Authority over Nature, Demons, Disease, and Death
Following the day of teaching in parables Mark places a group of miracle stories that reveal Jesus’ awesome power over all the elements that cause fear and distress in human life. These mighty deeds are part of the continued training of his apostles in preparation for their being sent out on mission (6:7). By the end of this section they will have seen firsthand Jesus’ authority over all that could threaten them, and they will be ready to be granted a share in that authority. Also in this section, Jesus’ mission expands for the first time into pagan territory outside the borders of Israel—a prelude to the Church’s mission to the Gentiles.
The Calming of the Storm (4:35–41)
35On that day, as evening drew on, he said to them, “Let us cross to the other side.” 36Leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37A violent squall came up and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already filling up. 38Jesus was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39He woke up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was great calm. 40Then he asked them, “Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith?” 41They were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this whom even wind and sea obey?”
OT: Ps 4:9; 65:8; 89:10; 107:28–30; Jon 1
NT: // Matt 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25
Lectionary: Anointing of the Sick; Mass in Time of Earthquake, or For Rain, or For Good Weather, or To Avert Storms, or For Any Need
4:35–36 Jesus had been teaching the multitude in parables from a boat anchored just offshore (4:1). Concluding his “Sermon on the Sea” as evening approaches, he asks his disciples to cross to the other side. The eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, across from Capernaum, was a predominantly Gentile area (5:1). This voyage is Jesus’ first extension of his ministry into Gentile territory (later repeated in 6:45; 7:31; 8:13). Disciples accompany him in several boats, leaving the crowd behind on the shore. They cast off with Jesus just as he was, still seated in his floating pulpit, without his first going ashore.
4:37–38 The Sea of Galilee is known for the violent storms that can arise without warning, as wind is funneled through the steep valleys among the hills surrounding the lake. In this instance the gale is so fierce that it terrifies even seasoned fishermen. Waves come crashing over the boat, swamping it and threatening to sink it. Yet in the midst of this fury, Jesus is in the stern, asleep. Anyone who has ever been in a violently storm-tossed boat has reason to think that this ability to sleep through the storm was the first miracle! Jesus exemplifies the perfect trust in God that is often signified in Scripture by a peaceful and untroubled sleep (see Job 11:18–19; Ps 4:9; Prov 3:24).
But his serenity is not shared by the disciples, who awaken Jesus with a stinging reproach: Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? It is the first time in the Gospel that Jesus has been called “Teacher,” having just completed a day of teaching (Mark 4:1–34). This time there will be a powerful lesson of faith, learned by experience. The tone of the disciples’ question suggests that they have a vague idea that Jesus can do something about the storm, but they think he is indifferent to their desperate plight, as if he has no concern for their safety or survival. How often God’s people reproach him this way, from the Old Testament (see Exod 14:10–11; Num 14:3) to this day.
The Sea of Galilee
The Sea of Galilee, called the Sea of Chinnereth (meaning “lyre-shaped”) in the Old Testament (Num 34:11), is actually a freshwater lake about seven miles wide and thirteen miles long, lying between Galilee to the west and the region of the Decapolis (today, the Golan Heights) to the east. From its southern end, the Jordan River flows toward the Dead Sea. In the first century the lake provided a thriving commercial fishing industry for the villages that dotted its shoreline. It is still known for the violent gales that can arise suddenly and pose a danger to small boats.
4:39 Jesus does not leave his disciples in their panic but immediately awakens and rebukes the raging elements. He does not pray that God would calm the storm, but commands it himself with sovereign authority: Quiet! Be still! (literally, “Be muzzled!”). Rebuked is the same word used to describe his casting out of unclean spirits (1:25; 3:12), suggesting that demonic powers somehow instigated the squall that threatens to deflect him and his disciples from their mission. In the Old Testament the sea is often viewed as a symbol of chaos and the habitation of evil powers (Job 26:12–13; Ps 74:13–14; Isa 27:1). Jesus exorcises these adverse forces of nature with the same authority with which he freed human beings from demonic oppression. Instantly the howling wind subsides and the choppy waters become calm. The wording parallels Ps 107:28–29: “In their distress they cried to the LORD, who brought them out of their peril, Hushed the storm to a murmur; the waves of the sea were stilled.”
