleep before their work is done; so some die before their salvation is secured.

2. Some fall asleep in business and great distraction, others in peace.

3. Some dread the thought of dying, because of the dangers that lie beyond. But saints have no fear.

4. Some fall asleep in dangerous places, and in the midst of their enemies-on the brink of hell, surrounded by the spirits of perdition. But saints die in the view of

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Jesus; in the love and covenant of Jesus.

IV. A man that sleeps is generally easily awakened: So the body in death shall be much more easily awakened at the last day than the soul can now be aroused from its sleep of sin. (B. Keach.)

Why death of the godly is called sleep

The reason why the death of the godly is called a sleep in Scripture is this: because there is a fit resemblance between it and natural sleep; which resemblance consists chiefly in these things.

1. In bodily sleep men rest from the labours of mind and body. So the faithful, dying in the Lord, are said to rest from their labours (Rev_14:13).

2. After natural sleep men are accustomed to awake again; so, after death, the bodies of the saints shall be awaked, i.e., raised up again to life out of their graves at the last flay. And as it is easy to awake one out of a natural sleep, so is it much more easy with God, by His almighty power, to raise the dead at the last day.

3. As after natural sleep the body and outward senses are more fresh and lively than before; so likewise after that the bodies of the saints, being dead, have for a time slept in their graves as in beds, they shall awake and rise again at the last day in a far more excellent state than they died in, being changed from corruption to incorruption, from dishonour to glory, from weakness to power, from natural to spiritual bodies (1Co_15:42).

4. As in natural sleep the body only is said properly to sleep, not the soul (the powers whereof work even in sleep in some sort, though not so perfectly as when we are waking): so in death, only the bodies of the saints do die and lie down in the graves, but their souls return to God who gave them (Ecc_12:7), and they live with God even in death and alter death.

5. As sleep is sweet to those who are wearied with labour and travail (Ecc_5:12), so also death is sweet and comfortable to the faithful, being wearied and turmoiled with sin, and with the manifold miseries of this life. (G. Petter.)

Death of children

God cultivates many flowers, seemingly only for their exquisite beauty and fragrance. For when, bathed in soft sunshine, they have burst into blossom, then the Divine hand gathers them from the earthly fields to be kept in crystal vases in the deathless mansions above. Thus little children die-some in the sweet bud, some in the fallen blossom; but never too early to make heaven fairer and sweeter with their immortal bloom. (Wadsworth.)

Goeth in where the child was: Christ in the chamber of death

I. A good child is at home in either world, not sorry to go to the other world to get joy, and not sorry to come back to this world to give it.

II. We know not where the other world is, but it is evidently within range of the Saviour’s voice. Our dear dead are therefore safe and all their conditions ordered by the Saviour’s mercy.

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III. Life is indestructible by death.

IV. On a universal scale Christ will be found to be the Resurrection and the Life to all who love Him.

V. He inflicts bereavement, but sympathises with its sorrow. He relieves these mourners here, to show that He pities all mourners. (R. Glover.)

Talitha cumi

He uses what were, perhaps, the words used every morning by her mother on waking her-“Little one, get up.” (R. Glover.)

The raising of Jairus’ daughter

I. The application which Jesus received.

1. By whom it was made.

2. The favour he implied.

3. The feeling which this ruler displayed.

(1) His reverence.

(2) His importunity.

(3) His faith.

II. The ready compliance of our Lord with the request made to Him. But as He went we are called upon-

1. To witness a strange interruption.

2. To listen to what seemed very discouraging information-“Thy daughter is dead.”

III. The wonderful result with which this visit was attended.

1. What our Lord saw.

2. What He said.

3. What He did. (Expository Outlines.)

SBC, "The Daughter of Jairus.

This story shows us:

I. The Heart of Jesus. Many are anxious to find out what the face of Jesus was like, but our concern should be to know how His heart feels towards us. If you lay your hand upon any page in the gospels, you will feel the throbbings of a heart full of wonderful pity for all sinners and sufferers. All His sayings and doings, His death and resurrection, reveal a loving kindness to which there are no bounds. As the great ocean opens its bosom to receive all the rivers, so Christ’s bosom is open for all the sorrows of men. The heart of Jesus to you is the very same as it was in the house of Jairus. He is the same yesterday, today, and for ever.

II. The Hand of Jesus. It touches the sick and dead; it is full of power. With a mere wish, with a word at a distance, He could have healed this girl; but it was usually His

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way to touch those He healed. He did more than touch this girl; He firmly grasped her with His warm human hand, and she arose. He became a man, our kinsman and elder brother, that He might be near enough to touch us fully, and to touch us always.

III. The Healing of Jesus. This girl must have had strange feelings when her soul returned to the body it had recently forsaken. We are not told that she was startled or frightened. Perhaps she could say about her new life what Dr. Malan of Geneva said about his: "I was awakened as a mother awakens her child with a kiss," with all the power of God and with gentleness more than a mother’s, Christ by touch and voice awoke the girl, and welcomed her back to life. Jesus has more than a touch, a tear and a kind word to give to our misery. His name declares the work to which He gave himself on earth, and gives Himself still in heaven. Jesus means healer. Nor is He like the healers in our hospitals, who must sometimes leave the healed to starve and to find hunger as cruel as disease. Christ did not heal and then leave this girl: He helped her up, and got her food. He preserves and strengthens for ever the life He gives to the soul. About the after history of this girl we are told nothing. But we are sure that she loved her healer while she had being. We readily believe that she was made Christ’s by every tie of gratitude. And so our religion is a religion of gratitude for the greatest and freest favours. It is, therefore, a religion of love and joy.

J. Wells, Bible Children, p. 199.

Reference: Mar_5:21-43.—H. M. Luckock, Footprints of the Son of Man, p. 109.

22 Then one of the synagogue leaders, named

Jairus, came, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at

his feet.

GILL, "And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue,.... Having heard of his return, and where he was; See Gill on Mat_9:18.

Jairus by name; in Hebrew יאיר, "Jair": and Jerom says (n), it signifies

"enlightening", or "enlightened": deriving it from אור, "to be light": and it is no doubt

a Jewish name, since he was a ruler of the synagogue; and besides, it is often mentioned in the Old Testament, and particularly in Est_2:5, where, in the

Septuagint, it is read, Ιαιρος, Jairus. Matthew makes no mention of his name; but

both Mark and Luke do, Mar_5:22.

And when he saw him, he fell at his feet: as soon as he came into his presence; though he was a person of such authority; yet having heard much of the doctrine and miracles of Christ, and believing him to be a great prophet, and man of God; though he might not know that he was the Messiah, and truly God, threw himself at his feet; and, as Matthew says, "worshipped him", Mat_9:18; showed great reverence and respect unto him, gave him homage, at least in a civil way, though he might not adore him as God.

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HENRY, "The Gadarenes having desired Christ to leave their country, he did not stay to trouble them long, but presently went by water, as he came, back to the other side (Mar_5:21), and there much people gathered to him. Note, If there be some that reject Christ, yet there are others that receive him, and bid him welcome. A despised gospel will cross the water, and go where it will have better entertainment. Now among the many that applied themselves to him,

I. Here is one, that comes openly to beg a cure for a sick child; and it is no less a person than one of the rulers of the synagogue, one that presided in the synagogue-worship or, as some think, one of the judges of the consistory court, which was in every city, consisting of twenty-three. He was not named in Matthew, he is here, Jairus, or Jair, Jdg_10:3. He addressed himself to Christ, though a ruler, with great humility and reverence; When he saw him, he fell at his feet, giving honour to him as one really greater than he appeared to be; and with great importunity, he besought him greatly, as one in earnest, as one that not only valued the mercy he came for, but that knew he could obtain it no where else. The case is this, He has a little daughter,about twelve years old, the darling of the family, and she lies a dying; but he believes that if Christ will but come, and lay his hands upon her, she will return even from the gates of the grave. He said, at first, when he came, She lies a dying (so Mark); but afterward, upon fresh information sent him, he saith, She is even now dead (so Matthew); but he still prosecutes his suit; see Luk_8:42-49. Christ readily agreed, and went with him, Mar_5:24.

JAMIESON, "And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue — of which class there were but few who believed in Jesus (Joh_7:48). One would suppose from this that the ruler had been with the multitude on the shore, anxiously awaiting the return of Jesus, and immediately on His arrival had accosted Him as here related. But Matthew (Mat_9:18) tells us that the ruler came to Him while He was in the act of speaking at His own table on the subject of fasting; and as we must suppose that this converted publican ought to know what took place on that memorable occasion when he made a feast to his Lord, we conclude that here the right order is indicated by the First Evangelist alone.

Jairus by name — or “Jaeirus.” It is the same name as Jair, in the Old Testament (Num_32:41; Jdg_10:3; Est_2:5).

and when he saw him, he fell at his feet — in Matthew (Mat_9:18), “worshipped Him.” The meaning is the same in both.

SBC, "Mark 5:22-24

The case of the ruler may be treated as showing the instructive-ness of domestic affliction.

I. It shows the helplessness even of the greatest men—the applicant was a ruler, yet his rulership was of no avail in this case.

II. It shows the helplessness even of the kindest men—the applicant was a father, yet all his yearning affection was unable to suggest a remedy for his afflicted child.

III. It shows the need of Christ in every life.

Parker, City Temple, 1871, p. 93.

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COFFMAN, "One of the rulers ... Every synagogue was managed by a board of

presbyters, or elders."[12] His willingness to fall upon his knees before the Son

of God emphasizes the heartbreak which was crushing his soul. There can be no

doubt that many of his peers despised him for thus humbling himself before the

Lord, but what blessing rewarded his pathetic plea.

ENDNOTE:

[12] William Taylor, op. cit., p. 231

COKE, "Mark 5:22. There cometh one of the rulers—Jairus— The rulers of the

synagogue were three persons chosen out of ten, who were obliged constantly to

attend the public worship, over which they presided, and determined such

disputes as happened in the synagogue. The synagogue over which this ruler

presided was perhaps at Capernaum. Generally speaking, the rulers were

Christ's bitterest enemies; yet there were some of them of a different character,

John 12:42. In particular this ruler must have had a very favourable opinion of

Jesus, and a high notion of his power, or he would not have applied to him for

help in the present extremity; and by publicly acknowledging his power, have

done him so much honour. His faith may have been built on the miracles which

he knew Jesus had performed; for our Lord had by this time resided at

Capernaum several months.

CONSTABLE, "Synagogue rulers were not priests but lay leaders who were

responsible for the worship services and the synagogue's physical facilities. As

such, Jairus (the Greek form of the Hebrew Jair, "he will give light or awaken;"

cf. Numbers 32:41; Judges 10:3) undoubtedly enjoyed much respect in his

community. Most healing stories are anonymous, so perhaps Mark included

Jairus' name because of its connection with Jesus' miracle of awakening the girl

to life (cf. Mark 5:39). Laying hands on a sick person for healing associated the

power of the healer with the person needing deliverance (cf. Mark 6:5; Mark

7:32; Mark 8:23; Mark 8:25).

Upon returning to Galilee, Jesus immediately began to serve in response to this

urgent emotional plea, but the thronging crowd slowed His progress.

MACLAREN, "TALITHA CUMI

Mar_5:22-24, Mar_5:35-43

The scene of this miracle was probably Capernaum; its time, according to Matthew, was the feast at his house after his call. Mark’s date appears to be later, but he may have anticipated the feast in his narrative, in order to keep the whole of the incidents relating to Matthew’s apostleship together. Jairus’s knowledge of Jesus is implied in the story, and perhaps Jesus’ acquaintance with him.

I. We note, first, the agonised appeal and the immediate answer.

Desperation makes men bold. Conventionalities are burned up by the fire of agonised petitioning for help in extremity. Without apology or preliminary, Jairus bursts in, and his urgent need is sufficient excuse. Jesus never complains of scant respect when

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wrung hearts cry to Him. But this man was not only driven by despair, but drawn by trust. He was sure that, even though his little darling had been all but dead when he ran from his house, and was dead by this time, for all he knew, Jesus could give her life. Perhaps he had not faced the stern possibility that she might already be gone, nor defined precisely what he hoped for in that case. But he was sure of Jesus’ power, and he says nothing to show that he doubted His willingness. A beautiful trust shines through his words, based, no doubt, on what he had known and seen of Jesus’ miracles. We have more pressing and deeper needs, and we have fuller and deeper knowledge of Jesus, wherefore our approach to Him should be at least as earnest and confidential as Jairus’s was. If our Lord was at the feast when this interruption took place, His gracious, immediate answer becomes more lovely, as a sign of His willingness to bring the swiftest help. ‘While they are yet speaking, I will hear.’ Jairus had not finished asking before Jesus was on His feet to go.

The father’s impatience would be satisfied when they were on their way, but how he would chafe, and think every moment an age, while Jesus stayed, as if at entire leisure, to deal with another silent petitioner! But His help to one never interferes with His help to another, and no case is so pressing as that He cannot spare time to stay to bless some one else. The poor, sickly, shamefaced woman shall be healed, and the little girl shall not suffer.

II. We have next the extinction and rekindling of Jairus’s glimmer of hope.

Distances in Capernaum were short, and the messenger would soon find Jesus. There was little sympathy in the harsh, bald announcement of the death, or in the appended suggestion that the Rabbi need not be further troubled. The speaker evidently was thinking more of being polite to Jesus than of the poor father’s stricken heart, Jairus would feel then what most of us have felt in like circumstances,-that he had been more hopeful than he knew. Only when the last glimmer is quenched do we feel, by the blackness, how much light had lingered in our sky, But Jesus knew Jairus’s need before Jairus himself knew it, and His strong word of cheer relit the torch ere the poor father had time to speak. That loving eye reads our hearts and anticipates our dreary hopelessness by His sweet comfortings. Faith is the only victorious antagonist of fear. Jairus had every reason for abandoning hope, and his only reason for clinging to it was faith. So it is with us all. It is vain to bid us not be afraid when real dangers and miseries stare us in the face; but it is not vain to bid us ‘believe,’ and if we do that, faith, cast into the one scale, will outweigh a hundred good reasons for dread and despair cast into the other.

III. We have next the tumult of grief and the word that calms.

The hired mourners had lost no time, and in Eastern fashion were disturbing the solemnity of death with their professional shrieks and wailings. True grief is silent. Woe that weeps aloud is soon consoled.

What a contrast between the noise outside and the still death-chamber and its occupant, and what a contrast between the agitation of the sham comforters and the calmness of the true Helper! Christ’s great word was spoken for us all when our hearts are sore and our dear ones go. It dissolves the dim shape into nothing ness, or, rather, it transfigures it into a gracious, soothing form. Sleep is rest, and bears in itself the pledge of waking. So Christ has changed the ‘shadow feared of man’ into beauty, and in the strength of His great word we can meet the last enemy with ‘Welcome! friend.’ It is strange that any one reading this narrative should have been so blind to its deepest beauty as to suppose that Jesus was here saying that the child had only swooned, and was really alive. He was not denying that she was what men call ‘dead,’ but He was, in the triumphant consciousness of His own power, and in the

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clear vision of the realities of spiritual being, of which bodily states are but shadows, denying that what men call death deserves the name. ‘Death’ is the state of the soul separated from God, whether united to the body or no,-not the separation of body and soul, which is only a visible symbol of the more dread reality.

IV. We have finally the life-giving word and the life-preserving care.

Probably Jesus first freed His progress from the jostling crowd, and then, when arrived, made the further selection of the three apostles,-the first three of the mighty ones-and, as was becoming, of the father and mother.

With what hushed, tense expectation they would enter the chamber! Think of the mother’s eyes watching Him. The very words that He spoke were like a caress. There was infinite tenderness in that ‘Damsel!’ from His lips, and so deep an impression did it make on Peter that he repeated the very words to Mark, and used them, with the change of one letter (‘Tabitha’ for ‘Talitha’), in raising Dorcas. The same tenderness is expressed by His taking her by the hand, as, no doubt, her mother had done, many a morning, on waking her. The father had asked Him to lay His hand on her, that she might be made whole and live. He did as He was asked,-He always does-and His doing according to our desire brings larger blessings than we had thought of. Neither the touch of His hand nor the words He spoke were the real agents of the child’s returning to life. It was His will which brought her back from whatever vasty dimness she had entered. The forth-putting of Christ’s will is sovereign, and His word runs with power through all regions of the universe. ‘The dull, cold ear of death’ hears, and ‘they that hear shall live,’ whether they are, as men say, dead, or whether they are ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ The resurrection of a soul is a mightier act-if we can speak of degrees of might in His acts-than that of a body.

It would be calming for the child of such strange experiences to see, for the first thing that met her eyes opening again on the old familiar home as on a strange land, the bending face of Jesus, and His touch would steady her spirit and assure of His love and help. The quiet command to give her food knits the wonder with common life, and teaches precious lessons as to His economy of miraculous power, like His bidding others loosen Lazarus’s wrappings, and as to His devolution on us of duties towards those whom He raises from the death of sin. But it was given, not didactically, but lovingly. The girl was exhausted, and sustenance was necessary, and would be sweet. So He thought upon a small bodily need, and the love that gave life took care to provide what was required to support it. He gives the greatest; He will take care that we shall not lack the least.

23 He pleaded earnestly with him, “My little

daughter is dying. Please come and put your

hands on her so that she will be healed and

live.”

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CLARKE, "My little daughter - Το�θυγατριον�µου, that little daughter of mine.

The words express much tenderness and concern. Luke observes, Luk_8:42, that she was his only daughter, and was about twelve years of age.

At the point of death - Εσχατως�εχει, in the last extremity, the last gasp.

See on Mat_9:18 (note).

GILL, "And besought him greatly,.... Used much importunity with him, and was very urgent in his requests:

saying, my little daughter lieth at the point of death, or "is in the last extremity"; just breathing out her last; for she was not actually dead when he left her, though she was before he returned, and was at this time, as he might expect, expiring, or really gone; See Gill on Mat_9:18.

I pray thee come and lay thine hands on her, that she may be healed, and she shall live; expressing faith in the power of Christ to restore his daughter, though in the utmost extremity; yet seemed to think his presence, and the imposition of his hands were necessary to it.

HENRY, "I. Here is one, that comes openly to beg a cure for a sick child; and it is no less a person than one of the rulers of the synagogue, one that presided in the synagogue-worship or, as some think, one of the judges of the consistory court, which was in every city, consisting of twenty-three. He was not named in Matthew, he is here, Jairus, or Jair, Jdg_10:3. He addressed himself to Christ, though a ruler, with great humility and reverence; When he saw him, he fell at his feet, giving honour to him as one really greater than he appeared to be; and with great importunity, he besought him greatly, as one in earnest, as one that not only valued the mercy he came for, but that knew he could obtain it no where else. The case is this, He has a little daughter, about twelve years old, the darling of the family, and she lies a dying; but he believes that if Christ will but come, and lay his hands upon her, she will return even from the gates of the grave. He said, at first, when he came, She lies a dying (so Mark); but afterward, upon fresh information sent him, he saith, She is even now dead (so Matthew); but he still prosecutes his suit; see Luk_8:42-49. Christ readily agreed, and went with him, Mar_5:24.

JAMIESON, "And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter — Luke (Luk_8:42) says, “He had one only daughter, about twelve years of age.” According to a well-known rabbin, quoted by Lightfoot, a daughter, till she had completed her twelfth year, was called “little,” or “a little maid”; after that, “a young woman.”

lieth at the point of death — Matthew (Mat_9:18) gives it thus: “My daughter is even now dead” - “has just expired.” The news of her death reached the father after the cure of the woman with the issue of blood: but Matthew’s brief account gives only the result, as in the case of the centurion’s servant (Mat_8:5, etc.).

come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live — or, “that she may be healed and live,” according to a fully preferable reading. In one of the class to which this man belonged, so steeped in prejudice, such faith would imply more than in others.

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COFFMAN, "My little daughter ... She was, according to Taylor, not only

Jairus' only daughter, but his only child. He based this conclusion upon Luke's

use of the word meaning "only begotten."[13]

At the point of death ... Matthew quoted Jairus as saying, "She is even now

dead" (Matthew 9:18); and Luke recorded that "she was dying" (Luke 8:42).

Sure enough, here is a pseudocon! Richard Trench observed that:

When the father left the child, she was at her latest gasp; and he knew not

whether to regard her now as dead or alive; and, yet having not received certain

knowledge of her death, he was perplexed whether to speak of her as departed or

not, expressing himself one moment in one language, and at the next in another.

Strange that a circumstance like this, so drawn from life, so testifying to the

reality of the things recorded, should be urged by some as a contradiction![14]

[13] Ibid.

[14] Richard C. Trench, op. cit., p. 195.

COKE, "Mark 5:23. Lieth at the point of death— St. Luke agrees with St. Mark

in this circumstance; but St. Matthew seems to add another. According to the

latter, Jairus said (Matthew 9:18.), my daughter is even now dead, αρτι

ετελευτησεν ; but he might utter both the expressions: for as his daughter lay

expiring when he came away, he might think she could not live many minutes;

and therefore, having told Jesus that she was lying at the point of death, he

added, that in all probability she was dead.

Nevertheless,if this solution seem inconsistent with the ruler's petition, Come,

and lay thine hands on her, that she may be healed and with the dejection that

appeared in his countenance, when his servants told him that his daughter had

actually expired, we may fully remove the difficulty, by translating the clause in

St. Matthew, My daughter is almost dead, a sense which, according to the

analogy of the Greek language, it will easily bear. See a similar expression, Luke

5:7. We may just observe further, that αρτι does not only signify what is now

come to pass, but what is just at hand; and so it may imply no more than that she

was considered as just dead, and that there was no hope of her recovery, but by a

miracle. See Gerhard, and Doddridge.

BI, "Jairus by name.

A proper prayer

Better prayers, perhaps, had been offered. He would have shown more faith if he had prayed like the centurion (Luk_7:7). But, though he does not show such strong faith, yet it is a good prayer. For it is

(1) humble: he falls at Christ’s feet;

(2) believing: he feels Christ is omnipotent to heal;

(3) bold: he offers it in face of all the people, many of whom would be shocked that a ruler of the synagogue should acknowledge Jesus;

(4) loving, springing from a pure affection. Distress is a great schoolmaster.

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It teaches men many things; among the rest the greatest of all attainments-the power to pray. (R. Glover.)

A revived flower

And that bright flower bloomed in the vase of that happy home, more beautiful because the look of Jesus had given it new tints and the breath of Jesus had given it new fragrance. (J. Cumming, D. D.)

Jairus’ daughter

Jairus was a good man. His light was small, but real. It was feeble, but from heaven.

I. He had much to try his faith. One seems to see all the father in the tenderness of his words. Hope was over,-his daughter was dead. Thus is it with the believer. Instead of the relief he hoped for, all seems as death. Thus does the Lord try the faith He gives. Thus by causing us to wait for the blessing does He endear it.

II. The effect of this trial of faith. He did not distrust the power or willingness of the compassionate Saviour. His faith takes no denial, he still continues with Jesus. Faith hopes against hope. True faith partakes of his nature who exercises it, therefore in all, it is weak at times. But it partakes also of His nature who gives it, and therefore evinces its strength in the very midst of that weakness.

III. But wherever found, it is graciously rewarded. The scorners are without; but believing Jairus and the believing mother (Mar_5:40) are admitted. They see the mighty power of God put forth on behalf of their daughter. What an encouragement here to some anxious parent to put the case of their dear child in the hands of that same Jesus. How often has domestic affliction been the means of bringing the soul to the feet of Jesus. Mark the extreme tenderness of Jesus, “Fear not, only believe.” Be not afraid convicted sinner. My blood is sufficient, My grace and love are sufficient. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)

The Humane Society

I. The particular form of the Redeemer’s work.

1. Restoration from a special form of death.

2. Here was the recognition of the value of life-“She shall live.” It is not mere life on which Christianity has shed a richer value. It is by ennobling the purpose to which life is to be dedicated that it has made life more precious.

3. We consider the Saviour’s direction respecting the means of effecting a complete recovery. He “commanded that something should be given her to eat.” His reverential submission to the laws of nature.

II. The spirit of the Redeemer’s work.

1. It was love. He did good because it was good.

2. It was a spirit of retiring modesty. He did not wish it to be known.

3. It was a spirit of perseverance. Calm perseverance amidst ridicule. (F. W. Robertson.)

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Not dead, but sleeping

Nature puts on a shroud at seasons, and seems to glide into the grave of winter. Autumnal blasts come sobbing through the trees, and leaf after leaf, shrivelling its fibres at the killing contact, comes drifting to the ground. The hedgerows where the May flowers and the dog rose mixed their scents are stripped and bare, and lift their thorny fingers up to heaven. The field where fat and wealthy-looking crops a while ago promised their golden sheaves, is now spread over with a coarse fringe of stubble, and seems a sort of hospital of vegetation. The garden shows no more its beauties, nor sheds forth its scent, but where the coloured petal and the painted cup of the gay flower were seen, there stands a blighted stem, or a drooping tuft of refuse herbs. The birds which carolled to the summer sky have fled away, and their note no longer greets the ear. The very daisies on the meadow are buried in the snow wreath, and the raw blast howls a sad requiem at the funeral of nature. But those trees, whose leafless branches seem to wrestle with the rough winds that toss them, are not dead. Anon, and they shall again be wreathed in verdure and bedecked with blossom. The softened breath of spring shall whisper to the snowdrop to dart forth its modest head, and shall broider the garden path again with flowers; the fragrance of the hawthorn bloom ere long shall gush from those naked hedge rows, and the returning lark shall wake the morning with a new and willing song. No, nature is not dead! There is a resurrection coming on. Spring with its touch of wizardry shall wake her from her slumbers, and sound again the keynote of the suspended music of the spheres. So also shall there arise out of the raging conflagration, in whose fevered heat the elements shall melt and shrivel like a scroll-even out of the very ashes which betoken its consumption-a new heaven and a new earth-an earth as ethereal and pure as heaven itself-and a heaven as substantial and as living as the earth. And consentaneously with the arising of these new worlds; the tombs shall open, and send forth the shrouded tenants, to enter on the inheritance which, in that new economy, shall be theirs. Can you believe that faded flowers shall revive at the blithe beckoning of the spring, that little leaves will quietly unfold at the mandate of the morning, and yet there shall be no spring to beckon the mortal back to life, and no morning to command the clay to clothe itself with the garments of a quickening spirit? Can you believe that the great temple shall arise with all its shrines rebuilded, and its altars purified after the final burning, but that there shall be neither voice nor trumpet to call forth the high priest from his slumber to worship at those shrines, and to lay a more enduring offering upon those waiting altars? Is the fuel to be ever laid, and none to kindle the burnt offering? Is the sanctuary to be prepared, and none to pay the service? Is the bridegroom to stand alone before the altar, and no bride to meet him at the nuptials? God forbid! The high priest is not dead-the bride has not perished-they are not dead, but sleep. Sound forth the trumpet, and say that all is ready, and then the corruptible will put on incorruption, and the mortal will put on immortality. Thus, when we lay our kindred in the earth, and follow to their final resting place the last remains of those who occupied a cherished chamber in our hearts-while nature finds it hard to dry the tear and quench the sigh-faith ever lifts the spirit from its sad despondency, by assuring us of a reunion beyond the grave-and robs the monster of one half his terrors-weakening his stroke and taking away his sting, by changing the mystic trance into which he throws his victims into a transient sleep, and speaking of a waking time of happiness and icy. Nature will look on death as an assassin who murders those we love; but Faith regards him as a nurse who hushes them to sleep, and sings a lullaby and not a requiem beside their bed. To faith it is a sleeping draught and not a poison which the visitor holds to the drinker’s lips; for it hails the time when the lethargy of the sepulchre shall be cast off, and the

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spirit shall arise like a tired slumberer refreshed by sleep, to spend an endless morning in the energy of an endless youth. (A. Mursell.)

The death of the young encourages a spirit of dependence on God in the home life of this world

It brings the unseen Hand to bear very directly and potently on the soul’s deepest and most hidden springs. Let us suppose for a moment that there was a revealed ordinance of heaven that every, human being born into this world should live to three-score years and ten, and then quietly lie down to rest, and awake in eternity. Would it enrich or impoverish the life of the human world? I venture to think that it would impoverish it unspeakably. The passage of these little ones through the veil, of infants and children, of young men and maidens, of men and women in their prime, brings God’s hand very near, and keeps its pressure on the most powerful springs of our nature, our warmest affection, and our most constant and active care. It is not the uncertainty which is the strongest element of the influence, though no doubt that keeps us vigilant and anxious, and helps to maintain the full strain of our power. It is rather the constant contact with a Higher Will, which keeps us in humble, hopeful dependence, which gives and withholds, lends and recalls, by a wisdom which we cannot fathom, but which demands our trust on the basis of a transcendent manifestation of all-suffering and all-sacrificing love. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

The death of the young imparts a consecrating influence to the home life

It brings heaven all round us when we know that at any moment the veil may be lifted, and a dear life may vanish from our sight, not, blessed be Christ, into the shades, but into the brightness which is beyond. And when the life has vanished it leaves a holy and consecrating memory in the home. Something is in the home on earth which also belongs to the home on high. Never does the home life and all its relations seem so beautiful, so profound, so sacred, as when Death has laid his touch on “a little one,” and gathered it as a starry flower for the fields of light on high. It makes the life of the home more anxious, more burdened by care and pain, but more blessed. The nearness at any moment of resistless Death makes us find a dearer meaning in the word, “the whole family in heaven and on earth”-a thought which saturates the whole New Testament, and is not dependent on one text for its revelation. We know then how precious is its meaning, and earth gains by its loss as well as heaven. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

The death of the young lends a tender, home life interest to the life of the unseen world

The home, remember, is where the children are. There are those of us who never found the deeper meaning of the Father’s love and the everlasting home till a dear child had gone on before. The death of the little ones, while it ought to make the earthly life heaven-like on the one hand, is meant to make heaven home-like on the other. The Lord dethroned and discrowned Death by bearing the human form, living, through His realm of terror. The living Lord abolished death by living on through death, and flashing the splendours of heaven through the shades. The children, as they follow Christ through the gloom, make Death seem beautiful as an angel. Thenceforth we, too, have, not our citizenship only, but our home life in the two worlds. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

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Jesus stronger than death

And just remember, that when Jesus allows death to knock at your door, and to come in, it is not because death is stronger than He. It is because He has a good reason for permitting it. He is so completely the Master of death that He makes it His messenger to do His bidding; and when death comes to our dwelling and takes away one we love, let us bear in mind that death is not Jesus’ enemy but His messenger. He is like an angel; he takes away our friend in his bosom. He has no power at all over us without Jesus. (Anon.)

The healing of Jairus’ daughter

I. The ease brought before Jesus. A bodily disease as usual. No spiritual cases, though more important.

II. The persons who brought it. A ruler, etc. He had heard Christ’s teaching. He had seen His miracles. No mention made, etc., till distress.

III. The character in which he came-a parent.

IV. The manner in which he came. Reverently. Earnestly. Believingly.

V. At the request of Jairus, Christ arose and accompanied him. Christ encouraged such applications-He does so still (Expository Discourses.)

I. Christ’s restorative power transcends the ordinary expectations of mankind.

II. Christ’s restorative power is exerted on certain conditions.

1. Earnest entreaty.

2. A reverential spirit.

III. Christ’s restorative power accomplishes its object with the greatest ease.

IV. Christ’s restorative power confounds the scoffing sceptic with its result. Scoffing infidelity is destined to be confounded. There were scoffers in the days of Noah and they were confounded when the deluge came. There were scoffers in the days of Lot, and they were confounded when the showers of fire fell. There are scoffers now, and when they shall see Him “coming in His glory with all His holy angels,” these atheists, deists, and materialists, will be utterly confounded. (David Thomas, D. D.)

Death a sleep

Homer fittingly calls sleep “the brother of death”; they are so much alike. On the lips of Jesus, however, the word sleep acquires a richer and mightier import than it ever possessed before. Amply has His use of the term been justified in the last hour of tens of thousands of his devout followers. They laid themselves down to die, not as those who dread the night because of the remembrance of hours when, like Job, they were “scared with dreams” and “terrified through visions,” but like tired labourers, to whom night is indeed a season of peaceful refreshment. And how imperceptibly they sank into their last slumber! Their transition was so mild and gradual, that it was impossible for those who stood round their dying pillow to say exactly when it took

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place. There was no struggle, no convulsion. The angel of death spread his wide, white wings meekly over them, and then, with a smile upon their pallid countenance, serene and lovely as heaven itself, they closed their eyes on all terrestrial objects, and fell asleep in Jesus. And that sleep is as profound throughout as it was tranquil at the beginning. The happy fireside and the busy exchange-the halls of science and the houses of legislation-the oft-frequented walk and the holy temple-are nothing to them now. Suns rise and set, stars travel and glisten; but they see them not; tempests howl, thunders roll and crash; but they hear them not. Nothing can disturb those slumbers, “till the day dawn and the shadows flee away.” Then will the voice of the archangel sweep over God’s acre, and awake them all. Oh, wondrous awaking! what momentous consequences hang on thee! (Edwin Davies.)

Death a sleep

I. Sleep is rest, or gives rest to the body: so death.

1. Rest from labour and travail.

2. Rest from trouble and opposition.

3. Rest from passion and grief.

4. Rest from sin, temptation, Satan, and the law.

II. Sleep is not perpetual; we sleep and wake again; so, though the body lie in the grave, yet death is but a sleep; we shall wake again.

III. The sleep of some men differs very much from that of others: So the death of saints differs from that of the wicked.

1. Some men sleep before their work is done; so some die before their salvation is secured.

2. Some fall asleep in business and great distraction, others in peace.

3. Some dread the thought of dying, because of the dangers that lie beyond. But saints have no fear.

4. Some fall asleep in dangerous places, and in the midst of their enemies-on the brink of hell, surrounded by the spirits of perdition. But saints die in the view of Jesus; in the love and covenant of Jesus.

IV. A man that sleeps is generally easily awakened: So the body in death shall be much more easily awakened at the last day than the soul can now be aroused from its sleep of sin. (B. Keach.)

Why death of the godly is called sleep

The reason why the death of the godly is called a sleep in Scripture is this: because there is a fit resemblance between it and natural sleep; which resemblance consists chiefly in these things.

1. In bodily sleep men rest from the labours of mind and body. So the faithful, dying in the Lord, are said to rest from their labours (Rev_14:13).

2. After natural sleep men are accustomed to awake again; so, after death, the bodies of the saints shall be awaked, i.e., raised up again to life out of their graves at the last flay. And as it is easy to awake one out of a natural sleep, so is it much

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more easy with God, by His almighty power, to raise the dead at the last day.

3. As after natural sleep the body and outward senses are more fresh and lively than before; so likewise after that the bodies of the saints, being dead, have for a time slept in their graves as in beds, they shall awake and rise again at the last day in a far more excellent state than they died in, being changed from corruption to incorruption, from dishonour to glory, from weakness to power, from natural to spiritual bodies (1Co_15:42).

4. As in natural sleep the body only is said properly to sleep, not the soul (the powers whereof work even in sleep in some sort, though not so perfectly as when we are waking): so in death, only the bodies of the saints do die and lie down in the graves, but their souls return to God who gave them (Ecc_12:7), and they live with God even in death and alter death.

5. As sleep is sweet to those who are wearied with labour and travail (Ecc_5:12), so also death is sweet and comfortable to the faithful, being wearied and turmoiled with sin, and with the manifold miseries of this life. (G. Petter.)

Death of children

God cultivates many flowers, seemingly only for their exquisite beauty and fragrance. For when, bathed in soft sunshine, they have burst into blossom, then the Divine hand gathers them from the earthly fields to be kept in crystal vases in the deathless mansions above. Thus little children die-some in the sweet bud, some in the fallen blossom; but never too early to make heaven fairer and sweeter with their immortal bloom. (Wadsworth.)

Goeth in where the child was: Christ in the chamber of death

I. A good child is at home in either world, not sorry to go to the other world to get joy, and not sorry to come back to this world to give it.

II. We know not where the other world is, but it is evidently within range of the Saviour’s voice. Our dear dead are therefore safe and all their conditions ordered by the Saviour’s mercy.

III. Life is indestructible by death.

IV. On a universal scale Christ will be found to be the Resurrection and the Life to all who love Him.

V. He inflicts bereavement, but sympathises with its sorrow. He relieves these mourners here, to show that He pities all mourners. (R. Glover.)

Talitha cumi

He uses what were, perhaps, the words used every morning by her mother on waking her-“Little one, get up.” (R. Glover.)

The raising of Jairus’ daughter

I. The application which Jesus received.

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1. By whom it was made.

2. The favour he implied.

3. The feeling which this ruler displayed.

(1) His reverence.

(2) His importunity.

(3) His faith.

II. The ready compliance of our Lord with the request made to Him. But as He went we are called upon-

1. To witness a strange interruption.

2. To listen to what seemed very discouraging information-“Thy daughter is dead.”

III. The wonderful result with which this visit was attended.

1. What our Lord saw.

2. What He said.

3. What He did. (Expository Outlines.)

24 So Jesus went with him.

GILL, "And Jesus went with him,.... Immediately without objecting to the weakness of his faith:

and much people followed him; to see the miracle performed, which they were exceedingly fond of:

and thronged him; so that it was with some difficulty and trouble that he passed along the streets to: the ruler's house.

JAMIESON, "Mar_5:24-34. The Woman with an issue of blood healed.

And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him — The word in Luke (Luk_8:42) is stronger - “choked,” “stifled Him.”

COFFMAN, "This indicates that the crowd itself got into Jesus' way as he set out

to go to the home of Jairus. There was no way that such a persistent throng of so

many people could be quickly dispersed. Jesus' movement to go to the ruler's

house precipitated a stampede, as we might say, with the inevitable result of

delaying Jesus' arrival at the bedside of the child. Also, as the next verse shows,

another instance of Jesus' miraculous power was to be unfolded en route.

The unique intertwining of these two miracles is a mark of originality

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emphasizing the authenticity of both. Who could have imagined such a thing as

that which here took place? Sometimes when judges hand down rulings upon

certain questions, they render other judgments at the same time upon lesser

matters, or connected questions, sometimes of very great importance; such

rulings being referred to as "obiter dicta." Taylor called this an "obiter miracle"

of Christ,[15] referring to the healing of the woman which, in this context,

reminds one of a double geode, one inside another.

ENDNOTE:

[15] William Taylor, op. cit., p. 243.

A large crowd followed and pressed around

him.

25 And a woman was there who had been

subject to bleeding for twelve years.

GILL, "And a certain woman which had an issue of blood twelve years.See Gill on Mat_9:20. This woman was in the crowd that thronged Jesus, as he passed through the streets of Capernaum. Eusebius relates (o), that it was reported, that this woman was of Caesarea Philippi, where her house was to be seen; where were extant some wonderful monuments of the benefits conferred upon her by Christ; as that at the door of her house was an effigy of a woman in brass, set upon an high stone on her bended knees, and arms stretched out like a supplicant; and opposite to her, another effigy of a man, of the same metal, standing, and decently clothed in a tunic, and his hand stretched out to the woman; at whose feet, upon the pillar, a strange form of a plant arose, reaching up to the border of the brazen tunic, which is a remedy against all diseases; and he says it remained to his times, and was then to be seen: and Theophylact (p) says, in the times of Julian the apostate it was broke to pieces. But this woman rather seems to be an inhabitant of Capernaum, in the streets of which the after cure was wrought; and therefore what credit is to be given to the above accounts I leave to be judged of. It may be more useful to observe, that this profluvious woman is an emblem of a sinner in a state of nature: as her disease was in itself an uncleanness, and rendered her unclean by the law, whereby she was unfit for the company and society of others; so the disease of sin, with which all are infected, is a pollution itself, and of a defiling nature; all the members of the body, and all the powers and faculties of the soul are polluted with it, and the whole man is filthy in the sight of God, and is pronounced unclean by the law of God; and such persons are very unfit for the society of saints on earth, and much less to be with those in heaven, nor even to be with moralized persons; for evil communications corrupt good manners: openly profane and impure sinners are infectious, and to be avoided. Likewise, as this woman's disease was of long standing, she had it twelve

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years, and it was become inveterate and stubborn, and not easy to be removed; so such is the disease of sin, and indeed it is much worse; it is what is brought into the world with men, and is as old as themselves; is natural to them, and cannot be removed by any ordinary and natural methods, but requires supernatural power and grace; and it is in such a like case and condition, that the Spirit of God finds his people, when he quickens, sanctifies, and cleanses them: "and when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee, when thou wast in thy blood, Live", Eze_16:6.

HENRY, "Here is another, that comes clandestinely to steal a cure (if I may so say) for herself; and she got the relief she came for. This cure was wrought by the way, as he was going to raise the ruler's daughter, and was followed by a crowd. See how Christ improved his time, and lost none of the precious moments of it. Many of his discourses, and some of his miracles, are dates by the way-side; we should be doing good, not only when we sit in the house, but when we walk by the wayDeu_6:7.

