Mark 5
Jesus’ compassion even extends to
the demons in the demon possessed man. He should have banished them, but Jesus
shows mercy to them. And the man, healed, becomes the symbol of the gospel
message to the people in the area. Here the demons beg Jesus to stay, and the
people beg Jesus to leave. Fear rules both the people and the demons. But in
the midst is the man, calmed, the message of health and peace that Jesus brings
everywhere.
That message is beginning to reach
into the religious structure of the day. A Synagogue ruler responds with faith
in Jesus’ ability to heal. And in the midst of Jarius’ story of faith, another
story occurs. Here a woman of faith is healed. Although it serves as a comma to
create a pause to ponder faith, really it serves as an exclamation point about
how it is faith that brings healing, not Jesus. Jesus merely blesses the event
that has already happened. But holding to faith in the midst of fear, doubt or
dismay is hard. Especially when friends or family tell you otherwise. But
healing only comes through faith. Jesus is already willing to show mercy on any
and all who come asking for it. Jesus confirms the faith that is already
present. “Don’t be afraid, just believe.”
At this point we could have a
spirited debate about faith healing, and if faith is a works, if faith starts
with the believer, if healing that does not happen is because of a lack of
faith... and the list on faith could be endless. But all that discourse,
although it might (or might not) be edifying and thought provoking, misses the
point. Jesus heals, and healing is available through faith. But Jesus is not a
faith healer. Jesus came with a message, as a pointer, towards repentance and
the Kingdom of God. Healing comes when one walks in Jesus footsteps towards the
Kingdom of God. That kind of healing only comes to those with open hearts, eyes
and ears to see and hear and respond to Jesus. In the next few chapter this
will be made clearer. Jesus is heading towards confrontation, one that will
define what it truly means to live a repentant life with eyes on the Kingdom of
God.