4:40–41 The moment the danger has passed, Jesus chides his disciples for their feeble faith. Why are you terrified? Do you not yet have faith? Certainly, they had turned to him in their moment of terror and dismay. But they did not yet grasp who he really is: sovereign Lord over all creation. Jesus was forming a band of followers who were to be confident in their mission on earth: to bring the peace and authority of the kingdom into all the troubles of humanity. He had called them to complete a task on the other side of the sea; would he have done so only to let them perish in the waves (see Exod 14)? As the disciples knew well, God alone has power to subdue the seas: “You rule the raging sea; you still its swelling waves” (Ps 89:10; see Job 38:8; Ps 65:8). Indeed, from the Exodus on, God’s control of the sea has signified his tender care for his people (Exod 15; Isa 51:10). So it is no wonder that after Jesus calms the storm, they were filled with great awe (literally, “they feared a great fear”). Their abject terror of the forces of nature has been replaced by reverent fear of the presence of God in Jesus. Jesus’ subduing of the sea is an †epiphany, a manifestation of his divine authority. Who then is this? is a question that not only Jesus’ contemporaries but all the readers of the Gospel are meant to ask (see Mark 8:29).
Reflection and Application (4:35–41)
Mark narrates this story not only to recount the memorable event of the storm, but also to reflect the experience of the early Christians. The boat bearing the disciples and the sleeping Jesus is an image of the Church (see Eph 4:14). The small and struggling early Church, storm-tossed on the seas of the vast Roman Empire, must have sometimes wondered why their Lord seemed to be asleep in the stern—absent, unaware, or unconcerned about the mortal perils that threatened them. How often have his disciples through the ages felt that way in the midst of “storms” of persecution, natural disasters, or personal troubles? But Jesus’ authority is without limit, and though he allows trials, in the end nothing can truly harm those who trust in him (see Luke 10:19). His reproach in verse 40 is an invitation for all Christians to awaken their faith in his presence and in his absolute authority over the cosmos. The true antidote to fear of earthly dangers is the faith that comes from “fear of the Lord,” the reverent awe of God that Scripture calls the beginning of wisdom (Job 28:28; Ps 111:10; Prov 1:7). “He who fears the Lord is never alarmed, never afraid” (Sir 34:14). Indeed, the most repeated command in Scripture is “Do not fear!” Why? Because to refuse to give in to fear disables the enemy’s strategy, which is to dissuade Jesus’ followers from their mission. When we have no fear, the enemy trembles in fear.
Christ Asleep in Us
St. Augustine comments: “When you are insulted, that is the wind. When you are angry, that is the waves. So when the winds blow and the waves surge, the boat is in danger, your heart is in jeopardy, your heart is tossed to and fro. On being insulted, you long to retaliate. But revenge brings another kind of misfortune—shipwreck. Why? Because Christ is asleep in you. What do I mean? I mean you have forgotten Christ. Rouse him, then; remember Christ, let Christ awake within you, give heed to him.… ‘Who is this, that even the winds and sea obey him?’ ”[a]
Liberation of a Man Tormented by Demons (5:1–13)
1They came to the other side of the sea, to the territory of the Gerasenes. 2When he got out of the boat, at once a man from the tombs who had an unclean spirit met him. 3The man had been dwelling among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, even with a chain. 4In fact, he had frequently been bound with shackles and chains, but the chains had been pulled apart by him and the shackles smashed, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5Night and day among the tombs and on the hillsides he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. 6Catching sight of Jesus from a distance, he ran up and prostrated himself before him, 7crying out in a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!” 8[He had been saying to him, “Unclean spirit, come out of the man!”] 9He asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “Legion is my name. There are many of us.” 10And he pleaded earnestly with him not to drive them away from that territory.
11Now a large herd of swine was feeding there on the hillside. 12And they pleaded with him, “Send us into the swine. Let us enter them.” 13And he let them, and the unclean spirits came out and entered the swine. The herd of about two thousand rushed down a steep bank into the sea, where they were drowned.
OT: Deut 14:8
NT: Matt 12:43; Mark 3:27. // Matt 8:28–32; Luke 8:26–33
Catechism: exorcisms, 550, 1673
This episode is Jesus’ first excursion into non-Jewish territory, and it begins in the same way as his public ministry among the Jews (1:21–27): with immediate confrontation and decisive victory over evil. Just as the stilling of the storm showed his power over the forces of destruction in nature, so the exorcism of the demoniac shows his power over the forces of destruction within the human person.
