A Pursuing Faith

Mark 5:8;17;27-29;32-34: "Jesus said to him (the demon-possessed man), "Come out of this man, you evil spirit!" . . . . Then the people began to plead with Jesus to leave their region. . . . . When Jesus had again crossed over by boat to the other side of the lake . . . A woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years . . . . When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, 'If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.' Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering . . . Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.'"

In this gospel account, Jesus was traveling through the Galilean region praying (Mark 1:35), preaching the Word of the grace of God (Mark 1:14, 2:2), and healing people of their illnesses (Mark 1:42; 2:11; 3:5). With all of the healings that were taking place, large crowds started to follow Jesus; people were coming from as far away as Judea, Idumea, and areas across the Jordan region. Despite receiving such a popular response, Jesus decided to leave the crowds behind and board a small boat with His disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee and minister to the Gerasenes on the other side. During the trek, a "furious squall came up," and the disciples feared that the boat would be sunk. They called out to Jesus who was sleeping during the episode, and after rebuking them for their lack of faith, Jesus calmed the storm. The disciples' fear of the storm was transferred to this man that they were following; in fact, the original Greek translation could be read "and they were feared with great fear (at Jesus)." They kept saying to each other in the boat, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!"



When Jesus and the disciples arrived to the other side of the large lake, He was met by a man possessed by evil spirits. This man dwelt among the tombs and hills crying aloud and cutting himself. The people of the town had tried on several occasions to subdue him with chains, but he was able to break the chains and return to his place among the tombs. As soon as the demons that indwelt the man saw Jesus coming, they forced the possessed man to run to the Messiah and beg not to be tortured. The demons knew who the Messiah was, and they respected His Divine power to subdue and punish them. Jesus knew that these demons were attempting to save themselves, as they pleaded not to be sent out of the area. Jesus then permitted them to indwell 2000 swine who were feeding on a hillside; but when they entered the animals, the pigs rushed frantically down a steep bank and were drowned in a lake.



When word of these events reached the local townspeople, they were quite alarmed. They went out to where Jesus and the man were, and they saw the once disheveled man now sitting calmly before the Savior. Instead of celebrating this victory, the people were afraid of Jesus and they asked Jesus to leave the region. Maybe they were angered because they liked the status quo and didn't like people coming into town stirring up change. Maybe they thought they at least were able to control the situation by letting the insane man roam around the graves and the hills. Now that he had been healed, they would have to deal with his re-assimilation into their community.

Jesus consented to their requests and he boarded the boat again and crossed back over the sea. He again found a large crowd awaiting His arrival, and they pressed upon Him for His healing and His teaching. At this point in the story, we find a woman in the crowd who had had a bleeding disorder for 12 years. For years, she had consulted doctors concerning her illness, but she was not able to find relief. By the time she had met Jesus, she had spent all of her money on treatments. This woman could have become an embittered person. She could have stayed at home, thinking "what's the use . . . if the doctors haven't been able to do anything for me, then certainly Jesus can't help either." In reality, this woman's faith in Jesus caused her to want to approach Christ, not avoid Him or ask Him to leave. She just wanted the chance to touch his cloak, believing that God could heal her. When the woman touched Jesus' cloak, she was healed of her sickness and responded by falling at His feet. Jesus was aware that power had gone out from him, because someone had approached Him in faith. His response was telling, "Daughter, your FAITH has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

This woman's faith resulted in her pursuit of God, not a distancing from God. And this faith brought incredible results. Whereas the people of the region of the Gerasenes wanted nothing to do with Jesus, the woman wanted nothing less than Jesus.



Jesus never returned (to my knowledge) to the Gerasenes again. They would not experience the power of God in their lives anymore. In contrast, the healed woman was transformed for life. She had experienced the power of God and would live the rest of her life proclaiming God's goodness to her. There is an incredible difference in these two accounts, namely that a faith that pursues the Lord will find His presence, His power, and His transformation.