First, we quoted the previous discussion and saw that Jesus had spiritual authority. He commanded the “Legion” of demons, and they obeyed Him. He eventually allowed them to enter the herd of pigs, but the pigs could not bear it and were thrown into the sea and drowned. Second, we saw that the crowd begged Jesus to leave out of fear and possible financial loss. We here also quoted the previous discussion. Third, Jesus healed the little daughter of Jairus, the ruler of the synagogue, and allowed her spirit to return to her body and resurrect her. We quoted the previous discussion and talked about its expansion, and saw that trichotomy is what the Bible says. Finally, we look at the woman who had been suffering from a hemorrhage for twelve years. We also quoted the previous discussion on this. Because of her faith about being healed by touching the fringe of His cloak, she was healed. In previous discussion, we also talked about the origin and significance of the fringe.
1. Healing a Man Possessed by a “Legion” of Demons and Allowing Demons to Enter Pigs
“They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and shouting with a loud voice, he said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.”(Mark 5:1-13).
The same incident is recorded in Luke 8:26-33 and briefly in Matthew 8:28-32. However, Matthew 8:28 says, “When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. …”(Matthew 8:28). Clearly, the obvious contradiction implied here calls our attention to the incident itself. Do not deceive yourself by saying that the Bible must be consistent in words and sentences, and thus lie by claiming Satan as the father, because Satan “…speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”(John 8:44). Do not play word games by saying that the first edition of the Bible did not have any contradictions in words, but the first edition has long been lost, so no one can verify the authenticity of this statement! We must truly find the reason for the obvious contradiction inspired in the Bible.
Regarding this incident itself, we previously discussed Luke 8:26-33 in “3. The event of casting out the demons into the swine” under “1055 Relatives, stilling the sea, and casting out demons into the swine -The image of Jesus (10).” Here it says that the number of pigs is about 2,000, but it is basically the same. We thus will only briefly discuss it.
First, we notice that the man possessed by the unclean spirit has strength beyond that of an ordinary person, but he cannot control himself and hurts himself. This is the person most demon-possessed in the Bible; he was possessed by “Legion.” Even so, his free will was not completely erased, for “Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him.”(Mark 5:6) We see that He possessed spiritual authority. He allowed them to enter the herd of pigs, and they obeyed Him. However, the pigs could not bear it and were thrown into the sea and drowned. Please visit “https://a-christian-voice.com/” and click on “On spiritual understanding about life” to find this article. Thank you.
2. The crowds were afraid and begged Jesus to leave
“Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to implore Him to leave their region. As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed. When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore.”(Mark 5:14-21)
The same incident is recounted in Luke 8:34-39 and briefly recorded in Matthew 8:28-34. In “4. What happened afterwards” of “1055,” we discussed Luke 8:34-39 in detail and expanded on the very different ways Jesus dealt with those who received miracles of healing. Please refer to that article. Here, we will only briefly discuss it.
We noted that the man had returned to his Gentile home in the Decapolis, making him a Gentile. In the expanded discussion, we also mentioned how Jesus handled the Jewish situation differently. Their request for Jesus to leave them was based on their knowledge of what the demon-possessed man had encountered and the incident with the pigs. Since they did not know who Jesus was, fear was a natural reaction. Perhaps this was compounded by their fear of financial loss, similar to the pig owners’, leading them to ask Jesus to leave them and lose their chance for salvation. We also see that although Jesus performed miracles, He did not force them to believe and accept Him.
3. Healing the Younger Daughter of Jairus, the Synagogue Ruler
“One of the synagogue officials named Jairus came up, and on seeing Him, fell at His feet and implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.” And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him. …While He was still speaking, they came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?” But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the synagogue official; and He saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. And entering in, He said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.” They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and entered the room where the child was. Taking the child by the hand, He said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat.”(Mark 5:22-24…35-43)
From the outset, we see that Jairus had great faith. He believed that if Jesus laid His hands on his dying daughter, it would be enough. Note that on the way to Jairus’s house, another incident occurred: the woman
with a hemorrhage for twelve years, which will be mentioned in the next paragraph. This incident is denoted by ‘…’, mentioned in the interpolated passage. The same incident is recorded in Luke 8:41-42…49-56 and Matthew 9:18-19…23-26.
We can see that Jesus treated Peter, James, and John very differently from the other apostles. He only took the three of them with Him to the Mount of Transfiguration. Among the twelve apostles, Peter was the leading apostle, John lived the longest, and James was the first apostle to be martyred for the Lord. Previously, in “2. The resurrection of the daughter of Jairus” of “1056 Healing a hemorrhage woman, resurrecting a daughter, and sending the twelve -The image of Jesus (11)”, we discussed these verses in detail and expanded them to related insights. Please use the above method to find this article.
Speaking of expansion, for example, according to the Scripture, when a person dies, the spirit leaves first, and when the soul leaves, the person dies. Didn’t Jesus also cry out in a loud voice on the cross: “…“Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last.”(Luke 23:46) He did not mention the soul, which shows that the spirit and soul can be separated. As the Bible clearly states, “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”(Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, man is composed of spirit, soul, and body. As the Scripture says, “… may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, …”(1 Thessalonians 5:23). In other words, trichotomy is correct. From the fact that “what God tells us through the Bible is consistent,” we can also see that the Greek word G5053 has two meanings: “dying” and “dead.”
4. The Woman with Hemorrhage for Twelve Years
“A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.””(Mark 5:25-34)
The above events occurred on Jesus’ way to Jairus’s house. The same event is briefly recorded in Matthew 9:20-22 and also in Luke 8:42-48, where it is specifically mentioned the fringe of His cloak: “came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her hemorrhage stopped.”(Luke 8:44). She had such faith simply by hearing about Jesus. No wonder Jesus said, “…Daughter, your faith has made you well; …”(Luke 8:48)
Previously, in “1. A woman who had a hemorrhage” under “1056 Healing a hemorrhage woman, resurrecting a daughter, and sending the twelve -The image of Jesus (11),” we discussed the miracle that happened to the woman with a hemorrhage. Her faith allowed her to be healed simply by touching the fringe of His cloak. We also discussed the origin and significance of the fringe. The Scriptures clearly tell us that Jesus was a complete human being while on earth. Doesn’t the Scripture clearly state this? “and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.”(John 5:27). During His incarnation, He never exercised His divinity. Therefore, the power that emanated from Him came from the Holy Spirit. He did not initiate it, but He felt it. Please use the method described above to find this article.
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)
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