5:1 The territory of the Gerasenes, on the east side of the Sea of Galilee,[1] would have been an eerie place even in daylight. To this day numerous caves dot the shoreline, many of which were used to bury the dead. Then as now, tombs were popularly regarded as a favorite haunt of demons. The lifestyle and customs of this Gentile region would have seemed alien to Jews, since the inhabitants did not observe the Jewish moral or dietary laws. Indeed, this particular vicinity would be viewed as doubly unclean, containing as it did both tombs (see Num 5:2) and pigs (see Lev 11:7). As Jesus steps ashore, he is immediately challenged by the demonic powers that seem to hold sway in the area, as if they are jealous of their territorial rights.
5:2–3 The moment Jesus sets foot on land, the demon-possessed man comes out to him from the tombs, wild-eyed, shouting, and bearing the marks of self-mutilation. Mark’s description of the demon-possessed man is vivid, including more elaborate detail than the descriptions by Matthew and Luke. This is a man who experiences a “violent squall” (4:37) not in nature but in himself. The unclean spirit has taken over the center of his personality, resulting in a life of unbearable torment and alienation. Unable to function in human society, he lives among the tombs, that is, in the realm of the dead. The scene seems to echo Isaiah’s indictment of rebellious Israel: “people who provoke me continually … living among the graves and spending the night in caverns, Eating swine’s flesh” (Isa 65:3–4). But paradoxically, the tomb is the very place where, at the end of the Gospel (Mark 16:5–6), Jesus’ ultimate victory will be manifested in his resurrection from the dead.
5:4–5 Mark’s description is designed to show how demonic influence distorts and destroys the image of God in humans. The man’s behavior is a picture of despair and self-hatred: he was always crying out and bruising himself with stones. He is evidently more of a danger to himself than to anyone else. Thwarting every attempt to subdue him with shackles and chains, he demonstrates the preternatural strength that has sometimes been verified in cases of demonic possession. We learn later that he is unclothed (v. 15), another indication of his loss of human dignity.
Mark emphasizes the futility of society’s efforts to solve the demoniac’s problem. The most they can do is attempt to restrain the man physically, and even that has proven totally ineffective. The verb for bound in verse 4 (deō) is the same word used in Jesus’ parable of the strong man (3:27). The parable has prepared the reader to recognize that Jesus alone is strong enough to bind Satan and thus set the man free. The exorcism that is about to occur is a visible enactment of the parable.
5:6 It may seem surprising that the demon-possessed man prostrated himself before Jesus. But here as in 3:11 the gesture does not reflect an attitude of worship but rather a submission compelled by Jesus’ irresistible authority. The man’s contradictory actions (running to Jesus, prostrating himself, yet assuming Jesus will destroy him) may indicate either the demon’s panic and desperation, or the interior conflict in the man whose voice and personality have been commandeered, but who longs for liberation.
5:7 Just as at the exorcism in Capernaum (1:24), the man fiercely demands, What have you to do with me? The demon is fully aware of Jesus’ divine identity, but his use of the title Son of the Most High God is not a confession of faith. Rather, it is a desperate attempt to gain control over Jesus (see the same tactic in 1:24; 3:11–12). The “Most High” is a title often used by Gentiles to denote the God of Israel (Num 24:16; Isa 14:14). In the New Testament, “Most High” is used mostly by those under demonic influence (Luke 8:28; Acts 16:17), perhaps because it is an acknowledgment of greater power by lesser spiritual powers.
Ironically this spirit opposed to God attempts to get control of the situation by adjuring Jesus—whom he has just acknowledged as God’s own Son—in the name of God, using a formula found in Jewish exorcisms. But the tactic is futile. The arrival of Jesus has precipitated a crisis in which the evil spirit senses that its reign of terror over human beings has come to an end and its torment (probably referring to eternal punishment; see Matt 8:29; 18:34) is about to begin. From the start it is evident to both parties that Jesus has the upper hand, and the demon is quickly reduced to pleading for terms (Mark 5:10). There is a double irony in that the demon begs reprieve from torment, the very thing it has been imposing on its victim.
5:8 Jesus had already begun to pronounce the words of exorcism, Unclean spirit, come out of the man! He now turns the tables on the demon by demanding to know its name. In the Bible, as in much of the ancient world, a name is far more than a label; it expresses the core of a person’s identity (see Gen 3:20; Exod 2:10; 1 Sam 1:20). To know the name of a demon was thus in a certain sense to have authority over it, to be able to make it act. Jesus’ ability to extract the demon’s name underscores his absolute authority.