MACLAREN, "THE POWER OF FEEBLE FAITH

In all the narratives of this miracle, it is embedded in the story of Jairus’s daughter, which it cuts in twain. I suppose that the Evangelists felt, and would have us feel, the impression of calm consciousness of power and of leisurely dignity produced by Christ’s having time to pause even on such an errand, in order to heal by the way, as if parenthetically, this other poor sufferer. The child’s father with impatient earnestness pleads the urgency of her case-’She lieth at the point of death’; and to him and to the group of disciples, it must have seemed that there was no time to be lost. But He who knows that His resources are infinite can afford to let her die, while He cures and saves this woman. She shall receive no harm, and her sister suppliant has as great a claim on Him. ‘The eyes of all wait’ on His equal love; He has leisure of heart to feel for each, and fulness of power for all; and none can rob another of his share in the Healer’s gifts, nor any in all that dependent crowd jostle his neighbour out of the notice of the Saviour’s eye.

The main point of the story itself seems to be the illustration which it gives of the genuineness and power of an imperfect faith, and of Christ’s merciful way of responding to and strengthening such a faith. Looked at from that point of view, the narrative is very striking and instructive.

The woman is a poor shrinking creature, broken down by long illness, made more timid still by many disappointed hopes of core, depressed by poverty to which her many doctors had brought her. She does not venture to stop this new Rabbi-physician, as He goes with the rich church dignitary to heal his daughter, but lets Him pass before she can make up her mind to go near Him at all, and then comes creeping up in the crowd behind, puts out her wasted, trembling hand to His garment’s hem-and she is whole. She would fain have stolen away with her new-found blessing, but Christ forces her to stand out before the throng, and there, with all their eyes upon her-cold, cruel eyes some of them-to conquer her diffidence and shame, and tell all the truth. Strange kindness that! strangely contrasted with His ordinary care to avoid notoriety, and with His ordinary tender regard for shrinking weakness! What may have been the reason? Certainly it was not for His own sake at all, nor for others’ chiefly, but for hers, that He did this. The reason lay in the incompleteness of her faith. It was very incomplete-although it was, Christ answered it. And then He sought to make the cure, and the discipline that followed it, the means of clearing and confirming her trust in Himself.

I. Following the order of the narrative thus understood, we have here

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first the great lesson, that very imperfect faith may be genuine faith.

There was unquestionable confidence in Christ’s healing power, and there was earnest desire for healing. Our Lord Himself recognises her faith as adequate to be the condition of her receiving the cure which she desired. Of course, it was a very different thing from the faith which unites us to Christ, and is the condition of our receiving our soul’s cure; and we shall never understand the relation of multitudes of the people in the Gospels to Jesus, if we insist upon supposing that the ‘faith to be healed,’ which many of them had, was a religious, or, as we call it, ‘saving faith.’ But still, the trust which was directed to Him, as the giver of miraculous temporal blessings, is akin to that higher trust into which it often passed, and the principles regulating the operation of the loftier are abundantly illustrated in the workings of the lower.

The imperfections, then, of this woman’s faith were many. It was intensely ignoranttrust. She dimly believes that, somehow or other, this miracle-working Rabbi will heal her, but the cure is to be a piece of magic, secured by material contact of her finger with His robe. She has no idea that Christ’s will, or His knowledge, much less His pitying love, has anything to do with it. She thinks that she may get her desire furtively, and may carry it away out of the crowd, and He, the source of it, be none the wiser, and none the poorer, for the blessing which she has stolen from Him. What utter blank ignorance of Christ’s character and way of working! What complete misconception of the relation between Himself and His gift! What low, gross, superstitious ideas! Yes, and with them all what a hunger of intense desire to be whole; what absolute assurance of confidence that one finger-tip on His robe was enough! Therefore she had her desire, and her Lord recognised her faith as true, foolish and unworthy as were the thoughts which accompanied it! Thank God! the same thing is true still, or what would become of any of us? There may be a real faith in Christ, though there be mixed with it many and grave errors concerning His work, and the manner of receiving the blessings which He bestows. A man may have a very hazy apprehension of the bearing and whole scope of even Scripture declarations concerning the profounder aspects of Christ’s person and work, and yet be holding fast to Him by living confidence. I do not wish to underrate for one moment the absolute necessity of clear and true conceptions of revealed truth, in order to a vigorous and fully developed faith; but, while there can be no faith worth calling so, which is not based upon the intellectual reception of truth, there may be faith based upon the very imperfect intellectual reception of very partial truth. The power and vitality of faith are not measured by the comprehensiveness and clearness of belief. The richest soil may bear shrunken and barren ears; and on the arid sand, with the thinnest layer of earth, gorgeous cacti may bloom out, and fleshy aloes lift their sworded arms, with stores of moisture to help them through the heat. It is not for us to say what amount of ignorance is destructive of the possibility of real confidence in Jesus Christ. But for ourselves, feeling how short a distance our eyesight travels, and how little, after all our systems, the great bulk of men in Christian lands know lucidly and certainly of theological truth, and how wide are the differences of opinion amongst us, and how soon we come to towering barriers, beyond which our poor faculties can neither pass nor look, it ought to be a joy to us all, that a faith which is clouded with such ignorance may yet be a faith which Christ accepts. He that knows and trusts Him as Brother, Friend, Saviour, in whom he receives the pardon and cleansing which he needs and desires, may have very much misconception and error cleaving to him, but Christ accepts him. If at the beginning His disciples know but this much, that they are sick unto death, and have tried without success all other remedies, and this more, that Christ will heal them; and if their faith builds upon that knowledge, then they will receive according to their faith. By degrees they will be

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taught more; they will be brought to the higher benches in His school; but, for a beginning, the most cloudy apprehension that Christ is the Saviour of the world, and my Saviour, may become the foundation of a trust which will bind the heart to Him and knit Him to the heart in eternal union. This poor woman received her healing, although she said, ‘If I may touch but the hem of His garment, I shall be whole.’

Her error was akin to one which is starting into new prominence again, and with which I need not say that I have no sort of sympathy,-that of people who attach importance to externals as means and channels of grace, and in whose system the hem of the garment and the touch of the finger are apt to take the place which the heart of the wearer and the grasp of faith should hold. The more our circumstances call for resistance to this error, the more needful is it to remember that, along with it and uttering itself through it, may be a depth of devout trust in Christ, which should shame us. Many a poor soul that clasps the base of the crucifix clings to the cross; many a devout heart, kneeling before the altar, sees through the incense-smoke the face of the Christ. The faith that is tied to form, though it be no faith for a man, though in some respects it darken God’s Gospel, and bring it down to the level of magical superstition, may yet be, and often is, accepted by Him whose merciful eye recognised, and whose swift power answered, the mistaken trust of her who believed that healing lay in the fringes of His robe, rather than in the pity of His heart.

Again, her trust was very selfish. She wanted health; she did not care about the Healer. She thought much of the blessing in itself, little or nothing of the blessing as a sign of His love. She would have been quite contented to have had nothing more to do with Christ if she could only have gone away cured. She felt but little glow of gratitude to Him whom she thought of as unconscious of the good which she had stolen from Him. All this is a parallel to what occurs in the early stages of many a Christian life. The first inducement to a serious contemplation of Christ is, ordinarily, the consciousness of one’s own sore need. Most men are driven to Him as a refuge from self, from their own sin, and from the wages of sin. The soul, absorbed in its own misery, and groaning in a horror of great darkness, sees from afar a great light, and stumbles towards it. Its first desire is deliverance, forgiveness, escape; and the first motions of faith are impelled by consideration of personal consequences. Love comes after, born of the recognition of Christ’s great love to which we owe our salvation; but faith precedes love in the natural order of things, however closely love may follow faith; and the predominant motive in the earlier stages of many men’s faith is distinctly self-regard. Now, that is all right, and as it was meant to be. It is an overstrained and caricatured doctrine of self-abnegation, which condemns such a faith as wrong. The most purely self-absorbed wish to escape from the most rudely pictured hell may be, and often is, the beginning of a true trust in Christ. Some of our superfine modern teachers who are shocked at Christianity, because it lays the foundation of the loftiest, most self-denying morality in ‘selfishness’ of that kind, would be all the wiser for going to school to this story, and laying to heart the lesson it contains, of how a desire no nobler than to get rid of a painful disease was the starting-point of a moral transformation, which turned a life into a peaceful, thankful surrender of the cured self to the service and love of the mighty Healer. But while this faith, for the sake of the blessing to be obtained, is genuine, it is undoubtedly imperfect. Quite legitimate and natural at first, it must grow into something nobler when it has once been answered. To think of the disease mainly is inevitable before the cure, but, after the cure, we should think most of the Physician. Self-love may impel to His feet; but Christ-love should be the moving spring of life thereafter. Ere we have received anything from Him, our whole soul may be a longing to have our gnawing emptiness filled; but when we have received His own great gift, our whole soul should be a thank-offering. The great reformation which Christ produces is, that

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He shifts the centre for us from ourselves to Himself; and whilst He uses our sense of need and our fear of personal evil as the means towards this, He desires that the faith, which has been answered by deliverance, should thenceforward be a ‘faith which worketh by love.’ As long as we live, either here or yonder, we shall never get beyond the need for the exercise of the primary form of faith, for we shall ever be compassed by many needs, and dependent for all help and blessedness on Him; but as we grow in experience of His tender might, we should learn more and more that His gifts cannot be separated from Himself. We should prize them most for His sake, and love Him more than we do them. We should be drawn to Him as well as driven to Him. Faith may begin with desiring the blessing rather than the Christ. It must end with desiring Him more than all besides, and with losing self utterly in His great love. Its starting-point may rightly be, ‘Save, Lord, or I perish.’ Its goal must be, ‘I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.’

Again, here is an instance of real faith weakened and interrupted by much distrust. There was not a full, calm reliance on Christ’s power and love. She dare not appeal to His heart, she shrinks from meeting His eye. She will let Him pass, and then put forth a tremulous hand. Cross-currents of emotion agitate her soul. She doubts, yet she believes; she is afraid, yet emboldened by her very despair; too diffident to cast herself on His pity, she is too confident not to resort to His healing virtue.

And so is it ever with our faith. Its ideal perfection would be that it should be unbroken, undashed by any speck of doubt. But the reality is far different. It is no full-orbed completeness, but, at the best, a growing segment of reflected light, with many a rough place in its jagged outline, prophetic of increase; with many a deep pit of blackness on its silver surface; with many a storm-cloud sweeping across its face; conscious of eclipse and subject to change. And yet it is the light which He has set to rule the night of life, and we may rejoice in its crescent beam. We are often tempted to question the reality of faith in ourselves and others, by reason of the unbelief and disbelief which co-exist with it. But why should we do so? May there not be an inner heart and centre of true trust, with a nebulous environment of doubt, through which the nucleus shall gradually send its attracting and consolidating power, and turn it, too, into firm substance? May there not be a germ, infinitesimal, yet with a real life throbbing in its microscopic minuteness, and destined to be a great tree, with all the fowls of the air lodging in its branches? May there not be hid in a heart a principle of action, which is obviously marked out for supremacy, though it has not yet come to sovereign power and manifestation in either the inward or the outward being? Where do we learn that faith must be complete to be genuine? Our own weak hearts say it to us often enough; and our lingering unbelief is only too ready to hiss into our ears the serpent’s whisper, ‘You are deceiving yourself; look at your doubts, your coldness, your forgetfulness: you have no faith at all.’ To all such morbid thoughts, which only sap the strength of the spirit, and come from beneath, not from above, we have a right to oppose the first great lesson of this story-the reality of an imperfect faith. And, turning from the profitless contemplation of the feebleness of our grasp of Christ’s robe to look on Him, the fountain of all spiritual energy, let us cleave the more confidently to Him for every discovery of our own weakness, and cry to Him for help against ourselves, that He would not ‘quench the smoking flax’; for the old prayer is never offered in vain, when offered, as at first, with tears, ‘Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief.’

II. The second stage of this story sets forth a truth involved in what I have already said, but still needing to be dealt with for a moment by itself-namely, that Christ answers the imperfect faith.

There was no real connection between the touch of His robe and the cure, but the poor ignorant sufferer thought that there was; and, therefore, Christ stoops to her

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childish thought, and allows her to prescribe the path by which His gift shall reach her. That thin wasted hand stretched itself up beyond the height to which it could ordinarily reach, and, though that highest point fell far short of Him, He lets His blessing down to her level. He does not say, ‘Understand Me, put away thy false notion of healing power residing in My garment’s hem, or I heal thee not.’ But He says, ‘Dost thou think that it is through thy finger on My robe? Then, through thy finger on My robe it shall be. According to thy faith, be it unto thee.’

And so it is ever. Christ’s mercy, like water in a vase, takes the shape of the vessel that holds it. On the one hand, His grace is infinite, and ‘is given to every one of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ’-with no limitation but His own unlimited fulness; on the other hand, the amount which we practically receive from that inexhaustible store is, at each successive moment, determined by the measure and the purity and the intensity of our faith. On His part there is no limit but infinity, on our sides the limit is our capacity, and our capacity is settled by our desires. His word to us ever is, ‘Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it.’ ‘Be it unto thee even as thou wilt.’

A double lesson, therefore, lies in this thought for us all. First, let us labour that our faith may be enlightened, importunate, and firm: for every flaw in it will injuriously affect our possession of the grace of God. Errors in opinion will hinder the blessings that flow from the truths which we misconceive or reject. Languor of desire will diminish the sum and enfeeble the energy of the powers that work in us. Wavering confidence, crossed and broken, like the solar spectrum, by many a dark line of doubt, will make our conscious possession of Christ’s gift fitful. We have a deep well to draw from. Let us take care that the vessel with which we draw is in size proportionate to its depth and our need, that the chain to which it hangs is strong, and that no leaks in it let the full supply run out, nor any stains on its inner surface taint and taste the bright treasure.

And the other lesson is this. There can be no faith so feeble that Christ does not respond to it. The most ignorant, self-regarding, timid trust may unite the soul to Jesus Christ. To desire is to have; and ‘whosoever will, may take of the water of life freely.’ If you only come to Him, though He have passed, He will stop. If you come trusting and yet doubting, He will forgive the doubt and answer the trust. If you come to Him, knowing but that your heart is full of evil which none save He can cure, and putting out a lame hand-or even a tremulous finger-tip-to touch His garment, be sure that anything is possible rather than that He should turn away your prayer, or His mercy from you.

III. The last part of this miracle teaches us that Christ corrects and confirms an imperfect faith by the very act of answering it.

Observe how the process of cure and the discipline which followed are, in Christ’s loving wisdom, made to fit closely to all the faults and flaws in the suppliant’s faith.

She had thought of the healing energy as independent of the Healer’s knowledge and will. Therefore His very first word shows her that He is aware of her mute appeal, and conscious of the going forth from Him of the power that cures-’Who touched Me?’ As was said long ago, ‘the multitudes thronged Him, but the woman touched.’ Amidst all the jostling of the unmannerly crowd that trod with rude feet on His skirts, and elbowed their way to see this new Rabbi, there was one touch unlike all the rest; and, though it was only that of the finger-tip of a poor woman, wasted to skin and bone with twelve years’ weakening disease, He knew it; and His will and love sent forth the ‘virtue’ which healed. May we not fairly apply this lesson to ourselves? Christ is, as most of us, I suppose, believe, Lord of all creatures, administering the affairs of the universe; the steps of His throne and the precincts of

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His court are thronged with dependants whose eyes wait upon Him, and who are fed from His stores; and yet my poor voice may steal through that chorus-shout of petition and praise, and His ear will detect its lowest note, and will separate the thin stream of my prayer from the great sea of supplication which rolls to His seat, and will answer me. My hand uplifted among the millions of empty and imploring palms that are raised towards the heaven will receive into its clasping fingers the special blessing for my special wants.

Again, she had been selfish in her faith, had not cared for any close personal relation with Him; and so she was taught that He was in all His gifts, and that He was more than all His gifts. He compels her to come to His feet that she may learn His heart, and may carry away a blessing not stolen, but bestowed

‘With open love, not secret cure,

The Lord of hearts would bless.’

And thus is laid the foundation for a personal bond between her and Christ, which shall be for the joy of her life, and shall make of that life a thankful sacrifice to Him, the Healer.

Thus it is with us all. We may go to Him, at first, with no thought but for ourselves. But we have not to carry away His gift hidden in our hands. We learn that it is a love-token from Him. And so we find in His answer to faith the true and only cure for all self-regard; and moved by the mercies of Christ, are led to do what else were impossible-to yield ourselves as ‘living sacrifices’ to Him.

Again, she had shrunk from publicity. Her womanly diffidence, her enfeebled health, the shame of her disease, all made her wish to hide herself and her want from His eye, and to hide herself and her treasure from men. She would fain steal away unnoticed, as she hoped she had come. But she is dragged out before all the thronging multitude, and has to tell the whole. The answer to her faith makes her bold. In a moment she is changed from timidity to courage; a tremulous invalid ready to creep into any corner to escape notice, she stretched out her hand-the instant after, she knelt at His feet in the spirit of a confessor. This is Christ’s most merciful fashion of curing our cowardice-not by rebukes, but by giving us, faint-hearted though we be, the gift which out of weakness makes us strong. He would have us testify to Him before men, and that for our own sakes, since faith unacknowledged, like a plant in the dark, is apt to become pale and sickly, and bear no bright blossoms nor sweet fruit. But, ere He bids us own His name, He pours into our hearts, in answer to our secret appeal, the health of His own life, and the blissful consciousness of that great gift which makes the tongue of the dumb sing. Faith at first may be very timid, but faith will grow bold to witness of Him and not be ashamed, in the exact proportion in which it is genuine, and receives from Christ of His fulness.

And then-with a final word to set forth still more clearly that she had received the blessing from His love, not from His magical power, and through her confidence, not through her touch-’Daughter! thy faith’-not thy finger-’hath made thee whole; go in peace and be whole’-Jesus confirms by His own authoritative voice the furtive blessing, and sends her away, perhaps to see Him no more, but to live in tranquil security, and in her humble home to guard the gift which He had bestowed on her imperfect faith, and to perfect-we may hope-the faith which He had enlightened and strengthened by the over-abundance of His gift.

Dear friends, this poor woman represents us all. Like her, we are sick of a sore sickness, we have spent our substance in trying physicians of no value, and are ‘nothing the better, but rather the worse.’ Oh! is it not strange that you should need to be urged to go to the Healer to whom she went? Do not be afraid, my brother, of

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telling Him all your pain and pining-He knows it already. Do not be afraid that your hand may not reach Him for the crowd, or that your voice may fail to fall on His ear. Do not be afraid of your ignorance, do not be afraid of your wavering confidence and many doubts. All these cannot separate you from Him who ‘Himself took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.’ Fear but one thing-that He pass on to carry life and health to other souls, ere you resolve to press to His feet. Fear but one thing-that whilst you delay, the hem of the garment may be swept beyond the reach of your slow hand. Imperfect faith may bring salvation to a soul: hesitation may ruin and wreck a life.

BARCLAY, "A SUFFER'S LAST HOPE (Mark 5:25-39)

5:25-39 Now there was a woman who was suffering from a haemorrhage which

had lasted for twelve years. She had gone through many things at the hands of

many doctors; she had spent everything she had; and it had not helped her at all.

Indeed she rather got worse and worse. When she heard the stories about Jesus,

she came up behind him in the crowd, and she touched his robe, for she said, "If

I touch even his clothes I will be cured." And immediately the fountain of her

blood was staunched, and she knew in her body that she was healed from her

scourge.

The woman in this story suffered from a trouble which was very common and

very hard to deal with. The Talmud itself gives no fewer than eleven cures for

such a trouble. Some of them are tonics and astringents; but some of them are

sheer superstitions like carrying the ashes of an ostrich-egg in a linen rag in

summer and a cotton rag in winter; or carrying a barley corn which had been

found in the dung of a white she-ass. No doubt this poor woman had tried even

these desperate remedies. The trouble was that not only did this affect a woman's

health, it also rendered her continuously unclean and shut her off from the

worship of God and the fellowship of her friends (Leviticus 15:25-27).

Mark here has a gentle jibe at the doctors. She had tried them all and had

suffered much and had spent everything she had, and the result was that she was

worse instead of better. Jewish literature is interesting on the subject of doctors.

"I used to go to the physicians," says one person, "to be healed, and the more

they anointed me with their medicaments, the more my eyes were blinded by the

films, until they were totally blinded." (Tobit 2:10.) There is a passage in the

Mishnah, which is the written summary of the traditional law, which is talking

about the trades that a man may teach his son." Rabbi Judah says: 'Ass-drivers

are most of them wicked, camel-drivers are most of them proper folk, sailors are

most of them saintly, the best among physicians is destined for Gehenna, and the

most seemly among butchers is a partner of Amalek'." But, fortunately and

justly, there are voices on the other side. One of the greatest of all tributes to

doctors is in The Book of Sirach (one of the apocryphal books written in the time

between the Old and the New Testaments) in Sirach 38:1-15.

"Cultivate the physician in accordance with the need of him,

For him also hath God ordained.

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It is from God that the physician getteth wisdom,

And from the king he receiveth gifts.

"The skill of the physician lifteth up his head,

And he may stand before nobles.

God hath created medicines out of the earth,

And let not a discerning man reject them.

"By means of them the physician assuageth pain,

And likewise the apothecary prepareth an ointment:

That his work may not cease,

Nor health from the face of the earth.

"And to the physician also give a place;

Nor should he be far away for of him there is need.

For there is a time when successful help is in his power;

For he also maketh supplication to God,

To make his diagnosis successful,

And the treatment that it may promote recovery."

The physicians had had no success with the treatment of this woman's case, and

she had heard of Jesus. But she had this problem--her trouble was an

embarrassing thing; to go in the crowd and to state it openly was something she

could not face; and so she decided to try to touch Jesus in secret. Every devout

Jew wore an outer robe with four tassels on it, one at each corner. These tassels

were worn in obedience to the command in Numbers 15:38-40, and they were to

signify to others, and to remind the man himself, that the wearer was a member

of the chosen people of God. They were the badge of a devout Jew. It was one of

these tassels that the woman slipped through the crowd and touched; and,

having touched it, she was thrilled to find herself cured.

Here was a woman who came to Jesus as a last resort; having tried every other

cure that the world had to offer she finally tried him. Many and many a man has

come to seek the help of Jesus when he himself was at his wits' end. He may have

battled with temptation until he could fight no longer and stretched out a hand,

crying, "Lord, save me! I perish!" He may have struggled on with some

exhausting task until he reached the breaking-point and then cried out for a

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strength which was not his strength. He may have laboured to attain the

goodness which haunted him, only to see it recede ever farther away, until he

was utterly frustrated. No man should need to be driven to Christ by the force of

circumstances, and yet many come that way; and, even if it is thus we come, he

will never send us empty away.

"When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me."

COFFMAN, "The gospels are so human, despite their divinity, that the interplay

of human personality often reveals little touches or glimpses of pleasantry, or

even humor. Mark gave here a rather brutal description of the experience this

poor woman had received from many physicians. The doctors had taken all of

the woman's money, prescribed many useless and ineffective remedies, none of

which did any good; and all the while the patient only got worse! Notice

however, that Luke, himself a good physician, gave the essential facts a little

differently, not contradicting Mark in any way whatsoever, but with a different

emphasis, saying "(she) had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not

be healed of any" (Luke 8:43). The inherent implication in Luke is that perhaps

the physicians had done the best they could, but the malady was beyond their

power to heal. He omitted the reference of Mark to the sufferings the poor

woman had endured through the application of outlandish remedies, and the

implication, though not clearly stated in Mark, that the physicians had made the

woman worse. The difference in the professional and lay viewpoints in these

gospels is clear enough; but their records nevertheless coincide perfectly.

BURKITT, "As our Saviour was on his way to Jairus's house, a diseased woman

comes behind him, touches his clothes, and is presently healed. The virtue lay not

in her finger but in her faith; or rather in Christ, which her faith instrumentally

drew forth.

Observe here, 1. The diseased person, a woman with a bloody flux. Let women

here take notice of the miseries which the sin of the first woman has brought

upon all women, amongst which this is one, that it has made their bodies subject

to unnatural issues and fluxes of blood.

Observe, 2. The long continuance of this disease, twelve years. It pleases God to

lay long and tedious afflictions upon some of his children in this life, and

particularly to keep some of them a very long time under bodily weakness, to

manifest his power in supporting them, and to magnify his mercy in delivering

them.

Observe, 3. This poor woman was found in the use of means; she sought to

physicians for help, and is not blamed for it, though she spent all she had upon

them.

The use of physic is not to be neglected by us in times of sickness, especially in

dangerous diseases of the body. To trust to means is to neglect God, and to

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neglect the means is to tempt God. The health of our bodies ought to be dear and

precious to us, and all lawful means to be used, both to preserve it, to recover it,

and confirm it.

Observe, 4. The workings and actings of this poor woman's faith: her disease

was unclean by the ceremonial law, and therefore to be separate from society;

accordingly she is ashamed to appear before Christ, but comes behind him to

touch his clothes, being firmly persuaded that Christ had a power communicated

by God unto him, miraculously to cure incurable diseases.

And see how our Saviour encouraged her faith, though she did not believe him to

be the eternal son of God, but one to whom God had communicated by God, but

one to whom God had communicated a power, of healing bodily diseases; yet,

says Christ, This thy faith hath made thee whole.

Learn hence, That faith oftimes meets with a better welcome from Christ than it

did or could expect. This poor woman came to Christ trembling, but went away

triumphing.

Observe, 5. Christ would have this miracle discovered; he therefore says, Who

touched me? and I perceive that virtue is gone out of me.

First, in reference to himself, to manifest his divine power, that by the touch of

his clothes he could cure such incurable diseases.

Secondly, in relation to the woman, that she might have an opportunity to give

God the praise and glory for the cure.

And thirdly, With respect to Jairus, that his faith might be strengthened in the

belief of Christ's power to raise his daughter.

Now from those words virtue went out of Christ, and he healed them, it is

evident, that the virtue which did these miraculous cures resided in Christ, and

was not communicated to him; and consequently proves him to be God; for the

divine virtue, by which the prophets and apostles did their cures, is ascribed to

God; God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. Acts 19:11 But the

miracles done by Christ are ascribed to the divine virtue dwelling in him.

Accordingly here he says, I perceive virtue is gone out of me.

SIMEON, "THE WOMAN WITH A BLOODY FLUX HEALED

Mark 5:25-29. A certain woman which had an issue of blood twelve years, and

had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had,

and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus,

came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, If I may touch

but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was

dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.

THE miracles of our Lord afford much useful instruction. They were not

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perhaps always intended as types; but they afford a just occasion for spiritual

observations.

To improve the miracle now before us, we observe,

I. Sin has introduced many lamentable evils into the world—

[Sickness and pain and death are the effects of sin. If our first parents had not

sinned, these things had never existed. The infirmities of the weaker sex are

especially noticed in this view [Note: Genesis 3:16.]. Deplorable was the condition

of the woman mentioned in the text: but incomparably worse effects have

proceeded from sin: our souls are altogether diseased in every part. The

prophet’s description of the Jews is applicable to us [Note: Isaiah 1:5-6.]. Our

own confession is but too just a picture of our state [Note: “There is no health in

us.”]; and, if we should die in this state, we must surely perish [Note: 1

Corinthians 6:9.].]

II. We are prone to rest in carnal methods of removing them—

[The woman had employed many physicians, and had spent her substance on

them without any benefit. We blame her not for using all possible means of

relief: but she had looked no higher than to the creature for help. This conduct

incensed the Lord against good King Asa [Note: 2 Chronicles 16:12.]; and in

every age it provokes the eyes of his glory. In spiritual things we generally act the

same part. Under slight convictions of sin we rest in purposes of amendment. If

guilt lie heavy on our souls, we flee to duties, and hope by them to compensate

for past neglects [Note: Micah 6:6-7.]. Not but that it is right to use the means of

salvation: but we should look through the means to the Saviour, and expect

mercy, not for our diligence, but for his name’s sake [Note: Romans 9:31-32.].

Unless we do this our labour will end in disappointment.]

III. However desperate our disorders be, the Lord Jesus is able to heal

them—

[The woman’s disease had baffled all the art of medicine; but she hoped to find

relief from the Lord Jesus. Nor was she disappointed in her application to him:

there went virtue out of him and healed her instantly. The same power will he

exercise over the diseases of the soul. The most heinous sins may be purged away

by his blood; the most inveterate lusts may be subdued by his Spirit [Note: 1

Corinthians 6:11.]. A whole cloud of witnesses have testified of this truth [Note:

Manasseh, David, Solomon, Paul, &c. See 1 Timothy 1:16.]: nor are there

wanting many living monuments of his power and grace.]

IV. The more we honour Jesus by faith, the more will he bless and honour

us—

[Greatly did this diseased person honour Jesus by her faith. She had heard of his

unbounded power and benevolence towards others: she trusted that he would

exercise them towards herself. Nor did she at all stagger through unbelief. Jesus

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therefore determined to bless and honour her. His inquiries were made, not for

his own information, but to bring her into notice, and to propose her as a pattern

for the encouragement of others. He not only conveyed, but expressly confirmed,

her cure, and dismissed her with the endearing appellation of “daughter.” Thus

will he testify his love to all who rely upon him. How gloriously did he reward

the confidence of the Hebrew Youths [Note: Daniel 3:17; Daniel 3:25; Daniel

3:27.]! Nor shall any put their trust in him in vain. Their sins, however

numerous, shall surely be forgiven [Note: Matthew 12:31.]: their difficulties,

however great, shall surely be overcome [Note: Mark 11:22-23.].]

Address—

1. To those who are unconcerned about their spiritual maladies—

[We all are sensible that we are sinful creatures, and profess an intention to seek

forgiveness: yet for the most part we defer this necessary work. If our bodies

were disordered, we should apply to the physician; we should even spend our

substance in procuring his aid, and this, with only an uncertain hope of

obtaining relief. But we account the smallest labour too much for our souls: we

will not apply in earnest to our Almighty Physician, notwithstanding we could

not fail of success in our application, and should be sure to obtain healing

“without money and without price.” What strange infatuation possesses

impenitent sinners! What extreme folly is it to prefer the transient welfare of a

perishable body, before the eternal welfare of an immortal soul! Let the conduct

of this woman put such persons to shame, and let them instantly avail themselves

of the Saviour’s presence.]

2. To those who desire to have their disorders healed—

[Man is ever prone to seek help in the creature first. The Jews of old did this to

their own confusion [Note: Hosea 5:13.]: and God has declared, that all who do

so shall fail of success [Note: Jeremiah 17:5-6.]. Let us then be convinced that the

sinner’s help is in God alone, and that all others are “physicians of no value.”

Let us never question the power or willingness of Christ to save. Let us make our

way to him through all difficulties and obstructions. Let us stretch out our hands

with humble boldness and confidence, nor doubt but that virtue shall proceed

from him to heal our souls.]

CONSTABLE 25-28, "Mark stressed the desperate condition of the woman by

recording details of her history that the other evangelists passed over.

Uncharacteristically, Mark described the woman's plight with a series of seven

participles. She was, before she met Jesus, incurable. She had faith in Jesus'

ability to heal her and a belief that she could obtain healing by touching His

clothing (cf. Mark 3:10; Mark 6:56). She tried to remain unobtrusive since her

condition rendered her and all who contacted her ritually unclean (Leviticus

15:25-27). Perhaps she had come from some distance since no one in the crowd

apparently recognized her or objected to her being there.

NISBET, "THE BELIEVING ONE AND THE UNBELIEVING MANY

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‘And a certain woman … when she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind,

and touched His garment.’

Mark 5:25-27

I. The mighty difference.—There is a great difference—it may be a difference for

us as of life and death—between thronging Jesus and touching Him. The

multitude thronged Him; only this faithful woman touched Him. There was

nothing to the outward eye which should distinguish between her action and

theirs. St. Peter and the other disciples could see nothing to distinguish this

woman from any other member of that eager, inquisitive, unceremonious

multitude which crowded around Him, as was their wont; so that St. Peter, who

was always ready, and sometimes too ready, with his word, is half inclined to

take his Lord up and rebuke Him for asking this question, ‘Who touched My

clothes?’ A question which had so little reason in it, seeing that the whole

multitude were thronging and pressing upon Him at every moment and on every

side. But Christ reaffirms and repeats His question, ‘Who touched Me?’ He

knew the difference, He distinguished at once, as by a Divine instinct, that

believing one from the unbelieving many. There was that in her which put her in

connection with the grace, the strength, the healing power which were in Him.

II. In what it consisted.—Do you ask me what this was? It was faith. It was her

faith. She came expecting a blessing, believing in blessing, and so finding the

blessing which she expected and believed. But that careless multitude who

thronged the Lord, only eager to gratify their curiosity, and to see what new

wonder He would next do, as they desired nothing, expected nothing from Him,

so they obtained nothing. Empty they came, and empty they went away.

III. We are of the many that throng Jesus, not of the faithful few who touch Him.

We bear a Christian name; we go through a certain round of Christian duties;

we are thus brought outwardly in contact with the Lord; but we come waiting

for no blessing, and so obtaining no blessing. Faith is wanting; faith, the divine

hunger of the soul, the emptiness of the soul longing to be filled, and believing

that it will be filled, out of God’s fullness, and because this is so, therefore there

goes no virtue out from Him to us; it is never given to us so to touch Him as that

immediately we know in ourselves that we are whole of our plague.

—Archbishop Trench.

Illustration

‘Some remarks of Melancthon’s on this woman’s case are worth reading. We are

doubtless to be careful that we do not hastily attach an allegorical and mystical

sense to the words of Scripture. Yet we must not forget the depth of meaning

which lies in all the acts of our Lord’s earthly ministry; and at any rate there is

much beauty in the thought which Melancthon expresses. He says, “This woman

doth aptly represent the Jewish synagogue vexed a long time with many

mischiefs and miseries, especially tortured with unconscionable princes, and

unskilful priests, or physicians of the soul, the Pharisees and Sadducees; on

whom she had wasted all her goods, and yet she was not a whit better, but rather

much worse, till the blessed Lord of Israel in His own person came to visit and

redeem her.”’

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(SECOND OUTLINE)

IMPERFECT FAITH

We need to learn that very imperfect faith may be genuine faith. There was

unquestionable faith in Christ’s healing power, and there was earnest desire for

healing. Our Lord Himself recognises the woman’s faith as adequate to be the

condition of her receiving the cure which she desired.

The imperfections of this woman’s faith were many.

I. It was intensely ignorant.—She dimly believes that, somehow or other, this

miracle-working Rabbi will heal her, but the cure is to be a piece of magic,

secured by material contact of her finger with His robe. She has no idea that

Christ’s will or His knowledge, much less His pitying love, has anything to do

with it. She thinks that she may get her desire furtively, and may carry it away

out of the crowd. He, the source of it, be none the wiser and none the poorer for

the blessing which she has stolen from Him. What utter blank ignorance of

Christ’s character and way of working! What complete misconception of the

relation between Christ and His gift!

II. It was very selfish.—She wanted health; she did not care about the Healer.

She thought much of the blessing in itself, little or nothing of the blessing as a

sign of His love. She would have been quite contented to have had nothing more

to do with Christ if she could only have gone away cured. She felt but little glow

of gratitude to Him whom she thought of as unconscious of the good which she

had stolen from Him. All this is a parallel to what occurs in the early history of

many a Christian life. The first inducement to a serious contemplation of Christ

is, ordinarily, the consciousness of one’s own sore need. Quite legitimate and

natural at first, this faith must grow into something nobler when it has once been

answered. To think of the disease mainly is inevitable before the cure, but after

the cure we should think most of the Physician. Self-love may impel to His feet;

but Christ-love should be the moving spring of life thereafter.

III. It was weakened and interrupted by much distrust.—There is not a full calm

reliance on Christ’s power and love. She dare not appeal to His heart, she

shrinks from meeting His eye. She will let Him pass, and then put forth a

tremulous hand. Crosscurrents of emotion agitate her soul. She doubts, yet she

believes; she is afraid, yet emboldened by her very despair; too diffident to cast

herself on His pity, she is too confident not to resort to His healing virtue.

26 She had suffered a great deal under the care

of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet

instead of getting better she grew worse.

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BARNES, "Had suffered many things - Had resorted to many things painful, by the direction of the physicians, in order to be healed.

CLARKE, "Had suffered many things of many physicians, - and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse - No person will wonder at this account, when he considers the therapeutics of the Jewish physicians in reference to hemorrhages, especially of the kind with which this woman was afflicted.

Rabbi Jochanan says: “Take of gum Alexandria, of alum, and of crocus hortensis, the weight of a zuzee each; let them be bruised together, and given in wine to the woman that hath an issue of blood. But if this fail, “Take of Persian onions nine logs, boil them in wine, and give it to her to drink: and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this fail, “Set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her hand; and let somebody come behind and affright her, and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this do no good, “Take a handful of cummin and a handful of crocus, and a handful of faenu-greek; let these be boiled, and given her to drink, and say, Arise from thy flux. But should this also fail, “Dig seven trenches, and burn in them some cuttings of vines not yet circumcised (vines not four years old); and let her take in her hand a cup of wine, and let her be led from this trench and set down over that, and let her be removed from that, and set down over another: and in each removal say unto her, Arise from thy flux.” Dr. Lightfoot gives these as a sample, out of many others, extracted from Bab. Shabb. fol. 110.

And from some of these nostrums it is evident the woman could not be bettered, and from some others it is as evident that she must be made worse; and from all together it is indubitably certain that she must have suffered many things; - and from the persons employed, the expense of the medicaments, and the number of years she was afflicted, as she was not a person of great opulence, it is most perfectly credible that she spent all that she had. She was therefore a fit patient for the Great Physician.

The case of this woman was a very afflicting one:

1. Because of the nature of her malady; it was such as could not be made public, without exposing her to shame and contempt.

2. It was an inveterate disorder; it had lasted twelve years.

3. It was continual; she appears to have had no interval of health.

4. Her disorder was aggravated by the medicines she used - she suffered much, etc.

5. Her malady was ruinous both to her health and circumstances - she spent all that she had.

6. She was now brought to the last point of wretchedness, want, and despair; she was growing worse, and had neither money nor goods to make another experiment to procure her health.

7. She was brought so low by her disorder as to be incapable of earning any thing to support her wretched life a little longer.

It has been said, and the saying is a good one, “Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” Never could the power and goodness of God be shown in a more difficult and distressful case. And now Jesus comes, and she is healed.

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GILL, "And had suffered many things of many physicians,.... She took many a nauseous medicine, and had gone through courses of physic with different physicians; for there were many among the Jews that pretended to the cure of fluxes; and various are the prescriptions the Jewish doctors give for such a disorder, as may be seen in their Talmud (q); and many of which Dr. Lightfoot (r) has transcribed: and among the rest, they direct to the use of gum of Alexandria, alum, saffron, Persian onions, cummin, and "faenum graecum", put into wine and drank.

And had spent all that she had; had wasted her substance, and brought herself to poverty, by pursuing the directions given her; so that she was not in circumstances now to employ a physician;

and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse: the several medicines she had taken had done her no good, had not, in the least, restrained and checked the disorder, but it was rather increased thereby. This is often the case of persons who are, in some measure, sensible of the disease of sin, but are ignorant of the proper methods to be taken for the cure of it. They apply to their own works of righteousness, moral and civil, to the duties of religion, private and public, to a legal repentance, external humiliation and tears, and an outward reformation of life, hoping hereby, in process of time, to be rid of their disorder, and be in good health; whereas these are physicians of no value, and of no real service in their case: they are so far from being the better, that they are rather worse and worse, there being so much impurity, imperfection, and sin, in all these things, and which is increased by a dependence on them; that their iniquities grow upon them, and the score of their transgressions is become greater, and their distemper the more inveterate, and less easy to be cured; yea, not only they spend their money for that which does not bring them a cure, and exhaust all the stock of nature's power to no purpose, but they also suffer much hereby. For such a course of action, such conduct and methods as these bring them into a spirit of bondage; for when they fail in their duties, do not come up to the rules prescribed them, what terror of mind possesses them! what horror and wrath does the law work in their consciences! what a fearful looking for is there of fiery indignation, to consume them! It cannot be expressed what some have suffered by following such prescriptions.

