Mark 5

5 ¹They came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. ²As Jesus left the boat, a man with an unclean spirit met him at once, from the tombs. ³He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. ⁴For he'd often been bound with shackles and chains, but tore the chains apart and shattered the shackles—no one had strength to subdue him. ⁵Night and day, among the tombs and on the mountains, he cried out constantly, cutting himself with stones. ⁶And when he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell down before him. ⁷Shouting loudly, he said, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you by God, don't torment me!"

⁸For Jesus had been saying to him, "Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!"

⁹Jesus asked, "What is your name?" "Legion," he said, "we are many." ^a a v9 A Roman legion numbered around six thousand soldiers — the name reveals this man was tormented by thousands of evil spirits.

¹⁰He kept begging him not to send them out of the region. ¹¹Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. ¹²And they begged him, "Send us to the pigs; let us enter them."

¹³He gave permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; the herd—about 2,000—rushed down the cliff into the sea and drowned in the sea. ¹⁴The herders fled and told it in town and country; people came to see what happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been possessed by the demons, the one who'd had the legion, sitting there, dressed and thinking clearly—and they were afraid. ¹⁶Eyewitnesses told them what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and about the pigs. ¹⁷And they began to beg Jesus to leave their region.

¹⁸As he was getting into the boat, the once-possessed man begged to be with him.

¹⁹But Jesus refused, telling him instead, "Go home to your own people and tell them how much our Father has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." ^b b v19 Where other translations read "the Lord," FHB names our Father—Jesus sends the healed man home to tell of the Father's mercy, the very mercy the man then sees revealed in Jesus himself.

²⁰He went and began proclaiming in the Decapolis all Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed. ^c c v20 The Decapolis — "ten cities" in Greek — was a region of largely Gentile cities south and east of the Sea of Galilee.

Healed by Faith, Raised by Love

²¹When Jesus crossed again by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him by the sea. ²²One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, came, saw Jesus, and fell at his feet, ²³and begged him urgently, "My little daughter is dying. Come, lay your hands on her, so she may be healed and live."

²⁴So Jesus went with him. And a great crowd followed him and pressed around him. ²⁵And there was a woman with a discharge of blood that had gone on for twelve years. ²⁶She had suffered much under many doctors, spent all she owned, gained nothing, and only grew worse. ²⁷Hearing about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. ²⁸For she kept saying, "If I just touch his garments, I will be made well." ²⁹Her flow of blood dried up instantly, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her suffering.

³⁰At once Jesus, aware that power had left him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

³¹His disciples said to him, "You see the crowd crushing you, yet you ask, 'Who touched me?'"

³²And he looked around to see who had done it. ³³But the woman, afraid and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came, fell before him, and told him the whole truth.

³⁴He told her, "Daughter, your faith made you well. Go in peace, healed of your suffering."

³⁵While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader's house, saying, "Your daughter has died. Why bother the Teacher any longer?"

³⁶But Jesus overheard what they said and told the synagogue leader, "Don't fear, only believe."

³⁷And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. ³⁸They came to the synagogue leader's house and Jesus saw chaos—people weeping, wailing loudly.

³⁹Entering, he said to them, "Why this commotion and crying? The child isn't dead, just asleep."

⁴⁰They laughed at him. But he sent them all out, took the child's father and mother and his companions, and entered where the child was.

⁴¹He took her hand and said to her, "Talitha koum," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!"

⁴²At once the girl got up and walked—for she was twelve—and they were instantly overwhelmed with great amazement. ⁴³He strictly ordered them to tell no one of this, and said to give her something to eat.