5:9–10 The demon’s answer is Legion, a Latin term for a regiment of about six thousand men. This reply could represent the demon’s attempt to be evasive, or to impress Jesus with a show of power. The term would have struck a chord with the Jews of Jesus’ time, who were longing for liberation from the Roman legions. But Jesus’ concern is a much deeper liberation—from the bondage of sin and Satan. The demons’ plea not to be driven away from that territory suggests that demons are in some way territorial; though immaterial beings themselves, they maintain power by attaching themselves to certain regions, objects, or individuals (see Matt 12:43–45; Tob 8:3).
5:11–13 There is nothing unusual in a herd of swine grazing on the hillside in Gentile territory, though for Jews the sight of these unclean animals (Deut 14:8) would have been repugnant. Although the demons seem to win a concession from Jesus, it proves to be their downfall. Unable to control their new hosts, they inadvertently send them careening down the bank in a deadly stampede. Like the ancient enemy of Israel, Pharaoh and his army (Exod 14), the demons meet a watery demise. The sea is often portrayed in Scripture as the abode of evil (Dan 7:3; Rev 13:1; 21:1).
Neither Jesus nor his disciples are troubled by the loss of the swine or the economic damage it entails. Infinitely more important is the man’s restoration to human dignity. The incident is a concrete illustration of God’s preferential love and compassion for humanity, as possessing value far above any other creatures: “You are worth more than many sparrows” (Luke 12:7; see Matt 12:12).
Reflection and Application (5:1–13)
The Gerasene demoniac is a graphic example of the dehumanizing effect of evil and the tyranny it gives demons over human beings. It is evident that what is needed for this man’s salvation is not merely conversion and reform of life, but deliverance: the expulsion of evil spirits and their influence that only the Son of God can accomplish. Although this is obvious in his case, it is also true to a lesser degree in every human life. Because of original sin, Satan has acquired a certain domination over all human beings (Catechism, 407; see John 8:34; Rom 5:12–19); in all of us the image of God is defaced to some degree. Thus the Rite of Baptism is always preceded by an exorcism, banishing any evil spirits that may have insinuated themselves into a person’s life (Catechism, 1237). Jesus’ exorcism of the demoniac gives us an insight into what his work of redemption has accomplished for every one of us.
Bearing Witness to Christ (5:14–20)
14The swineherds ran away and reported the incident in the town and throughout the countryside. And people came out to see what had happened. 15As they approached Jesus, they caught sight of the man who had been possessed by Legion, sitting there clothed and in his right mind. And they were seized with fear. 16Those who witnessed the incident explained to them what had happened to the possessed man and to the swine. 17Then they began to beg him to leave their district. 18As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed pleaded to remain with him. 19But he would not permit him but told him instead, “Go home to your family and announce to them all that the Lord in his pity has done for you.” 20Then the man went off and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what Jesus had done for him; and all were amazed.
NT: // Matt 8:33–34; Luke 8:34–39
Catechism: evangelization, 905, 2044, 2472
Lectionary: 5:18–20: Mass in Thanksgiving to God
5:14–17 Not surprisingly, the event that has just transpired is a matter of sensational local news, so the swineherds immediately begin to spread the report. As the crowds begin to gather, they are met with the sight of the former demoniac now in a completely different condition, an image of tranquility. Mark emphasizes the man’s transfigured state with three Greek participles in a row: sitting, clothed, in his right mind.
“Sitting” conveys the restfulness that has come to this formerly frenzied man who is now at peace with himself and with God. Clothing is significant in Scripture as an extension of the person (Mark 1:6; 9:3) and a symbol of human dignity (Luke 15:22; Rev 19:8). Conversely, being unclothed signifies the shame caused by sin (Gen 3:10; Isa 20:4; Mark 14:52). It is God who, in his tender kindness, clothes human beings whose transgressions have stripped them of dignity (Gen 3:21; Zech 3:3–5; Luke 15:22). Thus the man’s being clothed signifies not only that he is now sane and in full possession of his faculties, but also that he is restored to a state of uprightness before God. Now he is able to see things clearly, that is, not only to identify Jesus but also to relate to him in the appropriate attitude of gratitude and devotion.
The participles “sitting” and “clothed” reappear in Mark 16:5, again in the setting of a tomb, where it describes the young man who announces Jesus’ resurrection. With these verbal parallels Mark hints that the exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac, like all Jesus’ miracles in the Gospel, is an anticipation of the power of his resurrection, already at work in the lives of human beings.
