Bible ReadingMark 5:1-43 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea. The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler, “Do not fear, only believe.” And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
[08:30] [08:53] [09:49] [11:05] [11:45]Mark 4:35-41 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
[08:53] [33:00] [33:17]Mark 7:31-37 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
[28:44] [28:49] [30:02] [30:51]Observation questions- In Mark 5, what details make the Gerasene setting feel deeply unclean and uncomfortable for a Jewish audience: the tombs, the pigs, the blood, the chains, the spirits? [15:46]
- What different responses do people have to Jesus in this chapter: the demonized man, the villagers, Jairus, the bleeding woman, and the mourners at Jairus’ house?
- What happens when Jesus stops for the bleeding woman, and what is Jairus forced to do while she tells her whole truth? [21:28]
- When Jesus returns later to the Decapolis in Mark 7, what has changed in that region, and what are people now asking Jesus to do? [30:02]
Interpretation questions- Jesus leads the disciples through a storm into Gentile territory before any visible fruit appears. What might that suggest about how obedience works when following him feels disorienting, risky, or costly? [14:10]
- The villagers see a man restored and pigs destroyed, and they ask Jesus to leave. What does that reveal about how people can prefer security and the status quo over someone else’s freedom? [26:19]
- Jesus allows Jairus’ urgent request to be interrupted so the bleeding woman can be seen and heard in public. Why might her healing not have been enough on its own? What further restoration is Jesus giving her? [22:48]
- The first person sent out in this region is the formerly demonized man, with no training and no polished résumé, only mercy received. What does that suggest about what qualifies a person to bear witness to Jesus? [28:44]
Application questions- Following Jesus often means going to “the other side” of comfort and familiarity. What is one place, one relationship, or one situation right now that feels unfamiliar or uncomfortable, but may be where obedience is leading? [16:29]
- Jesus moves toward people many others avoid. Who is easy to overlook, avoid, dismiss, or keep at a safe distance in everyday life? What might it look like to move one step toward that person instead of away? [18:13]
- The bleeding woman comes with need and only a small reach of faith. Where in life is there need right now, and perhaps only a tiny bit of faith to bring with it? What would it look like to bring that honestly to Jesus? [35:45]
- Jesus sometimes makes people wait, not out of neglect, but because he is making more things right than they can yet see. Where has waiting become frustrating or confusing? Is there any way that delay might be exposing something, healing something, or teaching something deeper? [21:28]
- The pigs expose real allegiance. What are the “pigs” that feel hardest to surrender: comfort, image, financial security, control, predictability, reputation, lifestyle? Which one would be most painful to lose if someone else’s healing or freedom cost that much? [27:37]
- The restored man is sent to tell his own people how much mercy he has received. What part of that story could be told more plainly to someone this week: not a polished testimony, just one honest way Jesus has met, carried, corrected, or changed a life? [29:29]
- A storm endured with Jesus can spill peace into other boats too. Who else might be helped if Jesus brings peace, endurance, or faithfulness in the middle of the present struggle? [34:58]
