Helpfinder Sampler - Flipbook - Page 23
MAR K 5
“Who is this man?” they asked each other.
“Even the wind and waves obey him!”
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Man
So they arrived at the other side of the lake,
in the region of the Gerasenes.* 2 When
Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed
by an evil* spirit came out from the tombs to
meet him. 3 This man lived in the burial caves
and could no longer be restrained, even with
a chain. 4 Whenever he was put into chains
and shackles—as he often was—he snapped
the chains from his wrists and smashed the
shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue
him. 5 Day and night he wandered among the
burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones.
6 When Jesus was still some distance away,
the man saw him, ran to meet him, and bowed
low before him. 7 With a shriek, he screamed,
“Why are you interfering with me, Jesus, Son of
the Most High God? In the name of God, I beg
you, don’t torture me!” 8 For Jesus had already
said to the spirit, “Come out of the man, you
evil spirit.”
9 Then Jesus demanded, “What is your name?”
And he replied, “My name is Legion, because
there are many of us inside this man.” 10 Then
the evil spirits begged him again and again not
to send them to some distant place.
11 There happened to be a large herd of pigs
feeding on the hillside nearby. 12 “Send us into
those pigs,” the spirits begged. “Let us enter
them.”
13 So Jesus gave them permission. The evil
spirits came out of the man and entered the
pigs, and the entire herd of about 2,000 pigs
plunged down the steep hillside into the lake
and drowned in the water.
14 The herdsmen fled to the nearby town and
the surrounding countryside, spreading the
news as they ran. People rushed out to see what
had happened. 15 A crowd soon gathered around
Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting
there fully clothed and perfectly sane, and they
were all afraid. 16 Then those who had seen what
happened told the others about the demonpossessed man and the pigs. 17 And the crowd
began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave
them alone.
18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man
who had been demon possessed begged to go
with him. 19 But Jesus said, “No, go home to your
family, and tell them everything the Lord has
done for you and how merciful he has been.”
20 So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns*
of that region and began to proclaim the great
things Jesus had done for him; and everyone
was amazed at what he told them.
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Jesus Heals in Response to Faith
21 Jesus got into the boat again and went back to
the other side of the lake, where a large crowd
gathered around him on the shore. 22 Then a
leader of the local synagogue, whose name was
Jairus, arrived. When he saw Jesus, he fell at his
feet, 23 pleading fervently with him. “My little
daughter is dying,” he said. “Please come and
lay your hands on her; heal her so she can live.”
24 Jesus went with him, and all the people
followed, crowding around him. 25 A woman in
the crowd had suffered for twelve years with
constant bleeding. 26 She had suffered a great
deal from many doctors, and over the years she
had spent everything she had to pay them, but
she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27 She had heard about Jesus, so she
came up behind him through the crowd and
touched his robe. 28 For she thought to herself,
“If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.”
29 Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she
could feel in her body that she had been healed
of her terrible condition.
30 Jesus realized at once that healing power
had gone out from him, so he turned around in
the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?”
31 His disciples said to him, “Look at this
crowd pressing around you. How can you ask,
‘Who touched me?’”
32 But he kept on looking around to see who
had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman,
trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front
of him and told him what she had done. 34 And
he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made
you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”
35 While he was still speaking to her, messengers arrived from the home of Jairus, the
leader of the synagogue. They told him, “Your
daughter is dead. There’s no use troubling the
Teacher now.”
36 But Jesus overheard* them and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just have faith.”
37 Then Jesus stopped the crowd and wouldn’t
let anyone go with him except Peter, James, and
John (the brother of James). 38 When they came
to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw
much commotion and weeping and wailing.
39 He went inside and asked, “Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn’t dead; she’s
only asleep.”
40 The crowd laughed at him. But he made
them all leave, and he took the girl’s father and
mother and his three disciples into the room
where the girl was lying. 41 Holding her hand,
he said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means
“Little girl, get up!” 42 And the girl, who was
twelve years old, immediately stood up and
5:1 Other manuscripts read Gadarenes; still others read
Gergesenes. See Matt 8:28; Luke 8:26. 5:2 Greek unclean;
also in 5:8, 13. 5:20 Greek Decapolis. 5:36 Or ignored.
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walked around! They were overwhelmed and
totally amazed. 43 Jesus gave them strict orders
not to tell anyone what had happened, and then
he told them to give her something to eat.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his
hometown. 2 The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard
him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he
get all this wisdom and the power to perform
such miracles?” 3 Then they scoffed, “He’s just
a carpenter, the son of Mary* and the brother of
James, Joseph,* Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply
offended and refused to believe in him.
4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored
everywhere except in his own hometown and
among his relatives and his own family.” 5 And
because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any
miracles among them except to place his hands
on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he
was amazed at their unbelief.
6
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples
Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people. 7 And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out
two by two, giving them authority to cast out
evil* spirits. 8 He told them to take nothing for
their journey except a walking stick—no food,
no traveler’s bag, no money.* 9 He allowed
them to wear sandals but not to take a change
of clothes.
10 “Wherever you go,” he said, “stay in the
same house until you leave town. 11 But if any
place refuses to welcome you or listen to you,
shake its dust from your feet as you leave to
show that you have abandoned those people to
their fate.”
12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone
they met to repent of their sins and turn to God.
13 And they cast out many demons and healed
many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.
The Death of John the Baptist
14 Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about
Jesus, because everyone was talking about him.
Some were saying,* “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do
such miracles.” 15 Others said, “He’s the prophet
Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like
the other great prophets of the past.”
16 When Herod heard about Jesus, he said,
“John, the man I beheaded, has come back from
the dead.”
17 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and
6:3a Some manuscripts read He’s just the son of the carpenter
and of Mary. 6:3b Most manuscripts read Joses; see Matt
13:55. 6:7 Greek unclean. 6:8 Greek no copper coins in their
money belts. 6:14 Some manuscripts read He was saying.
6:22 Some manuscripts read the daughter of Herodias herself.
imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had
been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had
married her. 18 John had been telling Herod,
“It is against God’s law for you to marry your
brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias bore a grudge
against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, 20 for
Herod respected John; and knowing that he was
a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod
was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with
John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.
21 Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s
birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading
citizens of Galilee. 22 Then his daughter, also
named Herodias,* came in and performed
a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his
guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king
said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.” 23 He
even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask,
up to half my kingdom!”
24 She went out and asked her mother, “What
should I ask for?”
Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John
the Baptist!”
25 So the girl hurried back to the king and told
him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right
now, on a tray!”
26 Then the king deeply regretted what he
had said; but because of the vows he had made
in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her.
27 So he immediately sent an executioner to
the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to
him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison,
28 brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the
girl, who took it to her mother. 29 When John’s
disciples heard what had happened, they came
to get his body and buried it in a tomb.
• Unity &
Teamwork
M ARK 6: 7
The disciples were sent out in pairs.
Individually they could have reached
more areas of the country, but this was
not Jesus’ plan. One advantage of
going out by twos was that they could
strengthen and encourage each other,
especially when they faced rejection. Our
strength comes from God, but he meets
many of our needs through our teamwork
with others. As you serve Jesus, don’t try
to go it alone.