There is irony in Mark’s account of the reaction to this wondrous event. Rather than the amazement and praise that might be expected (see 1:27; 2:12), the people are seized with fear (the same verb, phobeō, was used for the apostles’ reaction to Jesus’ calming of the storm in 4:41). Now that the demon-possessed man is no longer running around naked, cutting himself, and howling in the hills, they are afraid. What explains this odd reaction? Perhaps the people recognize that in the face of this stunning manifestation of power they cannot remain neutral toward Jesus. The exorcism of the possessed man represents a challenge to their lives, a call to a decision. Rather than face the uncomfortable question of who Jesus is and what claim he might make on their lives, they beg him to leave their district. They would prefer to have life go on as it is, without any divine interruptions to rock the boat. In mentioning the swine again (v. 16), Mark suggests that financial considerations stemming from the ruin of such a large herd may also have influenced the locals.
5:18 As Jesus is concluding his brief visit to the land of the Gerasenes, turned away by the inhabitants, the exorcised man makes the opposite request: he pleads to remain with him. To remain with (literally, “to be with”) Jesus signifies becoming his disciple, the same phrase used of the Twelve in 3:14. This response shows his gratitude to Jesus, his liberator.
5:19 Jesus’ reply is not a rejection but rather a commissioning. The man is told to go and announce to others all that the Lord has done for him—that is, to become an evangelist! The phrase is literally, “Go to your house, to your own [people],” those from whom the man had been estranged and who will now be astounded at his transformation. His personal experience of God’s mercy through Jesus’ act of deliverance is the only credential he needs.
5:20 This command makes the exorcised man the first “Christian” missionary to the Gentiles, anticipating the Gentile mission that will begin in earnest after the resurrection (16:15). It is in striking contrast to the messianic secret, the injunctions to silence following Jesus’ works of healing among the Jews (1:44; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26). Indeed, it is the only occasion in Mark where Jesus tells a healed person to spread the news. The man is not asked to proclaim the identity of Jesus, but rather what Jesus did for him. Yet Jesus’ use of “the Lord” in place of his own name is a veiled reference to his divinity. The Lord (ho Kyrios) is the title used in the Greek Old Testament to substitute for the unutterable divine Name. On the surface Jesus’ command is to proclaim what God has done for him, but the man seems to grasp the connection, since he obeys by going off to proclaim what Jesus had done for him.
The Decapolis (literally, Ten Cities) was a federation of independent cities, mostly Greek in culture, comprising a large area east of the Jordan River. The seemingly inauspicious missionary, a former demoniac, faithfully carries out Jesus’ command by broadcasting throughout the entire region his story of deliverance—the kind of proclamation that is impossible to refute. Indeed, the success of his efforts appears later from the very different reception Jesus meets on his second visit to the area (7:31–8:9).
Reflection and Application (5:14–20)
At first sight, this first mission of Jesus and his disciples to the Gentiles looks like a near-total failure. Only one person has been won over, and not a very reliable one at that. The rest of the people have made clear their desire to have no further contact with Jesus. The disciples might well have concluded at that point that Jesus should simply give up on the Decapolis and keep his ministry within the bounds of Israel. Yet in the context of the Gospel, we can see the kingdom of God breaking in on this evil-infested area. This man’s demons had cast a pall over the whole region (see v. 10), and now they are banished. The tomb-covered hills have lost their power to intimidate. The next time Jesus comes, the whole region responds to him differently, and a way is opened for the healing of others.
So often Jesus chooses a person we would be least likely to choose. Surely the Lord could find a more respectable, upright man to be his witness in the Decapolis! Yet he chose this man, previously known throughout the region for his degradation, now visible to all as healed and full of joy. The message he had to offer would have been very simple: “See the scars? I was the guy who cut myself and howled at night. I don’t do it any more!” But it would be hard to imagine a more eloquent witness to Jesus’ identity and saving mission. A living witness is Jesus’ secret weapon, a powerful means to begin opening people’s hearts to his teaching and his works of mercy. Hearing the man’s testimony, people could conclude, “If Jesus can deliver this wretched man, surely he can set me free too.” The episode is an example of the demonstration of power that accompanies any effective proclamation of the good news (see 1 Cor 2:4; 2 Cor 12:12). It reminds us that the most important qualification to bring people into an encounter with the living Christ is not a theology degree but rather the ability to tell “all that the Lord has done for you.”