HENRY, "1. The piteous case of this poor woman. She had a constant issue of blood upon her, for twelve years, which had thrown her, no doubt, into great weakness, had embittered the comfort of her life, and threatened to be her death in a little time. She had had the best advice of physicians, that she could get, and had made use of the many medicines and methods they prescribed: as long as she had any thing to give them, they had kept her in hopes that they could cure her; but now that she had spent all she had among them, they gave her up as incurable. See here, (1.) That skin for skin, and all that a man has, will be give for life and health; she spent all she had upon physicians. (2.) It is ill with those patients whose physicians are their worst disease; who suffer by their physicians, instead of being relieved by them. (3.) Those that are not bettered by medicines, commonly grow worse, and the disease gets the more ground. (4.) It is usual with people not to apply themselves to Christ, till they have tried in vain all other helpers, and find them, as certainly they will, physicians of no value. And he will be found a sure refuge, even to those who make him their last refuge.

JAMIESON, "And had suffered many things of many physicians — The expression perhaps does not necessarily refer to the suffering she endured under

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medical treatment, but to the much varied treatment which she underwent.

and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse — pitiable case, and affectingly aggravated; emblem of our natural state as fallen creatures (Eze_16:5, Eze_16:6), and illustrating the worse than vanity of all human remedies for spiritual maladies (Hos_5:13). The higher design of all our Lord’s miracles of healing irresistibly suggests this way of viewing the present case, the propriety of which will still more appear as we proceed.

LIGHTFOOT, "[And had suffered many things of many physicians.] And it is

no wonder: for see what various and manifold kinds of medicines are prescribed

to a woman labouring under a flux: "R. Jochanan saith, Bring (or take) of gum

of Alexandria the weight of a zuzee: and of alum, the weight of a zuzee: and of

crocus hortensis the weight of a zuzee: let these be bruised together, and be given

in wine to the woman that hath an issue of blood, &c.

"But if this does not benefit, take of Persian onions thrice three logs, boil them in

wine, and then give it her to drink, and say Arise from thy flux

"But if this does not prevail, set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her

hold a cup of wine in her hand; and let somebody come behind her and affright

her, and say, Arise from thy flux.

"But if that do no good, take a handful of cummin, and a handful of crocus, and

a handful of foenum groecum. Let these be boiled in wine, and give them her to

drink, and say, Arise from thy flux."

But if these do not benefit, other doses and others still are prescribed, in number

ten or more, which see, if you please, in the place cited [Bab. Schabb. fol. 110.].

Among them I cannot omit this:

"Let them dig seven ditches: in which let them burn some cuttings of such vines

as are not circumcised, [that is, that are not yet four years old]. And let her take

in her hand a cup of wine. And let them lead her away from this ditch, and make

her sit down over that. And let them remove her from that, and make her sit

down over another. And in every removal you must say to her, Arise from thy

flux," &c.

27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up

behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak,

BARNES, "Came in the press behind - In the crowd that pressed upon him. This was done to avoid being noticed. It was an act of faith. She was full of confidence

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that Jesus was able to heal, but she trembled on account of her conscious unworthiness, thus illustrating the humility and confidence of a sinner coming to God for pardon and life.

CLARKE, "Came in the press behind - She had formed her resolution in faith, she executes it, notwithstanding her weakness, etc., with courage; and now she finds it crowned with success.

GILL, "When she had heard of Jesus,.... Of the many miracles he had wrought, and cures he had performed, in cases as difficult and desperate as hers, or more so; and that he was now passing along the streets,

came in the press behind; though she was so weak, and much enfeebled, as she must needs be, by such, and so long a disorder; yet she ventures into the crowd, which were pushing and pressing after Christ; and got up to him, behind him, being ashamed to tell her case, and desire a cure:

and touched his garment; the hem or border of it, with her hand, very softly, and in a private manner, so as not to be observed by any. Christ is the sinner's last shift; he tries every one first before he comes to him; he spends all his money, strength, and time, with others, to no purpose; and finding them all to be useless and unserviceable, he applies to him, who is the only physician that can give relief in this case: like this woman, having heard of his ability to save to the uttermost those that come to him; and being encouraged by the many cures of the worst of sinners, of such who were in the most desperate condition, presses in the throng, through a great many temptations, difficulties, and discouragements thrown in the way by Satan, and its own evil heart of unbelief, and which arise from a sense of vileness and unworthiness; and in a modest and bashful manner, fearing it should be thought presumption in him, and yet persuaded it is the only way for a cure, and that it is to be had in this way, lays hold on the robe of Christ's righteousness, and the garment s of his salvation; or, in other words, thus reasons with himself: though I am such a vile, sinful, unrighteous, and impotent creature, yet surely in the Lord there is righteousness and strength, if I can but by faith lay hold thereon; though it be but in a weak way, only by a touch, and in a trembling manner; I shall be justified from all things, I could not be justified by all the works of righteousness I have been doing, and that evidentially and comfortably; and therefore I will venture and draw nigh unto him, and though he slay me I will trust in him; I will throw off my own filthy rags of righteousness; I will make mention of, and lay hold on his righteousness, and that only; he shall be my salvation. And such an one finds, as this woman afterwards did, a perfect cure, cleansing from all sin, a free and full forgiveness of it, and complete justification from it.

JAMIESON, "When she had heard of Jesus, came — This was the right experiment at last. What had she “heard of Jesus?” No doubt it was His marvelous cures she had heard of; and the hearing of these, in connection with her bitter experience of the vanity of applying to any other, had been blessed to the kindling in her soul of a firm confidence that He who had so willingly wrought such cures on others was able and would not refuse to heal her also.

in the press behind — shrinking, yet seeking.

touched his garment — According to the ceremonial law, the touch of anyone having the disease which this woman had would have defiled the person touched.

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Some think that the recollection of this may account for her stealthily approaching Him in the crowd behind, and touching but the hem of His garment. But there was an instinct in the faith which brought her to Jesus, which taught her, that if that touch could set her free from the defiling disease itself, it was impossible to communicate defilement to Him, and that this wondrous Healer must be above such laws.

COFFMAN, "Having heard the things concerning Jesus ... The woman might

have been a citizen of Caesarea Philippi;[16] and, if so, this indicates the

widespread knowledge of the mighty works of Jesus.

Touched his garment ... God had commanded Hebrew men to wear a border on

their garments, "the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue" (Numbers 15:38),

the same being a reminder that they were God's people. As Turlington said, "She

shared the ancient view that the healer's own person was potent and that his

clothing, or even his shadow, could serve as bearers of his power (see Acts 5:15;

19:12)."[17]

If I touch ... I shall be made whole ...; Mark 6:56 and Matthew 14:36 have the

statement, "As many as touched were made whole," the same being one of the

profoundest statements in Scripture. For sermon outline on this, see the

Commentary on Matthew, p. 221.

[16] J. R. Dummelow, op. cit., p. 659.

[17] Henry E. Turlington, The Broadman Bible Commentary (Nashville:

Broadman Press, 1946), Vol. 8, p. 310.

COKE, "Mark 5:27-28. The press—and touched his garment— The throng, &c.

and so Mark 5:30. Her disease being reckoned unclean, she was ashamed to

mention it before the multitude; and having formed the highest idea of Christ's

power, she resolved to try this method of cure, believing that no more was

necessary to effect it: however, because her distemper was of such a nature as to

render them whom she touched unclean, she durst not handle the person of so

great a prophet, nor any part of his garment, but its border or hem (see Matthew

23:5.), shewing at the same time both the strength of her faith, and the greatness

of her humility. I shall be whole, is in the original σωθησομαι, I shall be saved;

and there are many other places in which the word is used in the same sense; as

certainly it may also with great propriety be applied to a rescue from any

imminent danger, or pressing calamity, especially in an extraordinary way.

Compare Mark 5:23. Ch. Mark 6:56. Luke 8:36; Luke 17:19; Luke 18:42. John

11:12 and Acts 4:9.

28 because she thought, “If I just touch his

clothes, I will be healed.”

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GILL, "For she said,.... Within herself, such were her thoughts, and so great her faith:

if I may touch but his clothes I shall be whole; See Gill on Mat_9:21.

HENRY, "2. The strong faith that she had in the power of Christ to heal her; she said within herself, though it doth not appear that she was encouraged by any preceding instance to say it, If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole, Mar_5:28. She believed that he cured, not as a prophet, by virtue derived from God, but as the Son of God, by a virtue inherent in himself. Her case was such as she could not in modesty tell him publicly, as others did their grievances, and therefore a private cure was what she wished for, and her faith was suited to her case.

3. The wonderful effect produced by it; She came in the crowd behind him, and with much ado got to touch his garment, and immediately she felt the cure wrought, Mar_5:29. The flux of blood was dried up, and she felt herself perfectly well all over her, as well as ever she was in her life, in an instant; by this it appears that the cure was altogether miraculous; for those that in such cases are cured by natural means, recover their strength slowly and gradually, and not per saltum - all at once; but as for God, his work is perfect. Note, Those whom Christ heals of the disease of sin, that bloody issue, cannot but experience in themselves a universal change for the better.

JAMIESON, "For she said — “within herself” (Mat_9:21).

If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole — that is, if I may but come in contact with this glorious Healer at all. Remarkable faith this!

29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she

felt in her body that she was freed from her

suffering.

GILL, "And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up,.... It was

usual with the Jews to call the womb, in which the child is formed, מקור, "a fountain"

(s); and because, from hence, issued the blood in a menstruous and profluvious

person, they called it, as here, מקור�דמיה, "the fountain of her blood" (t); and

sometimes use the same phrase of the drying up of it, as in this place: they say (u),

when a woman is searched and found to be pure, she is forbidden her house, עד�

until her fountain be dried up"; so that as no blood issued from it, there" ,שיתנגב�מעיינה

was none in it, and which was now this woman's case, as she found;

and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague: she not only

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found by that quick alteration there was in her animal spirits, which were now free and vigorous; but she perceived, in that part of her body, from whence the issue sprung, that she was perfectly well, and that the disorder was entirely gone, which had been for so many years a sore affliction to her, and a severe correction and chastisement of her, as the word used implies. It properly signifies a "scourge", as every affliction is, a scourge for sin; and very likely this woman's disease was on the same account: sometimes afflictions are God's scourges in a way of wrath, and sometimes in a fatherly way, in love: "for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth", Heb_12:6, and who, as he wounds, he heals, and which is sensibly perceived by his people. The word "plague" carries in it something more dreadful, and fitly enough expresses the nature of sin, which is a pestilential disease; the corruption of nature, indwelling sin is called the "plague of the heart", 1Ki_8:38. It is a loathsome disease, and without the grace of God, a mortal one; the body of sin, is a body of death; and all sin is of the same nature and kind; the end of it is destruction and death: the healing of it is the forgiveness of sin, which is through the blood of Christ, and the application of it to the soul; which, when made, is sensibly felt, for it immediately produces spiritual joy, peace, and comfort: this makes the bones, which were broken, to rejoice; this bids every son and daughter of the Lord God Almighty to be of good cheer; it causes the inhabitants of Zion to hold their peace, and no more say they are sick, because their sins are forgiven them. And a man may as easily perceive when his spiritual maladies are healed in this way, as when he is cured of any bodily disorder.

HENRY, "3. The wonderful effect produced by it; She came in the crowd behindhim, and with much ado got to touch his garment, and immediately she felt the cure wrought, Mar_5:29. The flux of blood was dried up, and she felt herself perfectly well all over her, as well as ever she was in her life, in an instant; by this it appears that the cure was altogether miraculous; for those that in such cases are cured by natural means, recover their strength slowly and gradually, and not per saltum - all at once;but as for God, his work is perfect. Note, Those whom Christ heals of the disease of sin, that bloody issue, cannot but experience in themselves a universal change for the better.

JAMIESON, "And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up — Not only was her issue of blood stanched (Luk_8:44), but the cause of it was thoroughly removed, insomuch that by her bodily sensations she immediately knew herself perfectly cured.

COKE, "Mark 5:29. And—she was healed of that plague— ΄αστιγος,— of that

washing and dangerous distemper, with which she had been chastised for so long

a time. It was necessary that the ministry of the Son of God should be rendered

illustrious by all kinds of miracles, and that all the people of the country where

he lived should have both the highest idea, and the firmest persuasion of his

power; it was for advancing these great ends, as well as for the sake of the

immediate object of his mercy, that the success of this woman's attempt equalled

the faith and humility by which she was guided.

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30 At once Jesus realized that power had gone

out from him. He turned around in the crowd

and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

BARNES, "Virtue had gone out of him - Power to heal. The word in the original means power.

Who touched my clothes? - This be said, not to obtain information, for he had healed her, and must have known on whom the blessing was conferred; but he did it that the woman might herself make a confession of the whole matter, so that the power of her faith and the greatness of the miracle might be manifested to the praise of God.

GILL, "And Jesus immediately knowing in himself,.... As soon as ever the woman had touched his garments, and had a cure, Christ, who knew all things in his Spirit, or divine nature, that dwelt in him, knew what was done, that the woman had touched him, and was healed thereby; though, as not without his knowledge, so neither without his will, and entirely by his power:

that virtue was gone out of him; to the healing of some person, though not at all to the diminution of that virtue, which remained as powerful and effective in him as ever. This shows that there was an internal essential virtue in Christ to cure diseases: it was not what he derived from another, or exercised under another's influence; but what was his own, and which he put forth as the Lord God omnipotent. The apostles of Christ cured diseases, but not by their own power and holiness, by any innate virtue in them; but in the name of Christ, and by power derived and received from him: but Christ, being God, had infinite virtue within himself, which went forth from him when he pleased, to the curing of whatsoever disease he thought fit; and which was no ways lessened by the frequent exertions of it; no more than the light and heat of the sun by the continual emanations of them; only there is this difference between the emission of light and heat from the sun, and the sending forth virtue from Christ, that the one is by the necessity of nature, without knowledge, or will, but the other voluntarily, and when, and as he pleases, The same holds good with respect to healing spiritual diseases: Christ has a power within him to forgive all trespasses; and virtue may be said to go out of him to this purpose, when it is his will to make application of pardoning mercy to his people; which requires an exertion of power, as well as a display of grace.

Turned him about in the press, and said, who touched my clothes? that is, turned himself towards the woman behind him, though the press was so large about him, and asked who touched his clothes; not for his own sake, who knew very well who had done it; but that the cure might be known to others: not for the sake of ostentation and popular applause, but for the manifestation of his glory, and for the glory of God, and for the strengthening the faith of Jairus, who was with him, and with whom he was going to raise his daughter to life; and also that he might have an opportunity of showing forth, and commending this poor woman's faith, and of confirming the cure wrought, and of dismissing her with the utmost pleasure and joy.

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HENRY, "4. Christ's enquiry after his concealed patient, and the encouragement he gave her, upon the discovery of her; Christ knew in himself that virtue had gone out of him, Mar_5:30. He knew it not by any deficiency of spirits, through the exhausting of this virtue, but rather by an agility of spirits, in the exerting of it, and the innate and inseparable pleasure he had in doing good. And being desirous to see his patient, he asked, not in displeasure, as one affronted, but in tenderness, as one concerned, Who touched my clothes?

JAMIESON, "And Jesus immediately knowing in himself that virtue — or “efficacy.”

had gone out of him — He was conscious of the forthgoing of His healing power, which was not - as in prophets and apostles - something foreign to Himself and imparted merely, but what He had dwelling within Him as “His own fullness.”

turned him about in the press — crowd.

and said, Who touched my clothes?

BARCLAY, "THE COST OF HEALING (Mark 5:30-34)

5:30-34 Jesus was well aware in himself that the power which issued from him

had gone out of him; and immediately, in the middle of the crowd, he turned and

said: "Who touched my clothes?" The disciples said to him: "Look at the crowd

that are crushing you on every side--what's the point of saying, 'Who touched

me?'" He kept looking all round to see who had done this. The woman was

terrified and trembling. She knew well what had happened to her. She came and

threw herself down before him, and told him the whole truth. "Daughter!" he

said to her, "Your faith has cured you! Go, and be in good health, free from the

trouble that was your scourge."

This passage tells us something about three people.

(i) It tells us something about Jesus. It tells us the cost of healing. Every time

Jesus healed anyone it took something out of him. Here is a universal rule of life.

We will never produce anything great unless we are prepared to put something

of ourselves, of our very life, of our very soul into it. No pianist will ever give a

really great performance if he glides through a piece of music with faultless

technique and nothing more. The performance will not be great unless at the end

of it there is the exhaustion which comes of the outpouring of self. No actor will

ever give a great performance who repeats his words with every inflection right

and every gesture correct like a perfectly designed automaton. His tears must be

real tears; his feelings must be real feelings; something of himself must go into

the acting. No preacher who ever preached a real sermon descended from his

pulpit without a feeling of being drained of something.

If we are ever to help men, we must be ready to spend ourselves. It all comes

from our attitude to men. Once Matthew Arnold, the great literary critic, said of

the middle classes: "Look at these people; the clothes they wear; the books they

read; the texture of mind that composes their thoughts; would any amount of

money compensate for being like one of these?" Now the sense of that saying

may or may not be true; but the point is that it was contempt that gave it birth.

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He looked on men with a kind of shuddering loathing; and no one who looks on

men like that can ever help them.

Think on the other hand of Moses, after the people had made the golden calf

when he was on the mountain top. Remember how he besought God to blot him

out of the book of remembrance if only the people might be forgiven. (Exodus

32:30-32.) Think of how Myers makes Paul speak when he looks upon the lost

and pagan world:

"Then, with a thrill, the intolerable craving,

Shivers throughout me like a trumpet call--

O to save these, to perish for their saving--

Die for their life, be offered for them all."

The greatness of Jesus was that he was prepared to pay the price of helping

others, and that price was the outgoing of his very life. We follow in his steps

only when we are prepared to spend, not our substance, but our souls and

strength for others.

(ii) It tells us something about the disciples. It shows us very vividly the

limitations of what is called common sense. The disciples took the common-sense

point of view. How could Jesus avoid being touched and jostled in a crowd like

that? That was the sensible way to look at things. There emerges the strange and

poignant fact that they had never realized that it cost Jesus anything at all to

heal others.

One of the tragedies of life is the strange insensitiveness of the human mind. We

so often utterly fail to realize what others are going through. Because we may

have no experience of something, we never think what that something is costing

someone else. Because something may be easy for us we never realize what a

costly effort it may be for someone else. That is why we so often hurt worst of all

those we love. A man may pray for common sense, but sometimes he would do

well to pray for that sensitive, imaginative insight which can see into the hearts

of others.

(iii) It tells us something about the woman. It tells us of the relief of confession. It

was all so difficult; it was all so humiliating. But once she had told the whole

truth to Jesus, the terror and the trembling were gone and a wave of relief

flooded her heart. And when she had made her pitiful confession she found him

very kind.

"Let not conscience make you linger,

Nor of fitness fondly dream;

All the fitness he requireth

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Is to feel your need of him."

It is never hard to confess to one who understands like Jesus.

COFFMAN, "Who touched ...? Evidently, from the ensuing remark of the

apostles, many had jostled him; but someone had touched in a far more

meaningful manner. Of course, Jesus knew already who had touched, had

already judged her faith, and had by his own volition healed her. We should not

fall into her superstition by supposing the tassel did it! Nor should we fall into

the guilty error of ascribing ignorance to Jesus as the reason for his asking the

question. Was God asking for information when he inquired, "Adam, where art

thou?" (Genesis 3:9), or when he asked of Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?"

(Genesis 4:9). The reason for the question was resident in the fact that Jesus

desired to bestow upon the woman a greater blessing than mere healing. He

would not permit her, in a sense, to steal a blessing, but would provide it for her

openly, and before all.

My garments ... shows that the woman did not touch merely one little place on

Jesus' clothes. The big pseudocon that makes a point out of "tassel" in one place

and "fringe" in another is exploded by the truth here that this woman did a lot

of touching!

COKE, "Mark 5:30-34. And Jesus, immediately knowing, &c.— It was for the

reasons alleged in the last note, that Jesus would by no means allow the opinion

which this woman entertained of his power and goodness to pass silent and

unapplauded: therefore he immediately turned about in the crowd, and asked

who it was that had touched his clothes. He knew the person, for he knew all

things; and no virtue or miraculous cure could be derived from him, unless by

his own consent; but he spake in this manner, that the woman might, of her own

accord, make a confession of the whole matter, by which the strength of her faith

and the greatness of her cure would appear, tothe glory of God; and that he

might have an opportunity to instruct and comfort her. Accordingly, when the

persons nearest to him cleared themselves, and Jesus insisted upon knowing who

it was that had done the thing, the woman, finding it impossible to conceal

herself any longer, came to him, trembling, and told him all. Perhaps the

uncleanness of her distemper was the reason of her fear, thinking that he would

be offended with her for touching him: but the divine Physician, far from being

angry, spake kindly to her, commending the honesty of her disposition, and the

strength of her faith; and telling her that it was on account of her faith he had

consented to make her whole. This incidental miracle appears very grand, when

the relation which it bears to the principal one is considered. Jesus is going to

give a specimen of that Almighty Power, by which the resurrection of allmen to

immortality shall be effected at the last day; and behold, virtue little inferior to

that which is capable of raising the dead to life, issues from him through his

garment, and heals a very obstinate disease, which, having baffled the power of

medicine for twelve years, had remained absolutely incurable, till the presence of

Jesus, who is the resurrection and the life, chased it away! The cure, though

complete, was performed in an instant, and the woman knew it by the immediate

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easewhich she felt, by the return of her strength, by the cheerfulness of her

spirits, and by all the other agreeable sensations which accompany sudden

changes from painful diseases to perfect health. St. Mark expresses this shortly

and elegantly; εγνω τω σωματι, she felt in her body. See the learned and

excellent Ader's 12th Enarration, in his Treatise on Scripture Diseases. We may

render the last words of Mark 5:34. Thy faith hath made thee well, or hath cured

thee; go in peace, and be healed of thy trouble.

CONSTABLE, "Just as quickly (Gr. euthys) Jesus perceived that power had

gone from Him. The harshness of the disciples' reply is unique to Mark. Luke

wrote that Peter voiced it (Luke 8:45). Probably the disciples were eager to get

Jesus to Jairus' house before it was too late. Yet Jesus wanted to speak to the

woman and to assure her that it was her faith in Him that had resulted in her

healing, not merely her touch. He "looked around" searching the faces in the

crowd to discover the person of faith.

"His healing power did not work automatically, like a battery discharging its

power when accidentally short-circuited. Jesus perceived in Himself, without any

external suggestion, the significance of the woman's touch, and, actively willing

to honor her faith, He was immediately conscious of His healing power going

toward her. His power, the inherent ability to perform, was always under the

control of His conscious volition. His consciousness of that power going forth

from Him suggests that His healing ministries cost Jesus much spiritual energy.

It would explain why He found it necessary at times to escape the crowds to find

time for refreshing through fellowship with the Father." [Note: Hiebert, pp.

129-30.]

31 “You see the people crowding against you,”

his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask,

‘Who touched me?’ ”

CLARKE, "Thou seest the multitude thronging then, etc. - Many touch Jesus who are not healed by him: the reason is, they do it not by faith, through a sense of their wants, and a conviction of his ability and willingness to save them. Faith conveys the virtue of Christ into the soul, and spiritual health is the immediate consequence of this received virtue.

GILL, "And his disciples said unto him,.... Peter, and they that were with him; after the crowd that were about him denied that any of them had touched him; see Luk_8:45,

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thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou who touched me? They seem astonished at his question, and answer with some degree of warmth, and almost ready to charge it as weak: and impertinent; since, as there was such a crowd about him, pressing him on every side, he could not but be touched by many; and therefore to ask who touched him, when this was the case, they thought was a very strange and unnecessary question.

HENRY, "The disciples, not without a show of rudeness and indecency, almost ridiculed his question (Mar_5:31); The multitudes throng thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? As if it had been an improper question. Christ passed by the affront, and looks around to see her that had done this thing; not that he might blame her for her presumption, but that he might commend and encourage her faith, and by his own act and deed might warrant and confirm the cure, and ratify to her that which she had surreptitiously obtained. He needed not that any should inform him, for he had presently his eye upon her.

JAMIESON, "And his disciples said unto him — Luke says (Luk_8:45), “When all denied, Peter and they that were with Him said, Master.”

Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? — “Askest thou, Lord, who touched Thee? Rather ask who touched Thee not in such a throng.” “And Jesus said, Somebody hath touched Me” - “a certain person has touched Me” - “for I perceive that virtue is gone out of Me” (Luk_8:46). Yes, the multitude “thronged and pressed Him” - they jostled against Him, but all involuntarily; they were merely carried along; but one, one only - “a certain person -TOUCHED HIM,” with the conscious, voluntary, dependent touch of faith, reaching forth its hand expressly to have contact with Him. This and this only Jesus acknowledges and seeks out. Even so, as Augustine long ago said, multitudes still come similarly close to Christ in the means of grace, but all to no purpose, being only sucked into the crowd. The voluntary, living contact of faith is that electric conductor which alone draws virtue out of Him.

32 But Jesus kept looking around to see who

had done it.

GILL, "And he looked round about,.... The press and throng of people, on every side of him; though he knew very well where she stood, who had done the thing, and had received the cure:

to see her that had done this thing; how she looked, and whether her countenance, and the confusion she was thrown into by the question, would not betray her; though he himself wanted no such signs, by which to discover her. Christ, as God, being omniscient, knew who she was, and where she was; and, as man, did not want to see her to gratify his curiosity: nor was his view to chide her for what she had done, but to express his well pleasedness in her faith and actions, and to observe it to others, and the cure she had; not in an ostentatious way, to gain glory to himself,

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but to commend her faith, and encourage others in the exercise of it on him; and especially Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, who was with him, and in great distress, on account of his daughter, whom Christ was going to raise from the dead.

HENRY, "Christ passed by the affront, and looks around to see her that had done this thing; not that he might blame her for her presumption, but that he might commend and encourage her faith, and by his own act and deed might warrant and confirm the cure, and ratify to her that which she had surreptitiously obtained. He needed not that any should inform him, for he had presently his eye upon her. Note, As secret acts of sin, so secret acts of faith, are known to the Lord Jesus, and are under his eye. If believers derive virtue from Christ ever so closely, he knows it, and is pleased with it.

JAMIESON, "And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing — not for the purpose of summoning forth a culprit, but, as we shall presently see, to obtain from the healed one a testimony to what He had done for her.

MACLAREN, "THE LOOKS OF JESUS

This Gospel of Mark is full of little touches that speak an eye-witness who had the gift of noting and reproducing vividly small details which make a scene live before us. Sometimes it is a word of description: ‘There was much grass in the place.’ Sometimes it is a note of Christ’s demeanour: ‘Looking up to heaven, He sighed.’ Sometimes it is the very Aramaic words He spoke: ‘Ephphatha.’ Very often the Evangelist tells us of our Lord’s looks, the gleams of pity and melting tenderness, the grave rebukes, the lofty authority that shone in them. We may well believe that on earth as in heaven, ‘His eyes were as a flame of fire,’ burning with clear light of knowledge and pure flame of love. These looks had pierced the soul, and lived for ever in the memory, of the eye-witness, whoever he was, who was the informant of Mark. Probably the old tradition is right, and it is Peter’s loving quickness of observation that we have to thank for these precious minutiae. But be that as it may, the records in this Gospel of the looks of Christ are very remarkable. My present purpose is to gather them together, and by their help to think of Him whose meek, patient ‘eye’ is ‘still upon them that fear Him,’ beholding our needs and our sins.

Taking the instances in the order of their occurrence, they are these-’He looked round on the Pharisees with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts’ (Mar_3:5). He looked on His disciples and said, ‘Behold My mother and My brethren!’ (Mar_3:32). He looked round about to see who had touched the hem of His garment (Mar_5:32). He turned and looked on His disciples before rebuking Peter (Mar_8:33), He looked lovingly on the young questioner, asking what he should do to obtain eternal life (Mar_10:21), and in the same context, He looked round about to His disciples after the youth had gone away sorrowful, and enforced the solemn lesson of His lips with the light of His eye (Mar_10:23, Mar_10:27). Lastly, He looked round about on all things in the temple on the day of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mar_11:11). These are the instances in this Gospel. One look of Christ’s is not mentioned in it, which we might have expected-namely, that which sent Peter out from the judgment hall to break into a passion of penitent tears. Perhaps the remembrance was too sacred to be told-at all events, the Evangelist who gives us so many similar notes is silent about that look, and we have to learn of it from another.

We may throw these instances into groups according to their objects, and so bring

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out the many-sided impression which they produce.

I. The welcoming look of love and pity to those who seek Him.

Two of the recorded instances fall into their place here. The one is this of our text, of the woman who came behind Christ to touch His robe, and be healed: the other is that of the young ruler.

Take that first instance of the woman, wasted with disease, timid with the timidity of her sex, of her long sickness, of her many disappointments. She steals through the crowd that rudely presses on this miracle-working Rabbi, and manages somehow to stretch out a wasted arm through some gap in the barrier of people about Him, and with her pallid, trembling finger to touch the edge of His robe. The cure comes at once. It was all that she wanted, but not all that He would give her. Therefore He turns and lets His eye fall upon her. That draws her to Him. It told her that she had not been too bold. It told her that she had not surreptitiously stolen healing, but that He had knowingly given it, and that His loving pity went with it. So it confirmed the gift, and, what was far more, it revealed the Giver. She had thought to bear away a secret boon unknown to all but herself. She gets instead an open blessing, with the Giver’s heart in it.

The look that rested on her, like sunshine on some plant that had long pined and grown blanched in the shade, revealed Christ’s knowledge, sympathy, and loving power. And in all these respects it is a revelation of the Christ for all time, and for every seeking timid soul in all the crowd. Can my poor feeble hand find a cranny anywhere through which it may reach the robe? What am I, in all this great universe blazing with stars, and crowded with creatures who hang on Him, that I should be able to secure personal contact with Him? The multitude-innumerable companies from every corner of space-press upon Him and throng Him, and I-out here on the verge of the crowd-how can I get at Him?-how can my little thin cry live and be distinguishable amid that mighty storm of praise that thunders round His throne? We may silence all such hesitancies of faith, for He who knew the difference between the light touch of the hand that sought healing, and the jostling of the curious crowd, bends on us the same eye, a God’s in its perfect knowledge, a man’s in the dewy sympathy which shines in it. However imperfect may be our thoughts of His blessing, their incompleteness will not hinder our reception of His gift in the measure of our faith, and the very bestowment will teach us worthier conceptions of Him, and hearten us for bolder approaches to His grace. He still looks on trembling suppliants, though they may know their own sickness much better than they understand Him, and still His look draws us to His feet by its omniscience, pity, and assurance of help.

The other case is very different. Instead of the invalid woman, we see a young man in the full flush of his strength, rich, needing no material blessing. Pure in life, and righteous according to even a high standard of morality, he yet feels that he needs something. Having real and strong desires after ‘eternal life,’ he comes to Christ to try whether this new Teacher could say anything that would help him to the assured inward peace and spontaneous goodness for which he longed, and had not found in all the round of punctilious obedience to unloved commandments. As he kneels there before Jesus, in his eager haste, with sincere and high aspirations stamped on his young ingenuous face, Christ’s eyes turn on him, and that wonderful word stands written, ‘Jesus, beholding him, loved him.’

He reads him through and through, knowing all the imperfection of his desires after goodness and eternal life, and yet loving him with more than a brother’s love. His sympathy does not blind Jesus to the limitations and shallowness of the young man’s aspirations, but His clear knowledge of these does not harden the gaze into indifference, nor check the springing tenderness in the Saviour’s heart. And the

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Master’s words, though they might sound cold, and did embody a hard requirement, are beautifully represented in the story as the expression of that love. He cared for the youth too much to deceive him with smooth things. The truest kindness was to put all his eagerness to the test at once. If he accepted the conditions, the look told him what a welcome awaited him. If he started aside from them, it was best for him to find out that there were things which he loved more than eternal life. So with a gracious invitation shining in His look, Christ places the course of self-denial before him; and when he went away sorrowful, he left behind One more sorrowful than himself. We can reverently imagine with what a look Christ watched his retreating figure; and we may hope that, though he went away then, the memory of that glance of love, and of those kind, faithful words, sooner or later drew him back to his Saviour.

Is not all this too an everlasting revelation of our Lord’s attitude? We may be sure that He looks on many a heart-on many a young heart-glowing with noble wishes and half-understood longings, and that His love reaches every one who, groping for the light, asks Him what to do to inherit eternal life. His great charity ‘hopeth all things,’ and does not turn away from longings because they are too weak to lift the soul above all the weights of sense and the world. Rather He would deepen them and strengthen them, and His eternal requirements addressed to feeble wills are not meant to ‘quench the smoking flax,’ but to kindle it to decisive consecration and self-surrender. The loving look interprets the severe words. If once we meet it full, and our hearts yield to the heart that is seen in it, the cords that bind us snap, and it is no more hard to ‘count all things but loss,’ and to give up ourselves, that we may follow Him. The sad and feeble and weary who may be half despairingly seeking for alleviation of outward ills, and the young and strong and ardent whose souls are fed with high desires, have but little comprehension of one another, but Christ knows them both, and loves them both, and would draw them both to Himself.

II. The Lord’s looks of love and warning to those who have found Him.

There are three instances of this class. The first is when He looked round on His disciples and said, ‘Behold My mother and My brethren!’ (Mar_3:34). Perhaps no moment in all Christ’s life had more of humiliation in it than that. There could be no deeper degradation than that His own family should believe Him insane. Not His brethren only, but His mother herself seems to have been shaken from her attitude of meek obedience so wonderfully expressed in her two recorded sayings, ‘Be it unto me according to Thy word,’ and ‘Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.’ She too appears to be in the shameful conspiracy, and to have consented that her name should be used as a lure in the wily message meant to separate Him from His friends, that He might be seized and carried off as a madman. What depth of tenderness was in that slow circuit of His gaze upon the humble loving followers grouped round Him! It spoke the fullest trustfulness of them, and His rest in their sympathy, partial though it was. It went before His speech, like the flash before the report, and looked what in a moment He said, ‘Behold My mother and My brethren!’ It owned spiritual affinities as more real than family bonds, and proved that He required no more of us than He was willing to do Himself when He bid us ‘forsake father and mother, and wife and children’ for Him. We follow Him when we tread that road, hard though it be. In Him every mother may behold her son, in Him we may find more than the reality of every sweet family relationship. That same love, which identified Him with those half-enlightened followers here, still binds Him to us, and He looks down on us from amid the glory, and owns us for His true kindred.

That look of unutterable love is strangely contrasted with the next instance. We read (Mar_8:32) that Peter ‘took Him’-apart a little way, I suppose-’and began to rebuke Him.’ He turns away from the rash Apostle, will say no word to him alone, but

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summons the others by a glance, and then, having made sure that all were within hearing, He solemnly rebukes Peter with the sharpest words that ever fell from His lips. That look calls them to listen, not that they may be witnesses of Peter’s chastisement, but because the severe words concern them all. It bids them search themselves as they hear. They too may be ‘Satans.’ They too may shrink from the cross, and ‘mind the things that be of men.’

We may take the remaining instance along with this. It occurs immediately after the story of the young seeker, to which we have already referred. Twice within five verses (Mar_10:23-27) we read that He ‘looked on His disciples,’ before He spoke the grave lessons and warnings arising from the incident. A sad gaze that would be!-full of regret and touched with warning. We may well believe that it added weight to the lesson He would teach, that surrender of all things was needed for discipleship. We see that it had been burned into the memory of one of the little group, who told long years after how He had looked upon them so solemnly, as seeming to read their hearts while He spoke. Not more searching was the light of the eyes which John in Patmos saw, ‘as a flame of fire.’ Still He looks on His disciples, and sees our inward hankerings after the things of men. All our shrinkings from the cross and cleaving to the world are known to Him. He comes to each of us with that sevenfold proclamation, ‘I know thy works,’ and from His loving lips falls on our ears the warning, emphasised by that sad, earnest gaze, ‘How hard is it for them that have riches to enter into the Kingdom of God!’ But, blessed be His name, the stooping love which claims us for His brethren shines in His regard none the less tenderly, though He reads and warns us with His eye. So, we can venture to spread all our evil before Him, and ask that He would look on it, knowing that, as the sun bleaches cloth laid in its beams, He will purge away the evil which He sees, if only we let the light of His face shine full upon us.

III. The Lord’s look of anger and pity on His opponents.

That instance occurs in the account of the healing of a man with a withered arm, which took place in the synagogue of Capernaum (Mar_3:1-5). In the vivid narrative, we can see the scribes and Pharisees, who had already questioned Him with insolent airs of authority about His breach of the Rabbinical Sabbatic rules, sitting in the synagogue, with their gleaming eyes ‘watching Him’ with hostile purpose. They hope that He will heal on the Sabbath day. Possibly they had even brought the powerless-handed man there, on the calculation that Christ could not refrain from helping him when He saw his condition. They are ready to traffic in human misery if only they can catch Him in a breach of law. The fact of a miracle if nothing. Pity for the poor man is not in them. They have neither reverence for the power of the miracle-worker, nor sympathy with His tenderness of heart. The only thing for which they have eyes is the breach of the complicated web of restrictions which they had spun across the Sabbath day. What a strange, awful power the pedantry of religious forms has of blinding the vision and hardening the heart as to the substance and spirit of religion! That Christ should heal neither made them glad nor believing, but that He should heal on the Sabbath day roused them to a deadly hatred. So there they sit, on the stretch of expectation, silently watching. He bids the man stand forth-a movement, and there the cripple stands alone in the midst of the seated congregation. Then comes the unanswerable question which cut so deep, and struck their consciences so hard that they could answer nothing, only sit and scowl at Him with a murderous light gleaming in their eyes. He fronts them with a steady gaze that travels over the whole group, and that showed to at least one who was present an unforgettable mingling of displeasure and pity. ‘He looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.’ In Christ’s perfect nature, anger and pity could blend in wondrous union, like the crystal and fire in the abyss before the

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throne.

The soul that has not the capacity for anger at evil wants something of its due perfection, and goes ‘halting’ like Jacob after Peniel. In Christ’s complete humanity, it could not but be present, but in pure and righteous form. His anger was no disorder of passion, or ‘brief madness’ that discomposed the even motion of His spirit, nor was there in it any desire for the hurt of its objects, but, on the contrary, it lay side by side with the sorrow of pity, which was intertwined with it like a golden thread. Both these two emotions are fitting to a pure manhood in the presence of evil. They heighten each other. The perfection of righteous anger is to be tempered by sympathy. The perfection of righteous pity for the evildoer is to be saved from immoral condoning of evil as if it were only calamity, by an infusion of some displeasure. We have to learn the lesson and take this look of Christ’s as our pattern in our dealings with evildoers. Perhaps our day needs more especially to remember that a righteous severity and recoil of the whole nature from sin is part of a perfect Christian character. We are so accustomed to pity transgressors, and to hear sins spoken of as if they were misfortunes mainly due to environment, or to inherited tendencies, that we are apt to forget the other truth, that they are the voluntary acts of a man who could have refrained if he had wished, and whose not having wished is worthy of blame. But we need to aim at just such a union of feeling as was revealed in that gaze of Christ’s, and neither to let our wrath dry up our pity nor our pity put out the pure flame of our indignation at evil.

That look comes to us too with a message, when we are most conscious of the evil in our own hearts. Every man who has caught even a glimpse of Christ’s great love, and has learned something of himself in the light thereof, must feel that wrath at evil sits ill on so sinful a judge as he feels himself to be. How can I fling stones at any poor creature when I am so full of sin myself? And how does that Lord look at me and all my wanderings from Him, my hardness of heart, my Pharisaism and deadness to His spiritual power and beauty? Can there be anything but displeasure in Him? The answer is not far to seek, but, familiar though it be, it often surprises a man anew with its sweetness, and meets recurring consciousness of unworthiness with a bright smile that scatters fears. In our deepest abasement we may take courage anew when we think of that wondrous blending of anger shot with pity.

IV. The look of the Lord on the profaned Temple.

On the day of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, apparently the Sunday before His crucifixion, we find (Mar_11:11) that He went direct to the Temple, and ‘looked round about on all things.’ The King has come to His palace, the Lord has ‘suddenly come to His Temple.’ How solemn that careful, all-comprehending scrutiny of all that He found there-the bustle of the crowds come up for the Passover, the trafficking and the fraud, the heartless worship! He seems to have gazed upon all, that evening in silence, and, as the shades of night began to fall, He went back to Bethany with the Twelve. To-morrow will be time enough for the ‘whip of small cords,’ for to-day enough to have come as Lord to the temple, and with intent, all-comprehending gaze to have traversed its courts. Apparently He passed through the crowds there unnoticed, and beheld all, while Himself unrecognised.

