The end of chapter 4 and the whole of chapter 5 of Mark form one unit of teaching, which emphasises one main thing: Jesus has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. He has been given a power, which no one has ever seen or experienced before. A unique power given to him by the source of all life – God the Father. In the events recorded in Mark 4:35 to Mark 5, we see some very different reactions to this unique authority that Jesus clearly had. Some reacted with amazement others reacted in fear. It caused some to chase Jesus away, but also it caused others to want to follow him for the rest of their lives.

In the first display of power – namely the calming of the storm in chapter 4:35-41 - we see Jesus commanding the natural elements. A great storm was raging and the disciples were scared. They go over to Jesus and they find him asleep! Now, some of these men were previously fishermen and so for them to be so scared says something about the power of this storm! I’m sure it would take a lot to scare fishermen but they were scared. So, they persuade Jesus to wake up and deal with the situation. He does, and the storm dies away immediately. The point we are interested in today is the last line said by the disciples "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" They are fearful of this great power shown by Jesus. This has never been seen before; a man commanding the waves to stand still! Some of them were fisherman and they would have been all too aware that the weather doesn’t work like this! A storm doesn’t just come and go that quickly. Jesus’ words caused the storm to stop.

In the second display of power – namely the healing of the demoniac in chapter 5:1-20 – we see Jesus commanding the supernatural elements. Thanks to Jesus, they had crossed the sea in one piece and had now reached the region of the Gerasenes. As they were getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came from the tombs to meet them. This man was possessed by demons. At this period in time, people thought that evil spirits and demons lived among the tombs and so when this man showed signs of possession they took him there and chained him up. But the problem was that he kept on escaping the chains and shackles. No one was strong enough to keep him constrained! So, the man comes running to Jesus and we might be expecting him to attack or to start ordering Jesus and his followers about. But this isn’t what happens – quite the opposite in fact.

The demonic reaches Jesus, falls on his knees and says, "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won't torture me!" The demonic doesn’t even have to ask who Jesus is! He immediately recognizes Jesus as the Son of the Most High God. He is frightened of Jesus and the power and authority that Jesus has. Jesus asks the man what his name is; he replies that his name is ‘Legion.’ Basically, this means that there were many demons in the man. Next, the demons start to beg Jesus not to send them out of the area. This is very unusual in stories of exorcisms. What normally happens is that the person doing the exorcism has to urge the demon to leave the person that is demonised. In this case it is the other way around – Jesus has such power and authority that the demon doesn’t even put up a fight! He knows that he has lost already and starts to beg for leniency from Jesus. So, Jesus allows them to flee into a herd of pigs that were nearby. The result is that the pigs run away, fall off the cliff into the lake, and drown. This is where we see the other types of reaction to Jesus power and authority. The townspeople hear about what happened and they come to speak to Jesus. They ask him to leave because they are fearful of this man’s power. Who is it that could make the demoniac be in his right mind? They had firsthand experience of this man breaking out of his chains and terrorising them. Also there is an element of annoyance in their request. They are both afraid and annoyed at Jesus power to do these things. The reaction of the demonised man is completely the opposite. He is found sitting at Jesus’ feet in his right mind in a scene of peace and serenity! Also, instead of asking Jesus to leave, he asks Jesus if he can follow him! So, we see how the power and authority of Jesus over supernatural elements causes different reactions.

The third and fourth displays take place in what theologians call a Markan sandwich. This simply means that Mark starts off one story and in the middle, before ending the story, he puts another related story to enforce the point he is trying to make. The healing of the woman and the raising of Jairus’ daughter are both types of Jesus’ power and authority over sickness and ultimately over death. As we read, the woman sought out Jesus to be healed by him. She eventually reaches him and touches his cloak. She is immediately healed of the condition that she has been suffering from for twelve years! The woman’s reaction to this is to fall down with fear and trembling. Some people assume that the woman is afraid because she shouldn’t have touched Jesus. But I don’t this is why she is afraid; I think that she realises just who this man is. She has been healed just by touching the hem of his cloak. So it is more likely a reverent fear or a state of awe at Jesus power. The second half of this story shows us the raising to life of Jairus’ daughter. Jesus finally reaches the Jairus’ house and finds a crowd of mourners; the girl has died. But Jesus doesn’t accept this and goes into the house. He takes the girl by the hand and tells her to get up. As he does this, the girl is brought back to life. The peoples’ reaction is not a surprise to us – Mark says ‘at this they were completely astonished.’ So Jesus has the power and authority over sickness and even over death.

We have seen that Mark is clearly showing us that Jesus has a unique power and authority, and that he does unique things with this power and authority. I would like to suggest to you one common element to the three events in which Jesus makes contact with people. The events in chapter five have something in common – they all involve people who would have been seen as incomplete. The demonic was an outcast, tied up in the tombs; the woman with the issue of blood was ritually unclean and so would not have been allowed in society; the girl who died is an ultimate example of incompleteness. But in all of these cases, Jesus uses his power and authority to make them complete again.