21When Jesus had crossed again [in the boat] to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him, and he stayed close to the sea. 22One of the synagogue officials, named Jairus, came forward. Seeing him he fell at his feet 23and pleaded earnestly with him, saying, “My daughter is at the point of death. Please, come lay your hands on her that she may get well and live.” 24He went off with him, and a large crowd followed him and pressed upon him.
NT: Mark 16:18; John 11:25–26. // Matt 9:18–19; Luke 8:40–42
5:21 Jesus’ return to the Jewish side of the Sea of Galilee is immediately followed by two more miracles: the raising of a girl from the dead and the cure of a hemorrhaging woman. In his characteristic literary technique Mark sandwiches one story in the middle of the other. There are several points of correspondence between the two. The woman has suffered bleeding for as long as the girl has lived, twelve years. The woman reaches out her hand to Jesus (v. 27), whereas Jesus takes the girl by the hand (v. 41). The healing of the woman who lived with the slow encroachment of death anticipates the healing of the girl who actually experienced death.
5:22–24 The narrative begins with Jesus once more pressed to the edge of the sea by teeming crowds (as in 2:13; 3:9; 4:1). A synagogue official named Jairus makes his way to the front and falls at Jesus’ feet with a poignant appeal: My daughter is at the point of death. A synagogue official was an eminent layman whose duties included oversight of the synagogue’s activities and finances. This man’s humble posture—a gesture of petition or homage (see Acts 10:25)—is remarkable in view of the fact that Jesus’ last visit to a synagogue ended with a plot to kill him (Mark 3:6). Jairus’s desperation has made him unconcerned for others’ negative opinions of Jesus and even his own poise in the presence of others. His only concern is that Jesus heal his daughter before it is too late. The request that Jesus lay hands on her reflects the Jewish sense of the capacity of the human body to mediate God’s grace and power. Healings in Scripture often occur not by word only but by physical contact.[2]
Jairus’s request is that his little girl may get well (literally, “be healed” or “be saved”)[3] and live—verbs often used for the fullness of salvation and eternal life that Jesus came to give (8:35; 13:13; 16:16; see John 11:25–26). The man’s desire that his daughter be restored to physical health reflects a deeper human longing for ultimate deliverance from death. Jesus cannot remain indifferent to his earnest pleading; as often in the Gospels, he is moved by the plea of parents for their children (Mark 7:25–30; 9:17–27; Luke 7:12–15).
Triumph over Disease (5:25–34)
25There was a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years. 26She had suffered greatly at the hands of many doctors and had spent all that she had. Yet she was not helped but only grew worse. 27She had heard about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak. 28She said, “If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured.” 29Immediately her flow of blood dried up. She felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. 30Jesus, aware at once that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who has touched my clothes?” 31But his disciples said to him, “You see how the crowd is pressing upon you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” 32And he looked around to see who had done it. 33The woman, realizing what had happened to her, approached in fear and trembling. She fell down before Jesus and told him the whole truth. 34He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has saved you. Go in peace and be cured of your affliction.”
OT: Lev 15:19–33
NT: Mark 6:56; Acts 19:12. // Matt 9:20–22; Luke 8:43–48
Catechism: Jesus’ response to faith, 548
5:25–26 At this point the story is interrupted by another distressing predicament, this time of a woman afflicted with hemorrhages. Since blood is the seat of life (Lev 17:11), this woman has experienced her life draining away, with the weakness and fatigue that usually accompany chronic bleeding. Worse, her discharge has left her in a perpetual state of ritual impurity, according to the law of Moses. Anything she touches or sits on becomes unclean, and others avoid contact with her since touching her would make them unclean (Lev 15:25–27). If she is married, sexual union is forbidden to her and her husband (Lev 20:18). Worst of all, she is prohibited from entering the temple to worship with God’s people (Lev 15:31–33). Mark magnifies her plight by noting that she had spent all her financial resources on doctors, whose painful treatments failed to alleviate the condition and only increased her suffering.
5:27–29 But what she has heard about Jesus has stirred her to faith, despite all her disappointments over the years. Mark makes us privy to her inner soliloquy: If I but touch his clothes, I shall be cured (literally, “be healed” or “be saved,” as in v. 23). Even garments can be vehicles of Jesus’ healing power, if touched in faith (see Mark 6:56; Acts 19:12). The moment she does so, she senses that she is healed of her affliction.
5:30 Jesus, too, senses the flowing forth of his healing power. But he does not want the recipient to slip away with only a physical healing. The fullness of healing, spiritual as well as physical, occurs only in a personal encounter with himself. So he turns to seek out the recipient of his healing power.
