5 1-2 When they arrived at the other side of the lake, a demon-possessed man ran out from a graveyard, just as Jesus was climbing from the boat.
3-4 This man lived among the gravestones and had such strength that whenever he was put into handcuffs and shackles—as he often was—he snapped the handcuffs from his wrists and smashed the shackles and walked away. No one was strong enough to control him. 5 All day long and through the night he would wander among the tombs and in the wild hills, screaming and cutting himself with sharp pieces of stone.
6 When Jesus was still far out on the water, the man had seen him and had run to meet him, and fell down before him.
7-8 Then Jesus spoke to the demon within the man and said, “Come out, you evil spirit.”
It gave a terrible scream, shrieking, “What are you going to do to me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? For God’s sake, don’t torture me!”
9 “What is your name?” Jesus asked, and the demon replied, “Legion, for there are many of us here within this man.”
10 Then the demons begged him again and again not to send them to some distant land.
11 Now as it happened there was a huge herd of hogs rooting around on the hill above the lake. 12 “Send us into those hogs,” the demons begged.
13 And Jesus gave them permission. Then the evil spirits came out of the man and entered the hogs, and the entire herd plunged down the steep hillside into the lake and drowned.
14 The herdsmen fled to the nearby towns and countryside, spreading the news as they ran. Everyone rushed out to see for themselves. 15 And a large crowd soon gathered where Jesus was; but as they saw the man sitting there, fully clothed and perfectly sane, they were frightened. 16 Those who saw what happened were telling everyone about it, 17 and the crowd began pleading with Jesus to go away and leave them alone! 18 So he got back into the boat. The man who had been possessed by the demons begged Jesus to let him go along. 19 But Jesus said no.
“Go home to your friends,” he told him, “and tell them what wonderful things God 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 tell everyone about the great things Jesus had done for him; and they were awestruck by his story.
21 When Jesus had gone across by boat to the other side of the lake, a vast crowd gathered around him on the shore.
22 The leader of the local synagogue, whose name was Jairus, came and fell down before him, 23 pleading with him to heal his little daughter.
“She is at the point of death,” he said in desperation. “Please come and place your hands on her and make her live.”
24 Jesus went with him, and the crowd thronged behind. 25 In the crowd was a woman who had been sick for twelve years with a hemorrhage. 26 She had suffered much from many doctors through the years and had become poor from paying them, and was no better but, in fact, was worse. 27 She had heard all about the wonderful miracles Jesus did, and that is why she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his clothes.
28 For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his clothing, I will be healed.” 29 And sure enough, as soon as she had touched him, the bleeding stopped and she knew she was well!
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 clothes?”
31 His disciples said to him, “All this crowd pressing around you, and you ask who touched you?”
32 But he kept on looking around to see who it was who had done it. 33 Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him what she had done. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, healed of your disease.”
35 While he was still talking to her, messengers arrived from Jairus’s home with the news that it was too late—his daughter was dead and there was no point in Jesus’ coming now. 36 But Jesus ignored their comments and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid. Just trust me.”
37 Then Jesus halted the crowd and wouldn’t let anyone go on with him to Jairus’s home except Peter and James and John. 38 When they arrived, Jesus saw that all was in great confusion, with unrestrained weeping and wailing. 39 He went inside and spoke to the people.
“Why all this weeping and commotion?” he asked. “The child isn’t dead; she is only asleep!”
40 They laughed at him in bitter derision, but he told them all to leave, and taking the little girl’s father and mother and his three disciples, he went into the room where she was lying.
41-42 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Get up, little girl!” (She was twelve years old.) And she jumped up and walked around! Her parents just couldn’t get over it. 43 Jesus instructed them very earnestly not to tell what had happened and told them to give her something to eat.
Footnotes
- Mark 5:20