Is not that silent, unobserved Presence, with His keen searching eye that lights on all, a solemn parable of a perpetual truth? He ‘walks amidst the seven golden candlesticks’ to-day, as in the temple of Jerusalem, and in the vision of Patmos. His eyes like a flame of fire regard and scrutinise us too. ‘I know thy works’ is still upon His lips. Silent and by many unseen, that calm, clear-eyed, loving but judging Christ walks amongst His churches to-day. Alas! what does He see there? If He came in visible form into any congregation in England to-day, would He not find

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merchandise in the sanctuary, formalism and unreality standing to minister, and pretence and hypocrisy bowing in worship? How much of all our service could live in the light of His felt presence? And are we never going to stir ourselves up to a truer devotion and a purer service by remembering that He is here as really as He was in the Temple of old? Our drowsy prayers, and all our conventional repetitions of devout aspirations, not felt at the moment, but inherited from our fathers, our confessions which have no penitence, our praises without gratitude, our vows which we never mean to keep, and our creeds which in no operative fashion we believe-all the hollowness of profession with no reality below it, like a great cooled bubble on a lava stream, would crash in and go to powder if once we really believed what we so glibly say-that Jesus Christ was looking at us. He keeps silence to-day, but as surely as He knows us now, so surely will He come to-morrow with a whip of small cords and purge His Temple from hypocrisy and unreality, from traffic and thieves. All the churches need the sifting. Christ has done and suffered too much for the world, to let the power of His gospel be neutralised by the sins of His professing followers, and Christ loves the imperfect friends that cleave to Him, though their service be often stained, and their consecration always incomplete, too well to suffer sin upon them. Therefore He will come to purify His Temple. Well for us, if we thankfully yield ourselves to His merciful chastisements, howsoever they may fall upon us, and believe that in them all He looks on us with love, and wishes only to separate us from that which separates us from Him! On us all that eye rests with all these emotions fused and blended in one gaze of love that passeth knowledge-a look of love and welcome whensoever we seek Him, either to help us in outward or inward blessings; a look of love and warning to us, owning us also for His brethren, and cautioning us lest we stray from His side; a look of love and displeasure at any sin that blinds us to His gracious beauty; a look of love and observance of our poor worship and spotted sacrifices.

Let us lay ourselves full in the sunshine of His gaze, and take for ours the old prayer, ‘Search me, O Christ, and know my heart!’ It is heaven on earth to feel His eye resting upon us, and know that it is love. It will be the heaven of heaven to see Him ‘face to face,’ and ‘to know even as we are known.’

33 Then the woman, knowing what had

happened to her, came and fell at his feet and,

trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.

GILL, "But the woman fearing and trembling,.... Lest she should be reproved, and suffer the penalties of the law, for appearing in public during the time of her uncleanness, Lev_15:25, or that Christ was displeased with her, for her taking an improper method to obtain her cure; or lest he should recall it, or was angry with her for concealing it, and attempting to go away undiscovered, and without so much as thanking him for it. After conversion, after souls have laid hold on Christ for righteousness and life; after they have had the pardon of their sins, and are cured of their diseases, they are not without their fears and tremblings, though there is no just reason for them: they fear where no fear is; that is, where there is no true cause of

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fear; which was this woman's ease: they are sometimes afraid they have no interest in Christ, and in his love; that they are hypocrites; that the truth of grace is not in them; that they shall never hold out to the end; that they shall perish, and come short of eternal glory, notwithstanding they know, as this woman did, what has been done in them, and done for them.

Knowing what was done in her, and by her; being conscious to herself that she was the person that had touched him, and that upon it the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she was thoroughly healed of her disease:

Came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. Christ did not point her out, though he knew her; or call her by her name, though he could have done it, and have ordered her to come to him, and account for her conduct: he had said enough to work upon her, and engage her to come; who came of herself, and with the greatest reverence to his person, and sense of her own unworthiness, threw herself at his feet, and gave him a relation of the whole matter, with the utmost truth and, exactness; what had been her case, what was her faith, and what she had done, and what a cure she had received; and which she acknowledged with the greatest thankfulness. In some copies it is added, "before all"; before Christ and his disciples, and the throng of people that were along with him: she that came behind Christ, and privately took hold of the hem of his garment, her faith secretly going out unto him; now appears openly before him, not being able to hide herself any longer. Nor is she ashamed to tell what she had done, and had been done in her: truth is to be spoken, even all the truth; no one has reason to be ashamed of that, and especially of the truth of grace, truth in the inward parts; this is what God requires, and gives, and delights in. The secret experiences of grace in our souls we should not be ashamed to relate to others; this makes for the glory of divine grace, and the good of others. In some copies it is read, "and told him all her cause before all": her whole affair, how it had been with her, and now was, and what was the cause of her taking such a method she did.

HENRY, "Note, As secret acts of sin, so secret acts of faith, are known to the Lord Jesus, and are under his eye. If believers derive virtue from Christ ever so closely, he knows it, and is pleased with it. The poor woman, hereupon, presented herself to the Lord Jesus (Mar_5:33), fearing and trembling, not knowing how he would take it. Note, Christ's patients are often trembling, when they have reason to be triumphing. She might have come boldly, knowing what was done in her; yet, knowing that, she fears and trembles. It was a surprise, and was not yet, as it should have been, a pleasing surprise. However, she fell down before him. Note, There is nothing better for those that fear and tremble, than to throw themselves at the feet of the Lord Jesus; to humble themselves before him, and refer themselves to him. And she told him all the truth. Note, We must not be ashamed to own the secret transactions between Christ and our souls; but, when called to it, mention, to his praise, and the encouragement of others, what he has done for our souls, and the experience we have had of healing virtue derived from him. And the consideration of this, that nothing can be hid from Christ, should engage us to confess all to him.

JAMIESON, "But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her — alarmed, as a humble, shrinking female would naturally be, at the necessity of so public an exposure of herself, yet conscious that she had a tale to tell which would speak for her.

came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth — In Luke (Luk_8:47) it is, “When the woman saw that she was not hid, she came trembling,

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and falling down before Him, she declared unto Him before all the people for what cause she had touched Him, and how she was healed immediately.” This, though it tried the modesty of the believing woman, was just what Christ wanted in dragging her forth, her public testimony to the facts of her case - the disease, with her abortive efforts at a cure, and the instantaneous and perfect relief which her touching the Great Healer had brought her.

COFFMAN, "The woman saw instantly that nothing was hidden from the

Master, and, fearful that he might be displeased with her actions she fell in

worship at his feet and poured out the entire story of her twelve years of

wretched sorrow, spent resources, frustrated applications to physicians, and of

her desperate resolve to find at last in Jesus the healing of her shame. It is a

matter of the utmost discernment and tenderness with regard to human

sensibilities that Jesus had not required such an outpouring of the inmost secrets

of her life while her pitiful condition still sat upon her; but, at a moment after

she was fully restored to health, the Lord permitted the confession then. How

beautiful: how tender, how so like Christ, and unlike men, is the tender regard of

the Lord for this woman. Her condition was one with overtones of great sorrow.

As McMillan said, "Not only was there a depressing physical problem, but such

a condition would also have prohibited her participation, in any full sense, in the

religious rites of Judaism (Leviticus 15:25-30)."[18]

ENDNOTE:

[18] Earle McMillan, The Gospel according to Mark (Austin: R. B. Sweet

Publishing Company, 1973), p. 70.

CONSTABLE, "Jesus did not rebuke her, even though her faith in Him seems to

have been mixed with superstition. Yet He wanted to speak to her lest she

conclude that touching Him was what cured her. His words were full of spiritual

sensitivity and compassion. She had nothing to fear from Him. Perhaps the

woman was afraid because she had obtained Jesus' power surreptitiously. Still,

we have seen that a typical response to the revelation of Jesus' power was fear

(cf. Mark 4:41; Mark 5:15).

This is the only place in the Gospels where Jesus called someone "daughter."

The woman's faith in Jesus had brought her into His spiritual family (cf. Isaiah

53:10; Mark 3:35; Mark 7:26; Mark 10:52). Her faith was the means whereby

she obtained Jesus' help. It expressed belief that Jesus could heal her and hope

that He would.

The phrase "Go in peace" (Heb. shalom) was a common way of saying "good-

bye" among the Jews (cf. Judges 18:6; 1 Samuel 1:17).

Shalom ". . . means not just freedom from inward anxiety, but that wholeness or

completeness of life that comes from being brought into a right relationship with

God." [Note: Anderson, p. 154.]

It was God's will for this woman to experience healing. Jesus assured her that

her healing was complete and permanent with these words. She could now enjoy

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social interaction and participation in public worship, as well as physical health,

since she was clean.

"From Mark's perspective, the entire incident is a call for radical faith." [Note:

Lane, p. 194.]

34 He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has

healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your

suffering.”

BARNES, "Daughter - A word of kindness, tending to inspire confidence and to dissipate her fears.

Be whole - That is, continue to be whole, for she was already cured.

Of thy plague - Thy disease; literally, thy “scourge.” So a word from Jesus heals the moral malady of the sinner.

CLARKE, "Be whole of thy plague - Rather, continue whole, not, be whole, for she was already healed: but this contains a promise, necessary to her encouragement, that her disorder should afflict her no more.

GILL, "And he said unto her, daughter,.... Instead of reproving her, or showing any anger, or resentment at her, as she feared, he speaks to her in a very soft, kind, and tender manner, and called her "daughter", which was not only an expression of affection and civility, this being an affable, courteous way of speaking used by the Jews; but might signify her spiritual relation through him, being a child of God by adopting grace. She was a daughter of Abraham by natural descent, as was the woman bound by Satan eighteen years, Luk_13:16 and so she was likewise in a spiritual sense, being one that walked in the steps of his faith, believing in hope against hope; and she was also a daughter of the Lord God Almighty, as her faith showed her to be, Gal_3:26, and to this our Lord may chiefly refer; she was one of those that were predestinated to the adoption of children, and were given to Christ as such; and who are evidentially the children of God by faith in him: and to have a testimony of adoption from the Spirit of God, and from the mouth of Christ himself, as this woman had; how great a blessing is it!

thy faith hath made thee whole: through faith in Christ she received the cure from him; for it was not her act of faith that either merited, or procured it, but his power, and he himself the object of her faith that effected it: though he is pleased to take no further notice of the virtue that went out from him; but commends her faith, for her further and future encouragement in the exercise of it, and for the encouragement of others to believe in him. In the Greek text it is, "thy faith hath saved thee"; both from her bodily disease, and from her sins: not that there is such an intrinsic virtue in faith as to deliver from either; for certain it is, that it was not virtue that went out of her faith, but virtue which went out from Christ, that cured

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her of her issue; though faith was the means of drawing it out; or it was that, through which, virtue from Christ exerted itself, and produced such an effect: and it is as certain, that not faith, but Christ, is the author and cause of spiritual salvation: faith looks to Christ for salvation, and receives every blessing of it from him, as righteousness, peace, pardon, adoption, and eternal life; so that believers are saved by grace, through faith; through the exercise of that grace they have the joy, and comfort Of salvation now; and through it they are kept, by the power of God, unto the full possession of it hereafter.

Go in peace; to thine house; all health and happiness attend thee; let no uneasy thought, about what has passed, dwell on thy mind; be joyful and thankful for the mercy received, and never fear, or dread, a return of the disorder. Peace is the effect of faith in Christ, of pardon through his blood, and salvation in him; true, spiritual, solid peace is enjoyed in a way of believing; it is the fruit of a view of interest in justification by faith in Christ's righteousness; and nothing more effectually produces and secures it than a sense of, all spiritual diseases being healed, or an application of pardoning grace and mercy, through the blood of Christ; which itself speaks better things than that of Abel, even pardon, and so peace: such who are blessed in this manner, and walk under a view and sense of these things, go in peace all their days, and at last enter into peace, even into the joy of their Lord.

And be whole of thy plague: she was so already; but this was a confirmation of it, and what might assure her, that she should remain so, and no more be afflicted with that chastisement. Sin pardoned, though sought for, shall not be found; nor condemnation come upon the pardoned sinner; he is whole and sound, and shall be no more sick, and much less die the second death.

HENRY, "See what an encouraging word he gave her (Mar_5:34); Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole. Note, Christ puts honour upon faith, because faith gives honour to Christ. But see how what is done by faith on earth is ratified in heaven; Christ saith, Be whole of thy disease. Note, If our faith sets the seal of its amen to the power and promise of God, saying, “So it is, and so let it be to me;” God's grace will set the seal of its amen to the prayers and hopes of faith, saying, “So be it, and so it shall be, to thee.” And therefore, “Go in peace; be well satisfied that thy cure is honestly come by, is effectually wrought, and take the comfort of it.” Note, They that by faith are healed of their spiritual diseases, have reason to go in peace.

JAMIESON, "And he said unto her, Daughter — “be of good comfort” (Luk_8:48).

thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague — Though healed as soon as she believed, it seemed to her a stolen cure - she feared to acknowledge it. Jesus therefore sets His royal seal upon it. But what a glorious dismissal from the lips of Him who is “our Peace” is that, “Go in peace!”

MACLAREN, "TOUCH OR FAITH?

Mar_5:28, Mar_5:34

I. The erroneous faith.

In general terms there is here an illustration of how intellectual error may coexist with sincere faith. The precise form of error is clearly that she looked on the physical contact with the material garment as the vehicle of healing-the very same thing which

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we find ever since running through the whole history of the Church, e.g. the exaltation of externals, rites, ordinances, sacraments, etc.

Take two or three phases of it-

1. You get it formularised into a system in sacramentarianism.

(a) Baptismal regeneration,

(b) Holy Communion.

Religion becomes largely a thing of rites and ceremonies.

2. You get it in Protestant form among Dissenters in the importance attached to Church membership.

Outward acts of worship.

There is abroad a vague idea that somehow we get good from external association with religious acts, and so on. This feeling is deep in human nature, is not confined to the Roman Catholic Church, and is not the work of priests. There is a strange revival of it to-day, and so there is need of protest against it in every form.

II. The blessing that comes to an erroneous faith.

The woman here was too ‘ritualistic.’ How many good people there are in that same school to-day! Yet how blessed for us all, that, even along with many errors, if we grasp Him we shall not lose the grace.

III. Christ’s gentle enlightenment on the error.

‘Thy faith hath saved thee.’ How wonderfully beautiful! He cures by giving the blessing and leading on to the full truth. In regard to the woman, it might have been that her touch did heal; but even there in the physical realm, since it was He, not His robe, that healed, it was her faith, not her hand, that procured the blessing. This is universally true in the spiritual realm.

(a) Salvation is purely spiritual and inward in its nature-not an outward work, but a new nature, ‘love, joy, peace.’ Hence (b) Faith is the condition of salvation. Faith saves because He saves, and faith is contact with Him. It is the only thing which joins a soul to Christ. Then learn what makes a Christian.

(c) Hence, the place of externals is purely subsidiary to faith. If they help a man to believe and feel more strongly, they are good. Their only office is the same as that of preaching or reading. In both, truth is the agent. Their power is in enforcing truth.

CALVIN, "Mark 5:34.Go in peace, and be delivered from thy scourge. From this

exhortation we infer that the benefit which she had obtained was fully ratified,

when she heard from the lips of Christ what she had already learned from

experience: for we do not truly, or with a safe conscience, enjoy God’s benefits in

any other way than by possessing them as contained in the treasury of his

promises.

COFFMAN, "Far from being displeased with her, the Lord reassured her,

bestowed upon her the benediction of his peace, and the assurance of her

continued wholeness. He also directed her thoughts away from any superstition

to the effect that touching a fringe had healed her. Her healing was founded

upon his own sovereign will and upon her own faith in the Lord of glory.

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BI, "And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years.

The power of feeble faith

I. Very imperfect faith may be genuine faith. It was intensely ignorant trust. Again, her trust was very selfish. It was also weakened and interrupted by much distrust.

II. Christ answers the imperfect faith. Christ stoops to her childish thought and allows her to prescribe the path by which His gift shall reach her. Christ’s mercy, like water in a vase, takes the shape of the vessel that holds it. On the other hand, His grace “is given to every one of us according to the measure of the gift of Christ,” with no limitation but His own unlimited fulness. Therefore-

1. Let us labour that our faith may be enlightened, importunate, and firm.

2. There can be no faith so feeble that Christ does not respond to it.

III. Christ corrects and confirms an imperfect faith by the very act of answering it. Her ignorance, selfishness, and fear, were all removed. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

The faculty baffled-the great Physician successful

I. Let me expose the physicians who delude so many by their vain pretensions. Their names are, Dr. Sadducee, Dr. Legality, Dr. Ceremonial, Dr. Ascetic, Dr. Orthodoxy, and Dr. Preparation.

II. What is the reason of their failure? Because they do not understand the disease. They often prescribe remedies which are impossible to their patients. Many of their medicines do not touch the disease at all.

III. The plight of the patient who has tried these deceivers. She lost all her time. She was no better. She rather grew worse. She spent all that she had.

IV. How a cure can be wrought. I must press to get near Him. I must touch. The least of Christ will save. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The disease of humanity incurable except by Christ

The disease of fallen humanity is wholly incurable except by the hand of Omnipotence. It is as easy for us to create a world as to create a new heart; and a man might as well hope to abolish cold and snow as hope to eradicate sin from his nature by his own power: he might as well say to this round earth, “I have emancipated thee from the curse of labour,” as say to himself, “I will set myself free from the thraldom of sin.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Determination in the face of tremendous discouragements

When sinners sweep away every other delusion, and view Jesus as the only Saviour they will persevere till they find. When Cortez went to conquer Mexico, he found that the soldiers were few and dispirited. The Mexicans were many, and the enterprize hazardous. The soldiers would have gone back to Spain, but Cortez took two or three chosen heroes with him, and went down to the seaside and broke up all the ships; and “now,” he said, “we must conquer or die. We cannot go back.” When it is death or life, heaven or hell, pardon or condemnation, the sinner will be as determined and courageous as these poor Spaniards or as this poor woman. (Anonymous.)

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The touch

I. The patient. Note: what courage and spirit she displayed; Her resolute determination; Her marvellous hopefulness.

II. The difficulties of this woman’s faith. The disease: long-standing: incurable. Her frequent disappointments. Her own unworthiness. Her present poverty. Her extreme sickness.

III. The vanishing point of all her difficulties. All her thoughts have gone toward the Lord Jesus. She has forgotten herself; forgotten the rampant fury of her disease; forgotten her being behind and out of sight: and even her own touch of Him she has put into a secondary place. All that she looks for must come out of Him. If seeking sinners would but think more of Christ, all would be well.

IV. Her grand success. She was healed immediately. She knew that she was healed. She has next the assurance from Christ that she was healed. The wine that cometh out of these grapes is this: the slightest connection with Jesus will bless us. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Apply this thought-

I. To spiritual existences. If I touch but a grain of sand or a bud, I find the Mighty One.

II. To the scheme of spiritual providence. Review your own life from infancy.

III. To the processes of spiritual education. It is a great thing to see God in heavens rich with systems of suns; it is a grander faith, surely, to see Him in a speck of dust.

IV. To the uses of spiritual ordinances. The hymn, the prayer, the lesson, the mere form itself may do men good. Application: The hand must touch Christ, not an apostle, or a minister, or an angel-but God the Son. You may have touched many without benefit; touch Him and you will live. (J. Parker, D. D.)

“Who hath touched me?”-“Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.”

It requires the second sentence to complete the meaning of the first. In the days of the semaphore signals a message came across to England concerning the Duke of Wellington, and half the message was read as it appeared upon the semaphore, and astonished all England with the sad intelligence. It ran thus, “Wellington defeated.” Everybody was distressed as they read it, but it so happened that they had not seen all the message. Fog had intervened, and when, by and by, the air was clearer and the telegraph flashed out a second time, it was read thus-“Wellington defeated-the French.” Thus the first sentence may have caused dismay in the poor woman’s heart, but if the first appeared to kill, the second would make alive. (Anonymous.)

A diseased woman healed

The chief design of our Lord’s miracles was to confirm His pretensions. But they were more than this. Benevolent, for the greater part in their character, they served to unfold the mercifulness of His nature. They also shadowed forth His mode of

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serving us. Viewed in this light there is wonderful variety in them.

I. The sad condition of this woman when she came to Christ for relief. Her malady was an inveterate one. We are all sick in our souls. There is a disease in us which has seized on the noblest part of us. It is weakening, polluting, and destroying our immortal spirits.

II. The state of this woman’s mind in this sad condition. Had it been a despairing state, we could hardly have blamed her. One of the worst features in a penitent sinner’s case, is frequently a tendency to despair. No sin so great as despair. Your case may be sad, yet not hopeless. There is a Physician you bare not yet tried, or have never tried aright.

III. Her application to Him. There is deep humility evident here, and great self abasement. Sin is a loathsome and shameful thing. The soul would hide itself from every eye. There is great faith: “I shall be whole”-not relieved. What exalted views she must have had of Jesus. He is no common Saviour. But her faith was not perfect. It settled only on one part of the Lord’s character. She believed His power, but distrusted His goodness. This mixture of faith and unbelief is very common in every newly converted soul. If real faith be in us, its inferiority is overlooked.

IV. The cure this sufferer received.

1. It was immediate. This is always our Lord’s mode of acting with one class of persons who come to Him-those who come for pardon-receive it at once. Those who come to have the power of sin subdued in them, are often kept waiting for the mercy they desire. Like the child of Jairus, the disease grows worse while seeking the remedy. But the help sought is found at last.

2. The cure of this woman was one of which she and our Lord were both conscious. You think perhaps, brethren, that it is a small thing with Christ whether you come to Him or not; you conceive that He on His lofty throne has not a look or thought for you; but if you are turning to Him with a broken heart for salvation, there is not an object in the universe He thinks of more than you, there is not a moment in which His eye is off you. Great as is His joy now, it will be greater still when you touch Him and are made whole. He will say to His angels, as He said to His disciples here, “Virtue is again gone out of Me. There is another sinner healed.” And the woman, too, was aware of the cure which had been wrought in her; “She felt in her body that she was healed.” Her recovery, however, did not produce in her at first the joyous feelings we might have anticipated. There was a mixture of feeling in her. She feared and trembled after she was healed, as many a pardoned sinner trembles when he has reason to rejoice; but healed she was, and she knew it. And it is not easy to conceive how anyone can be cured of the dreadful disease of sin, and yet remain long ignorant or doubtful about his cure. (C. Bradley, M. A.)

The consciousness of cure

We cannot see His hand as it passes over the book of God, and blots out the dark record of our crimes which is written there; but pardon is not all. Sin is more than a crime against God which needs to be forgiven, it is a disease within a man’s heart to be subdued and healed. And if we go on always doubting whether this disease within us is in a way of being healed, the probability is that our souls are sick as ever. It is not easy when a man is ill and recovering, to tell the exact moment in which his disease gives way and his recovery begins; but it is soon seen by those around him that his recovery is begun, and it is soon felt by himself. Just so with the salvation of

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the soul. A man may doubt for a time at his first return to God, and these doubts may recur again and again at intervals in his future years; nay, they will assuredly recur whenever he allows himself to wander from his God; but the habitual frame of the established Christian’s mind is not one of doubt and uncertainty. Christ has not done so little for him, that he cannot see it. The Holy Spirit has not touched his heart so slightly, that he never feels His hand. The gospel is not so poor a medicine, that he is always doubting whether it has done him any good. (C. Bradley, M. A.)

A woman which had an issue of blood

This case is crowded with lessons.

I. Note: how many unknown sufferers are about us.

II. Christ had sent this woman’s illness and was as loving in laying it on her as in lifting it away.

III. She is another instance of the “sweet uses of adversity.” The afflicted class producing then and now more believers in Christ than any other.

IV. There are many hems of the garment through which we can touch the Divine omnipotence and mercy.

1. Christ’s humanity is the great hem of the garment, through which we can touch His Godhead.

2. A word of Scripture is often a hem of His garment, through which we draw in salvation to our soul.

3. A sacrament is a hem of Christ’s garment. All these are valueless unless our touch seeks the Divine Christ within them; but they are saving links to Christ when enlightened faith seeks Him.

V. There is all the difference in the world between pressing and crowding on Christ and touching him. Many crowd Christ, reading much, attending services, singing hymns, and making impassioned prayers, perhaps fruitlessly; while a publican in the temple, or a dying thief-with one word, fall of aim and meaning-finds his soul saved. Be not fussy in religion, but calm your spirit, and speak not until in briefest compass you can name, and lodge, and leave your request with God.

VI. Let mercies received be duly confessed. (R. Glover.)

Twelve years! Long continuance of discipline

It pleases God to lay long and tedious afflictions on some of His servants in this life.

1. To manifest His great power, strengthening them to bear such long afflictions.

2. To magnify His mercy in delivering them at length out of them.

3. That He may make thorough proof and trial of their faith, patience, and other graces of His Spirit in them.

4. To wean them from this world, and to stir up in them a longing for heaven.

5. To make them more earnest in prayer to Him for deliverance. It is therefore no evidence of God’s wrath, nor any sufficient reason to prove such an one to be out of His favour, whom He so holds for a long time under the cross. Be well content, then, to bear afflictions, though of long continuance; submitting in this matter to

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the will of God, who knows it to be good and profitable for some to be kept long under discipline. (G. Petter.)

A variety of sufferers, their best meeting place

It is strange, the variety of sufferers that meet each other at the feet of Jesus! (R. Glover.)

Coming to Christ

Come to Christ Jesus to be cured in soul and conscience of your sins. Come to Him, and touch Him by true faith, as this diseased woman did, and thou shalt feel Divine virtue to come from Him to heal thee of thy sins, both of the guilt and of the corruption of them. Thou shalt feel His Divine power healing thee of the guilt of thy sins, by the merit of His obedience and sufferings applied to thy conscience by faith; and the same Divine power healing thee of the corruption of sin, that is, mortifying thy sinful lusts, that they may not reign in thee as they have done, and as they do in the wicked and unbelievers. Oh, therefore, thou that feelest thy soul diseased with sin, make haste unto Christ to be cured by this Divine healing virtue that is in Him: pray Him to manifest it in thee; and withal, labour by some measure of faith to apply it to thyself, as this woman did: then shalt thou most certainly be healed in soul, as she was in body. And let not the grievousness of thy disease hinder thee from coming to Christ to be cured, but rather cause thee to make the more speed to Him by faith: for be assured, there is virtue enough in Him to heal all thy sins, though many and grievous, if thou do but see and feel them, and complain of them, and lay them open to Him, and seek earnestly to Him by the prayer of faith to be cured of them. Do this therefore, and do it speedily, without delay. As in a dangerous sickness of body, thou would’st not dare to put off sending to the physician, lest it cost thee thy life: so much less must thou dare to delay the time in seeking to Christ to be healed of thy sins, lest it cost thee the loss of eternal life, and the salvation of thy soul. Be careful, therefore, forthwith to seek to Christ to be healed of thy sins. The rather, because there is no other means or physic in the world to cure thee, besides the Divine healing virtue that is in Christ Jesus: no power or virtue that is in any herb, precious stone, or mineral, can cure thee of thy sins: not all the balm in Gilead; not any power or skill of man or angel can cure thy diseased conscience of one sin: only this Divine virtue that is in Christ can do it: and therefore seek to Him alone to be cured, and not to other vain helps and remedies. When thou feelest thy sins lie upon thy conscience, seek not (as many do) to be cured by merry company, or by following vain sports or recreations, nor by going to the bodily physician to purge melancholy (as if this alone would cure thee): all these are in this case physicians of no value; therefore trust not to them, but go directly to Jesus Christ, to be healed by that Divine virtue which is in him. (G. Petter.)

Majestic faith

Some criticise her faith unfavourably, as if she had a superstitious belief in Christ’s clothes. Superstition does not act as she did. Her faith was that Christ’s anointing, like Aaron’s, goes to the skirts of His garments. One less believing would have sunk, murmuring in despair, quoting dismal proverbs about misfortunes never coming single, and feeling that in her disease, poverty, shame, loneliness, she was specially ill-used by God. Or, if not despairing altogether, feeble faith would have faced Christ,

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and displayed at large all her claims for help, dwelling on the length of her sorrow, and on the fortune vainly spent in endeavouring to regain her health. But calm, trustful, feeling Christ so willing and so strong to help that there is no reluctance in His heart, she ventures all on a touch of faith. There is a heroism here worthy of Abraham. Full of this faith, she elbows her way through the crowd, and finding the blue hem of Christ’s garment within her reach, quietly-so that none observe her-she touches it; and at once a swift, gentle tide of health flushes through all her frame, and she feels she has got what she desired. (R. Glover.)

Encouragement to faith

If you have faith, though but in its infancy, be not discouraged, for-

1. A little faith is faith, as a spark of fire is fire.

2. A weak faith may lay hold on a strong Christ; a weak hand can tie the knot in marriage as well as a strong. She, in the gospel, who but touched Christ, fetched virtue from Him.

3. The promises are not made to strong faith, but to true. The promise does not say, He who hath a giant faith, who can believe God’s love through a frown, who can rejoice in affliction, who can work wonders, remove mountains, stop the mouth of lions, shall be saved; but, whosoever believes, be his faith never so small. A reed is but weak, especially when it is bruised; yet the promise is made to it, “A bruised reed will He not break.”

4. A weak faith may be fruitful. Weakest things multiply most. The vine is a weak plant, but it is fruitful. The thief on the cross, who was newly converted, was but weak in grace; but how many precious clusters grow upon that tender plant!

5. The weakest believer is a member of Christ as well as the strongest; and the weakest member of the body mystical shall not perish. Christ will cut off rotten members, but not weak members. Therefore, Christian, be not discouraged: God, who would have us receive them that are weak in the faith (Rom_14:1), will not Himself refuse them. (Watson.)

Coming to Christ

We are like this woman, inasmuch as-

I. We, too, have a need of Christ. He alone can

(1) pardon our sins;

(2) renew our nature;

(3) strengthen us to wage the spiritual conflict with success.

II. We should have a sense of this need. As long as we suppose that a slight change, a little penitence and contrition, will suffice; so long, not heartily applying to Christ for the blessings we want, we shall go empty away.

III. We have nothing to offer for the blessing we desire. Christ’s people receive all, and return nothing; for, all they can offer is already His.

IV. We come to a willing Benefactor. He is more ready to give than we to receive. It is as natural to Christ to give blessings to all who ask, as it is for the sun to diffuse its beams on all the objects beneath; if we receive not, it is because we have intercepted

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the rays flowing from the Sun of Righteousness.

V. In the exercise of faith we are sure of a blessing. All spiritual blessings may be ours, if only we will believe in Christ’s goodness and grace, and come to Him.

VI. The blessing may be delayed; but no prayer and no exercise of faith is ever lost. (B. W. Noel, M. A.)

Told Him all the truth: Be open with Jesus

This woman has a word for two classes. She urges the penitent to a full confession, and the true convert to an open profession.

I. To the penitent, urging a full avowal of their state and condition. Tell Jesus all the truth

(1) about your disease. Show yourself in all your foulness to the great Physician. Do not draw the picture flatteringly when you are in prayer. Do not use dainty terms; but make a clean breast of every sin.

(2) about your sufferings. Tell how your heart has been broken, your conscience alarmed. Let your sorrows flow in briny floods before the Lord. Though no other can understand them, He can.

(3) of your futile attempts after a cure; your wicked, sinful pride in seeking a righteousness of your own, instead of submitting to that of Christ.

(4) regarding your hopes.

(5) and your fears.

II. Reasons for this.

1. The Lord knows it all already. It would be folly to deny or attempt to hide what He has seen.

2. To tell Him will be a very great service to you. It will tend to make you feel your need more. While you are in the act of opening your heart to God, He will pour in the oil and wine of His Divine grace.

III. To those who are converted, but who have not yet acknowledged their faith in the presence of others.

1. This is for God’s glory. The Christian is not to be always wishing to expose what is in him; that were to make himself a Pharisee; but if God has put in you anything lovely, beautiful, and of good report, who are you that you should, by covering it, rob Him of His praise?

2. For the good of others. In the case before us, the woman’s confession was doubtless intended to strengthen the faith of Jairus, who was sorely tried by this delay. You do not know of how much service your open confession of Christ might be to some trembling soul.

3. For the person’s own sake. I have no doubt this was the main reason. Suppose Christ had let her go home quietly, without any word from Him-when she reached home she would have said, “Ah, I stole that cure; I am so glad I have it.” But one day there would come a dark thought, “What if it should die away after a time; then I shall be as bad as ever; for I never asked him.” Conscience would say to her, “Ah, it was a theft;” and though she might excuse herself, still she would not be easy. Now Christ calls her up, and conscience cannot disturb her, for He

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gave her the cure before them all. She need not be afraid of the return of her disease, for Jesus has said, “Thy faith hath made thee whole.” (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Salvation

There are three great truths which are illustrated in this narrative.

I. Salvation needed. That woman needed healing; we need saving. The gospel is the remedy, and the fact of the gospel being provided is a sufficient proof of the necessity of it. A remedy suggests the evil which is to be remedied. Justification by faith is a remedy to meet a special case of necessity. The most obvious and legitimate method of being justified is to be just; let me be just, and I am justified in the eye of the law. So the angels are justified. But we have sinned. How, then, are we to be justified? The gospel tells us we are to he justified by faith; we are to believe in Jesus Christ, and on the ground of His great sacrifice on our behalf we shall be accepted as just, though we ourselves have sinned. If you see a lifeboat on the seashore, it suggests storms and deaths; so the gospel suggests the ruin which it is meant to remedy. Look abroad on the world, and you will see evidences enough of the necessity. Consult your own consciences and history, and everyone will know in himself that there was need for such a remedy-that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Christ has come into the world as “a propitiation for the sins of the whole world.” A universal remedy indicates a universal necessity.

II. Salvation provided. Jesus obeyed the law we had broken; He suffered the punishment we had merited; He obeyed and suffered on our behalf. “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.”

III. Salvation obtained-obtained by faith. We accept Christ as our representative. (N. Hall, LL. B.)

The resource of faith

Here, then, is an exhaustless reservoir of power, the power of Omnipotence, and the means by which it may all be made available to feed our lives. The mill owner stores up in a reservoir on the heights the water that shall run his mill. Then he needs only a channel or sluice way that shall bring the water to his wheels. If it was an exhaustless reservoir, like the Atlantic Ocean for extent, he would have no fear that his mill would run dry. These miracles and this text teach the Christian that Omnipotence and Omniscience alone bound the reservoir of his spiritual graces, and that he has under his own control the width and depth of the channel called faith which brings them into his life. When Franklin grasped the principle of electricity, he could not only draw the lightning from a single cloud: all the electricity in the earth and in all the clouds was at his command, and he could send it upon his errands. When James Watt mastered the principle of the expansive power of steam, not only the little cloud of vapour that issued from his mother’s tea kettle was under his control, but all the steam that could be generated by the stored up combustibles of the world was really his. When the Christian can grasp this truth of the power of faith, the infinite spiritual resources of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost are his. “All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth,” There is the reservoir. “All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.” There is the channel that conveys the power into our lives and makes it available. (Sermons by Monday Club.)

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The persistence of faith

Again, Jairus and the woman and the blind men teach us not only what faith is, but what it inevitably involves. It always involves a persistent effort. Even though death has stiffened his little daughter’s limbs, and silenced her tongue, and has rolled the deep, dark stream which no soul was ever known to recross between her and him, Jairus will still persist. He will not give over his efforts. “Come and lay Thy hand upon her and she shall live,” is his entreaty still. Though the invalid for twelve years has tried physician after physician and has received no help, she will try again. It could not have been easy for her to press through that curious throng of stronger ones, but she does it until she even grasps His garment’s hem, and then He turns and speaks the healing word. Our Lord at first seemed to take no notice of the blind men, but when they persistently followed Him, when He saw that the rebuke of pitiless bystanders had no effect but to increase their effort to reach Him, when they followed Him into the house, then He touched their eyes. Persistent effort is not true faith, but it always accompanies true faith. Thunder never split the heart of the oak tree, but it always accompanies the lightning’s flash, and tells to all about of the lightning’s presence. The farmer does not show his faith by lying in his bed and waiting for God to plough and harrow his field and sow his seed. He ploughs, and harrows, and sows, and shows his faith in then waiting for God to give the increase. God’s winds are always blowing; the man of faith spreads his sail before God can fill it. (Sermons by Monday Club.)

Gospel pictures

As a picture from a magic lantern is dashed upon the screen, is looked at for a moment, then vanishes, and is gone, so different persons come upon the stage in the narratives of the Evangelists, enact perfect dramas, exquisite in texture and construction, and momentous in moral bearing, and then pass away. There is no lineage, no record, no name; and yet all is so vivid and powerful. (H. W. Beecher.)

Sickness spoils life

She was sick; and what is all the world worth when one is sick? What is all that is presented to the eye, what is the income of the year, what are all the treasures of life worth under such circumstances? What is everything that can be desired worth when one is thoroughly sick? Sickness takes the flavour out of everything. It changes the whole current and course of desire and feeling. She had long been sick. She had worn out years in sickness, and those years had well nigh worn her out. “All that a man hath will he give for his life.” (H. W. Beecher.)

An ungrateful reception of healing

Well, ought she not, in that very instant, to have cried out? Ought she to have taken such bounty, and to have borne no witness to it? It is true that she did not say anything; but her silence was not altogether from ingratitude. It may have been a relative want of appreciation of the greatness of the favour. She may have said to herself, “How do I know that it is anything more than my imagination? I will say nothing about it until I am sure;”-just as a great many persons, when they begin to feel the saving power of the Divine Spirit in their souls say, “I will not speak of this; I

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will wait; I will see what it is.” She may have said, “How Can I speak of this? My lips refuse to open; I cannot speak.” It may have been sensibility, delicacy of feeling, shrinkingness, that kept her from speaking. How many there are who believe that they have been pardoned, and that the blood of Christ which takes away the stain of sin has healed them, but who consult their sensibility and their shrinking tastes, and say, “How can I speak of this?” And it does not look as though it were wicked. Yet, if there be anything that a person ought to acknowledge, it is obligations which touch the great core of things. He who has been healed by a faithful physician should be the friend of that physician as long as he lives. It may be that he acted professionally; it may be that he took his fee; but money never pays a physician who performs his duty faithfully. If your child has come back from death, never forget the faithful old nurse that made her bosom a cradle in which the child rocked, and gave her days and nights to the care of it. For such service as hers nothing material can be an adequate compensation. We are ungrateful in a thousand ways which we hardly suspect. We do not pay what we owe to men who enfranchise our understanding. Authors who give us a higher and nobler conception of life; poets who give wings to our fancy, so to speak, enabling us to fly higher than ordinary men, who stumble and fall down in the midst of the vulgarities of society; those who make virtue beauteous, and draw us to it,-who can repay the services of such as these? Men scarcely know what they owe to those who fortify them in virtue; to those who make it plain to them that integrity is safe under all circumstances; to those who have walked before them in the beauty of holiness; to those who have redeemed them from the conception that religion is a bondage, and led them to see that it was an efflorescent garden full of sweet delights. There is among men a great lack of the sense of their obligation toward those who have served them. (H. W. Beecher.)

Unpurposed healing

Ah! it is a good thing for men to be filled with grace to such a degree as that their unconscious moods and unpurposed influence shall be healing, as well as the things which they intend. So it was with our Master. Purposely He cast out demons. He set persons free from insanities. He quenched the fire of fevers. Dropsies were dried up by Him. Men were brought to health on every side through His instrumentality. With a word, with a gesture, with a look, with a touch, He did great works of beneficence. But so full was He of Divine savour, of spiritual power, that His very garments, as it were, were imbued with it; and when the woman stole up and touched the hem of His garment, straightway she experienced a joyful release. Oh, soul-filling surprise! She that for twelve years had not known one hour’s exemption from disease, felt the sovereign balm of perfect health flow through her veins; and she stood restored! She was well! (H. W. Beecher.)

Touches that do not touch; or contact without sympathy

There seems to be requisite, then, a relation between souls before the real and rich fruits of life can come to them in the highest forms of Christian experience. Let us look along the lines of analogy a little. Souls touch each other in various ways. Life touches life variously. People live together in bodily contact. They live in agreement only as to bodily conditions. They are related to each other simply by the necessity of food, raiment, warmth, protection. Ten thousand wedded souls are to each other simply as a blade is to knife. There is no real vitality between the two. Only in regard to provision for worldly wants and in bodily conditions are they in contact. But, then, these are the lowest, rudest forms of contact; yet there are people that are more in

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sympathy. There are multitudes that come into sympathy with each other only through their children. The cradle is a reconciler, often, between husband and wife. It opens up, in the rude, hard man, streams like those which Moses brought forth from the rock. For the child’s sake, the mother becomes dear to him. There is mediation; and yet how little of life is there in common between two such souls! Again, people dwell together in single lines of mutuality. Many persons live together in all intellectual qualities, but in no other respects. Many dwell together being in accord in their tastes; but in no other regards. Many live together in literature, in history, in the ordinary and easier forms of knowledge that are of the earth earthy; but they never rise into eminence, aspiration, glorification, of each other, and never see anything in each other except that which the bird sees, or which the animal sees. They do not touch each other; and yet they are in perpetual contact. Higher phenomena of life there are, however; and there is developed heroism at times. There is a coming together of soul with soul, not through the ministration of the body, nor of taste, nor of thought, nor of mutual service, alone, but by that rare inflammation of the whole soul which has no definition, and which no man can describe. It is not needed by those who have it; it is not possible to those who have it not. Every faculty in one, then, has sympathy with every faculty in the other. Either they fit each other by exact agreement, or the positive element of one is just adapted for the absence of it in the other. Thus souls come together in an indefinable way. They are conscious that their liven mingle and blend. This is the rarest and highest form of contact; and yet is the revelation of that law by which men can rise from bodily conditions into social, and from those conditions into intellectual; but the consummation lies in that invisible, indescribable element which inheres in every man and woman-inheres sometimes only as a seed ungrown, and at other times develops and is full of fragrance, and then is full of fruit. (H. W. Beecher.)