5:31–32 Who touched me? The disciples think Jesus’ question is absurd, given the thronging crowds. As on other occasions where he is about to display his sovereign power, they completely miss the point. They even feel obliged to help their Lord gain some common sense and realism (as in 6:35–37; see John 11:12, 39). But their perplexed reaction only reveals how much they still have to learn. What made the woman’s touch unlike that of all the others in the crowd was her faith. She had wanted to touch Jesus’ garment lightly, without attracting any attention to herself, whereas others were jostling roughly against him. Yet her touch was more efficacious than all the rest, because through faith it came into contact with the person of Jesus and his healing power. Jesus looked around, desiring that she meet his gaze and enter into a relationship with him.
5:33 As soon as the woman realizes Jesus is seeking her out, she is afraid. And no wonder, because by deliberately touching another person she has just breached the rules regarding ritual impurity. But as the leper discovered (1:41), it is impossible to make Jesus unclean; rather, his touch makes the unclean clean. The woman’s fear and trembling expresses not merely timidity but human awe at the mighty deeds of God, as at the calming of the storm (4:41; see Exod 15:16; Ps 2:11; Jer 33:9). She already knows she has been healed (Mark 5:29) but perhaps at a deeper level now, she realizes what has happened to her: she has come into contact with the Lord. She falls down before Jesus (a gesture of homage, as in v. 22), and confesses her daring act.
5:34 Far from reprimanding her for her boldness, Jesus reassures her, addressing her affectionately as daughter. Like all those who “do the will of God” (3:35), she is welcomed into his family. Jesus will later commend Bartimaeus with the same words: Your faith has saved you (10:52). The Greek verb sōzō, used here in verses 23, 28, and 34, means both “save” and “heal.” The woman’s faith has opened her to receive not only physical healing but also the ultimate salvation of body and soul that it prefigures.
Jesus dismisses the woman with a traditional parting blessing: Go in peace (Exod 4:18; Judg 18:6). The biblical understanding of peace (in Hebrew, shalom) is not merely the absence of conflict but total harmony and well-being. She is healed of her affliction and enabled once again to participate fully in the covenant life of God’s people.
Reflection and Application (5:25–34)
The afflicted woman in this episode is a model for approaching Jesus. While crowds of people were bumping into him as he walked along, she touched him. Her faith brought her into living contact with Jesus, and as a result she experienced a dramatic healing. The difference between the crowds and the woman prompts the question: How often do we merely bump up against Jesus—for instance, when we receive him in the Eucharist? Do we half-consciously jostle against him amid all the other preoccupations of the day, or do we come to him determined to touch him personally, with a lively awareness of the grace and power that can flow forth from him into our lives?
Mark notes that this woman had “heard about Jesus,” a reminder of the Christian obligation to tell others about him (see 13:10; Rom 10:17). Recently an Indian priest told me the story of another woman who had “heard about Jesus.” She was a Sikh woman from the Punjab whose legs had been paralyzed for twelve years. Hearing reports that Jesus was healing people at a Catholic retreat center in southern India, she came. There she met the priest and told him of her painful past, how she had been abused by her husband and finally in despair had jumped off a balcony, breaking her back. The priest was moved to speak to her about Jesus’ teachings on forgiveness, and invited her to forgive her husband. She immediately challenged him: “If I forgive my husband, will your Jesus heal me?” After a quick prayer, he answered, “I don’t know if it is Jesus’ will to heal you, but I do know that if you forgive, you will experience a peace and a joy that you have never known before.” The next day, a retreat speaker invited everyone to stand up and thank God for his goodness. The woman later told the priest what happened: “I thought to myself, I have so much to thank God for. I am alive, I have two sons who take care of me. I must praise God!” She stood, raised her hands to God, and was instantly and completely healed of her paralysis. The woman stayed at the retreat center for several months to go through RCIA. She and her sons were baptized, and they went home to “tell everybody about Jesus.”
35While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official’s house arrived and said, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer?” 36Disregarding the message that was reported, Jesus said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid; just have faith.” 37He did not allow anyone to accompany him inside except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. 38When they arrived at the house of the synagogue official, he caught sight of a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39So he went in and said to them, “Why this commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but asleep.” 40And they ridiculed him. Then he put them all out. He took along the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and entered the room where the child was. 41He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise!” 42The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around. [At that] they were utterly astounded. 43He gave strict orders that no one should know this and said that she should be given something to eat.
