Mark 5

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Mark 5:1

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

The country of the Gerasenes. In his account of the crossing of the Sea of Galilee, Matthew said the trip ended in the region of Gadara (Matt. 8:28) while Mark and Luke said it finished in the region of Gerasa (Luke 8:26). This discrepancy is inconsequential. Gerasa and Gadara were different towns, but both were off the southeastern corner of the lake.

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Mark 5:19

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.”

Mercy is showing compassion towards those in need. See entry for Mercy.

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Mark 5:23

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.”

Get well can also be translated as made whole or healed. The original word (sozo) is usually translated as save (e.g., Matt. 1:21), but it also implies healing. When Jesus healed the sick, he sozo ed them; he healed them (Mark 5:23), delivered them (Luke 8:36) and made them whole (Matt. 9:21). See entry for Salvation.

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Mark 5:34

And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

Your faith has made you well. It is the grace of God that brings healing, but since grace only comes by faith (Eph. 2:8), Jesus said what he said.

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Mark 5:36

But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”

(a) Do not be afraid any longer. Fear and doubt are faith-killers. We feed our faith and starve our fears by reminding ourselves who God is. Jairus the synagogue official had seen Jesus heal the sick. The most recent healing had happened only moments earlier.

(b) Only believe. We can choose to fear or we can choose to believe and Jesus will always encourage us to do the latter.

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