The survival of the fittest and a higher law

Jesus did not say to this woman, “Go away; you are too weak and broken to hold your own in the world; best for you to be down and wait for the end, while others take your place she can do your work.” That would have been a sorrowful word, not to her only, but to us also; for it would have set a limit, not to Christ’s power merely, but to His very compassion, and therein also to ours. That, however, is not the law which human hearts acknowledge. Our power may easily have limits, but our pity must have none; and as we can help not a little even when we cannot heal, it is bound upon our conscience never to be inhuman. The bruised reed He would not break. But this, while it is the supreme law of man’s nature, is by no means the law of nature elsewhere. Nature throws away her broken vessels with no compunction or pity whatever. Everywhere the weak and sickly among the lower animals are ruthlessly killed off, and only those remain which are able to do for themselves. The fit survive-the feeble perish. It is hardly necessary to lead any proof of this. The stricken deer turns aside to die, while the fat herd sweeps on indifferent to its fate. The park of lean wolves know of no surgery for a fainting comrade, except to fall on him and rend him in pieces. The frail bird that cannot fly with the rest of the brood is tumbled from the nest and left to its fate. Nature has, indeed, a great healing power for the strong and healthy in case of accident, so that wounds and broken bones soon come together again. But among wild animals sickness, disease, feebleness, and age meet with no compassion. In their warfare it is still Vae victis, for they cannot cumber themselves with the wounded. The halt and the blind get no chance at all. The weak and sickly are left to their fate, and the sooner it comes the better, for their kindred turn from them, and their friends will not know them. Unfit for the struggle of existence which

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is their supreme business, they perish without ruth or remorse. Thus everywhere on sea and land, and in the lightsome air, among all creatures that swim, or fly, or creep, or run, we find this law working, and doubtless working for the general good of the whole, yielding a benevolent harvest of health and comfort to the unthinking creatures of God. But now, when we pass from them into the province of man, we meet at once with a law which breaks in upon this, and controls it. The struggle for existence goes on there too, but it is no longer supreme and all in all. Everywhere it is modified by ideas that are confessedly of greater moment and higher authority. Sometimes it is set aside altogether, for we are not always bound to exist if we can, but we are always bound to do right. Thus the moral rises above the natural, and even flatly contradicts it. The struggle for existence is subordinated to the struggle for a higher perfection. Instead of the survival of the fittest, we have a law requiring the strung to help the weak, the healthy to improve their health for the sake of the diseased, and even those who are hopelessly stricken, and forever invalided from the battle of life, are cast on us as a peculiar care, to neglect which were to outrage the noblest instincts of humanity. The natural law, everywhere else in full swing, that the weak and sickly, the halt and blind, must be left to their fate, or even hurried out of the way, not only does not hold among us, but the very reverse of it holds. And the moral principle which thus asserts its supremacy vindicates its claim by many fruitful results. For often times the poor cripple whom natural law would have cast away, has grown up to bless the world with wise and noble counsel, and blind men, all unfit for the mere struggle of animal life, have yet done brave and good service in the higher warfare of humanity; and even the utterly broken, the helplessly disabled, who can “only stand and wait,” have yet, by their meek patience under affliction, shown us an example which made our hearts gentler, humbler, better, and was well worth all the care we bestowed on them. So it is, at any rate, that no sooner do we pass from the mere natural life of animals to the moral life of man, than we find another law breaking in upon the law of survival of the fittest-controlling, suspending, even utterly reversing it, with an authority which cannot be gainsaid, without forfeiting all that is most nobly and distinctively human. (Walter C. Smith, D. D.)

Christ’s kindness in discipline

It is not often that we are able to perceive the full purpose of any one of God’s dealings. Seldom can we see the perfect fruit of the chastisement He allots us. And no wonder: the life of man is so short; the purposes and operations of God are so vast.

I. In the conduct of our Lord notice-

1. Christ’s apparent harshness. He insisted on the woman’s coming forth to tell her shame. But see Christ’s real kindness. It was not in mere assertion of authority that He called her forth. It was to complete the blessing. He would give her His benediction before she went. Again, it was to purify and strengthen her faith. He would prepare her to confess Him elsewhere. Christ alone knew the trials to which this woman would be exposed at home.

2. So in like manner and with like purposes, will Christ deal with you, if you be of those who have come to Him with faith. The purpose of all Christ’s discipline-the discipline that we experience-is exemplified in His conduct to this woman. First, we noticed that He called her forth to receive further blessing. She came for healing only, but He would give her spiritual grace. Like her, many now come to the Saviour, barely praying for pardon, for deliverance from punishment. But Christ did not achieve redemption merely to keep men out of hell-He died to take them to heaven. Now, to prepare for heaven much grace is necessary, and men

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must be summoned to return to Christ again and again, that they may receive far more than the blessing for which they first came. Christ has yet richer favours to bestow; and if His people do not apply for them they must be placed in circumstances where they will feel their want and their need, and hungrily ask Him for more. Next, we saw that He called her forth to purify and strengthen her faith. There is no need for me to tell you that your faith is both imperfect and impure. Would you not desire your faith to grow stronger and larger? Then it must be used and tried, exercised and trained. Again, we noticed that Christ was probably preparing this woman to witness for Him in time to come. He requires from all men the public profession of His name. Salvation is not a sort of spiritual luxury to be enjoyed in private. And, further, men never know what lies before them as messengers of God; they are ignorant of the high and arduous service to which, may be, they have been appointed. But Christ knows it; and He prepares them and exercises them in bearing testimony for God in one difficulty and trial after another, until they are ready for the work they have to do. Thus does He grant to His applicants, not only the healing they pray for, but also the strength which they are content to lack. As in the experience of this woman, so in His treatment of us, will Christ combine apparent harshness with real kindness.

II. For the further investigation of this subject shall we turn from the Saviour to the saved, and try to trace the feelings of this woman as the black cloud of Christ’s seeming displeasure passed over her.

1. We find her full of sudden joy at feeling in her body that she was healed of that plague. Twelve years’ misery, labour, expense, and disappointment are all at an end. How universal the joy must have been. No fibre of her frame that did not thrill with gladness. And there was another cause of joy too; she bad escaped the exposure she so much dreaded. But her joy was all at once quenched in awe and fear when He asked, “Who touched Me?” and when He asked again, and when He looked round about with a gaze that showed He knew her that had done this thing. So feeling, for a moment, she comes forward and tells Him all the truth. But, instead, sounds came upon her ear tenderer and tenderer, and stronger in consolation: “Courage, daughter; thy faith hath saved thee,” etc. Ah! what feelings were hers, as she rose and departed. It would take her long to disentangle all their varied happiness. Did she not feel that the benediction of Christ amply made up for the loss of secrecy? She was really happier for the discipline through which He made her pass. Had she gone away as she hoped and planned, she would have carried with her none of this joy-the love of Christ. She would have received the cure, and that alone. And, on the other hand, she would have had doubts as to Christ’s willingness to heal her; doubts as to His forgiveness of her intrusion and underhand application; doubts, too, as to the permanence of the cure-all would have been in uncertainty. But now she knew that His will healed her, His kindness welcomed her, His grace blessed her. Moreover, had she gone away as she hoped, she would have retained her superstition with her faith. It would have cramped and enfeebled it, and she might never have believed in Jesus to the salvation of her soul. And the weakness that made her come to Christ in the crowd behind might have betrayed her into greater fear of man at home, and she might never have been able to confess His name. But now she knew Him, and believed in Him-not in the fringe of His garment; now she had confessed Him before the multitude, and would not fear to confess Him before her friends. Would she not be sure that it was loving wisdom that deprived her of the convenience which she had yearned for, and substituted blessings of which she had not dreamed? And, further, was she not glad that she had been made to undergo all this? If she could have had her choice, and it were all to do over again,

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think you she would have wished to go away secretly without seeing Christ’s beaming eye and hearing His “Courage, daughter, go in peace”? Surely not. She saw now that Christ’s kindness, though it seemed harsh at first, was wiser than her own selfish cowardice, and secured her greater happiness.

2. This narrative shows us also a person undergoing harsh discipline, and perceiving herself in a few moments the kindness which appointed it. Now this makes it specially interesting. It is so seldom we can see both sides of any dispensation-the peaceable, happy fruit as well as the present grievousness-that every instance in which we can do so ought to receive most careful meditation. It is not always granted to Christians to see this happy change so suddenly; and yet some time or other in the experience of every believer as swift a vision of God’s kindness in discipline is accorded. And from over us will the cloud sometimes pass as quickly as in this case. Many a discipline which we think harsh we shall find to be kind. Not only will it really be kind, but we shall know it to be so, and shall receive the joy of experiencing God’s goodness. Many an exposure or trial that we would have avoided at any cost will turn out to be the means of bringing blessings which we shall reckon cheaply bought. Conclusion: It is painful when speaking of privileges and securities, to think that they are limited to a few. But I must warn you that none but those who come to Christ for salvation may hope that He is training them for eternity. Those who do not touch Christ by faith, their sorrows are but sorrows, their disappointments bring no outweighing joy, their troubles are not trials, only calamities. Of how much are you depriving yourselves by unbelief! Now that Jesus is near, is even waiting for you, will you not trust in Him and come to Him to be healed? (J. Alden Davies.)

A cure by the way

Jesus was pressing through the throng to the house of Jairus to raise the ruler’s dead daughter; but He is so profuse in goodness that He works another miracle while upon the road. While yet this rod of Aaron bears the blossoms of an unaccomplished wonder, it yields the ripe almonds of a perfect work of mercy. It is enough for us, if we have some one purpose, straightway to go and accomplish it; it were imprudent to expend our energies by the way. Hastening to the rescue of a drowning friend, we cannot afford to exhaust our strength upon another in like danger. It is enough for a tree to yield one sort of fruit, and for a man to fulfil his own particular calling. But our Master knows no limit of power or boundary of mission. He is so prolific of grace, that like the sun which shines as it fulfils its course, His path is radiant with loving kindness. He is a fiery arrow of love, which not only reaches its ordained target, but perfumes the air through which it flies. Virtue is always going out of Jesus, as sweet odours exhale from the flowers; and it always will be emanating from Him, as light from the central orb. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Men speak of killing two birds with one stone, but my Lord heals many souls on one journey. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Tell all to Jesus

If your heart be very grieved, do, I pray you, remember that compassion is one of the most rapid ways of getting relief. While the banks hold good the lake swells; let them break, and the water is drained off. Let a vent be found for the swollen tarn up

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yonder on the mountains, and the mass of water which might otherwise inundate the valleys will flow in fertilizing streams. When you have a festering, gathering wound, the surgeon lets in the lancet and gives you ease. So confession brings peace. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Confessing Christ

Why should the wonders He hath wrought be hid in darkness and forgot? When I look abroad upon nature, it is true I do not see nature fussily trying to make itself tidy for a visitor, as some professors do, who, the moment they think they are going to be looked at, trim up their godliness to make it look smart. But on the other hand, Nature is never bashful. She never tries to hide her beauties from the gazer’s eye. You walk the valley; the sun is shining, and a few raindrops are falling; yonder is the rainbow; a thousand eyes gaze at it. Does it fold up all its lovely colours and retire? Oh, no! it shrinks not from the eye of man. In yonder garden all the flowers are opening their bejewelled cups, the birds are singing, and the insects humming amid the leaves. It is a place so beautiful that God Himself might walk therein at eventide, as He did in Eden. I look without alarming the bashful beauties of the garden. Do all these insects fold their wings and hide beneath the leaves? do the flowers hang down their heads? does the sun draw a veil over his modest face? does nature blush till the leaves of the trees are scarlet? Oh, no! Nature cares not for gazers, and when they come to look upon her, she doth not hasten to wrap a mantle over her fair form, or throw a curtain before her grandeur. So the Christian is not to be always wishing to expose what is in him; that were to make himself a Pharisee; yet, on the ether hand, if God has put anything that is lovely and beautiful and of good report in you, anything that may glorify the cross of Christ, and make the angels happy before the eternal throne, who are you that you should cover it? Who are you that you should rob God of His praise? What! Would you have all Nature’s beauties hid? Why, then, hide the beauties of grace? (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Best to apply direct to the Master

A tenant farmer on a rich lord’s estate had been refused a renewal of his lease by the steward of the estate. Instead of giving up, the farmer went to the owner himself, laid the matter before him, and was successful in getting his renewal. Why? He had gone to the one who had the ultimate power to grant or refuse. So Jairus, so the woman with the bloody flux, when all human help failed, went to Him in Whom alone was the power to heal and make alive. All the bread in the world will not keep you from starving, if it is shut up in storehouses, and you have no key, There may be water enough in the well; but if you have no bucket to draw it with, it will do you no good. And all Christ’s treasures of healing for body and soul will be nothing to you, if you do not go to Him for your share of them. (Sunday School Times.)

The sanctity of touch

I. How great and mysterious the importance attaching to touch in the Old Testament.

1. Thus touch is pollution (Hag_2:12-13).

2. Thus touch is consecration (Exo_30:26; Exo_30:29).

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3. Thus touch is strength (Dan_10:10; Dan_10:16; Dan_10:18).

4. Thus touch is wisdom (Jer_1:9).

5. Thus touch is purity (Isa_6:7).

II. The great lesson of the New Testament is by touch, to show to us the absolute communicability of the Divine power and holiness; it is the story also of the vaccination of the world. The Old Testament is the story of the first man, and how one sin tainted the world. The New Testament is the story of the second Man, and how His holiness purified the tainted stream. Jesus went about touching. The holy awakening of Divine grace restores man.

III. There is no cure without contact. You cannot satisfy hunger without eating, although your table be covered with food. You cannot satisfy thirst without drinking, although fountains play before the eye. You cannot satisfy faith by reading about Christ, or by knowing Him-you must appropriate Him. Imputed righteousness is really transferred righteousness; the purity of the Saviour becomes ours. What does the whole teaching and miraculous life of our Lord convey to us but this doctrine-Transfusion. Faith is the finger by which man touches God. Meanwhile it is not faith that saves; it is faith in Jesus Christ. We are not saved by faith as an act of the mind, but by faith on the object of the mind. It is not the faith, but the Person. No cure without contact. Thus if man cannot come to God, God must come to man, or these two can never meet. This is the meaning of Christ’s incarnation. By faith we come into contact with God, and are saved; by sympathy, we come in contact with man and cure. (E. P. Hood.)

Touch is the key to all the senses

Touch is the principle of all the senses. Perhaps, also, I shall be right, if I say that it is the most subtle of all the senses. There is no sensation without touch; sight is touch; fragrance is touch; we give that name to what is the sense of resistance; but all things are known to us and are related to us by touch. Touch is the internal sensitive principle-it is the principle of communication, and of reception, and of translation. We are told that particles are constantly floating off to touch the sensitive body, to bid the door of sensation spring open; and I think you must have felt that while those avenues are touched by their proper affinities, there are other senses within which are not touched, and never awakened, but which might own and yield to the appropriate key. Touch is, to me, far from being that endorsement of materialism it has been described as being; it is the assurance of an inhabitant behind the gateway. Indeed, the more closely I look into any of the senses, the more spiritual they become. All knowledge is by contact; all sympathy is in contact; and sin and purity, and health and disease, grow in contact. How true it is that there is no cure, no healing, without contact-that is, without mutual touching. If we cannot get near to that which heals, how can it heal us? Suppose I know of the medicine which might cure me, but I am in England, and the medicine or the physician is in America, and it is the only medicine-how can I be cured? Hence, then, guard the avenues of touch. It has been well said that the skin isolates the man, and makes him world tight; but it is necessary that the world’s goods should come into his house-necessary, too, that the refuse and wear and tear should be carried forth, and that he should go out and in with the freedom of a man. The skin is our abode, not our prison; and the porous skin has its bivalve doors and windows, to admit supplies from without, and to allow the spirit to steer forth from within. Some things we must be careful to touch not. (E. P. Hood.)

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Sin spreading by contact

It contains also the history of the transference of Divine holiness, but it is especially the history of the inoculation of sin; it is the history of the drop that taints and ruins the race-the fatal virus; it is not inconceivable. I remember, some time since, when in the University of Edinburgh, being told of a young man who slightly touched his two fingers with the dissecting knife, they were instantly cut off to save his life, so fatal was the touch of corruption. Such is the corrosive power of poisonous touch. We can appreciate the touch of fire, the touch of caustic, the touch of poison; but can we not appreciate the touch of sin? Can we not so far appreciate it as to know its power, its danger, and to see in it the dreadful virus tainting and damning our race? (E. P. Hood.)

Christianity a healing influence

Now it is, as I have before said, not difficult to perceive to what teaching all the doctrine concerning touch in the Old Testament and in the New, points: even to the great doctrine of a transferred or transfused purity. It is mournfully true that, for the most part, except as we are divinely breathed upon, we but add to each other’s impurity. Let the Book be removed from our midst-let all church ordinances expire from among us-let every opportunity of prayer be suspended or at an end-and all the offices of the religious life, as aided and inspired by the sacred Scriptures, and then what shall we see? Still man would exercise his powers as an artist-still would he utter himself in poetry and in song, in painting and in sculpture. Can you doubt for a moment, or wonder, what would be the nature of those performances? Anacreon, and Juvenal, and universal impurity over the marble and over the canvas. When you think of man’s genius, his native genius, you are not to think of it as you behold it here, but as it was in the day in which the apostle bore his witness in the prison at Rome, and on the hill of Greece; and you must see how the touch of holiness transformed all that impurity into the holy lights of virtue and truth. But Greece, and Rome-what power had they to impart purity to each other? Therefore is there needed another ray, another touch, another hallowing fire. (Ibid.)

“Twelve years!” The contrasts of life

In Capernaum there were two houses whose inmates are strangely linked together in the Gospel history. The one was the house of Jairus, which perhaps stood on the rising ground fast by the synagogue: the other was the house in which the nameless woman, with the issue of blood, dwelt, which probably was situated in the poorer part of the city. Let us mark the contrasts of life presented by these two houses in the “twelve years” twice mentioned by Mark.

I. Hope and fear-There was a day when a great event took place in the house of Jairus. A child was born. What congratulations of friends, etc. The same year-perhaps the same month and day-a memorable event took place in the house of a poor woman. “Issue of blood” (Mar_5:25). How it came is not told. Such contrasts are common. In one home they are lifted up with hope and joy; while in another there is the gloom and trouble.

II. Health and sickness. In the house of Jairus all goes well. The child grows. She is the joy of her parents, etc. But alas! how different have been the circumstances in the other house. Perhaps the woman thought at first that her ailment was slight and

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temporary. Certainly she was buoyed up with the hope that it would yield to the skill of physicians. But disappointed.

III. Comfort and penury. Jairus must have held a good position: he was wealthy. As to the woman, we cannot tell what her original condition was. At any rate, she soon felt the pressure of adversity.

IV. Society and loneliness. Jairus had wife and daughter, and many friends. If he needed sympathy, there would be always people ready to give it. Besides, he had his place and his duties, as a ruler of the synagogue, to furnish him with honourable employment and holy rest. But how different with the poor woman. She is represented as alone. No one is named as taking interest in her case.

V. But there came a time when the fortunes of these two people were strangely assimilated and when in their extremity they met and found relief at the feet of the same Saviour. Lessons:

1. Trouble comes to all.

2. Trouble should drive us to Christ.

3. Trouble should bind us more closely in sympathy and love with our brethren.

4. Trouble should endear to us the more the hope of heaven. (W. Forsyth, M. A.)

Methods of spiritual treatment

There are cases in which the physicians must still, to save life, resort to treatment which is painful. But it is now known, it is now conclusively settled among physicians, that the way to master disease is not to torture the patient into health or into his grave, but to provide that those miraculous processes of nature which include healing should as far as possible have fair play, to make art the handmaid of nature, instead of offering any violence to nature in the name of art. Now-a-days, therefore, your physician who is not an age behind his age does not give you drugs in doses which horribly aggravate your suffering-he prescribes fresh air, the delights of travel, gentle exercise, good diet, warmth, comfort, suggests that pleasant company has its own benign influence on body and mind, recommends innocent amusement, and, as regards the welfare of this mortal tabernacle, agrees with the ancient maxim that godliness with contentment is great gain. It is certain that more cures are effected by the modern system of medical treatment, while, as for the soothing of pain, no comparison is possible between them. The difference between the two systems is that by the one the attempt is made to check and to extirpate disease by violence, by the other to aid nature by gentle methods to overcome it. From doctors for the body is not the passage easy to doctors for the soul? Among them, too, the curing of disease by violence has been milch and long in vogue. In our day, it is true, we hear little and know less of the coarser and more outrageous means which were once universally approved for effecting spiritual cures. We don’t now believe that we can save souls by burning the bodies belonging to them. Looking thus to the general scope of the teaching of Christ, we have no difficulty in seeing what religion was meant by Him to be in relation to all moral and spiritual disability and disease. It was not to be a system of bleeding and blistering, of curing by counter irritation, of making six days of the week holy by making the seventh miserable, of making earth a place of torment in order to render heaven accessible, of overcoming one disease by the production of another. It was to be a kindred influence with the sunshine, and the air of shores and hills, and the kindly ties of home, and the sympathy which is born of comradeship in adversity and sorrow-it was to be an influence kindred with all these

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in restoring to health those that were ready to perish. Every way you choose to look at it, this is the character of the Christianity of Christ. (J. Service, D. D.)

Christ discriminates His healing virtue

Who would not think that a man might ladle up a dish of water out of the sea, without its being missed? Yet that water, though much, is finite; those drops may be numbered: that art which hath reckoned how many grains of sand would make up a world, could more easily compute how many drops of water would make up an ocean. Whereas, the mercies of God are absolutely infinite, and beyond all possibility of proportion; and yet this bashful soul cannot steal one drop of mercy from this endless, boundless, bottomless sea of Divine bounty, but it is felt and questioned. (Bp. Hall.)

Virtue had gone out of Him!

Christ an inexhaustible reservoir of grace:-As heat goeth out of the sun into the air, water, earth, earthly bodies, and yet remains in the sun; so here. A fountain is not drawn dry, but cleared; so skill is not lost by communicating it to others, but increased. (John Trapp.)

The looks of Jesus

“And He looked round about to see her that had done this thing.” The record in this Gospel of the looks of Christ is very remarkable. Let us gather them together and by their help think of Him whose meek, patient eye is still upon them that fear Him.

I. The welcoming look of love and pity to those who seek Him. There are two recorded instances-that of our text and that of the young ruler.

II. The Lord’s looks of love and warning to those who found Him. There are three instances of this class- Mar_3:34; Mar_8:32; Mar_10:23-27. The stooping love which claims us for His brethren, shines in His regard none the less tenderly though He reads and warns us with His eye.

III. The Lord’s look of anger and pity on His opponents. This took place in the synagogue (Mar_3:1-5).

IV. The look of the Lord on the profaned temple (Mar_11:11). How solemn that careful, all-comprehending scrutiny of all that He found there. (A. Maclaren, D. D.)

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some people

came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue

leader. “Your daughter is dead,” they said.

“Why bother the teacher anymore?”

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BARNES, "Mar_5:35, Mar_5:36

Why troublest thou ... - It seems that the people had not yet confidence that Jesus could raise the dead. He had not yet done it; and as the child was now dead, and as they supposed that his power over her was at an end, they wished no farther to trouble him. Jesus kindly set the fears of the ruler at rest, and assured him that he had equal power over the dead and the living, and could as easily raise those who had expired as those who were expiring.

CLARKE, "Why troublest thou the Master - These people seem to have had no other notion of our Lord than that of an eminent physician, who might be useful while there was life, but afterwards could do nothing

GILL, "While he yet spake,.... The above things to the poor woman, in commendation of her faith, and for her future encouragement, peace, and comfort in soul and body:

there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain that said. The Vulgate Latin renders it, "from the ruler of the synagogue", and which is indeed the literal version of the phrase; but they could not come from him in person, for he was with Jesus: hence some versions, as the Arabic and Ethiopic, read, "there came to the ruler of the synagogue"; but the sense is easy, by supplying the word house, as we do, and as the Syriac and Persic versions also do. Luke speaks but of "one" that came, Luk_8:49 whereas this evangelist suggests there were more, which is no contradiction; for Luke does not say there was but one; there might be more that came with the news, though but one related it as the mouth of the rest; or they might come one after another with it.

Which said, thy daughter is dead, why troublest thou the master any further? these brought him the account that his daughter was actually dead, which he himself feared before; and therefore they thought it was in vain to give Christ any further trouble to drag along through a crowd of people pressing him; whom they looked upon as a very worthy person, an eminent doctor and prophet, a master in Israel, and one that had done great cures on living persons in distress; yet imagined it was wholly out of his power to raise one from the dead, of which, as yet, they had had no instance, unless the raising of the widow of Nain's son was before this, as indeed it seems to be; but perhaps persons, who were some of the relations, or domestics of the ruler, had heard nothing of it; for if they had, they might have hoped he would have exerted his power in raising the ruler's daughter, as well as the widow's son.

HENRY, "Diseases and deaths came into the world by the sin and disobedience of the first Adam; but by the grace of the second Adam both are conquered. Christ, having healed an incurable disease, here goes on to triumph over death, as in the beginning of the chapter he had triumphed over an outrageous devil.

I. The melancholy news is brought to Jairus, that his daughter is dead, and therefore, if Christ be as other physicians, he comes too late. While there is life, there is hope, and room for the use of means; but when life is gone, it is past recall; Why troublest thou the Master any further? Mar_5:35. Ordinarily, the proper thought in this case, is, “The matter is determined, the will of God is done, and I submit, I acquiesce; The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away. While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, Who can tell but God will yet be gracious to me, and

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the child shall live? But now that it is dead, wherefore should I weep? I shall go to it, but it shall not return to me.” With such words we should quiet ourselves at such a time, that our souls may be as a child that is weaned from his mother: but there the case was extraordinary; the death of the child doth not, as usually, put an end to the narrative.

JAMIESON, "Mar_5:35-43. Jairus’ daughter raised to life.

Thy daughter is dead; why troublest thou the Master any further? — the Teacher.

BARCLAY, "DESPAIR AND HOPE (Mark 5:35-39)

5:35-39 While he was still speaking, messages came from the household of the

ruler of the synagogue. "Your daughter," they said, "has died. Why trouble the

teacher any more?" Jesus overheard this message being given. He said to the

ruler of the synagogue, "Don't be afraid! Only keep on believing!" He allowed

no one to accompany him except Peter and James and John, James' brother.

They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue. He saw the uproar. He saw

the people weeping and wailing. He came in. "Why," he said to them, "are you

so distressed? And what are you weeping for? The little girl has not died--she is

sleeping." They laughed him to scorn.

Jewish mourning customs were vivid and detailed, and practically all of them

were designed to stress the desolation and the final separation of death. The

triumphant victorious hope of the Christian faith was totally absent.

Immediately death had taken place a loud wailing was set up so that all might

know that death had struck. The wailing was repeated at the grave side. The

mourners hung over the dead body, begging for a response from the silent lips.

They beat their breasts; they tore their hair; and they rent their garments.

The rending of garments was done according to certain rules and regulations. It

was done just before the body was finally hid from sight. Garments were to be

rent to the heart, that is, until the skin was exposed, but were not to be rent

beyond the navel. For fathers and mothers the rent was on the left side, over the

heart; for others it was on the right side. A woman was to rend her garments in

private; she was then to reverse the inner garment, so that it was worn back to

front; she then rent her outer garment, so that her body was not exposed. The

rent garment was worn for thirty days. After seven days the rent might be

roughly sewn up, in such a way that it was still clearly visible. After the thirty

days the garment was properly repaired.

Flute-players were essential. Throughout most of the ancient world, in Rome, in

Greece, in Phoenicia, in Assyria and in Palestine, the wailing of the flute was

inseparably connected with death and tragedy. It was laid down that, however

poor a man was, he must have at least two flute-players at his wife's funeral. W.

Taylor Smith in Hastings' Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels quotes two

interesting instances of the use of flute-players, which show how widespread the

custom was. There were flute-players at the funeral of Claudius, the Roman

Emperor. When in A.D. 67 news reached Jerusalem of the fall of Jotapata to the

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Roman armies, Josephus tells us that "most people engaged flute-players to lead

their lamentations."

The wail of the flutes, the screams of the mourners, the passionate appeals to the

dead, the rent garments, the torn hair. must have made a Jewish house a

poignant and pathetic place on the day of mourning.

When death came, a mourner was forbidden to work, to anoint himself or to

wear shoes. Even the poorest man must cease from work for three days. He must

not travel with goods; and the prohibition of work extended even to his servants.

He must sit with head bound up. He must not shave, or "do anything for his

comfort." He must not read the Law or the Prophets, for to read these books is

joy. He was allowed to read Job, Jeremiah and Lamentations. He must eat only

in his own house, and he must abstain altogether from flesh and wine. He must

not leave the town or village for thirty days. It was the custom not to eat at a

table, but to eat sitting on the floor, using a chair as a table. It was the custom,

which still survives, to eat eggs dipped in ashes and salt.

There was one curious custom. All water from the house, and from the three

houses on each side, was emptied out, because it was said that the Angel of Death

procured death with a sword dipped in water taken from close at hand. There

was one peculiarly pathetic custom. In the case of a young life cut off too soon, if

the young person had never been married, a form of marriage service was part

of the burial rites. For the time of mourning the mourner was exempt from the

keeping of the law, because he was supposed to be beside himself, mad with grief.

The mourner must go to the synagogue; and when he entered the people faced

him and said, "Blessed is he that comforteth the mourner." The Jewish prayer

book has a special prayer to be used before meat in the house of the mourner.

"Blessed art thou, O God, our Lord, King of the Universe,

God of our fathers, our Creator, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier,

the Holy One of Jacob, the King of Life, who art good and doest

good; the God of truth, the righteous Judge who judgest in

righteousness, who takest the soul in judgment, and rulest alone

in the universe, who doest in it according to his will and all his

ways are in Judgment, and we are his people, and his servants, and

in everything we are bound to praise him and to bless him, who

shields all the calamities of Israel, and will shield us in this

calamity, and from this mourning will bring us to life and peace.

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Comfort, O God, our Lord, all the mourners of Jerusalem that

mourn in our sorrow. Comfort them in their mourning, and make

them rejoice in their agony as a man is comforted by his mother.

Blessed art thou, O God, the Comforter of Zion, thou that buildest

again Jerusalem."

That prayer is later than New Testament times, but it is against the background

of the earlier, unrestrained expressions of grief that we must read this story of

the girl who had died.

COFFMAN, "What is to be made of such a message as this? Perhaps some of

Jairus' fellow-rulers of the synagogue had been embarrassed by one of

themselves appealing to the humble Prophet of the poor; and there seems to be a

kind of calloused argument here to the effect that: "Look, she's already dead,

and we all know that this Teacher cannot raise the dead; why bother (with) him

any further?" Whether or not this was exactly what they had in mind, that was

certainly the attitude of their class. It is as though they had said, "We are

already proceeding with the funeral," which from Mark 5:38 it is plain they

were actually doing!

CONSTABLE, "If the disciples had been impatient (Mark 5:31), how much

more so must Jairus have been. How his heart must have broken when word

reached him that his daughter had died. The people who reported the death of

Jairus' daughter regarded Jesus as simply a teacher or rabbi. They believed He

could only help the living.

"There is no hint of anyone taking it amiss that Jesus did not proceed as fast as

He could to Jairus' house; or that He could have dealt with the haemorrhage

[sic] after the more serious case of the child at death's door.... It is quite

Palestinian still to do the things that need doing at the psychological juncture."

[Note: Eric F. F. Bishop, Jesus of Palestine, p. 137.]

BURKITT, "Observe here, 1. The doleful news brought to Jairus's ears, Thy

daughter is dead. The Lord doth sometimes suffer the faith of his saints to be

hard put to it, greatly assaulted with difficulties and trials.

Observe, 2. Our Saviour's seasonable word of comfort, Be not afraid, only

believe. Christ is ready to comfort believers in the hour of their strongest

temptations and greatest trials.

Observe, 3. Christ's application of himself to the raising unto life Jairus's dead

daughter.

In order to which, 1. He goes into the house only with three of his disciples,

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which were sufficient to witness the truth of the miracle. Our Saviour, to avoid

all show of vain-glory, and to evidence that he sought not ambitiously his own

honour and praise, would not work this great miracle publicly before all the

people.

2. He rebukes them for the show they make of immoderate grief and sorrow for

the dead damsel: they wept and wailed greatly, with minstrels and musical

instruments according to the custom of the heathens, who by a mournful sort of

music did stir up the passion of grief at their funerals. To mourn immoderately

for the dead is an heathenish practice and custom. It is hurtful to the living, and

dishonourable to the dead; nor is it an argument of more love, but an evidence of

less grace.

3. He adds a reason for this rebuke and reproof given them; The damsel is not

dead but sleepeth. Vobis mortua, mihi dormit: "She is dead to you, but asleep to

me;" not so dead as to be beyond my power to raise her to life. Souls departed

are under the conduct of angels to their several regions of bliss or misery. It is

very probable that the soul of this damsel was under the guard of angels, near

her dead body, waiting the pleasure of God in order to its disposal, either to

restore it again to the body, or to translate it to its eternal mansion.

Observe farther, The nature of death in general, and that of the saints in

particular, described; it is a sleep. Sleep is a state of rest; sleep is a sudden

surprisal; in sleep there is an insensible passage of our time; the person sleeping

shall certainly awake, either in this world, or in the next. It will be our wisdom to

prepare for the bed of the grave, and so to live, that when we lie down in it, there

may be nothing to disturb our rest.

Observe next, The words which our Saviour used at the raising of the damsel,

Talitha-cumi, Syriac words, to show the truth of the miracle, not like a conjurer,

muttering a charm in unknown words to himself; and also to show the greatness

of the miracle, that he was able to raise her by a word speaking.

Observe lastly, The charge given by our Saviour not to divulge this miracle: He

charged them straitly that none should know it. That is, not to divulge it

imprudently to such of the scribes and Pharisees as would not be convinced by it,

but only cavil at it, and be the more enraged against him, and seek his death

before his time was come. Also not to divulge it unseasonably, and all at once,

but gradually, and by degrees: for it was the will of God that the divine glory of

Christ should not be manifested to the world all at once, and on the sudden, but

by little and little, during his state of humiliation; for his resurrection was the

time appointed for the full manifestation of his Godhead. Declared to be the Son

of God with power, by the resurrection from the dead.

NISBET, "FAITH-HEALING

‘Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole.’

Mark 5:34

She came to Jesus. She felt her disease; she felt her need. Grace meets us, not

according to our correct views, or right thoughts of God, but according to our

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need.

I. The touch of faith.—She touched the Saviour’s hem, and ‘immediately the

fountain of her blood was dried up.’ What she had sought for twelve long years

from the world’s physicians and sought in vain, she got by a single touch of

Jesus. How quickly He can heal the soul! We go to Him in our poverty and sin, in

our sorrow and trial, and oh, what a Saviour we find Him! We get by a single

touch of Him what the world could never give. How hollow are all the world’s

physicians when viewed in His light! How fully every want of the soul is met!

What a mighty power there is in a touch, a word, a look from Him! One look

brought a backsliding apostle home to the fold. One word dried the tears of a

weeping Magdalene, and filled her desolate heart with deep songs of joy. One

touch of His clothes dried up the fountain of disease in this helpless cripple, and

sent her to her home rejoicing.

II. Need supplied.—What had she got from Jesus? Just as much as she needed.

No more. For this cause He came into our world—to meet man’s need. He is the

same to this hour. What do you get from the Saviour now? Just what you need.

There are no dealings now between the Saviour and His people beyond this.

Every approach to Him is founded on this. Every answer to prayer is according

to this measure. Every blessing we receive corresponds with the need that it

meets.

III. Life’s one aim.—Christian, seek to feel more deeply your need of the

Saviour. Nothing brings you so close to Him as these hidden needs. These tell us

something of what a Saviour He is. These are the channels through which His

virtue flows. It is Him you want to meet every need. In the solitude or the throng,

in the routine of daily duty or the calmness of the closet, in sickness or in health,

in sorrow or in joy, in living or in dying, let your heart be filled with one desire,

one thought, one aim—to touch Jesus.

—Rev. F. Whitfield.

Illustration

‘One of the best illustrations of this text is to be found in the last great picture of

Doré, called “The Vale of Tears.” The paint was wet on the canvas when he died,

for he only finished it three days before. In the background is a shadowy valley

with a barren, rocky crag on one side. At the entrance to the valley stands the

Saviour, clothed with a long white garment. He has a cross on one side, and His

other hand is raised, the forefinger uplifted, as if inviting the broken heart to

come to Him for healing. Nearest to Him are the poorest of the poor, the despised

and rejected of men. Every single form of human suffering may be seen in that

“Vale of Tears,” from the king to the beggar. The king, in royal robes and a

crown on his brow, turns a wan and weary face to Christ. By his side is the

prisoner with heavy chains on his wrists; his face, too, is towards the Saviour

Who can set the captive free. Here is a wealthy mother, but on her lap lies a dead

child, and in her deep anguish she turns to Christ for comfort; there a dying

mother, lying on the ground, holds her infant in the direction of the Saviour, as if

committing it to His care. There are strangers from every clime, the Indian and

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the Negro, while on a lonely rock, under a blasted tree, stands the leper. Many

are the suffering and the sorrowful in that dark valley, but all look to Christ, and

Christ alone, for rest. The old enemy, the serpent, is seen crawling away, scared

by the light of Christ and His cross. Beyond all, at the Saviour’s right hand, is

the narrow way, where everlasting spring abides. It leads to the Beautiful Land

to which the Saviour beckons all weary souls. I looked on that picture till my

eyes filled with tears, and I praise God that His Christ is still able to heal and

bless and save—that He is living and not dead—the same yesterday, to-day, and

for ever.’

MACLAREN, "TALITHA CUMI

Mar_5:22-24, Mar_5:35-43

The scene of this miracle was probably Capernaum; its time, according to Matthew, was the feast at his house after his call. Mark’s date appears to be later, but he may have anticipated the feast in his narrative, in order to keep the whole of the incidents relating to Matthew’s apostleship together. Jairus’s knowledge of Jesus is implied in the story, and perhaps Jesus’ acquaintance with him.

I. We note, first, the agonised appeal and the immediate answer.

Desperation makes men bold. Conventionalities are burned up by the fire of agonised petitioning for help in extremity. Without apology or preliminary, Jairus bursts in, and his urgent need is sufficient excuse. Jesus never complains of scant respect when wrung hearts cry to Him. But this man was not only driven by despair, but drawn by trust. He was sure that, even though his little darling had been all but dead when he ran from his house, and was dead by this time, for all he knew, Jesus could give her life. Perhaps he had not faced the stern possibility that she might already be gone, nor defined precisely what he hoped for in that case. But he was sure of Jesus’ power, and he says nothing to show that he doubted His willingness. A beautiful trust shines through his words, based, no doubt, on what he had known and seen of Jesus’ miracles. We have more pressing and deeper needs, and we have fuller and deeper knowledge of Jesus, wherefore our approach to Him should be at least as earnest and confidential as Jairus’s was. If our Lord was at the feast when this interruption took place, His gracious, immediate answer becomes more lovely, as a sign of His willingness to bring the swiftest help. ‘While they are yet speaking, I will hear.’ Jairus had not finished asking before Jesus was on His feet to go.

The father’s impatience would be satisfied when they were on their way, but how he would chafe, and think every moment an age, while Jesus stayed, as if at entire leisure, to deal with another silent petitioner! But His help to one never interferes with His help to another, and no case is so pressing as that He cannot spare time to stay to bless some one else. The poor, sickly, shamefaced woman shall be healed, and the little girl shall not suffer.