OT: 1 Kings 17:21; 2 Kings 4:34
NT: Acts 9:40. // Matt 9:23–26; Luke 8:49–56
Catechism: restoring the dead to life, 994; Jesus hears our prayer, 2616
5:35–36 At this point the narrative quickly shifts back to Jairus. The woman’s bold initiative stands in sharp contrast to the dismissive attitude of the messengers: Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher any longer? But as the Gospel has already clearly established, Jesus wants to be troubled! And those who “trouble” him are the ones who will experience his healing power. At their message Jairus’s heart must have filled with anguish at the fatal delay caused by the hemorrhaging woman. But Jesus ignores the unbelieving messengers and reassures him, Do not be afraid; just have faith (literally, “only believe”). With this word he is calling Jairus to lay hold of a deeper faith than he has had so far. The situation has worsened since he first approached Jesus. Then his daughter was merely sick, but now he is asked to believe that Jesus can conquer death itself. As Jesus indicated a moment ago (v. 34), faith is the disposition that opens the way for his mighty works to be accomplished (see 6:5–6).
5:37–38 Jesus brings with him only the inner circle of disciples, the three who will accompany him at other key events: at the Transfiguration (9:2), on the Mount of Olives (13:3), and at the agony in Gethsemane (14:33). Their presence here is a signal that what is about to happen is another key moment in Jesus’ mission, giving a glimpse of his divine identity. When they arrive at the house they meet with a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. The tumult may indicate the presence of hired mourners, a common practice among the ancients. Unlike stoic modern Westerners, the ancient Jews mourned the death of a loved one with elaborate rituals, including loud groans and wailing (Jer 9:17), dirges (Jer 9:17; Matt 11:17), flute playing (Matt 9:23), even shaving the head and stripping off clothes (Jer 16:6; Ezek 24:16–24).
5:39–40 Jesus’ response to the hubbub is enigmatic: The child is not dead but asleep. Was he denying that she had really passed away? No, sleep is his characteristic way of referring to death (John 11:11–14; see Dan 12:2), which continued into early Christian usage (1 Cor 15:51; 1 Thess 5:10). Jesus is calling his listeners to recognize that death is not the ultimate end of human life; it is only a temporary phase from which all will be awakened at the resurrection. His raising of the dead girl would be a sign that despair and terror at the finality of death are no longer an inevitable part of human life (see Heb 2:14–15). But in response to his call to faith the mourners ridiculed him, a verb that suggests scornful laughter. The child’s tragic death has no solution, in their limited view. Jesus put them all out, since unbelief creates a climate that hinders his mighty works (see Mark 6:5–6).
5:41–43 Mark records the actual words spoken by Jesus in †Aramaic, indicating the memorable impression this event made on the eyewitnesses. Taking the child by the hand, as he had done for Peter’s mother-in-law (1:31), Jesus speaks with authority: Little girl, I say to you, arise! The verb for arise, egeirō, is the same word used for Jesus’ resurrection (16:6), and often appears in his healings as a sign that they foreshadow his ultimate victory over sickness, death, and all the effects of sin. The girl arose immediately. In reaction to this breathtaking demonstration of power, the greatest miracle that Jesus has performed so far, the witnesses are utterly astounded. They recognize that the overcoming of death itself is something only God can do, a sign of the new creation promised in Scripture (Isa 25:8; Ezek 37:13).
Jesus’ command that she be given something to eat adds a note of tenderness and realism; he knows that the little girl’s body needs nourishment to recover strength. The episode concludes with strict orders that the miracle not be disclosed. Considering the mourners and the crowd that have been following Jesus, that would be a difficult command to carry out. But perhaps Jesus means that they should avoid undue publicity and celebrate their joy within the privacy of their home. A rumor that he has raised a dead child to life could lead to a superficial acclaim that would only hinder the understanding of his messiahship.
The raising of Jairus’s daughter is the climax of the series of miracles recounted in this section of Mark (Mark 4:35–5:43). Each one increasingly reveals Jesus’ power to overcome death. He has rescued his disciples from near-certain death in the storm on the lake, delivered a man whose existence was a living death among the tombs, restored to health a woman whose life was draining away, and raised a dead girl to life. In each case the way to experience Jesus’ saving power is to reject fear and yield to faith, a deeply personal faith that comes into living contact with him. Mark is preparing his readers to grasp the magnitude of Jesus’ ultimate conquest of death in his resurrection, the prelude to the resurrection of all believers to eternal life.