We are in the fifth chapter of Mark this week and Jesus’s ministry is well under way. The chapter consists of three seemingly unrelated incidents: the healing of a demon possessed man, followed by a funeral where a young girl was raised from the dead, with an interruption in the middle where a woman is healed of a long-standing disease. There is, however, a common thread connecting all these events: fear. Let’s explore how this theme is developed in the chapter.
Let’s start by taking a quick trip back into the end of
chapter 4. Here Jesus crosses the sea of Galilee with a small group of boats. A
storm comes and threatens to overturn the boats, and Jesus is… sleeping. The
disciples freak out, and wake him, and with a word he calms the storm. Then he
asks them, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” Jesus here
gives us the key to defeating fear: Faith.
The thread continues in Mark 5. There are four different perspectives
of fear given here. The first is the fear of the demons.
The demons come and beg Jesus not to torture them. This is
an interesting request. It is obvious they have been torturing this man whom
they have possessed. They are afraid of Jesus because he has the power to do
whatever he wants to them. They fear their coming judgement. They knew his
power, and they trembled. They ask for mercy. And amazingly, Jesus gives it.
That astounds me. Even to demons, Jesus shows mercy. They deserved judgement,
but he defers it. If Jesus can show mercy even to demons, he will show it even
to the worst of us.
Before I started following God, I remember feeling the
weight of my sin. I knew that I deserved judgement. There was a paranoia, this constant
anxiety that I was going to get what I deserved. But Jesus offered me complete
forgiveness. There was a real weight lifted when I accepted his grace. He
offers you the same.
The demons beg to go into a herd of pigs nearby and Jesus
allows it. They immediately cause the pigs to drown themselves. The people of
the community come out to see what’s happened, and they see the demon possessed
man now in his right mind.
The people are terrified. Instead of responding with joy at
the man’s freedom, they ask Jesus to leave. They are afraid of what else Jesus
may do in their region. Sometimes, we get comfortable in our mess. We would
rather stay in our brokenness than let Jesus change our lives. We fear change.
But change is what we need. The fate of the pigs causes the people to doubt
Jesus’s character. What collateral damage will there be if he comes to our city?
What collateral damage will there be if he enters my heart?
We need to understand Jesus’s heart for us. He only wants
our good. And if there is anything that is going to be destroyed in our lives,
it needed to be done. We need to trust him to reorder our lives as he sees fit.
Jesus leaves at their request, but he leaves someone there to share the truth
about his character. The man who had been freed from demon possession. He begs
to come with Jesus, but he tells him to stay and spread the word about what God
had done for him.
The next story happens after they cross the lake. The crowds
have gathered again. A synagogue leader named Jairus comes to Jesus. His
daughter is sick and he wants Jesus to come and heal her. One can imagine this man’s
fear, his desperation, as his precious child lies on her deathbed. He is one of
the few leaders of the Jews who did not oppose Jesus. Jesus agrees to come but
is interrupted in the way.
The interruption is caused by a woman with an issue of
blood. She had been bleeding for twelve years non-stop. Besides the pain and
weakness this caused her, according to the Law, she was unclean. She was
essentially an outcast because of her condition. Not only that, she had
bankrupted herself on doctors trying to heal the disease.
What she does have is faith. She believes that if she can
just touch Jesus, she will be healed. And it happens. Jesus recognizes that
someone was healed by touching him, and he looks for her. Apparently, the woman
thought she would just get her healing and slip away. But Jesus calls her out.
And she comes, trembling with fear, and falls at his feet and tells the whole
story. She is afraid. Why? Perhaps she thinks that Jesus will condemn her.
According to the law, she was not even supposed to touch anyone. Perhaps she
thinks he will take back the healing. Jesus tells her, “Daughter, your faith
has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.” Instead of
condemning her, he commends her faith.
At this moment, bad news arrives. Jairus’s daughter is dead.
There is no need for Jesus to come any more. One can only imagine what is going
through Jairus’s mind right then. If only they had been faster. If only the
woman hadn’t stopped them. She’s gone. There is no more chance. Despair
threatening to overwhelm him. But Jesus, in that moment, gives him hope. “Don’t
be afraid, just believe.” These is great significance in these words. Over and
over in the scripture we are told not to be afraid. On what basis? Based in our
trust in God. He has a plan. He is our protector, our provider, our help. Just
believe. Believe in Jesus. Believe that he can reach into your life and
resurrect you just like he resurrected Jairus’s daughter.
These scenes over and over reveal people who are afraid.
Jesus word to us is the same as to Jairus after his daughter died: “Don’t be
afraid, just believe.” Whatever you are facing, Jesus is on control.
I’ll be honest, anxiety is something that I struggle with
regularly. I don’t think I am alone in that. I’ve found that in dealing with
fear, Philippians chapter 4 is a great help. Paul gives us three things to do
when we are faced with fear.
1.
Rejoice
First rejoice. It’s so important he says it twice. “Rejoice
in the Lord always, again I say: rejoice!” Phil. 4:4. The word rejoice in the
Greek is Xiarō. According to HELPS Word-studies it means to “delight in
God’s grace”. Remember that God’s favor rests upon you. Take a moment to set
your mind on Him. Consider what he has done for you. Delight in his grace. This
should be a regular habit for us as believers. Rejoicing refocuses us on him
instead of our problems. The very first thing we need to do when faced with
fear is rejoice.
2.
Pray
The second things he says to do is pray. “Be anxious for
nothing, but in all things, with prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make
your requests known to God” Phil. 4:6. Instead of focusing on our worry, we
need to bring our anxieties to the Lord. Let’s let our worries propel us toward
God. Prayer is our lifeline to God. He is our ever-present help in times of trouble
(Psalm 46:1).
And we are told to pray with thanksgiving. As we pray, let’s
thank God for his promises and that he is in control. Remember, he is working
it all for our good (Romans 8:28). This is a prayer of faith. It takes faith to
thank God even in the middle of the storm. Faith is the fear killer.
In verse six, we are given our part to do. We pray, we give
thanks. In verse seven, God tells us his part: “And the peace of God, which
transcends understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.” He promises us peace. And not just any peace, but a peace so great it
transcends our understanding. We be in such a predicament that we cannot
imagine how God could help us or restore our peace, but his peace is higher.
His peace is based on his complete understanding of the world. Ours is a
limited view. He knows what’s coming. Nothing has caught him unaware. He knew
your struggle was coming before you did. He has a plan. His peace guards us. It
fortifies our hearts and minds. I am so grateful for that peace that that
stands sentry over me.
3.
Focus
Finally, Paul gives us one more thing to do here, that I
believe is essential to maintaining our peace. In verse 7, he tells us,
“whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy – think about such things.” We need to change our mental habits. When
we focus on things that are not true or right or noble, we get dragged back
into anxiety. How often have you worried about the future? We are concerned
about what might happen. Something might go wrong; our plan might fail.
But it’s not true, it’s just a possibility. We lose our peace because of
something that may never even come to pass. We need to get rid of these
negative thinking patterns. Let us “be transformed by the renewing of our minds”
(Romans 12:2). We need to focus on wholesome things. We need to focus on Jesus.
If you are struggling with fear today, I pray that you will
turn to Jesus in this moment. He has everything you need. “You will keep him in
perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in You” (Isaiah
26:3).
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