Continuing our study from Mark 5:1-43; Matthew 8:28-34, 9:18-26; Luke 8:26-56, but adding Mark 6:1-6, for we want to carefully be on guard, knowing whatever separates us from Jesus also separates us from people, and whatever separates us from people also separates us from Jesus.
In these four stories: The demon-possessed man, the death of Jairus’ twelve-year old daughter, the woman with the twelve-year issue of blood (menstrual cycle), and those who were offended because they doubted Jesus’ knowledge, wisdom, and authority to speak spiritual truth and perform great miracles. They were offended at Jesus because they knew his family, but they refused to accept His authority and power to speak spiritual truth and perform miracles; thus, being offended at Jesus, separated them from Him, His family, and disciples. Some people so offend no one wants them around, and their (or our) love of offending people also separates them (or us) from Jesus.
The demon-possessed man had for years allowed more and more satanic spirits to control him, until thousands of satanic demons possessed or totally controlled him; thus, his acceptance of these satanic spirits separated him both from Jesus and from his family and friends, so he broke all human restraint, fled to the cemetery where he sought suicide by slicing himself with sharp stones.
Jairus’ daughter’s death separated her from Jesus, her family, friends, and the hypocritical paid mourners, because Jewish law prohibited anyone from touching a dead body, without afterwards washing and their clothes in clean water and waiting until morning to touch anything or anyone.
The woman with the continuous twelve-year menstrual flow of blood, separated her from Jesus and her family and friends, but evidently, she had been treated by Gentile doctors, to whom none helped her but all charged her until she was without money., for the Jewish law prohibited any Jew from touching her in her uncleanness, as it was with Jairus’ dead daughter.
All four of these biblical stories show it was either being offended because Jesus did not fit their assumption of who had the authority and power to speak spiritual truth and perform miracles; whose character and strength was abusively frightening to the point shackles were placed on his hands and feet and then chained together, so he could not harm people, all because he allowed satanic demons to come into him a few at a time until he was completely full of Satan’s demons.
In all of this, doctors would have prescribed pills as the solution, pastors would have suggested prayer as the solution, and self-assured authorities would have demanded, “Suck it up and move on”, but God’s obvious answer was for them to have a personal encounter with Jesus, which is always the right answer.
The verb “encounter” means “to have a life-altering meeting with”, which is what happens when we suddenly face a “life-altering problem” that causes panic, fear, and other uncontrollable emotions, but this is exactly what happens to the sinful flesh when we have a life-changing encounter with Jesus, the resurrected Christ, the precious and powerful Son of God. Life is never the same again, for we know we now belong to Jesus and talking to Jesus daily changes all things.
Jesus commands in Mark 10:13-16, never forbid children from coming to Him for the kingdom of God belongs to all who come to Jesus with the faith of a child. Jesus commands this because if He can have a personal relationship with children, then He can also have a personal relationship with the parents—a home undivided—a home where Jesus guides and leads the family.
For this reason God gave us the word-picture, in Isaiah 10:6-9, of a loving, protective, relationship of little children demonstrating by loving, caring, leadership to all God’s creation of how to live in the love of God, through Jesus, by the Holy Spirit, so pure, holy, love covers the earth, of which is true revival, or as Habakkuk 2:9-14 says is a warning to all oppressors that God will cover the earth with His knowledge and glory the same way waters cover the sea. A great children and youth-led revival is coming, so be part of it or be destroyed by it.
Jim and Tim Nabors