II. We have next the extinction and rekindling of Jairus’s glimmer of hope.

Distances in Capernaum were short, and the messenger would soon find Jesus. There was little sympathy in the harsh, bald announcement of the death, or in the appended suggestion that the Rabbi need not be further troubled. The speaker evidently was thinking more of being polite to Jesus than of the poor father’s stricken heart, Jairus would feel then what most of us have felt in like circumstances,-that he had been more hopeful than he knew. Only when the last glimmer is quenched do we feel, by

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the blackness, how much light had lingered in our sky, But Jesus knew Jairus’s need before Jairus himself knew it, and His strong word of cheer relit the torch ere the poor father had time to speak. That loving eye reads our hearts and anticipates our dreary hopelessness by His sweet comfortings. Faith is the only victorious antagonist of fear. Jairus had every reason for abandoning hope, and his only reason for clinging to it was faith. So it is with us all. It is vain to bid us not be afraid when real dangers and miseries stare us in the face; but it is not vain to bid us ‘believe,’ and if we do that, faith, cast into the one scale, will outweigh a hundred good reasons for dread and despair cast into the other.

III. We have next the tumult of grief and the word that calms.

The hired mourners had lost no time, and in Eastern fashion were disturbing the solemnity of death with their professional shrieks and wailings. True grief is silent. Woe that weeps aloud is soon consoled.

What a contrast between the noise outside and the still death-chamber and its occupant, and what a contrast between the agitation of the sham comforters and the calmness of the true Helper! Christ’s great word was spoken for us all when our hearts are sore and our dear ones go. It dissolves the dim shape into nothing ness, or, rather, it transfigures it into a gracious, soothing form. Sleep is rest, and bears in itself the pledge of waking. So Christ has changed the ‘shadow feared of man’ into beauty, and in the strength of His great word we can meet the last enemy with ‘Welcome! friend.’ It is strange that any one reading this narrative should have been so blind to its deepest beauty as to suppose that Jesus was here saying that the child had only swooned, and was really alive. He was not denying that she was what men call ‘dead,’ but He was, in the triumphant consciousness of His own power, and in the clear vision of the realities of spiritual being, of which bodily states are but shadows, denying that what men call death deserves the name. ‘Death’ is the state of the soul separated from God, whether united to the body or no,-not the separation of body and soul, which is only a visible symbol of the more dread reality.

IV. We have finally the life-giving word and the life-preserving care.

Probably Jesus first freed His progress from the jostling crowd, and then, when arrived, made the further selection of the three apostles,-the first three of the mighty ones-and, as was becoming, of the father and mother.

With what hushed, tense expectation they would enter the chamber! Think of the mother’s eyes watching Him. The very words that He spoke were like a caress. There was infinite tenderness in that ‘Damsel!’ from His lips, and so deep an impression did it make on Peter that he repeated the very words to Mark, and used them, with the change of one letter (‘Tabitha’ for ‘Talitha’), in raising Dorcas. The same tenderness is expressed by His taking her by the hand, as, no doubt, her mother had done, many a morning, on waking her. The father had asked Him to lay His hand on her, that she might be made whole and live. He did as He was asked,-He always does-and His doing according to our desire brings larger blessings than we had thought of. Neither the touch of His hand nor the words He spoke were the real agents of the child’s returning to life. It was His will which brought her back from whatever vasty dimness she had entered. The forth-putting of Christ’s will is sovereign, and His word runs with power through all regions of the universe. ‘The dull, cold ear of death’ hears, and ‘they that hear shall live,’ whether they are, as men say, dead, or whether they are ‘dead in trespasses and sins.’ The resurrection of a soul is a mightier act-if we can speak of degrees of might in His acts-than that of a body.

It would be calming for the child of such strange experiences to see, for the first thing that met her eyes opening again on the old familiar home as on a strange land, the

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bending face of Jesus, and His touch would steady her spirit and assure of His love and help. The quiet command to give her food knits the wonder with common life, and teaches precious lessons as to His economy of miraculous power, like His bidding others loosen Lazarus’s wrappings, and as to His devolution on us of duties towards those whom He raises from the death of sin. But it was given, not didactically, but lovingly. The girl was exhausted, and sustenance was necessary, and would be sweet. So He thought upon a small bodily need, and the love that gave life took care to provide what was required to support it. He gives the greatest; He will take care that we shall not lack the least.

BI, "Jairus by name.

A proper prayer

Better prayers, perhaps, had been offered. He would have shown more faith if he had prayed like the centurion (Luk_7:7). But, though he does not show such strong faith, yet it is a good prayer. For it is

(1) humble: he falls at Christ’s feet;

(2) believing: he feels Christ is omnipotent to heal;

(3) bold: he offers it in face of all the people, many of whom would be shocked that a ruler of the synagogue should acknowledge Jesus;

(4) loving, springing from a pure affection. Distress is a great schoolmaster. It teaches men many things; among the rest the greatest of all attainments-the power to pray. (R. Glover.)

A revived flower

And that bright flower bloomed in the vase of that happy home, more beautiful because the look of Jesus had given it new tints and the breath of Jesus had given it new fragrance. (J. Cumming, D. D.)

Jairus’ daughter

Jairus was a good man. His light was small, but real. It was feeble, but from heaven.

I. He had much to try his faith. One seems to see all the father in the tenderness of his words. Hope was over,-his daughter was dead. Thus is it with the believer. Instead of the relief he hoped for, all seems as death. Thus does the Lord try the faith He gives. Thus by causing us to wait for the blessing does He endear it.

II. The effect of this trial of faith. He did not distrust the power or willingness of the compassionate Saviour. His faith takes no denial, he still continues with Jesus. Faith hopes against hope. True faith partakes of his nature who exercises it, therefore in all, it is weak at times. But it partakes also of His nature who gives it, and therefore evinces its strength in the very midst of that weakness.

III. But wherever found, it is graciously rewarded. The scorners are without; but believing Jairus and the believing mother (Mar_5:40) are admitted. They see the mighty power of God put forth on behalf of their daughter. What an encouragement here to some anxious parent to put the case of their dear child in the hands of that same Jesus. How often has domestic affliction been the means of bringing the soul to

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the feet of Jesus. Mark the extreme tenderness of Jesus, “Fear not, only believe.” Be not afraid convicted sinner. My blood is sufficient, My grace and love are sufficient. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)

The Humane Society

I. The particular form of the Redeemer’s work.

1. Restoration from a special form of death.

2. Here was the recognition of the value of life-“She shall live.” It is not mere life on which Christianity has shed a richer value. It is by ennobling the purpose to which life is to be dedicated that it has made life more precious.

3. We consider the Saviour’s direction respecting the means of effecting a complete recovery. He “commanded that something should be given her to eat.” His reverential submission to the laws of nature.

II. The spirit of the Redeemer’s work.

1. It was love. He did good because it was good.

2. It was a spirit of retiring modesty. He did not wish it to be known.

3. It was a spirit of perseverance. Calm perseverance amidst ridicule. (F. W. Robertson.)

Not dead, but sleeping

Nature puts on a shroud at seasons, and seems to glide into the grave of winter. Autumnal blasts come sobbing through the trees, and leaf after leaf, shrivelling its fibres at the killing contact, comes drifting to the ground. The hedgerows where the May flowers and the dog rose mixed their scents are stripped and bare, and lift their thorny fingers up to heaven. The field where fat and wealthy-looking crops a while ago promised their golden sheaves, is now spread over with a coarse fringe of stubble, and seems a sort of hospital of vegetation. The garden shows no more its beauties, nor sheds forth its scent, but where the coloured petal and the painted cup of the gay flower were seen, there stands a blighted stem, or a drooping tuft of refuse herbs. The birds which carolled to the summer sky have fled away, and their note no longer greets the ear. The very daisies on the meadow are buried in the snow wreath, and the raw blast howls a sad requiem at the funeral of nature. But those trees, whose leafless branches seem to wrestle with the rough winds that toss them, are not dead. Anon, and they shall again be wreathed in verdure and bedecked with blossom. The softened breath of spring shall whisper to the snowdrop to dart forth its modest head, and shall broider the garden path again with flowers; the fragrance of the hawthorn bloom ere long shall gush from those naked hedge rows, and the returning lark shall wake the morning with a new and willing song. No, nature is not dead! There is a resurrection coming on. Spring with its touch of wizardry shall wake her from her slumbers, and sound again the keynote of the suspended music of the spheres. So also shall there arise out of the raging conflagration, in whose fevered heat the elements shall melt and shrivel like a scroll-even out of the very ashes which betoken its consumption-a new heaven and a new earth-an earth as ethereal and pure as heaven itself-and a heaven as substantial and as living as the earth. And consentaneously with the arising of these new worlds; the tombs shall open, and send forth the shrouded tenants, to enter on the inheritance which, in that new economy,

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shall be theirs. Can you believe that faded flowers shall revive at the blithe beckoning of the spring, that little leaves will quietly unfold at the mandate of the morning, and yet there shall be no spring to beckon the mortal back to life, and no morning to command the clay to clothe itself with the garments of a quickening spirit? Can you believe that the great temple shall arise with all its shrines rebuilded, and its altars purified after the final burning, but that there shall be neither voice nor trumpet to call forth the high priest from his slumber to worship at those shrines, and to lay a more enduring offering upon those waiting altars? Is the fuel to be ever laid, and none to kindle the burnt offering? Is the sanctuary to be prepared, and none to pay the service? Is the bridegroom to stand alone before the altar, and no bride to meet him at the nuptials? God forbid! The high priest is not dead-the bride has not perished-they are not dead, but sleep. Sound forth the trumpet, and say that all is ready, and then the corruptible will put on incorruption, and the mortal will put on immortality. Thus, when we lay our kindred in the earth, and follow to their final resting place the last remains of those who occupied a cherished chamber in our hearts-while nature finds it hard to dry the tear and quench the sigh-faith ever lifts the spirit from its sad despondency, by assuring us of a reunion beyond the grave-and robs the monster of one half his terrors-weakening his stroke and taking away his sting, by changing the mystic trance into which he throws his victims into a transient sleep, and speaking of a waking time of happiness and icy. Nature will look on death as an assassin who murders those we love; but Faith regards him as a nurse who hushes them to sleep, and sings a lullaby and not a requiem beside their bed. To faith it is a sleeping draught and not a poison which the visitor holds to the drinker’s lips; for it hails the time when the lethargy of the sepulchre shall be cast off, and the spirit shall arise like a tired slumberer refreshed by sleep, to spend an endless morning in the energy of an endless youth. (A. Mursell.)

The death of the young encourages a spirit of dependence on God in the home life of this world

It brings the unseen Hand to bear very directly and potently on the soul’s deepest and most hidden springs. Let us suppose for a moment that there was a revealed ordinance of heaven that every, human being born into this world should live to three-score years and ten, and then quietly lie down to rest, and awake in eternity. Would it enrich or impoverish the life of the human world? I venture to think that it would impoverish it unspeakably. The passage of these little ones through the veil, of infants and children, of young men and maidens, of men and women in their prime, brings God’s hand very near, and keeps its pressure on the most powerful springs of our nature, our warmest affection, and our most constant and active care. It is not the uncertainty which is the strongest element of the influence, though no doubt that keeps us vigilant and anxious, and helps to maintain the full strain of our power. It is rather the constant contact with a Higher Will, which keeps us in humble, hopeful dependence, which gives and withholds, lends and recalls, by a wisdom which we cannot fathom, but which demands our trust on the basis of a transcendent manifestation of all-suffering and all-sacrificing love. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

The death of the young imparts a consecrating influence to the home life

It brings heaven all round us when we know that at any moment the veil may be lifted, and a dear life may vanish from our sight, not, blessed be Christ, into the shades, but into the brightness which is beyond. And when the life has vanished it leaves a holy and consecrating memory in the home. Something is in the home on

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earth which also belongs to the home on high. Never does the home life and all its relations seem so beautiful, so profound, so sacred, as when Death has laid his touch on “a little one,” and gathered it as a starry flower for the fields of light on high. It makes the life of the home more anxious, more burdened by care and pain, but more blessed. The nearness at any moment of resistless Death makes us find a dearer meaning in the word, “the whole family in heaven and on earth”-a thought which saturates the whole New Testament, and is not dependent on one text for its revelation. We know then how precious is its meaning, and earth gains by its loss as well as heaven. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

The death of the young lends a tender, home life interest to the life of the unseen world

The home, remember, is where the children are. There are those of us who never found the deeper meaning of the Father’s love and the everlasting home till a dear child had gone on before. The death of the little ones, while it ought to make the earthly life heaven-like on the one hand, is meant to make heaven home-like on the other. The Lord dethroned and discrowned Death by bearing the human form, living, through His realm of terror. The living Lord abolished death by living on through death, and flashing the splendours of heaven through the shades. The children, as they follow Christ through the gloom, make Death seem beautiful as an angel. Thenceforth we, too, have, not our citizenship only, but our home life in the two worlds. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

Jesus stronger than death

And just remember, that when Jesus allows death to knock at your door, and to come in, it is not because death is stronger than He. It is because He has a good reason for permitting it. He is so completely the Master of death that He makes it His messenger to do His bidding; and when death comes to our dwelling and takes away one we love, let us bear in mind that death is not Jesus’ enemy but His messenger. He is like an angel; he takes away our friend in his bosom. He has no power at all over us without Jesus. (Anon.)

The healing of Jairus’ daughter

I. The ease brought before Jesus. A bodily disease as usual. No spiritual cases, though more important.

II. The persons who brought it. A ruler, etc. He had heard Christ’s teaching. He had seen His miracles. No mention made, etc., till distress.

III. The character in which he came-a parent.

IV. The manner in which he came. Reverently. Earnestly. Believingly.

V. At the request of Jairus, Christ arose and accompanied him. Christ encouraged such applications-He does so still (Expository Discourses.)

I. Christ’s restorative power transcends the ordinary expectations of mankind.

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II. Christ’s restorative power is exerted on certain conditions.

1. Earnest entreaty.

2. A reverential spirit.

III. Christ’s restorative power accomplishes its object with the greatest ease.

IV. Christ’s restorative power confounds the scoffing sceptic with its result. Scoffing infidelity is destined to be confounded. There were scoffers in the days of Noah and they were confounded when the deluge came. There were scoffers in the days of Lot, and they were confounded when the showers of fire fell. There are scoffers now, and when they shall see Him “coming in His glory with all His holy angels,” these atheists, deists, and materialists, will be utterly confounded. (David Thomas, D. D.)

Death a sleep

Homer fittingly calls sleep “the brother of death”; they are so much alike. On the lips of Jesus, however, the word sleep acquires a richer and mightier import than it ever possessed before. Amply has His use of the term been justified in the last hour of tens of thousands of his devout followers. They laid themselves down to die, not as those who dread the night because of the remembrance of hours when, like Job, they were “scared with dreams” and “terrified through visions,” but like tired labourers, to whom night is indeed a season of peaceful refreshment. And how imperceptibly they sank into their last slumber! Their transition was so mild and gradual, that it was impossible for those who stood round their dying pillow to say exactly when it took place. There was no struggle, no convulsion. The angel of death spread his wide, white wings meekly over them, and then, with a smile upon their pallid countenance, serene and lovely as heaven itself, they closed their eyes on all terrestrial objects, and fell asleep in Jesus. And that sleep is as profound throughout as it was tranquil at the beginning. The happy fireside and the busy exchange-the halls of science and the houses of legislation-the oft-frequented walk and the holy temple-are nothing to them now. Suns rise and set, stars travel and glisten; but they see them not; tempests howl, thunders roll and crash; but they hear them not. Nothing can disturb those slumbers, “till the day dawn and the shadows flee away.” Then will the voice of the archangel sweep over God’s acre, and awake them all. Oh, wondrous awaking! what momentous consequences hang on thee! (Edwin Davies.)

Death a sleep

I. Sleep is rest, or gives rest to the body: so death.

1. Rest from labour and travail.

2. Rest from trouble and opposition.

3. Rest from passion and grief.

4. Rest from sin, temptation, Satan, and the law.

II. Sleep is not perpetual; we sleep and wake again; so, though the body lie in the grave, yet death is but a sleep; we shall wake again.

III. The sleep of some men differs very much from that of others: So the death of saints differs from that of the wicked.

1. Some men sleep before their work is done; so some die before their salvation is

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secured.

2. Some fall asleep in business and great distraction, others in peace.

3. Some dread the thought of dying, because of the dangers that lie beyond. But saints have no fear.

4. Some fall asleep in dangerous places, and in the midst of their enemies-on the brink of hell, surrounded by the spirits of perdition. But saints die in the view of Jesus; in the love and covenant of Jesus.

IV. A man that sleeps is generally easily awakened: So the body in death shall be much more easily awakened at the last day than the soul can now be aroused from its sleep of sin. (B. Keach.)

Why death of the godly is called sleep

The reason why the death of the godly is called a sleep in Scripture is this: because there is a fit resemblance between it and natural sleep; which resemblance consists chiefly in these things.

1. In bodily sleep men rest from the labours of mind and body. So the faithful, dying in the Lord, are said to rest from their labours (Rev_14:13).

2. After natural sleep men are accustomed to awake again; so, after death, the bodies of the saints shall be awaked, i.e., raised up again to life out of their graves at the last flay. And as it is easy to awake one out of a natural sleep, so is it much more easy with God, by His almighty power, to raise the dead at the last day.

3. As after natural sleep the body and outward senses are more fresh and lively than before; so likewise after that the bodies of the saints, being dead, have for a time slept in their graves as in beds, they shall awake and rise again at the last day in a far more excellent state than they died in, being changed from corruption to incorruption, from dishonour to glory, from weakness to power, from natural to spiritual bodies (1Co_15:42).

4. As in natural sleep the body only is said properly to sleep, not the soul (the powers whereof work even in sleep in some sort, though not so perfectly as when we are waking): so in death, only the bodies of the saints do die and lie down in the graves, but their souls return to God who gave them (Ecc_12:7), and they live with God even in death and alter death.

5. As sleep is sweet to those who are wearied with labour and travail (Ecc_5:12), so also death is sweet and comfortable to the faithful, being wearied and turmoiled with sin, and with the manifold miseries of this life. (G. Petter.)

Death of children

God cultivates many flowers, seemingly only for their exquisite beauty and fragrance. For when, bathed in soft sunshine, they have burst into blossom, then the Divine hand gathers them from the earthly fields to be kept in crystal vases in the deathless mansions above. Thus little children die-some in the sweet bud, some in the fallen blossom; but never too early to make heaven fairer and sweeter with their immortal bloom. (Wadsworth.)

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Goeth in where the child was: Christ in the chamber of death

I. A good child is at home in either world, not sorry to go to the other world to get joy, and not sorry to come back to this world to give it.

II. We know not where the other world is, but it is evidently within range of the Saviour’s voice. Our dear dead are therefore safe and all their conditions ordered by the Saviour’s mercy.

III. Life is indestructible by death.

IV. On a universal scale Christ will be found to be the Resurrection and the Life to all who love Him.

V. He inflicts bereavement, but sympathises with its sorrow. He relieves these mourners here, to show that He pities all mourners. (R. Glover.)

Talitha cumi

He uses what were, perhaps, the words used every morning by her mother on waking her-“Little one, get up.” (R. Glover.)

The raising of Jairus’ daughter

I. The application which Jesus received.

1. By whom it was made.

2. The favour he implied.

3. The feeling which this ruler displayed.

(1) His reverence.

(2) His importunity.

(3) His faith.

II. The ready compliance of our Lord with the request made to Him. But as He went we are called upon-

1. To witness a strange interruption.

2. To listen to what seemed very discouraging information-“Thy daughter is dead.”

III. The wonderful result with which this visit was attended.

1. What our Lord saw.

2. What He said.

3. What He did. (Expository Outlines.)

36 Overhearing[c] what they said, Jesus told

him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”

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CLARKE, "Jesus - saith - These words were spoken by our Lord to the afflicted father, immediately on his hearing of the death of his child, to prevent that distress which he otherwise must have felt on finding that the case was now, humanly speaking, hopeless.

GILL, "As soon as Jesus had heard the word that was spoken,.... By those that came from the ruler's house; as that his daughter was dead, and it was to no purpose to give him any further trouble, since all hope of recovery was now gone:

he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue; who was overwhelmed with trouble, and quite dispirited, and ready to swoon and die away;

be not afraid, only believe: do not be discouraged at these tidings, or distrust my power to help thee, only believe that I am able to raise her, even from the dead; and fear not, but it will be done. If a man can but believe, he has no reason to fear; for what is it that almighty power cannot do? it can raise the dead; there is nothing can stand in its way, or stop its course; and faith in it surmounts difficulties which are insuperable to carnal sense and reason: this was the support and foundation of Abraham's faith; hence he was strong in the exercise of it, and believed in hope against hope, because he was fully persuaded that God was able to perform what he had promised, Rom_4:18. And whereas the ruler had expressed some faith in Christ, that his daughter, though at the point of death, would be, healed by him and live, provided he would but come and lay his hands on her; and Christ had assented to go along with him, and had given him an intimation that he would restore her; he had nothing to do but to believe in him, that even though she was dead, he was able to raise her from the dead, as well as to recover her at the point of death, and that he would do it, but, oh! this thing, "only believe", how hard a matter is it, though there is so much encouragement to it both in the power and will of Christ! Faith is not of a man's self at first; it is the gift of God, and the operation of his Spirit; and the lively and comfortable exercise of it is owing to the influence of efficacious grace: but if Christ, who is the author and finisher of faith, says "believe", or "only believe"; such power goes along with his words, as doubtless did at this time, as causes souls to exercise faith in him; and the more faith, the less fear; and such walk most comfortably in themselves, and most to the glory of Christ, who walk by faith on him. This word "only" does not exclude the exercise of other graces, but rather implies it, for where this grace is in exercise, generally speaking, others are; nor the performance of good works, which are the fruits and effects of true faith, and without which faith is dead; but it stands opposed to fears and doubting, and to all carnal reasonings, as well as to all trust and confidence in other objects besides Christ.

HENRY, "II. Christ encourageth the afflicted father yet to hope that his application to Christ on the behalf of his child should not be in vain. Christ had staid to work a cure by the way, but he shall be no sufferer by that, nor loser by the gain of others; Be not afraid, only believe. We may suppose Jairus at a pause, whether he should ask Christ to go on or no; but have we not as much occasion for the grace of God, and his consolations, and consequently of the prayers of our ministers and Christian friends, when death is in the house, as when sickness is? Christ therefore soon determines this matter; “Be not afraid that my coming will be to no purpose,

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only believe that I will make it turn to a good account.” Note, 1. We must not despair concerning our relations that are dead, nor sorrow for them as those that have no hope. See what is said to Rachel, who refused to be comforted concerning her children, upon the presumption that they were not; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is hope in thine end, that thy children shall come again, Jer_31:16, Jer_31:17. Therefore fear not, faint not. 2. Faith is the only remedy against disquieting grief and fear at such a time: let that silence them, Only believe.Keep up a confidence in Christ, and a dependence upon him, and he will do what is for the best. Believe the resurrection, and then be not afraid.

JAMIESON, "he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe — Jesus, knowing how the heart of the agonized father would sink at the tidings, and the reflections at the delay which would be apt to rise in his mind, hastens to reassure him, and in His accustomed style: “Be not afraid, only believe” -words of unchanging preciousness and power! How vividly do such incidents bring out Christ’s knowledge of the human heart and tender sympathy! (Heb_4:15).

CALVIN, "Mark 5:36.Fear not, only believe. The message about her death had

induced despair: for he had asked nothing from Christ but relief to the diseased

young woman. Christ therefore bids him take care lest, by fear or distrust, he

shut out that grace, to which death will be no hindrance. By this expression, only

believe, he means that he will not want power, provided Jairus will allow him;

and, at the same time, exhorts him to enlarge his heart with confidence, because

there is no room to fear that his faith will be more extensive than the boundless

power of God. And truly this is the case with us all: for God would be much

more liberal in his communications to us, if we were not so close; but our own

scanty desires hinder him from pouring out his gifts upon us in greater

abundance. (528) In general, we are taught by this passage, that we cannot go

beyond bounds in believing: because our faith, however large, will never

embrace the hundredth part of the divine goodness.

COFFMAN, "Fear not ... is capable of wide meaning here. It meant do not fear

for thy daughter's life; do not fear the scorn of your peers; do not fear that our

purpose has been thwarted by this delay in healing the woman.

Only believe ... meant that Jairus was instructed to retain his faith as the only

alternative open to him in that situation and has no implications whatever

regarding a soul's salvation by "faith alone" If Jairus had taken the course

suggested by his peers, it would have been to abandon faith and bury his

daughter. Believing in Jesus was thus his only acceptable alternative.

JOHN MACDUFF, ""Only believe." —Mark 5:36

The briefest of the "words of Jesus," but one of the most comforting. They

contain the essence and epitome of all saving truth.

Reader, is Satan assailing you with tormenting fears? Is the thought of your

sins—the guilty past—coming up in terrible memorial before you, almost

tempting you to give way to hopeless despondency? Fear not! A gentle voice

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whispers in your ear—"Only believe. Your sins are great, but My grace and

merits are greater. 'Only believe' that I died for you—that I am living for you

and pleading for you, and that 'the faithful saying' is as 'faithful' as ever, and as

'worthy of all acceptance' as ever."—Are you a backslider? Did you once run

well? Has your own guilty apostasy alienated and estranged you from that face

which was once all love, and that service which was once all delight? Are you

breathing in broken-hearted sorrow over the holy memories of a close walk with

God—"Oh that it were with me as in months past, when the candle of the Lord

did shine?" "Only believe." Take this your mournful soliloquy, and convert it

into a prayer. "Only believe" the word of Him whose ways are not as man's

ways—"Return O backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding."

Are you beaten down with some heavy trial? Have your fondest schemes been

blown upon—your fairest blossoms been withered in the bud? has wave after

wave been rolling upon you? has the Lord forgotten to be gracious? Hear the

"word of Jesus" resounding amid the thickest midnight of gloom—penetrating

even through the vaults of the dead—"Believe, only believe." There is an infinite

reason for the trial—a lurking thorn that required removal, a gracious lesson

that required teaching. The dreadful severing blow was dealt in love. God will be

glorified in it, and your own soul made the better for it. Patiently wait until the

light of immortality be reflected on a receding world. Here you must take His

dealings on trust. The word of Jesus to you now is, "Only believe." The word of

Jesus in eternity (every inner meaning and undeveloped purpose being

unfolded), "Didn't I tell you that you will see God's glory if you believe?"

Are you fearful and agitated in the prospect of death? Through fear of the last

enemy, have you been all your lifetime subject to bondage?—"Only believe."

"As your day is, so shall your strength be." Dying grace will be given when a

dying hour comes. In the dark river a sustaining arm will be underneath you,

deeper than the deepest and darkest wave. Before you know it, the darkness will

be past, the true Light shining—the whisper of faith in the nether valley.

"Believe! Believe!" will be exchanged for angel-voices exclaiming, as you enter

the portals of glory, "No longer through a glass darkly, but now face to face!"

Yes! Jesus Himself had no higher remedy for sin, for sorrow, and for suffering,

than those two words convey. At the utmost extremity of His own distress, and of

His disciples' wretchedness, He could only say "Let not your heart be troubled:

you believe in God, believe also in me." Believe, only believe.

"Lord, I believe, help my unbelief."

NISBET, "FAITH AND LIFE

‘Be not afraid, only believe.’

Mark 5:36

Our Blessed Lord had just performed three out of that wondrous cycle of

miracles which Mark brings into close sequence. First, the ‘stilling of the

tempest’; second, the casting out of the fiends which possessed the demoniac of

Gadara; third, the healing of the woman with an issue of blood; fourth, the

raising of Jairus’s little daughter. The first demonstrated His control over the

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elements; the second, His absolute authority over evil spirits; the third, His

power over human suffering and incurable disease; the fourth, His supreme

sovereignty over the ‘King of Terrors’—Death itself.

I. The faith of Jairus.—Jairus’s faith has been compared with that of other

suppliants for our Lord’s help, and has not always received the full measure of

admiration that it deserves. There are points in the incident which show that his

faith was very sorely tried, and that it stood the test, and stood it well. Our Lord,

it is to be noticed, complied at once with the father’s request, but His progress is

(we cannot help feeling it to be so ourselves, as we read) neither direct nor quick

enough to satisfy the natural impatience of that poor father’s heart. He stops on

His way to perform another act of mercy; but the delay does not extort a single

word of expostulation, not even a sigh, from the distracted man. Assuredly

Jairus had faith, and strong faith, too. For this delay, what might it not involve?

Indeed, what did it not involve? The poor sufferer who arrested our Lord’s

attention is cured, and again a forward movement is about to be made, when the

father’s worst fears are realised. ‘While He yet spake, there came … certain

which said, Thy daughter is dead.’ And what does the stricken father do? Does

he turn away at once in hopeless despair, or is he hesitating to prefer a yet

stranger request before our Lord, hesitating, as the messengers, representing an

unbelieving world, exclaim: ‘Why troublest thou the Master any further?

‘However this may have been, our Lord promptly rallied the broken-hearted

father with words of encouragement and hope—‘Be not afraid, only believe.’

II. And its reward.—You know the sequel. The Saviour entered the chamber of

death with the father and mother of the child and three of His disciples; He

entered that chamber, and, after a brief interval, He returned; but He left behind

Him a father and mother shedding tears of joy over a darling child restored to

life and health. You especially, who are parents, can enter at once into both the

sorrow and the joy that fills this story.

III. A lesson for parents.—But, apart from the admiration it excites in all our

hearts for the Saviour’s loving sympathy and amazing power, apart from its

parabolic teaching, which, like those two kindred miracles of His, points us so

plainly to the general Resurrection in the Last Day, there is at least one obvious

and important lesson for us parents. There are worse things than even bodily

weakness and death—there are the moral plague spots, the sins and vices of our

fallen nature; and these, untouched by Him, may end in spiritual death. Let us

see to it that our dear children sleep not such a sleep as that. Put them, so far as

you can, under His charge; bring them when infants to His Holy Baptism. Pray

without ceasing; for hereafter their child-eyes shall open with joy at His call

from the eternal throne—‘Damsel, young man, I say unto thee, arise.’

—Rev. E. F. Cavalier.

Illustration

‘There are certain dangers to which children are peculiarly exposed. There is the

danger to their moral and physical well-being which arises from “over-

crowding” and bad sanitation—this, as a rule, can scarcely be said to lie at the

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parents’ door; they have to live where they earn their bread. At the same time it

is a matter of such vital importance to the present and future welfare of the race,

that parents must not allow themselves to rest satisfied with such surroundings.

Notwithstanding compulsory measures now being taken to insure proper

accommodation in the houses of the poor, yet so great is the increase of

population that these measures scarcely keep pace with the urgent need and its

allied risks. It is a question whether it is generally realised how the discipline and

education of the child at school is often neutralised by the bad conditions of its

home life. But there is another and greater danger arising, partly from this

exposure to physical and moral infection, and partly from a lack of the sense of

responsibility for the child’s spiritual health on the part of too many parents.

Free education, which has relieved the parent of responsibility for his child’s

secular education, may, to a great extent, have undermined the parent’s sense of

an even higher duty; but, taking it for granted that the majority try to carry out

their parts in their children’s worldly training, is it a fact that all are as keen as

they should be about their spiritual up-bringing? Do they take care to rear them

“in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”? Do they give them every

opportunity, and see that they have it, of being brought under the influence of

their parish priest and the care of Christ’s Church? And, further, do they use

every means to insure that home example—what the children hear and see at

home—may agree with what they are taught to be the Will of their Saviour

Christ?’

37 He did not let anyone follow him except

Peter, James and John the brother of James.

GILL, "And he suffered no man to follow him,.... To the house of the ruler, but dismissed the multitude, being not desirous of the honour and applause of men: probably what he said to the ruler, was privately, and with a low voice, so that the multitude did not hear him; and understanding by the messengers that the child was dead, were the more easily prevailed upon to depart, since they might conclude there was nothing now to be done;

save Peter, and James, and John, the brother of James: three favourite disciples, who were a sufficient number of witnesses; and who were taken alone along with Christ on some other occasions, as at his transfiguration, and when in the garden.

HENRY, "III. He went with a select company to the house where the dead child was. He had, by the crowd that attended him, given advantage to the poor woman he last healed, and, having done that, now he shook off the crowd, and suffered no man to follow him (to follow with him, so the word is), but his three bosom-disciples, Peter, and James, and John; a competent number to be witnesses of the miracle, but

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not such a number as that his taking them with him might look like vainglory.

JAMIESON, "And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James — (See on Mar_1:29).

CALVIN, "37.And did not permit any one to follow him. He forbade that they

should be allowed to enter, either because they were unworthy to be his witnesses

of the miracle, or because he did not choose that the miracle should be

overpowered by a noisy crowd around him. It was better that the young woman,

whose dead body they had beheld, should suddenly go out before the eyes of

men, alive and full of rigor. Mark and Luke tell us that not more than three of

the disciples were admitted, and both mention also the parents. Mark alone

states that those who had accompanied Jairus when he came to supplicate Christ

were admitted. Matthew, who is more concise, takes no notice of this

circumstance.

COFFMAN, "This marked a new milestone in Jesus' ministry; already the

abilities of these three had earned for them a closer relationship with the Lord.

That relationship, however, was not predicated merely upon ability, but upon

the role each of these would have in the future spread of Christianity. James

would set the grand example by being the first of the apostles to die for the faith;

Peter would preach the first sermon; John would be the last witness and write

the fourth Gospel. Other instances in which these three were singled out for

greater intimacy with Jesus were in the transfiguration and in the Garden of

Gethsemane. The probable task assigned to the other apostles was that of

controlling and dispersing the multitude.

COKE, "Mark 5:37. And he suffered no man to follow him, &c.— When Jesus

came to the house, though a great many friends and others accompanied him, he

suffered none of them to go in with him, except his three disciples, Peter, James,

and John, with the father and mother of the maid; and even these perhaps he

admitted for no other reason, than that the miracle might have proper witnesses,

who should publish it in due time for the benefit of the world. See the note on

Matthew 17:1.

38 When they came to the home of the

synagogue leader, Jesus saw a commotion, with

people crying and wailing loudly.

BARNES, "The tumult - The confusion and weeping of the assembled people.

Wailed - Making inarticulate, mournful sounds; howling for the dead.

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CLARKE, "He cometh - But ερχονται, they come, is the reading of ABCDF, four

others, and several versions.

Wept and wailed - See on Mat_9:23 (note).

GILL, "And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue,.... Along with him, and the three disciples above mentioned; and the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read, "and they came", the above persons:

and seeing the tumult; the throng and crowd of people, of relations, friends, neighbours, and acquaintance, on this occasion, all in a hurry, and in one motion or another, expressing their concern by words and gestures.

And them that wept and wailed bitterly; the mourning women, the same with the "preficae" of the Romans, who sung mournful songs, and made hideous noises, being hired for this purpose; as also those who played doleful tunes on musical instruments; See Gill on Mat_9:23.

HENRY, "IV. He raised the dead child to life; the circumstances of the narrative here are much the same as we had them in Matthew; only here we may observe,

1. That the child was extremely well beloved, for the relations and neighbours wept and wailed greatly. It is very afflictive when that which is come forth like a flower is so soon cut down, and withereth before it is grown up; when that grieves us, of which we said, This same shall comfort us.

2. That it was evident beyond dispute, that the child was really and truly dead. Their laughing Christ to scorn, for saying, She is not dead, but sleepeth, though highly reprehensible, serves for the proof of this.

3. That Christ put those out as unworthy to be witnesses of the miracle, who were noisy in their sorrow, and were so ignorant in the things of God, as not to understand him when he spoke of death as a sleep, or so scornful, as to ridicule him for it.

JAMIESON, "And he cometh — rather, “they come.”to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and

them that wept and wailed greatly — “the minstrels and the people making a noise” (Mat_9:23) - lamenting for the dead. (See 2Ch_35:25; Jer_9:20; Amo_5:16).

COFFMAN, "One is surprised to find so quickly the presence of the hired

mourners who were raising such a tumult in the house of Jairus, which might be

explained by supposing some further delay necessitated by the dispersal of the

multitude, during which Jairus had returned home and initiated this phase of

the funeral himself; but this is denied by the fact that Jairus evidently remained

with Jesus. This leaves open the possibility that advance preparations had been

made to become effective on the daughter's death, or the additional possibility

suggested under Mark 5:35, namely, that Jairus', peers were proceeding with the

customary funeral activities, the latter being the view accepted here.

COKE, "Mark 5:38. And he cometh to the house, &c.— Namely, from the street,

for that was the proper time to hinder the crowd from accompanying him. See

Luke 8:51. It seems, the mother of the damsel, on seeing that Jesus was nigh, had

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gone out to the street to conduct him in, or waited for him in the porch of her

house to receive him. See on Ch. Mark 2:4. With the attendance above

mentioned, Jesus went up stairs where the damsel was lying, for they used to lay

their dead in upper rooms. See Acts 9:37. Here he found a number of people in

an outer apartment making lamentation for her, according to the custom of the

Jews, with music, see Matthew 9:23. The company at theruler'shouse,when Jesus

came in, being employed in making such lamentation for the damsel, as they used

to make for the dead, it is evident that they all believed she was actually

departed: wherefore, when Jesus told them that she was not dead, Mark 5:39 he

did not mean that her soul was not separated from her body, but that it was not

to continue so, which was the idea the mourners affixed to the word death. Her

state he expressed by saying that she slept; using the word in a sense somewhat

analogous to that which the Jews put upon it, when in speaking of a person's

death they called it sleep, to intimate their belief of his existence and happiness in

the other world, together with their hope of a future resurrection to a new life.

On this occasion the phrase was madeuse of with singular propriety, to insinuate,

that notwithstanding the maid was already dead, she should not long continue so.

Jesus was going to raise her from the dead, and would do it with as much ease as

they awaked one that was asleep. See John 11:11-13.

39 He went in and said to them, “Why all this

commotion and wailing? The child is not dead

but asleep.”

BARNES, "This ado - This tumult, this bustle or confusion.

And weep - Weep in this inordinate and improper manner. See the notes at Mat_9:23.

But sleepeth - See the notes at Mat_9:24.

GILL, "And when he was come in,.... Into the house, within doors, into one of the apartments, and where the company of mourners, and the pipers, and mourning women were, singing and saying their doleful ditties:

he saith unto them, why make ye this ado and weep? why all this tumult and noise? this grief and mourning, whether real or artificial?

the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth: not but that she was truly dead, but not so as to remain under the power of death: she was like a person in a sleep, who would in a little time be awaked out of it: and which was as easily performed by Christ, as if she had been only in a natural sleep; See Gill on Mat_9:24.

HENRY, "IV. He raised the dead child to life; the circumstances of the narrative here are much the same as we had them in Matthew; only here we may observe,

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1. That the child was extremely well beloved, for the relations and neighbours wept and wailed greatly. It is very afflictive when that which is come forth like a flower is so soon cut down, and withereth before it is grown up; when that grieves us, of which we said, This same shall comfort us.

2. That it was evident beyond dispute, that the child was really and truly dead. Their laughing Christ to scorn, for saying, She is not dead, but sleepeth, though highly reprehensible, serves for the proof of this.

3. That Christ put those out as unworthy to be witnesses of the miracle, who were noisy in their sorrow, and were so ignorant in the things of God, as not to understand him when he spoke of death as a sleep, or so scornful, as to ridicule him for it.

4. That he took the parents of the child to be witnesses of the miracle, because in it he had an eye to their faith, and designed it for their comfort, who were the true, for they were the silent mourners.

JAMIESON, "And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth — so brief her state of death as to be more like a short sleep.

CALVIN, "Mark 5:39The girl sleepeth. 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. But here Christ expressly makes

a distinction between sleep and death, so as to excite an expectation of life. His

meaning is, “You will presently see her raised up whom you suppose to be dead.”

That he was ridiculed by thoughtless and ignorant people, who were wholly

engrossed with profane lamentation, and who did not comprehend his design,

ought not to awaken surprise. And yet this very circumstance was an additional

confirmation of the miracle, that those persons entertained no doubt whatever as

to her death.

COFFMAN, "Not dead but sleepeth ... The Lord certainly did not mean these

words as a denial that the daughter's death had actually occurred; but it was his

customary language regarding death (see John 11:11). In context, it also meant

that he intended to raise her to life again. The attitude of the professional

mourners shows conclusively that the maiden's death had indeed occurred and

had been confirmed. McMillan is correct in seeing in this ambiguous reference to

the child's being "asleep," "a specific purpose of creating uncertainty in the

minds of those who were not directly associated with the resurrection."[19] It

was the raising of Lazarus, at a later date, that precipitated the crucifixion; and

too great a confirmation and publication of this miracle could possibly have

interfered with the divine schedule of the Lord's death. It was not the time to

confront the religious hierarchy with a miracle they could not deny; nor was this

the place. It would occur in Jerusalem, not in Capernaum, and at the time of the

fourth Passover, not upon this occasion in the home of Jairus. In line with this

was the instruction recorded in Mark 5:43.