The same can apply to us. Jesus can change those things in our lives that we cannot change by ourselves. We saw that in every event the people were powerless to help themselves. The disciples couldn’t stop the storm, the demoniac couldn’t be helped, the woman had suffered for twelve years at the hands of many doctors without any progress being made, and Jairus (a Jewish leader) was desperate enough to ask Jesus for help. But Jesus came into each situation and amazed everyone by doing all the things they had thought were impossible. Jesus has the power and authority to do the same in our lives. In some way, each one of us is incomplete. We might be unwell physically, we might have relationship problems with family and friends, and so on. But if we put our faith in Jesus, like the people in the events we read about today did, then things can change.

But this does not mean that all you have to do is ask. It would be wrong to say that as soon as you ask you will be made complete. For whatever reason, God does not work this way today. The people in the story were expected to do their part. For example, the woman had to have faith in Jesus to be healed; she wasn’t healed just because she touched his cloak but, as Jesus said, her faith healed her. And in the case of Jairus’ daughter, Jairus had to have faith in Jesus even when it looked like his daughter was lost forever. So by working with Jesus and having faith in him, we can start the road to being made complete.

But what does it mean to live a complete life? In each of the events in chapter 5 the person was missing something key. I think that this is a good start to making a list of what is necessary for a fulfilled life.
Firstly, the demoniac was missing a sound and peaceful mind. In the New Testament, the way a person thinks or their state of mind is directly linked to the way that they act. In Romans 12, a well-known passage, Paul says, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Paul is saying that in order to act differently to the world, we must begin to think differently to the world. Elsewhere, in Philippians 2, Paul urges us “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” So, to be truly complete we need to change our way of thinking to match that of Jesus. We should no longer conform to what the world expects but allow our minds to be renewed. When we change our ways of thinking, our action will also change for the better.

Secondly, on the face of it, the woman with the issue of blood is about physical completeness. But I don’t think that this is the main point of this account. In Jewish law, the woman would have been seen as unclean. Because of this, she would have been an outcast of society. There is no way for the woman to be accepted in normal society. Any Jew who saw the events when she was healed would have gasped – an unclean woman gets close to other people and even touches Jesus. Traditionally, this would make Jesus unclean. But that’s not what happens. The woman is made clean because of Jesus. Of course, for the woman, her healing was a major part of being made complete. But I am of the opinion that being accepted by her own people was a much greater element in her completeness.

Thirdly, an element in two of the events is the fact that the person involved was an outcast. We spoke just now about the woman with the issue of blood. She would not have been accepted by her community. We could apply this to the demoniac also. He was chained up in the tombs, an outcast of a society that would not accept him. Both were seen as unclean and as such beyond help; there was no way to help them so they were just forgotten about. But as we heard, Jesus made them complete again, giving them the chance to be accepted back into their communities again. So, the point we can draw from this is that being in community is an important part of being complete. For us, as Christians, it means being part of a church, which accepts us for who we are. One of the great strong points about Clarence Road is the real sense of community and loving care that meets you as you walk in. When a person is accepted by others, they feel fulfilled and it gives them self-worth.

It is very easy to talk about these elements of fulfilment. We might say that if we simply ask Jesus to bring them to our lives that’s it – job done. But we all know things are never that simple – nor should they be! We are expected to play our part in the process. The woman had faith and so she was healed. Jarius’ faith didn’t give way, even when it looked like his daughter was beyond help. In the same way, we need to have faith that God is working in our lives to make us complete. But it is important to note that our faith will not be misplaced. If you put it in the right person it will not be in vain. God will work in your life and for your good. And I think that by playing a part in the process we will experience a greater relationship with God. As we persevere through illness, through family problems and so on, we grow closer to God. We come to rely on him in a deeper way than we would if everything was going fine.

I would like to sum up what I’ve said today in three key points.
Firstly, God desires that we be fulfilled in our lives. This is clear to anyone who reads the Bible, and not just the New Testament. God has always worked for the good of those who love him. He always carries out his promises. He wants us to live up to our potential in every way.

Secondly, Jesus has the power and the authority to change those things in our lives that, without him, could not be changed. Have you ever wished that you could find the strength to stop doing something that you know is wrong or harmful? As humans we often do things that are bad for us, but for some reason we find it impossible to stop. I believe that it is God who works in us to change those things we cannot change ourselves. That is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be our guide. He works in our hearts, convicting us of our guilt and changing us to be more like Jesus.

Lastly, we need to play our part in the process. This involves having faith in the only one who can truly change us. Moreover, it means having faith even when it appears everything has gone wrong and nothing can be changed.

Is all of this wishful thinking? It all sounds good but will it really make any difference to my life? I would respond to this by saying ‘ask the disciples, ask the demoniac, as the woman with the issue of blood, ask Jairus and his daughter’. If Jesus made a difference then, he will surely make a difference now! So, have faith in the fact that Jesus has the power and authority to make you complete.
 

Amen.

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