ENDNOTE:

[19] Ibid., p. 74.

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40 But they laughed at him.

After he put them all out, he took the child’s

father and mother and the disciples who were

with him, and went in where the child was.

CLARKE, "The father and the mother - Prudence required that they should be present, and be witnesses of the miracle.

And them that were with him - That is, Peter, James, and John, Mar_5:37. It is remarkable that our Lord gave a particular preference to these three disciples, beyond all the rest, on three very important occasions:

1. They were present at the transfiguration.

2. At the raising of Jairus’s daughter.

3. At his agony in the garden of Gethsemane.

Where the damsel was lying - Ανακειµενον, lying. This word is very doubtful.

BDL, one other, Coptic, and later Arabic, with five of the Itala, omit it. Other MSS. express the same idea in five different words: Griesbach leaves it out of the text. See his Testament.

GILL, "And they laughed him to scorn,.... The servants of the house that had laid her out; and the neighbours and relations that were come in on this occasion, and had satisfied themselves that she was dead; and the players on the pipe and flute, with the mourning women, who got their livelihood this way; See Gill on Mat_9:24;

but when he had put them all out: of the house, or that part of it where he was; that is, ordered them to depart, with the leave and consent of the master of the house:

he taketh the father, and the mother, of the damsel, and them that were with him: either with Jairus, who had accompanied him to Christ, and returned with him; the Ethiopic version reads it, "with them", who were with the father and the mother of the damsel, their near relations, and intimate friends; or rather with Christ, namely, the three disciples, Peter, James, and John;

and entereth in where the damsel was lying; into an inner room, where the child was laid out on a bed.

HENRY, "4. That he took the parents of the child to be witnesses of the miracle, because in it he had an eye to their faith, and designed it for their comfort, who were the true, for they were the silent mourners.

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5. That Christ raised the child to life by a word of power, which is recorded here, and recorded in Syriac, the language in which Christ spoke, for the greater certainty of the thing; Talitha, cumi; Damsel, I say unto thee, Arise. Dr. Lightfoot saith, It was customary with the Jews, when they gave physic to one that was sick, to say, Arise from thy disease; meaning, We wish thou mayest arise: but to one that was dead,Christ said, Arise from the dead; meaning, I command that thou arise; nay, there is more in it - the dead have not power to arise, therefore power goes along with this word, to make it effectual. Da quod jubes, et jube quod vis - Give what thou commandest, and command what thou wilt. Christ works while he commands, and works by the command, and therefore may command what he pleaseth, even the dead to arise. Such is the gospel call to those that are by nature dead in trespasses and sins, and can no more rise from that death by their own power, than this child could; and yet that word, Awake, and arise from the dead, is neither vain, nor in vain, when it follows immediately, Christ shall give thee light, Eph_5:14. It is by the word of Christ that spiritual life is given, I said unto thee, Live, Eze_16:6.

JAMIESON, "And they laughed him to scorn — rather, simply, “laughed at Him” - “knowing that she was dead” (Luk_8:53); an important testimony this to the reality of her death.

But when he had put them all out — The word is strong - “turned them all out”; meaning all those who were making this noise, and any others that may have been there from sympathy, that only those might be present who were most nearly concerned, and those whom He had Himself brought as witnesses of the great act about to be done.

he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him — Peter, and James, and John.

and entereth in where the damsel was lying.

BARCLAY 40-43, "THE DIFFERENCE FAITH MAKES (Mark 5:40-43)

5:40-43 But he put them all out, and he took with him the father of the little girl,

and the mother and his own friends, and went into the room where the little girl

was. He took the little girl by the hand, and he said to her, "Maid! I say to you,

Arise!" Immediately the maid arose and walked around, for she was about

twelve years of age. And immediately they were amazed with a great

astonishment. He gave them strong injunctions that no one should know about

this. And he ordered that something to eat should be given to her.

There is a very lovely thing here. In the gospel itself, "Maid! Arise" is "Talitha

(Greek #5008) Cumi (Greek #2891)", which is Aramaic. How did this little bit of

Aramaic get itself embedded in the Greek of the gospels? There can be only one

reason. Mark got his information from Peter. For the most part, outside of

Palestine at least, Peter, too, would have to speak in Greek. But Peter had been

there; he was one of the chosen three, the inner circle, who had seen this happen.

And he could never forget Jesus' voice. In his mind and memory he could hear

that "Talitha (Greek #5008) Cumi (Greek #2891)" all his life. The love, the

gentleness, the caress of it lingered with him forever, so much so that he was

unable to think of it in Greek at all, because his memory could hear it only in the

voice of Jesus and in the very words that Jesus spoke.

This passage is a story of contrasts.

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(i) There is the contrast between the despair of the mourners and the hope of

Jesus. "Don't bother the Teacher," they said. "There's nothing anyone can do

now." "Don't be afraid," said Jesus, "only believe." In the one place it is the

voice of despair that speaks; in the other the voice of hope.

(ii) There is the contrast between the unrestrained distress of the mourners and

the calm serenity of Jesus. They were wailing and weeping and tearing their hair

and rending their garments in a paroxysm of distress; he was calm and quiet and

serene and in control.

Why this difference? It was due to Jesus' perfect confidence and trust in God.

The worst human disaster can be met with courage and gallantry when we meet

it with God. They laughed him to scorn because they thought his hope was

groundless and his calm mistaken. But the great fact of the Christian life is that

what looks completely impossible with men is possible with God. What on merely

human grounds is far too good to be true, becomes blessedly true when God is

there. They laughed him to scorn, but their laughter must have turned to amazed

wonder when they realized what God can do. There is nothing beyond facing,

and there is nothing beyond conquest--not even death--when it is faced and

conquered in the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

COFFMAN, "Laughed him to scorn ... The scorners were put out by Jesus, the

spiritual implications of this being profound and perpetual. The scornful of all

ages succeed only in shutting the door of opportunity against themselves. It must

have been a matter of remorse to some of those ancient scorners that they missed

the one opportunity of all the ages to have witnessed the resurrection of the dead!

Their conduct here denies any other status to them except that of hired

performers at a funeral. Scornful laughter is never the behavior of broken-

hearted friends and relatives. Jesus' questioning of the din they were raising also

supports the same conclusion.

COKE, "Mark 5:40. And they laughed him to scorn— The mourner, not of

understanding Jesus, laughed him to scorn when they heard him say, the damsel

is not dead; for having seen all the marks and proofs of death about her, they

were absolutely certain that she was dead; and yet, if they had given themselves

time to consider, they might have understood that he spake in this manner, to

intimate that he was going to raise her from the dead; and the rather, as he had

been sent for by her parents to heal her miraculously. But his words were

ambiguous; and the mourners naturally enough took them in the wrong sense:

thus, while Jesus predicted the miracle, to shew that it did not happen by

accident, he delivered himself in such terms, as modestly to avoid the reputation

which might have accrued to him from so stupendous a work. The dispositions

expressed by the mourners rendered them not worthy to behold the miracle.

Jesus therefore put them even out of the antechamber; or hemight have done this

to be freed from the noise of their lamentation. After clearing the antechamber,

he entered where the corpse was lying, accompanied by none but the disciples

above-mentioned, and the father and mother of the damsel; they being, of all

persons, the most proper witnesses of the miracle, which in reality suffered

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nothing by the absence of the rest; for as they were all sensible that the child was

dead, they could not but be certain of the miracle, when they saw her alive again,

though possibly they might not know to whom the honour of her resurrection

was due. It seems Jesus was not solicitous of appropriating itto himself; probably

also, they went in thus slenderly attended, that the witnesses might have an

opportunity to examine the whole transaction narrowly, and so be able to report

it afterwards, upon the fullest assurance, and with every circumstance of

credibility. It deserves particular attention, with what perfect decorum our Lord

conducted himself on this occasion, and how superior he appeared to any views

of human applause. See Lardner's answer to Woolston, p. 89.

41 He took her by the hand and said to her,

“Talitha koum!” (which means “Little girl, I say

to you, get up!”).

BARNES, "Talitha cumi - This is the language which our Saviour commonly spoke. It is a mixture of Syriac and Chaldee, called Syro-Chaldaic. The proper translation is given by the evangelist - “Damsel, arise.”

CLARKE, "Talitha�cumiTalitha�cumiTalitha�cumiTalitha�cumi - , This is mere Syriac, the proper translation of which

the evangelist has given. The Codex Bezae has a very odd and unaccountable reading

here, Bαββι.�θαβιτα�κουµι, My master. Damsel arise. Suidas quotes this place under

the word Αββακουµ thus ταληθα�κουµ. Κουµ is the reading of several ancient MSS.,

but it is certainly a faulty one.

GILL, "And he took the damsel by the hand,.... See Gill on Mat_9:25.

And said unto her; in the Syriac language, which was then commonly spoken by the Jews, and well understood: hence the Syriac version expresses the following words without an interpretation,

Talitha Cumi. The Ethiopic version reads it, "Tabitha Cumi"; and so do some Greek copies, and Latin versions, taking it to be the same word as in Act_9:36 whereas that signifies "Dorcas, a roe"; but this word is of another signification, as here explained,

which is, being interpreted, damsel (I say unto thee) arise. The phrase, "I say unto thee", is no part of the interpretation of the above Syriac words; but is added, by the evangelist, as being what was expressed by Christ at the same time, signifying his authority and power over death; only "damsel arise", is the

interpretation of them, טלי, "Tali", signifies a "boy", and טליתא, "Talitha", a "girl"; and

so they are often used in the Targums (w), and in the Talmud: the one is used for a boy of seventeen years of age (x), and the other for a girl of sixteen or seventeen years

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of age (y); so that this child might well be called by this name, since she was but

twelve years of age; and קומי, "Cumi", is the imperative קום, "to arise".

HENRY, "6. That the damsel, as soon as life returned, arose, and walked, Mar_5:42. Spiritual life will appear by our rising from the bed of sloth and carelessness, and our walking in a religious conversation, our walking up and down in Christ's name and strength; even from those that are of the age of twelve years, it may be expected that they should walk as those whom Christ has raised to life, otherwise than in the native vanity of their minds.

7. That all who saw it, and heard of it, admired the miracle, and him that wrought it; They were astonished with a great astonishment. They could not but acknowledge that there was something in it extraordinary and very great, and yet they knew not what to make of it, or to infer from it. Their wonder should have worked forward to a lively faith, but it rested in a stupor or astonishment.

8. That Christ endeavoured to conceal it; He charged them straitly, that no man should know it. It was sufficiently known to a competent number, but he would not have it as yet proclaimed any further; because his own resurrection was to be the great instance of his power over death, and therefore the divulging of other instances must be reserved till that great proof was given: let one part of the evidence be kept private, till the other part, on which the main stress lies, be made ready.

9. That Christ took care something should be given her to eat. By this it appeared that she was raised not only to life, but to a good state of health, that she had an appetite to her meat; even the new-born babes in Christ's house desire the sincere milk, 1Pe_2:1, 1Pe_2:2. And it is observable, that, as Christ, when at first he had made man, presently provided food for him, and food out of the earth of which he was made (Gen_1:29), so now when he had given a new life, he took care that something should be given to eat; for is he has given life, he may be trusted to give livelihood, because the life is more than meat, Mat_6:25. Where Christ hath given spiritual life, he will provide food for the support and nourishment of it unto life eternal, for he will never forsake, or be wanting to, the work of his own hands.

JAMIESON, "And he took the damsel by the hand — as He did Peter’s mother-in-law (Mar_1:31).

and said unto her, Talitha cumi — The words are Aramaic, or Syro-Chaldaic,the then language of Palestine. Mark loves to give such wonderful words just as they were spoken. See Mar_7:34; Mar_14:36.

CALVIN, "41.And he took hold of her hand, and said to her Luke 8:54.And he

took hold of her hand, and cried Though naturally this cry was of no avail for

recalling the senses of the deceased young woman, yet Christ intended to give a

magnificent display of the power of his voice, that he might more fully accustom

men to listen to his doctrine. It is easy to learn from this the great efficacy of the

voice of Christ, which reaches even to the dead, and exerts a quickening

influence on death itself. Accordingly, Luke says that her spirit returned, or, in

other words, that immediately on being called, it obeyed the command of Christ.

LIGHTFOOT, "[Talitha kumi.] "Rabbi Jochanan saith, We remember when

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boys and girls of sixteen and seventeen years old played in the streets, and

nobody was offended with them." Where the Gloss is, Tali and Talitha is a boy

and a girl.

[Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.] Talitha kumi signifies only Maid, arise. How

comes that clause then, I say unto thee, to be inserted?

I. You may recollect here, and perhaps not without profit, that which was alleged

before; namely, that it was customary among the Jews, that, when they applied

physic to the profluvious woman, they said, "Arise from thy flux"; which very

probably they used in other diseases also.

II. Christ said nothing else than what sounded all one with, Maid, arise: but in

the pronouncing and uttering those words that authority and commanding

power shined forth, that they sounded no less than if he had said, "Maid, I say to

thee, or I command thee, arise." They said, "Arise from thy disease"; that is, "I

wish thou wouldst arise": but Christ saith, Maid, arise; that is, "I command

thee, arise."

CONSTABLE, "Apparently Jesus took the hand of the dead girl to associate His

power with her healing in the witnesses' minds. He did not need to touch her to

raise her. Elijah (1 Kings 17:17-23) and Elisha (2 Kings 4:18-37) had both raised

children to life, but they had to exert considerably more effort and spend more

time doing so than Jesus did. It was probably this healing that led many of the

people to identify Jesus with Elijah (Mark 6:15). Touching a dead person

resulted in ceremonial defilement, but Jesus overcame this with His power.

Mark alone recorded Jesus' command in Aramaic and translated it for his

Roman readers.

"Mark gives the translation as a contrast with magical formulas so esoteric and

nonsensical that they mock would-be translators ..." [Note: Robert H. Gundry,

Mark, p. 274.]

In every instance of Jesus raising the dead in the Gospels, He addressed the dead

person directly (cf. Luke 7:14; John 11:43).

"It has been suggested that His very words were those used by the mother each

morning to arouse her daughter from sleep." [Note: Hiebert, p. 136.]

There is only one letter difference between Jesus' command here and the one

Peter uttered when he restored Dorcas to life (Acts 9:40). Peter said, "Tabitha

kum!" This shows that Jesus continued to exercise His power through Peter after

His ascension (cf. Acts 1:1-2)

NISBET, "THE EMANCIPATION OF WOMAN

“And He took the damsel by the hand.’

Mark 5:41

This is the earliest miracle of raising the dead recounted in the Gospels. Two

others follow, but the one was a growing youth, the other was a man of mature

age. The young woman was Christ’s first miracle of resurrection. On her was

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wrought first this stupendous miracle. For her was won this earliest triumph

over death and hell.

I. The fundamental principle of the Gospel charter.—Is not this a significant fact

in itself, for it proclaims the fundamental principle of the Gospel charter? It

announces that the weak and the helpless in years, in sex, in social status, are

especially Christ’s care. It declares emphatically that in Him is neither male nor

female. It is a call to women to do a sister’s part to their sisters. Christ’s action in

this miracle is a foreshadowing of His action in the Church. The Master found

woman deposed from her proper social position. A moral resurrection was

needed for womanhood. It might seem to the looker-on like a social death, from

which there was no awakening; but it was only the suspension of her proper

faculties and opportunities, a long sleep, from which a revival must come sooner

or later. It was for Him, and Him alone, Who was the Vanquisher of death, Who

has the keys of Hades, for Him alone to open the door of her sepulchral prison

and resuscitate her dormant life and restore her to her ordinary place in society.

When all hope was gone, He took her by the hand and bid her arise, and at the

sound of His voice and the touch of His hand she arose and walked, and the

world was astonished with a great astonishment.

II. A social revolution.—We ourselves are so familiar with the results, the

position of woman is so fully recognised by us, it is bearing so abundant fruit

every day and everywhere, that we overlook the magnitude of the change itself.

Only then when we turn to the harem and the zenana do we learn to estimate

what the Gospel has achieved, and has still to achieve, in the emancipation of

woman, and her restitution to her lawful place in the social order. To ourselves

the large place which woman occupies in the Gospel and in the early apostolic

history seems only natural. To contemporaries it must have appeared in the light

of a social revolution. Women attend our Lord everywhere during His earthly

ministry, and as it was in Christ’s personal ministry, so it is in all the Apostolic

Church.

III. The order of deaconess.—But it was not only desultory, unrecognised

service, however frequent, however great, that women rendered to the spread of

the Gospel in its earliest days. The Apostolic Church had its organised

ministrations of women, its order of deaconesses, its order of widows. Women

had their definite place in the ecclesiastical system of those early times, and in

our own age and country again the awakened activity of the Church is once more

demanding the recognition of the female ministry. The Church feels herself

maimed of one of her hands. No longer she fails to employ, to organise, to

consecrate to the service of Christ, the love, the sympathy, the tact, the self-

devotion of women. Hence the revival of the female diaconate in its

multiplication of sisterhoods. But these, though the most definite, are not the

most extensive developments of this revival. Everywhere institutions are

springing up, manifold in form and purpose, for the organisation of women’s

work. It is the province of the Church, when acting by the Spirit and in the name

of Christ, to develop the power of women, to take by the hand and raise from its

torpor that which seemed a death, but which is only a sleep; and now, as then,

revived life and beneficent work will amaze the looker-on—‘they were

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astonished with a great astonishment.’

IV. The secret of effective work.—Do you ask how women’s work may be truly

effective? I answer you in the words of the text, ‘He took the damsel by the

hand.’ There must be—

(a) An intensity of human sympathy; and,

(b) An indwelling of Divine power.

—Bishop Westcott.

42 Immediately the girl stood up and began to

walk around (she was twelve years old). At this

they were completely astonished.

GILL, "And straightway the damsel arose, and walked,.... As soon as ever the above words were pronounced by Christ, such divine power went along with them, that the child returned to life; and raised herself up from the bed, got off of it, and walked about the room in perfect health and strength:

for she was of the age of twelve years; and so, when alive and well, was able to walk; though one of this age was called a little one, as this is by another evangelist; See Gill on Mat_9:18,

and they were astonished with a great astonishment; they were exceedingly amazed at such a signal instance of the power of our Lord, even both the parents of the child, and the disciples of Christ.

HENRY, "6. That the damsel, as soon as life returned, arose, and walked, Mar_5:42. Spiritual life will appear by our rising from the bed of sloth and carelessness, and our walking in a religious conversation, our walking up and down in Christ's name and strength; even from those that are of the age of twelve years, it may be expected that they should walk as those whom Christ has raised to life, otherwise than in the native vanity of their minds.

7. That all who saw it, and heard of it, admired the miracle, and him that wrought it; They were astonished with a great astonishment. They could not but acknowledge that there was something in it extraordinary and very great, and yet they knew not what to make of it, or to infer from it. Their wonder should have worked forward to a lively faith, but it rested in a stupor or astonishment.

JAMIESON, "And straightway the damsel — The word here is different from

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that in Mar_5:39-41, and signifies “young maiden,” or “little girl.”

arose, and walked — a vivid touch evidently from an eye-witness.

And they were astonished with a great astonishment — The language here is the strongest.

COFFMAN, "It is a strange coincidence that the age of this child corresponded

exactly with the twelve years of sufferings endured by the woman, suggesting

some connection here that is not apparent to us. All commentators are intrigued

with it, but none has the solution. As McMillan said:

It is tempting to speculate on this seeming coincidence. Surely, however, if the

woman with the hemorrhage had been Jairus' wife and the mother of the girl, it

would have been mentioned somewhere in the story.[20]

ENDNOTE:

[20] Ibid., p. 73.

COKE, "Mark 5:42-43. And straightway the damsel arose, &c.— The damsel

was raised, not in the languishing condition of those who come to life after

having fainted away; but she was in a state of confirmedgood health, being

hungry: this circumstance effectually shewing the greatness and perfection of the

miracle, Jesus brought it to pass on purpose in her resurrection. To make the

witnesses sensible of it likewise, he ordered some meat to be given her, which she

took, probably, in the presence of the company. Her parents seeing her flesh and

colour and strength and appetite returned thus suddenly, with her life, were

unmeasurably astonished at the miracle; nevertheless, Jesus ordered them to

speak nothing of it: but it was known to all the people in the house that the maid

was dead; the women who were hired to make lamentation for her, according to

the custom of the country, knew it: even the multitude had reason to believe it,

after the ruler's servant came and told him publicly in the street that his

daughter was dead: moreover, that she was restored to life again, could not be

hid from the domestics, nor from the relations of the family, nor from any having

communication with them: wherefore, our Lord's injunction to tellno man what

was done, could not, I think, mean that the parents were to keep the miracle a

secret; that was impossible to be done; but they were not officiously to blaze it

abroad, nor even to indulge the inclination which they might feel to speak of a

matter so astonishing. The reason was, the miracle spake sufficiently for itself:

accordingly St. Matthew tells us, that it made a great noise, Matthew 9:26. The

fame hereof went abroad into all that land: For, as Jesus's miracles were

generally done in public, they could not fail to be much spoken of; wherefore,

when the fame of any of them in particular is mentioned, it implies, that the

reports concerning it spread far abroad, that the truth of it was inquired into by

many; and that, upon inquiry, the reality of the miracle was universally

acknowledged. This being the proper meaning of the observation, the

Evangelists, by thus openly and frequently appealing to the notoriety of the facts,

have given us all the assurance possible of the reality of the miracles which they

have recorded.

Inferences drawn from the miracle of raising Jairus's daughter. How

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troublesome did the people's importunities seem to Jairus! He came to sue to

Jesus for his dying daughter; the thronging multitude intercepted him; every

man is most sensible of his own necessity; there is no straining courtesy, in the

challenge of our interest in Christ; there is no incivility in our strife for the

greatest share in his presence and benediction.

The only child of this ruler lay dying when he came to solicit Christ's aid, and

died while he solicited. There was hope in her sickness; in her extremity there

was fear; in her death, despair and impossibility (as they thought) of help: Thy

daughter is dead; trouble not the Master: when we have to do with a mere finite

power, this word would be but just. But since thou hast to do with an omnipotent

Agent, know, O thou faithless messenger, that death can be no bar to his power:

how well would it have be come thee rather to have said, "Thy daughter is dead;

but who can tell whether thy God and Saviour will not be gracious to thee, that

the child may revive? Cannot he, in whose hands are the issues of death, bring

her back again?"

Here was more complaisance than faith; trouble not the Master; infidelity is all

for ease, and thinks every good work tedious: that which nature accounts

troublesome, is pleasing and delightful to grace. Is it any pain for a hungry man

to eat? O Saviour, it was thy meat and drink to do thy Father's will; and his will

was, that thou shouldst bear our griefs, and take away our sorrows: that cannot

be thy trouble, which is our happiness, that we may still sue to thee.

The messenger could not so whisper his ill news, but Jesus heard it; Jairus hears

what he feared, and was now dejected with such sad tidings: he that resolved not

to trouble the Master, meant to take so much more trouble to himself, and would

now yield to a hopeless sorrow: he, whose work it is to comfort the afflicted,

rouseth up the dejected heart of the pensive father; fear not, believe only, and

she shall be made whole. The word was not more cheerful than difficult. Fear

not?—Who can be insensible of so great an evil? Where death has once seized,

who can doubt but he will keep his hold? no less hard was it not to grieve for the

loss of an only child, than not to fear the continuance of the cause of that grief.

In a perfect faith there is no fear; by how much more we fear, by so much less we

believe: well are these two then united, fear not; believe only. O Saviour, if thou

didst not command us somewhat beyond nature, it were no thanks to us to obey

thee: while the child was alive, to believe that she might recover was no hard

talk; but now that she was fully dead, to believe that she should live again, was a

work not easy for Jairus to apprehend, though easy for thee to effect; yet must

that be believed, else there is no capacity for so great a mercy. As love, so faith is

stronger than death. How much natural impossibility is there in the return of

these bodies of ours from the dust of the earth, into which, through many degrees

of corruption, they are at the last mouldered. Fear not, O my soul, believe only; it

must, it shall be done.

The sum of Jairus's first suit was for the health, not for the resurrection of his

daughter; now that she was dead, he would, if he durst, have been glad to have

asked her life:—And now, behold, our Saviour bids him expect both her life and

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her health: Thy daughter shall be made whole; alive from her death, whole from

her disease. Thou didst not, O Jairus, thou daredst not ask, so much as thou

receivedst. How glad wouldst thou have been, since this last news, to have had

thy daughter alive, though weak and sickly: now thou shalt receive her, not

living only, but sound and vigorous. Thou dost not, O Saviour, measure thy gifts

by our petitions, but by our wants, and thine own mercies.

This work might have been as easily done by an absent command; the power of

Christ was there, while himself was away; but he will go personally to the place,

that he may be confessed the author of so great a miracle. O Saviour, thou lovest

to go to the house of mourning; thy chief pleasure is the comfort of the afflicted;

what a confusion there is in worldly sorrow? The mother shrieks; the servants

cry out; the people make lamentation; the minstrels howl, and strike dolefully; so

that the ear might question whether the ditty or the instrument were more

heavy: if ever expressions of sorrow sound well, it is when death leads the choir.

Soon does our Saviour charm this noise, and dismiss these unseasonable

mourners, whether formal or serious. He had life in his eye, and would have

them know, that he considered these formal ceremonies as too early, and long

before their time. Give place; for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. Had she

been dead, she had but slept: now she was not dead, but asleep, because he

meant that this nap of death should be so short, and her awakening so speedy.

Death and sleep are alike to him, who can cast whom he will into the sleep of

death, and awaken when and whom he pleaseth out of that deadly sleep.

Before, the people and domestics of Jairus held Jesus for a prophet; now they

took him for a dreamer;—not dead but asleep?—They that came to mourn,

cannot now forbear to laugh: "Have we piped at so many funerals, and seen and

lamented so many corpses, and cannot we distinguish between sleep and

death?—The eyes are set,—the breath is gone,—the limbs are stiff and cold;—

who ever died, if she do but sleep?"—How easily may our reason or sense delude

us in divine matters! Those who are competent judges in natural things, are

ready to laugh God to scorn, when he speaks beyond their comprehension, and

are by him justly laughed to scorn for their unbelief. Vain and faithless men! as

if that unlimited power of the Almighty could not make good his own word, and

turn either sleep into death, or death into sleep, at pleasure. Ere many

minutes,—they shall be ashamed of their error and incredulity.

There were witnesses enough of her death; there shall not be many of her

restoration, Mark 5:37.—The eyes of those incredulous scoffers were not worthy

of this honour; our infidelity makes us incapable of the secret favours and the

highest counsels of the Almighty.

But art thou, O Saviour, ever discouraged by the decision and censure of these

scorners? Because fools ridicule thee, dost thou forbear thy work? It is enough

for thee that thine act shall soon honour thee and convince them.—He took her

by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise; and her spirit came again, and she

arose straightway.

How could that touch, that call, be otherwise than effectual? He who made that

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hand, touched it; and he who shall one day say Arise, ye dead, said now, Maid,

arise. Death cannot but obey him, who is the Lord of life: the soul is ever equally

in his hand, who is the God of spirits; it cannot but go and come at his command.

When he says, Maid, arise, the now unloosened spirit knows its office, its place,

and instantly resumes that room which by his appointment or permission it had

left.

O Saviour! if thou do but bid my soul to arise from the death of sin, it cannot lie

still: if thou bid my body to arise from the grave, my soul cannot but glance

down from her heaven, and animate it.

The maid revives;—not now to languish for a time upon her sick bed, and by

some faint degrees to gather an insensible strength; but at once she arises from

her death and from her couch; at once she puts off her fever with her

dissolution; she finds her life and her feet at once; at once she finds her feet and

stomach: He commanded to give her meat.

Omnipotence, when it steps forth in an extraordinary way, does not use to go the

pace of nature: all God's immediate works are like himself, perfect. He that

raised the damsel supernaturally, could have so fed her; but it was never the

purpose of his power to set aside the use of proper and ordinary means.

REFLECTIONS.—1st, What a miserable creature is man, when left to the power

of the devil! What a mercy that Jesus is come to destroy the works of the devil,

and to take the prey from the mighty. An eminent instance of this we have in the

present chapter:

1. The wretched case of a poor demoniac, driven by an unclean spirit to dwell

among the tombs; a terror to himself, and to all who approached him; so raging,

that none could soothe him; so strong, that no fetters could bind him. Though it

had been often attempted, he broke the bands in sunder, and fled; living in the

mountains and in the tombs; uttering horrid yellings, and cutting himself with

sharp stones, till the blood gushed out. Note; We have here a lively emblem of the

natural man; his mind and conscience are defiled; his passions drive him

furiously on, and will be restrained by no fetters of God's law: under the power

of Satan he is hurried to the excess of riot, madly wounding his own soul by sin,

and dangerous to all around him; insensible to every fearful consequence, and

wilful in disobedience.

2. No sooner was Jesus disembarked, than the man in whom the devil was, ran

and worshipped him; the wicked spirit being awed by his presence, or his power

being now suspended. St. Matthew says that there were two; perhaps St. Mark

mentions one only, as being the more fierce; and to him the Lord directed his

discourse.

3. On beholding so pitiable an object, Jesus bid the unclean spirit depart; but his

expostulation or intreaty did not prevail: though in the greatest dread and

horror the devil addressed him, acknowledging his divine power and glory;

importunately begging, since he could have no interest in him, that he might

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have nothing to do with him; and that he would not send him into the place of

torment, and compel him to retire from the world to the prison of hell before the

day of final judgment. Note; (1.) The confession of the devil was orthodox; but it

is not a form of sound words, but the work of the Holy Ghost upon the heart,

which can avail to our salvation. (2.) When Christ visits our souls, he casts out

the unclean spirit, gives a new heart, and puts a right spirit within us.

4. To shew his own power over the fiends of darkness, Christ demanded the

name of this evil spirit, and was answered; My name is Legion, for we are many.

A legion of Roman soldiers did at this time consist of at least six thousand: this

intimates the immense numbers of those fallen spirits which war against the

souls of men; their vast power, regular order, and unanimity: what need then

have we, who wrestle with these principalities and powers, to put on the whole

armour of God, and to be continually looking up for the strength of our God,

that we may be able to stand in the evil day!

5. Since they must quit their present hold, the devils earnestly besought him not

to expel them from that heathen country, if he dispossessed them from Judaea.

And there being a herd of swine feeding near the place, they desired permission

to enter those unclean animals; hoping, by destroying them, to prejudice the

people against Jesus, and to gratify their own delight in mischief: and for wise

and just reasons Christ permitted their request; when instantly the devils seized

the whole herd, about two thousand; and, filling them with madness, hurried

them down a precipice into the lake, where they perished in the waters.

6. The keepers, who fled affrighted, spread through all the country the amazing

account of the cure of the demoniac, and the destruction of the swine. On which

a vast concourse of people assembled to see this strange sight; and, to their great

surprise, found the man who had been possessed, and a terror to the country,

now peaceably sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in the perfect exercise of

his reason; and they who had been eye-witnesses of the curse, reported all the

circumstances concerning the recovery of the man, and the destruction of the

swine. Hereupon afraid lest Jesus should punish them yet more condignly if he

continued there, and concerned more for their temporal than eternal interests,

they intreated him to depart out of the country. And since they thus sinned

against their own mercies, Jesus abandons them to the delusions which they had

chosen.

7. Though his countrymen rejected Christ, the poor man who was cured, would

fain have followed him; but Jesus bid him rather return, and bear testimony to

the miracle of grace that he had experienced, and awaken thereby the concern of

his friends to seek after the Lord who had done so great things for him.

Accordingly the man obeyed his command; and, transported with gratitude,

published every where in that country what Jesus had done for him, to the great

astonishment of all who heard him. Note; (1.) They who know the blessing of

Christ's presence, long to be ever near him, and cannot but lament if their lot be

cast among the tents of Kedar, where his gospel has no place. (2.) They who are

restored by Jesus to their right mind, from that moment begin to live to his glory,

and to speak his praises. (3.) What the Lord does for the sinful soul are great

200

things indeed, for which we can never enough adore and thank him.

2nd, Since the Gadarenes rejected him, Christ crosses the lake to Capernaum,

where he expected a more welcome reception. Hereupon,

1. A ruler of the synagogue, with deepest respect, made his application to him, in

behalf of his little daughter, who lay dying when he came out from his house, and

was even then dead when he addressed our Lord. Note; The state of the sinner,

dead in trespasses and sins, may be to human view irrecoverably desperate; but

nothing is impossible with God.

2. As Jesus went with the ruler, a poor diseased woman stole a cure. Her malady

discouraged her from making an open application to Jesus, and her faith

persuaded her that it was needless; the very touch of his garments being, in her

apprehension, sufficient for her recovery; even though her disorder had baffled

the physicians' skill, and under their hands her little pittance had been wholly

expended, and her complaints aggravated. Nor was she mistaken; for no sooner

had she through the crowd got near enough to touch his garment, than

immediately on so doing her disease was removed, she felt her health perfectly

restored, and was retiring with wonder and thankfulness. But Jesus, who

perceived the virtue which had gone out of him, for the manifestation of his own

glory, and the confirmation of the poor patient's faith, turning himself,

demanded who touched him? which the disciples answered with a kind of

surprise and rudeness, as if, considering the crowd, such a question was very

strange. But Jesus, overlooking their frowardness, and casting his eyes round to

discover the person he meant, the poor woman, conscious of what had passed,

and trembling lest the Lord should be displeased at the manner in which she had

surreptitiously obtained her cure, came and fell at his feet, declaring the whole.

Whereupon, far from being angry, Jesus encouraged and comforted her, making

honourable mention of her faith; and dismissed her not only with a cure, but

with his peace and benediction, which was infinitely better. Note; (1.) All our

spiritual diseases can only be removed by the touch of faith; till virtue come out

of Christ, we can have no health in ourselves. (2.) Where he works, an universal

blessed change appears in all the tempers of the mind, and in the whole outward

conduct and conversation. (3.) When we are discouraged with fear, we should lay

our burdens at the feet of Jesus, and he will speak peace to our troubled souls.

3rdly, A discouraging message met the afflicted Jairus as Jesus was on the way

with him. Tidings were brought that his daughter was dead, and his friends

concluded that it was in vain to trouble Christ any farther; supposing that,

though he cured the sick, to raise the dead was beyond his power. But,

1. Our Lord encourages the distressed parent, bids him not to give way to

despondence, but only believe, and he should still see that death, as well as

disease, was under his controul. Note; Faith is the great preservative from all our

fears: when those who are nearest and dearest to us in Christ are removed, we

have a ground of abiding consolation, that we shall meet them at the resurrection

of the just.

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2. When he came to the house, he suffered none to enter with him but Peter,

James, and John, enough to be witnesses of the miracle, with the father and

mother of the child: and rebuking the excessive lamentations of those who were

within, he assured them that there was no real cause for them, as the damsel was

not irrecoverable, as they apprehended; but though in the arms of death he

would awake her. But they, fully assured of her death, treated with derision this

suggestion. Unworthy, therefore, to be witnesses of his wondrous power and

grace, he put them all out, and permitting only his three disciples, and the

parents of the damsel, to be with him, he went in where the child lay, took her by

the hand, and, bid her rise; when instantly her spirit returned, she arose, being

about twelve years old, and, to the exceeding amazement of her parents, walked

about in perfect health; and to shew that she still retained her former animal life,

and that her appetite was restored with her health, he bade them give her

something to eat. Note; When Christ gives spiritual life, it must be daily fed in

the use of those means of grace, whereby he continues to minister strength and

nourishment to the soul.

3. He gives them all a strict charge not to divulge this miracle. He knew how his

growing fame would exasperate his enemies; and as his hour was not yet come,

he used every prudent means to preserve his life, till he had finished the work

which was given him to do.

CONSTABLE, "When Jesus restored life, recovery was instantaneous (Gr.

euthys, twice in this verse), not gradual, as was also true with former prophets

(cf. 1 Kings 17:19-20; 2 Kings 4:33). Perhaps Mark mentioned the girl's age

because she was 12 and the woman whom Jesus had just healed had suffered

with her affliction for 12 years (Mark 5:25). The woman had begun living when

she should have died from her incurable condition. The girl had died just when

she should have begun living as a young woman. Jesus could and did deliver

from both deaths. Everyone present expressed extreme amazement at Jesus'

power. The Greek word, from existemi, literally means they were "out of their

minds with great amazement." [Note: Grassmick, p. 126.]

COKE, "Mark 5:42-43. And straightway the damsel arose, &c.— The damsel

was raised, not in the languishing condition of those who come to life after

having fainted away; but she was in a state of confirmedgood health, being

hungry: this circumstance effectually shewing the greatness and perfection of the

miracle, Jesus brought it to pass on purpose in her resurrection. To make the

witnesses sensible of it likewise, he ordered some meat to be given her, which she

took, probably, in the presence of the company. Her parents seeing her flesh and

colour and strength and appetite returned thus suddenly, with her life, were

unmeasurably astonished at the miracle; nevertheless, Jesus ordered them to

speak nothing of it: but it was known to all the people in the house that the maid

was dead; the women who were hired to make lamentation for her, according to

the custom of the country, knew it: even the multitude had reason to believe it,

after the ruler's servant came and told him publicly in the street that his

daughter was dead: moreover, that she was restored to life again, could not be

hid from the domestics, nor from the relations of the family, nor from any having

communication with them: wherefore, our Lord's injunction to tellno man what

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was done, could not, I think, mean that the parents were to keep the miracle a

secret; that was impossible to be done; but they were not officiously to blaze it

abroad, nor even to indulge the inclination which they might feel to speak of a

matter so astonishing. The reason was, the miracle spake sufficiently for itself:

accordingly St. Matthew tells us, that it made a great noise, Matthew 9:26. The

fame hereof went abroad into all that land: For, as Jesus's miracles were

generally done in public, they could not fail to be much spoken of; wherefore,

when the fame of any of them in particular is mentioned, it implies, that the

reports concerning it spread far abroad, that the truth of it was inquired into by

many; and that, upon inquiry, the reality of the miracle was universally

acknowledged. This being the proper meaning of the observation, the

Evangelists, by thus openly and frequently appealing to the notoriety of the facts,

have given us all the assurance possible of the reality of the miracles which they

have recorded.

Inferences drawn from the miracle of raising Jairus's daughter. How

troublesome did the people's importunities seem to Jairus! He came to sue to

Jesus for his dying daughter; the thronging multitude intercepted him; every

man is most sensible of his own necessity; there is no straining courtesy, in the

challenge of our interest in Christ; there is no incivility in our strife for the

greatest share in his presence and benediction.

The only child of this ruler lay dying when he came to solicit Christ's aid, and

died while he solicited. There was hope in her sickness; in her extremity there

was fear; in her death, despair and impossibility (as they thought) of help: Thy

daughter is dead; trouble not the Master: when we have to do with a mere finite

power, this word would be but just. But since thou hast to do with an omnipotent

Agent, know, O thou faithless messenger, that death can be no bar to his power:

how well would it have be come thee rather to have said, "Thy daughter is dead;

but who can tell whether thy God and Saviour will not be gracious to thee, that

the child may revive? Cannot he, in whose hands are the issues of death, bring

her back again?"

Here was more complaisance than faith; trouble not the Master; infidelity is all

for ease, and thinks every good work tedious: that which nature accounts

troublesome, is pleasing and delightful to grace. Is it any pain for a hungry man

to eat? O Saviour, it was thy meat and drink to do thy Father's will; and his will

was, that thou shouldst bear our griefs, and take away our sorrows: that cannot

be thy trouble, which is our happiness, that we may still sue to thee.

The messenger could not so whisper his ill news, but Jesus heard it; Jairus hears

what he feared, and was now dejected with such sad tidings: he that resolved not

to trouble the Master, meant to take so much more trouble to himself, and would

now yield to a hopeless sorrow: he, whose work it is to comfort the afflicted,

rouseth up the dejected heart of the pensive father; fear not, believe only, and

she shall be made whole. The word was not more cheerful than difficult. Fear

not?—Who can be insensible of so great an evil? Where death has once seized,

who can doubt but he will keep his hold? no less hard was it not to grieve for the

loss of an only child, than not to fear the continuance of the cause of that grief.

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In a perfect faith there is no fear; by how much more we fear, by so much less we

believe: well are these two then united, fear not; believe only. O Saviour, if thou

didst not command us somewhat beyond nature, it were no thanks to us to obey

thee: while the child was alive, to believe that she might recover was no hard

talk; but now that she was fully dead, to believe that she should live again, was a

work not easy for Jairus to apprehend, though easy for thee to effect; yet must

that be believed, else there is no capacity for so great a mercy. As love, so faith is

stronger than death. How much natural impossibility is there in the return of

these bodies of ours from the dust of the earth, into which, through many degrees

of corruption, they are at the last mouldered. Fear not, O my soul, believe only; it

must, it shall be done.

The sum of Jairus's first suit was for the health, not for the resurrection of his

daughter; now that she was dead, he would, if he durst, have been glad to have

asked her life:—And now, behold, our Saviour bids him expect both her life and

her health: Thy daughter shall be made whole; alive from her death, whole from

her disease. Thou didst not, O Jairus, thou daredst not ask, so much as thou

receivedst. How glad wouldst thou have been, since this last news, to have had

thy daughter alive, though weak and sickly: now thou shalt receive her, not

living only, but sound and vigorous. Thou dost not, O Saviour, measure thy gifts

by our petitions, but by our wants, and thine own mercies.

This work might have been as easily done by an absent command; the power of

Christ was there, while himself was away; but he will go personally to the place,

that he may be confessed the author of so great a miracle. O Saviour, thou lovest

to go to the house of mourning; thy chief pleasure is the comfort of the afflicted;

what a confusion there is in worldly sorrow? The mother shrieks; the servants

cry out; the people make lamentation; the minstrels howl, and strike dolefully; so

that the ear might question whether the ditty or the instrument were more

heavy: if ever expressions of sorrow sound well, it is when death leads the choir.

Soon does our Saviour charm this noise, and dismiss these unseasonable

mourners, whether formal or serious. He had life in his eye, and would have

them know, that he considered these formal ceremonies as too early, and long

before their time. Give place; for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. Had she

been dead, she had but slept: now she was not dead, but asleep, because he

meant that this nap of death should be so short, and her awakening so speedy.

Death and sleep are alike to him, who can cast whom he will into the sleep of

death, and awaken when and whom he pleaseth out of that deadly sleep.

Before, the people and domestics of Jairus held Jesus for a prophet; now they

took him for a dreamer;—not dead but asleep?—They that came to mourn,

cannot now forbear to laugh: "Have we piped at so many funerals, and seen and

lamented so many corpses, and cannot we distinguish between sleep and

death?—The eyes are set,—the breath is gone,—the limbs are stiff and cold;—

who ever died, if she do but sleep?"—How easily may our reason or sense delude

us in divine matters! Those who are competent judges in natural things, are

ready to laugh God to scorn, when he speaks beyond their comprehension, and

are by him justly laughed to scorn for their unbelief. Vain and faithless men! as

204

if that unlimited power of the Almighty could not make good his own word, and

turn either sleep into death, or death into sleep, at pleasure. Ere many

minutes,—they shall be ashamed of their error and incredulity.

There were witnesses enough of her death; there shall not be many of her

restoration, Mark 5:37.—The eyes of those incredulous scoffers were not worthy

of this honour; our infidelity makes us incapable of the secret favours and the

highest counsels of the Almighty.

But art thou, O Saviour, ever discouraged by the decision and censure of these

scorners? Because fools ridicule thee, dost thou forbear thy work? It is enough

for thee that thine act shall soon honour thee and convince them.—He took her

by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise; and her spirit came again, and she

arose straightway.

How could that touch, that call, be otherwise than effectual? He who made that

hand, touched it; and he who shall one day say Arise, ye dead, said now, Maid,

arise. Death cannot but obey him, who is the Lord of life: the soul is ever equally

in his hand, who is the God of spirits; it cannot but go and come at his command.

When he says, Maid, arise, the now unloosened spirit knows its office, its place,

and instantly resumes that room which by his appointment or permission it had

left.

O Saviour! if thou do but bid my soul to arise from the death of sin, it cannot lie

still: if thou bid my body to arise from the grave, my soul cannot but glance

down from her heaven, and animate it.

The maid revives;—not now to languish for a time upon her sick bed, and by

some faint degrees to gather an insensible strength; but at once she arises from

her death and from her couch; at once she puts off her fever with her

dissolution; she finds her life and her feet at once; at once she finds her feet and

stomach: He commanded to give her meat.

Omnipotence, when it steps forth in an extraordinary way, does not use to go the

pace of nature: all God's immediate works are like himself, perfect. He that

raised the damsel supernaturally, could have so fed her; but it was never the

purpose of his power to set aside the use of proper and ordinary means.

REFLECTIONS.—1st, What a miserable creature is man, when left to the power

of the devil! What a mercy that Jesus is come to destroy the works of the devil,

and to take the prey from the mighty. An eminent instance of this we have in the

present chapter:

1. The wretched case of a poor demoniac, driven by an unclean spirit to dwell

among the tombs; a terror to himself, and to all who approached him; so raging,

that none could soothe him; so strong, that no fetters could bind him. Though it

had been often attempted, he broke the bands in sunder, and fled; living in the

mountains and in the tombs; uttering horrid yellings, and cutting himself with

sharp stones, till the blood gushed out. Note; We have here a lively emblem of the

205

natural man; his mind and conscience are defiled; his passions drive him

furiously on, and will be restrained by no fetters of God's law: under the power

of Satan he is hurried to the excess of riot, madly wounding his own soul by sin,

and dangerous to all around him; insensible to every fearful consequence, and

wilful in disobedience.

2. No sooner was Jesus disembarked, than the man in whom the devil was, ran

and worshipped him; the wicked spirit being awed by his presence, or his power

being now suspended. St. Matthew says that there were two; perhaps St. Mark

mentions one only, as being the more fierce; and to him the Lord directed his

discourse.

3. On beholding so pitiable an object, Jesus bid the unclean spirit depart; but his

expostulation or intreaty did not prevail: though in the greatest dread and

horror the devil addressed him, acknowledging his divine power and glory;

importunately begging, since he could have no interest in him, that he might

have nothing to do with him; and that he would not send him into the place of

torment, and compel him to retire from the world to the prison of hell before the

day of final judgment. Note; (1.) The confession of the devil was orthodox; but it

is not a form of sound words, but the work of the Holy Ghost upon the heart,

which can avail to our salvation. (2.) When Christ visits our souls, he casts out

the unclean spirit, gives a new heart, and puts a right spirit within us.

4. To shew his own power over the fiends of darkness, Christ demanded the

name of this evil spirit, and was answered; My name is Legion, for we are many.

A legion of Roman soldiers did at this time consist of at least six thousand: this

intimates the immense numbers of those fallen spirits which war against the

souls of men; their vast power, regular order, and unanimity: what need then

have we, who wrestle with these principalities and powers, to put on the whole

armour of God, and to be continually looking up for the strength of our God,

that we may be able to stand in the evil day!

5. Since they must quit their present hold, the devils earnestly besought him not

to expel them from that heathen country, if he dispossessed them from Judaea.

And there being a herd of swine feeding near the place, they desired permission

to enter those unclean animals; hoping, by destroying them, to prejudice the

people against Jesus, and to gratify their own delight in mischief: and for wise

and just reasons Christ permitted their request; when instantly the devils seized

the whole herd, about two thousand; and, filling them with madness, hurried

them down a precipice into the lake, where they perished in the waters.

6. The keepers, who fled affrighted, spread through all the country the amazing

account of the cure of the demoniac, and the destruction of the swine. On which

a vast concourse of people assembled to see this strange sight; and, to their great

surprise, found the man who had been possessed, and a terror to the country,

now peaceably sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in the perfect exercise of

his reason; and they who had been eye-witnesses of the curse, reported all the

circumstances concerning the recovery of the man, and the destruction of the

swine. Hereupon afraid lest Jesus should punish them yet more condignly if he

206

continued there, and concerned more for their temporal than eternal interests,

they intreated him to depart out of the country. And since they thus sinned

against their own mercies, Jesus abandons them to the delusions which they had

chosen.

7. Though his countrymen rejected Christ, the poor man who was cured, would

fain have followed him; but Jesus bid him rather return, and bear testimony to

the miracle of grace that he had experienced, and awaken thereby the concern of

his friends to seek after the Lord who had done so great things for him.

Accordingly the man obeyed his command; and, transported with gratitude,

published every where in that country what Jesus had done for him, to the great

astonishment of all who heard him. Note; (1.) They who know the blessing of

Christ's presence, long to be ever near him, and cannot but lament if their lot be

cast among the tents of Kedar, where his gospel has no place. (2.) They who are

restored by Jesus to their right mind, from that moment begin to live to his glory,

and to speak his praises. (3.) What the Lord does for the sinful soul are great

things indeed, for which we can never enough adore and thank him.

2nd, Since the Gadarenes rejected him, Christ crosses the lake to Capernaum,

where he expected a more welcome reception. Hereupon,

1. A ruler of the synagogue, with deepest respect, made his application to him, in

behalf of his little daughter, who lay dying when he came out from his house, and

was even then dead when he addressed our Lord. Note; The state of the sinner,

dead in trespasses and sins, may be to human view irrecoverably desperate; but

nothing is impossible with God.

2. As Jesus went with the ruler, a poor diseased woman stole a cure. Her malady

discouraged her from making an open application to Jesus, and her faith

persuaded her that it was needless; the very touch of his garments being, in her

apprehension, sufficient for her recovery; even though her disorder had baffled

the physicians' skill, and under their hands her little pittance had been wholly

expended, and her complaints aggravated. Nor was she mistaken; for no sooner

had she through the crowd got near enough to touch his garment, than

immediately on so doing her disease was removed, she felt her health perfectly

restored, and was retiring with wonder and thankfulness. But Jesus, who

perceived the virtue which had gone out of him, for the manifestation of his own

glory, and the confirmation of the poor patient's faith, turning himself,

demanded who touched him? which the disciples answered with a kind of

surprise and rudeness, as if, considering the crowd, such a question was very

strange. But Jesus, overlooking their frowardness, and casting his eyes round to

discover the person he meant, the poor woman, conscious of what had passed,

and trembling lest the Lord should be displeased at the manner in which she had

surreptitiously obtained her cure, came and fell at his feet, declaring the whole.

Whereupon, far from being angry, Jesus encouraged and comforted her, making

honourable mention of her faith; and dismissed her not only with a cure, but

with his peace and benediction, which was infinitely better. Note; (1.) All our

spiritual diseases can only be removed by the touch of faith; till virtue come out

of Christ, we can have no health in ourselves. (2.) Where he works, an universal

207

blessed change appears in all the tempers of the mind, and in the whole outward

conduct and conversation. (3.) When we are discouraged with fear, we should lay

our burdens at the feet of Jesus, and he will speak peace to our troubled souls.

3rdly, A discouraging message met the afflicted Jairus as Jesus was on the way

with him. Tidings were brought that his daughter was dead, and his friends

concluded that it was in vain to trouble Christ any farther; supposing that,

though he cured the sick, to raise the dead was beyond his power. But,

1. Our Lord encourages the distressed parent, bids him not to give way to

despondence, but only believe, and he should still see that death, as well as

disease, was under his controul. Note; Faith is the great preservative from all our

fears: when those who are nearest and dearest to us in Christ are removed, we

have a ground of abiding consolation, that we shall meet them at the resurrection

of the just.

2. When he came to the house, he suffered none to enter with him but Peter,

James, and John, enough to be witnesses of the miracle, with the father and

mother of the child: and rebuking the excessive lamentations of those who were

within, he assured them that there was no real cause for them, as the damsel was

not irrecoverable, as they apprehended; but though in the arms of death he

would awake her. But they, fully assured of her death, treated with derision this

suggestion. Unworthy, therefore, to be witnesses of his wondrous power and

grace, he put them all out, and permitting only his three disciples, and the

parents of the damsel, to be with him, he went in where the child lay, took her by

the hand, and, bid her rise; when instantly her spirit returned, she arose, being

about twelve years old, and, to the exceeding amazement of her parents, walked

about in perfect health; and to shew that she still retained her former animal life,

and that her appetite was restored with her health, he bade them give her

something to eat. Note; When Christ gives spiritual life, it must be daily fed in

the use of those means of grace, whereby he continues to minister strength and

nourishment to the soul.

3. He gives them all a strict charge not to divulge this miracle. He knew how his

growing fame would exasperate his enemies; and as his hour was not yet come,

he used every prudent means to preserve his life, till he had finished the work

which was given him to do.

43 He gave strict orders not to let anyone know

about this, and told them to give her something

to eat.

BARNES, "Something should be given her to eat - “He had raised her by

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extraordinary power, but he willed that she should be sustained by ordinary means.” He also in this gave full evidence that she was really restored to life and health. The changes were great, sudden, and certain. There could be no illusion. So, when the Saviour had risen, he gave evidence of his own resurrection by eating with his disciples, Joh_21:1-13.

CLARKE, "Something should be given her to eat - For though he had employed an extraordinary power to bring her to life, he wills that she should be continued in existence by the use of ordinary means. The advice of the heathen is a good one: -

Nec Deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus Inciderit.Horat

“When the miraculous power of God is necessary, let it be resorted to: when it is not necessary, let the ordinary means be used.”

To act otherwise would be to tempt God.

While Christ teaches men the knowledge of the true God, and the way of salvation, he at the same time teaches them lessons of prudence, economy, and common sense. And it is worthy of remark, that all who are taught of him are not only saved, but their understandings are much improved. True religion, civilization, mental improvement, common sense, and orderly behavior, go hand in hand.

GILL, "And he charged them straitly that no man should know it,.... From them, immediately, and whilst he was upon the spot; for that the thing could be long concealed, it was not reasonable to suppose: this charge he gave, to show his dislike of ostentation and popular applause, and to avoid the envy of the Scribes and Pharisees, and prevent the people from making any attempts to proclaim him king; his time not being yet come to die, he having some other work to do; and a more full manifestation of him being reserved for another time, and to be done in another way.

And commanded that something should be given her to eat; which would be an evidence not only that she was really alive, but that she was restored to perfect health: she was both raised from the dead, and entirely freed from the distemper she laboured under before her death; death had cured her of that, as it does of all distempers: she did not rise with it, but was free from it; and was now like one that had been asleep for a while, and was hungry upon it; as children of such an age generally are upon rising from sleep.

HENRY, " That Christ endeavoured to conceal it; He charged them straitly, that no man should know it. It was sufficiently known to a competent number, but he would not have it as yet proclaimed any further; because his own resurrection was to be the great instance of his power over death, and therefore the divulging of other instances must be reserved till that great proof was given: let one part of the evidence be kept private, till the other part, on which the main stress lies, be made ready.

9. That Christ took care something should be given her to eat. By this it appeared that she was raised not only to life, but to a good state of health, that she had an appetite to her meat; even the new-born babes in Christ's house desire the sincere milk, 1Pe_2:1, 1Pe_2:2. And it is observable, that, as Christ, when at first he had made man, presently provided food for him, and food out of the earth of which he

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was made (Gen_1:29), so now when he had given a new life, he took care that something should be given to eat; for is he has given life, he may be trusted to give livelihood, because the life is more than meat, Mat_6:25. Where Christ hath given spiritual life, he will provide food for the support and nourishment of it unto life eternal, for he will never forsake, or be wanting to, the work of his own hands.

JAMIESON, "And he charged them straitly — strictly.

that no man should know it — The only reason we can assign for this is His desire not to let the public feeling regarding Him come too precipitately to a crisis.

and commanded that something should be given her to eat — in token of perfect restoration.

CALVIN, "43.And he charged them Though Christ did not admit all

indiscriminately to behold this resurrection, yet the miracle might not have

remained long concealed. And it would indeed have been improper to suppress

that power of God, by which the whole world ought to be prepared for life. Why

then does he enjoin silence on the young woman’s parents? Perhaps it was not so

much about the fact itself, as about the manner of it, that he wished them to be

silent, and that only for a time; for we see that there were other instances in

which he sought out a proper occasion. Those who think that they were

forbidden to speak for the purpose of whetting their desire, resort to a solution

which is unnatural. I do acknowledge that Christ did not perform this miracle

without the intention of making it known, but perhaps at a more fitting time, or

after the dismission of a crowd among whom there was no prudence or

moderation. He therefore intended to allow some delay, that they might in

quietness and composure revolve the work of God.

LIGHTFOOT, "[He commanded that something should be given her to eat.] Not

as she was alive only, and now in good health, but as she was in a most perfect

state of health, and hungry: "The son of Rabban Gamaliel was sick. He sent,

therefore, two scholars of the wise men to R. Chaninah Ben Dusa into his city.

He saith to them, 'Wait for me, until I go up into the upper chamber.' He went

up into the upper chamber, and came down again, and said, 'I am sure that the

son of Rabban Gamaliel is freed from his disease.' The same hour he asked for

food."

COFFMAN, "That no man should know this ... It has been pointed out that

there was no way to prevent public knowledge of a funeral in progress having

been broken up by Jesus. From this, it is clear that Christ intended merely that

Jairus and the other witnesses of it should make no announcement of it, thus

leaving Jesus' earlier statement that the child was not dead to remain fixed, to

some degree at least, in the popular mind concerning the incident. That they

indeed cooperated in this charge of Jesus is seen in the fact of there being no

great clamor, nor any extraordinary efforts of the hierarchy to put Jesus to

death.

This remarkable wonder is, in reality, one of a triad of resurrections performed

by Jesus and recorded in the New Testament, the others being the raising of the

son of the widow of Nain, and the resurrection of Lazarus. Gradations appear in

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the triple events: (1) Jairus' daughter had been dead only a short while. (2) The

son of the widow had been dead longer, though not buried. (3) Lazarus had been

dead four days and nights. Also (1) the name of Jairus' daughter is not known.

(2) No name is known except that of the village where the wonder occurred. (3)

The names of the subject, of his sisters, and of the village where it occurred are

all given. There was a widening circle of beholders. (1) There were apparently

only six people present besides the daughter. (2) An entire village, though a small

one, witnessed it. (3) The great Jewish capital with a multitude of the hierarchy

saw Lazarus raised.

This chapter, here concluded, is one of the great storehouses of God's word.

Three of the Saviour's mightiest wonders are recorded in it; and one cannot

resist the conviction that here we stand within the heart and citadel of truth.

Imagination cannot conceive of such events as these being invented or contrived.

Across centuries of receding ages, they beckon to us that we might behold and

love him who came to give his life a ransom for many. Blessed be the name of the

Lord.

CONSTABLE, "Jesus gave the observers two commands. First, He told them not

to tell anyone about the miracle who did not need to know about it. [Note:

Cranfield, p. 191.] Obviously many people outside the house would have

discovered what had happened, but Jesus wanted to avoid all unnecessary

publicity, at least immediately, so He could continue His ministry with maximum

freedom of movement (cf. Mark 1:43-45).

His second command revealed His continuing compassion for the girl in her

need. It also clarified that He had restored her to physical life that needed

sustaining. He had not resurrected her to a new form of life with an immortal

body (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:35-57).

This double miracle taught the disciples that Jesus not only had the power to

control nature (Mark 4:35-41) and demonic spirits (Mark 5:1-20) but also death.

These were important revelations to those who had exercised some faith in Him.

They learned that Jesus was more than a man and even more than the greatest of

the prophets. Undoubtedly God used these revelations to enable the disciples to

see that Jesus was the divine Messiah (Mark 8:29).

"Faith involved more than simply believing Jesus could perform miracles. No

one questioned that in Nazareth. They questioned how he could do what he was

doing because of who they 'know' him to be. By implication, therefore, healing

faith for Mark in these two stories means more than faith in a miracle worker.

Both Jairus and the woman displayed faith that God was somehow at work in

Jesus. Therefore, the evangelist uses these stories to underscore the role of faith

and its corollary, the person of Jesus as seen in his ministry that highlights the

role of faith in these stories." [Note: Guelich, p. 305.]

NISBET, "FEEDING UPON CHRIST

‘And commanded that something should be given her to eat.’

Mark 5:43

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This is one of those fine touches of tender consideration, of which Mark’s history

is characteristic, and which so illustrate the beauty of the thoughtfulness of

Christ. A great thing never made Christ forget a little thing. Remember always

that God is the God of your little things; and that you never honour Him more

than when you commit them, and rest about them.

I. God feeds the life He gives.—But the passage reads us a deeper lesson, that

God always feeds the life He gives: wherever He bestows life, He is careful to add

that which that life really needs for its development and perfection. We see this

(a) In creation. The whole earth is a table laid out, and amply spread for the

sustenance of everything which God’s hand has made.

(b) In the life of man—body, intellect, and soul.

II. Spiritual food.—And now the great question is, ‘What is it which He gives us

to eat, and which is the vitality of a soul? and how is it communicated?’ The

answer to that question is only one—‘Christ is the food of the soul’ (see John 6).

He will do wondrously with your soul when once He has quickened you. He will

give you Himself to eat. The food must assimilate to the life which it is to cherish.

The life is Jesus, and the food must be Jesus. ‘How can this be?’

(a) The written Word is the channel of the Living, that is, the Life-giving Word

of the soul. You must find the Christ that is in the Bible before it feeds you. Only

Christ feeds. And the more Christ you find in the Word, the more that Word will

feed your soul.

(b) All spiritual acts between the soul and God feed.

(c) Christian intercourse and fellowship feed.

(d) Lastly, and especially, the Holy Communion was ordained for this very end.

It is essentially feeding. It is the feast, where there is spread the richest, the

sweetest, and the best! How can some of you expect your souls to live if you

neglect this great sustentation of all spiritual life? Could your body live without

its meals? The baptism of the Holy Ghost imparts life. The Communion of the

body and blood of Christ feed and sustain that life.

Thus, Christ has, by many ways, not only given ‘command’ but fulfilled it for His

Church—that ‘something should be given her to eat.’

Illustration

‘The Catechism teaches us what is required of them that come to the Lord’s

Supper. The fact of God’s great gift does not depend upon ourselves. There the

gift is, whatever we are or think or do. But its value for us does depend upon our

worthiness. Indeed, the Bible and our Prayer Book repeat most solemn warnings

against those who receive it unworthily. They eat and drink, as St. Paul says, not

as we have it translated, “damnation,” but “judgment” to themselves. Being

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worthy does not mean being perfectly sinless or free from temptation. But it does

mean that we may not approach the Holy Communion after committing any

deliberate disobedience of God’s law for which we have not sought God’s

forgiveness. It means also a sincere desire to be what God wills us to be, and to

do what God wishes us to do; and therefore also honest ceaseless struggle and

effort to be this and to do this. If we have not, and know that we have not, this

desire, and are not making, and know that we are not making, this effort, then

the Sacrament, which makes the union between Christ and His people most

complete, only marks and increases our separation from Him, and this is what

“judgment” really means. Every gift of the Sacrament turns into its opposite—

the food which should strengthen the life of the soul only increases its deadness

to spiritual things.’

BI, "Jairus by name.

A proper prayer

Better prayers, perhaps, had been offered. He would have shown more faith if he had prayed like the centurion (Luk_7:7). But, though he does not show such strong faith, yet it is a good prayer. For it is

(1) humble: he falls at Christ’s feet;

(2) believing: he feels Christ is omnipotent to heal;

(3) bold: he offers it in face of all the people, many of whom would be shocked that a ruler of the synagogue should acknowledge Jesus;

(4) loving, springing from a pure affection. Distress is a great schoolmaster. It teaches men many things; among the rest the greatest of all attainments-the power to pray. (R. Glover.)

A revived flower

And that bright flower bloomed in the vase of that happy home, more beautiful because the look of Jesus had given it new tints and the breath of Jesus had given it new fragrance. (J. Cumming, D. D.)

Jairus’ daughter

Jairus was a good man. His light was small, but real. It was feeble, but from heaven.

I. He had much to try his faith. One seems to see all the father in the tenderness of his words. Hope was over,-his daughter was dead. Thus is it with the believer. Instead of the relief he hoped for, all seems as death. Thus does the Lord try the faith He gives. Thus by causing us to wait for the blessing does He endear it.

II. The effect of this trial of faith. He did not distrust the power or willingness of the compassionate Saviour. His faith takes no denial, he still continues with Jesus. Faith hopes against hope. True faith partakes of his nature who exercises it, therefore in all, it is weak at times. But it partakes also of His nature who gives it, and therefore evinces its strength in the very midst of that weakness.

III. But wherever found, it is graciously rewarded. The scorners are without; but

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believing Jairus and the believing mother (Mar_5:40) are admitted. They see the mighty power of God put forth on behalf of their daughter. What an encouragement here to some anxious parent to put the case of their dear child in the hands of that same Jesus. How often has domestic affliction been the means of bringing the soul to the feet of Jesus. Mark the extreme tenderness of Jesus, “Fear not, only believe.” Be not afraid convicted sinner. My blood is sufficient, My grace and love are sufficient. (J. H. Evans, M. A.)

The Humane Society

I. The particular form of the Redeemer’s work.

1. Restoration from a special form of death.

2. Here was the recognition of the value of life-“She shall live.” It is not mere life on which Christianity has shed a richer value. It is by ennobling the purpose to which life is to be dedicated that it has made life more precious.

3. We consider the Saviour’s direction respecting the means of effecting a complete recovery. He “commanded that something should be given her to eat.” His reverential submission to the laws of nature.

II. The spirit of the Redeemer’s work.

1. It was love. He did good because it was good.

2. It was a spirit of retiring modesty. He did not wish it to be known.

3. It was a spirit of perseverance. Calm perseverance amidst ridicule. (F. W. Robertson.)

Not dead, but sleeping

Nature puts on a shroud at seasons, and seems to glide into the grave of winter. Autumnal blasts come sobbing through the trees, and leaf after leaf, shrivelling its fibres at the killing contact, comes drifting to the ground. The hedgerows where the May flowers and the dog rose mixed their scents are stripped and bare, and lift their thorny fingers up to heaven. The field where fat and wealthy-looking crops a while ago promised their golden sheaves, is now spread over with a coarse fringe of stubble, and seems a sort of hospital of vegetation. The garden shows no more its beauties, nor sheds forth its scent, but where the coloured petal and the painted cup of the gay flower were seen, there stands a blighted stem, or a drooping tuft of refuse herbs. The birds which carolled to the summer sky have fled away, and their note no longer greets the ear. The very daisies on the meadow are buried in the snow wreath, and the raw blast howls a sad requiem at the funeral of nature. But those trees, whose leafless branches seem to wrestle with the rough winds that toss them, are not dead. Anon, and they shall again be wreathed in verdure and bedecked with blossom. The softened breath of spring shall whisper to the snowdrop to dart forth its modest head, and shall broider the garden path again with flowers; the fragrance of the hawthorn bloom ere long shall gush from those naked hedge rows, and the returning lark shall wake the morning with a new and willing song. No, nature is not dead! There is a resurrection coming on. Spring with its touch of wizardry shall wake her from her slumbers, and sound again the keynote of the suspended music of the spheres. So also shall there arise out of the raging conflagration, in whose fevered heat the elements shall melt and shrivel like a scroll-even out of the very ashes which

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betoken its consumption-a new heaven and a new earth-an earth as ethereal and pure as heaven itself-and a heaven as substantial and as living as the earth. And consentaneously with the arising of these new worlds; the tombs shall open, and send forth the shrouded tenants, to enter on the inheritance which, in that new economy, shall be theirs. Can you believe that faded flowers shall revive at the blithe beckoning of the spring, that little leaves will quietly unfold at the mandate of the morning, and yet there shall be no spring to beckon the mortal back to life, and no morning to command the clay to clothe itself with the garments of a quickening spirit? Can you believe that the great temple shall arise with all its shrines rebuilded, and its altars purified after the final burning, but that there shall be neither voice nor trumpet to call forth the high priest from his slumber to worship at those shrines, and to lay a more enduring offering upon those waiting altars? Is the fuel to be ever laid, and none to kindle the burnt offering? Is the sanctuary to be prepared, and none to pay the service? Is the bridegroom to stand alone before the altar, and no bride to meet him at the nuptials? God forbid! The high priest is not dead-the bride has not perished-they are not dead, but sleep. Sound forth the trumpet, and say that all is ready, and then the corruptible will put on incorruption, and the mortal will put on immortality. Thus, when we lay our kindred in the earth, and follow to their final resting place the last remains of those who occupied a cherished chamber in our hearts-while nature finds it hard to dry the tear and quench the sigh-faith ever lifts the spirit from its sad despondency, by assuring us of a reunion beyond the grave-and robs the monster of one half his terrors-weakening his stroke and taking away his sting, by changing the mystic trance into which he throws his victims into a transient sleep, and speaking of a waking time of happiness and icy. Nature will look on death as an assassin who murders those we love; but Faith regards him as a nurse who hushes them to sleep, and sings a lullaby and not a requiem beside their bed. To faith it is a sleeping draught and not a poison which the visitor holds to the drinker’s lips; for it hails the time when the lethargy of the sepulchre shall be cast off, and the spirit shall arise like a tired slumberer refreshed by sleep, to spend an endless morning in the energy of an endless youth. (A. Mursell.)

The death of the young encourages a spirit of dependence on God in the home life of this world

It brings the unseen Hand to bear very directly and potently on the soul’s deepest and most hidden springs. Let us suppose for a moment that there was a revealed ordinance of heaven that every, human being born into this world should live to three-score years and ten, and then quietly lie down to rest, and awake in eternity. Would it enrich or impoverish the life of the human world? I venture to think that it would impoverish it unspeakably. The passage of these little ones through the veil, of infants and children, of young men and maidens, of men and women in their prime, brings God’s hand very near, and keeps its pressure on the most powerful springs of our nature, our warmest affection, and our most constant and active care. It is not the uncertainty which is the strongest element of the influence, though no doubt that keeps us vigilant and anxious, and helps to maintain the full strain of our power. It is rather the constant contact with a Higher Will, which keeps us in humble, hopeful dependence, which gives and withholds, lends and recalls, by a wisdom which we cannot fathom, but which demands our trust on the basis of a transcendent manifestation of all-suffering and all-sacrificing love. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

The death of the young imparts a consecrating influence to the home life

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It brings heaven all round us when we know that at any moment the veil may be lifted, and a dear life may vanish from our sight, not, blessed be Christ, into the shades, but into the brightness which is beyond. And when the life has vanished it leaves a holy and consecrating memory in the home. Something is in the home on earth which also belongs to the home on high. Never does the home life and all its relations seem so beautiful, so profound, so sacred, as when Death has laid his touch on “a little one,” and gathered it as a starry flower for the fields of light on high. It makes the life of the home more anxious, more burdened by care and pain, but more blessed. The nearness at any moment of resistless Death makes us find a dearer meaning in the word, “the whole family in heaven and on earth”-a thought which saturates the whole New Testament, and is not dependent on one text for its revelation. We know then how precious is its meaning, and earth gains by its loss as well as heaven. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

The death of the young lends a tender, home life interest to the life of the unseen world

The home, remember, is where the children are. There are those of us who never found the deeper meaning of the Father’s love and the everlasting home till a dear child had gone on before. The death of the little ones, while it ought to make the earthly life heaven-like on the one hand, is meant to make heaven home-like on the other. The Lord dethroned and discrowned Death by bearing the human form, living, through His realm of terror. The living Lord abolished death by living on through death, and flashing the splendours of heaven through the shades. The children, as they follow Christ through the gloom, make Death seem beautiful as an angel. Thenceforth we, too, have, not our citizenship only, but our home life in the two worlds. (J. B. Brown, B. A.)

Jesus stronger than death

And just remember, that when Jesus allows death to knock at your door, and to come in, it is not because death is stronger than He. It is because He has a good reason for permitting it. He is so completely the Master of death that He makes it His messenger to do His bidding; and when death comes to our dwelling and takes away one we love, let us bear in mind that death is not Jesus’ enemy but His messenger. He is like an angel; he takes away our friend in his bosom. He has no power at all over us without Jesus. (Anon.)

The healing of Jairus’ daughter

I. The ease brought before Jesus. A bodily disease as usual. No spiritual cases, though more important.

II. The persons who brought it. A ruler, etc. He had heard Christ’s teaching. He had seen His miracles. No mention made, etc., till distress.

III. The character in which he came-a parent.

IV. The manner in which he came. Reverently. Earnestly. Believingly.

V. At the request of Jairus, Christ arose and accompanied him. Christ encouraged such applications-He does so still (Expository Discourses.)

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I. Christ’s restorative power transcends the ordinary expectations of mankind.

II. Christ’s restorative power is exerted on certain conditions.

1. Earnest entreaty.

2. A reverential spirit.

III. Christ’s restorative power accomplishes its object with the greatest ease.

IV. Christ’s restorative power confounds the scoffing sceptic with its result. Scoffing infidelity is destined to be confounded. There were scoffers in the days of Noah and they were confounded when the deluge came. There were scoffers in the days of Lot, and they were confounded when the showers of fire fell. There are scoffers now, and when they shall see Him “coming in His glory with all His holy angels,” these atheists, deists, and materialists, will be utterly confounded. (David Thomas, D. D.)

Death a sleep

Homer fittingly calls sleep “the brother of death”; they are so much alike. On the lips of Jesus, however, the word sleep acquires a richer and mightier import than it ever possessed before. Amply has His use of the term been justified in the last hour of tens of thousands of his devout followers. They laid themselves down to die, not as those who dread the night because of the remembrance of hours when, like Job, they were “scared with dreams” and “terrified through visions,” but like tired labourers, to whom night is indeed a season of peaceful refreshment. And how imperceptibly they sank into their last slumber! Their transition was so mild and gradual, that it was impossible for those who stood round their dying pillow to say exactly when it took place. There was no struggle, no convulsion. The angel of death spread his wide, white wings meekly over them, and then, with a smile upon their pallid countenance, serene and lovely as heaven itself, they closed their eyes on all terrestrial objects, and fell asleep in Jesus. And that sleep is as profound throughout as it was tranquil at the beginning. The happy fireside and the busy exchange-the halls of science and the houses of legislation-the oft-frequented walk and the holy temple-are nothing to them now. Suns rise and set, stars travel and glisten; but they see them not; tempests howl, thunders roll and crash; but they hear them not. Nothing can disturb those slumbers, “till the day dawn and the shadows flee away.” Then will the voice of the archangel sweep over God’s acre, and awake them all. Oh, wondrous awaking! what momentous consequences hang on thee! (Edwin Davies.)

Death a sleep

I. Sleep is rest, or gives rest to the body: so death.

1. Rest from labour and travail.

2. Rest from trouble and opposition.

3. Rest from passion and grief.

4. Rest from sin, temptation, Satan, and the law.

II. Sleep is not perpetual; we sleep and wake again; so, though the body lie in the grave, yet death is but a sleep; we shall wake again.

III. The sleep of some men differs very much from that of others: So the death of

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saints differs from that of the wicked.

1. Some men sleep before their work is done; so some die before their salvation is secured.

2. Some fall asleep in business and great distraction, others in peace.

3. Some dread the thought of dying, because of the dangers that lie beyond. But saints have no fear.

4. Some fall asleep in dangerous places, and in the midst of their enemies-on the brink of hell, surrounded by the spirits of perdition. But saints die in the view of Jesus; in the love and covenant of Jesus.

IV. A man that sleeps is generally easily awakened: So the body in death shall be much more easily awakened at the last day than the soul can now be aroused from its sleep of sin. (B. Keach.)

Why death of the godly is called sleep

The reason why the death of the godly is called a sleep in Scripture is this: because there is a fit resemblance between it and natural sleep; which resemblance consists chiefly in these things.

1. In bodily sleep men rest from the labours of mind and body. So the faithful, dying in the Lord, are said to rest from their labours (Rev_14:13).

2. After natural sleep men are accustomed to awake again; so, after death, the bodies of the saints shall be awaked, i.e., raised up again to life out of their graves at the last flay. And as it is easy to awake one out of a natural sleep, so is it much more easy with God, by His almighty power, to raise the dead at the last day.

3. As after natural sleep the body and outward senses are more fresh and lively than before; so likewise after that the bodies of the saints, being dead, have for a time slept in their graves as in beds, they shall awake and rise again at the last day in a far more excellent state than they died in, being changed from corruption to incorruption, from dishonour to glory, from weakness to power, from natural to spiritual bodies (1Co_15:42).

4. As in natural sleep the body only is said properly to sleep, not the soul (the powers whereof work even in sleep in some sort, though not so perfectly as when we are waking): so in death, only the bodies of the saints do die and lie down in the graves, but their souls return to God who gave them (Ecc_12:7), and they live with God even in death and alter death.

5. As sleep is sweet to those who are wearied with labour and travail (Ecc_5:12), so also death is sweet and comfortable to the faithful, being wearied and turmoiled with sin, and with the manifold miseries of this life. (G. Petter.)

Death of children

God cultivates many flowers, seemingly only for their exquisite beauty and fragrance. For when, bathed in soft sunshine, they have burst into blossom, then the Divine hand gathers them from the earthly fields to be kept in crystal vases in the deathless mansions above. Thus little children die-some in the sweet bud, some in the fallen blossom; but never too early to make heaven fairer and sweeter with their immortal bloom. (Wadsworth.)

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Goeth in where the child was: Christ in the chamber of death

I. A good child is at home in either world, not sorry to go to the other world to get joy, and not sorry to come back to this world to give it.

II. We know not where the other world is, but it is evidently within range of the Saviour’s voice. Our dear dead are therefore safe and all their conditions ordered by the Saviour’s mercy.

III. Life is indestructible by death.

IV. On a universal scale Christ will be found to be the Resurrection and the Life to all who love Him.

V. He inflicts bereavement, but sympathises with its sorrow. He relieves these mourners here, to show that He pities all mourners. (R. Glover.)

Talitha cumi

He uses what were, perhaps, the words used every morning by her mother on waking her-“Little one, get up.” (R. Glover.)

The raising of Jairus’ daughter

I. The application which Jesus received.

1. By whom it was made.

2. The favour he implied.

3. The feeling which this ruler displayed.

(1) His reverence.

(2) His importunity.

(3) His faith.

II. The ready compliance of our Lord with the request made to Him. But as He went we are called upon-

1. To witness a strange interruption.

2. To listen to what seemed very discouraging information-“Thy daughter is dead.”

III. The wonderful result with which this visit was attended.

1. What our Lord saw.

2. What He said.

3. What He did. (Expository Outlines.)

Mark 5:43

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Something should be given her to eat.

Feeding upon Christ

A great thing never made Christ forget a little thing. This is real greatness. Always as you go up to the highest, you find it more and more that the little things take a larger place. The disclosures of the microscope are quite as wonderful as the discoveries of the telescope. And if any thoughtful, religious man had to tell what had given him his highest idea of God, and made the deepest impression of His love, he would probably single out some very small event of life. It warn so wonderful, and so good, that the great God should care to notice, and superintend, and answer prayer, about such a little thing, which might have appeared so very insignificant. And, correspondingly, that is the greatest faith which is occupied about minutiae. There is many a man who believes that he is saved; but yet finds it very hard to trust God for the details of common life. God always feeds the life He gives. I see it in creation. The light and air created before vegetable life; the vegetable life before animal life; animal life before human life. To an observant eye, the whole earth is a table laid out, and amply spread for the sustenance of everything which God’s hand has made. But it is not only concerning your bodily life, that you may rest secure that God will maintain the being He has made: there is the life of your intellect; and a man’s mind needs food as much as his body. And has not God secured it? Are not subjects for thought, and for the exercise of our rational faculties, in every place? God’s great lesson book around him, and beneath him, and above him, every moment, in all the beauties of earth, and sky, and air, and sea, teeming with their suggestive wonders and their great teaching facts? And now the great question is, “What is it which He gives us to eat, and which is the vitality of a soul? and how is it communicated?” In its strictest and truest sense, the answer to that question is only one-“Christ is the food of the soul.” Never think that your Bible will be “feeding” of itself. Neither its words, nor its histories, nor its doctrines, nor its promises. You must find the Christ that is in it, before it feeds you. And the more Christ you find in the word, the more that word will feed your soul. Secondly, all spiritual acts between the soul and God feed. Meditation-adoration-prayer-secret converse. For the Holy Ghost flows through means. And he carries Christ into the very currents of your being, till Christ mingles with your very life blood. And each time that happens, it renews, it restores, it strengthens, it expands some part of the inner life; and by continual applications you have “life,” and you have it more abundantly. Thirdly, that habit formed, and that communication opened to the heart, there is nothing which may not convey nutriment to a believer’s soul. Everything that is beautiful-everything that is loving-everything that is wise-everything that is true-in nature, in art, in science, in history, and in Providence-everything may be an element of nutrition. It may all turn to spiritual nerve, and power, and growth. And fourthly, to a very great extent, Christian intercourse and fellowship feed. And you must remark that our Lord did not say to the damsel, “Eat,” but to those before her, “Give you to her to eat.” We are bound to feed one another. Whatever knowledge, or grace, or peace, or comfort, God has given you, He says, “Feed, with this, one of My lambs.” But fifthly, and especially, the Holy Communion. This was ordained for this very end. It is essentially feeding. It is the feast where there is spread the richest, the sweetest, and the best! How can some of you expect your souls to live, if you neglect this great sustentation of all spiritual life? (J. Vaughan, M. A.).

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