Mark 5
5
A Man with Demons Inside Him
1Jesus and his followers went across the lake to the region of the Gerasene# From Gerasa, an area southeast of Lake Galilee. The exact location is uncertain and some Greek copies read, “Gergesene”; others read “Gadarene.” people. 2When Jesus got out of the boat, a man came to him from the caves where dead people were buried. This man, who lived in the caves, had an evil spirit living in him. 3No one could tie him up, not even with a chain. 4Many times people had used chains to tie the man’s hands and feet. But he always broke the chains off. No one was strong enough to control him. 5Day and night he would wander around the burial caves and on the hills, screaming and cutting himself with stones. 6While Jesus was still far away, the man saw him. He ran to Jesus and knelt down before him. 7-8Jesus said to the man, “You evil spirit, come out of that man.”
But the man shouted in a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, promise God that you will not punish me!”
9Then Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”
The man answered, “My name is Legion,# Means very many. A legion was about 5,000 men in the Roman army. because I have many spirits in me.” 10The man begged Jesus again and again not to send the spirits out of that area.
11A large herd of pigs was eating on a hill near there. 12The evil spirits begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs. Let us go into them.” 13So Jesus allowed them to do this. The evil spirits left the man and went into the pigs. Then the herd of pigs rushed down the hill into the lake and were drowned. There were about 2,000 pigs in that herd.
14The men who took care of the pigs ran away. They went to the town and to the countryside, telling everyone about this. So people went out to see what had happened. 15They came to Jesus and saw the man who had had the many evil spirits. The man was sitting there, clothed and in his right mind. The people were frightened. 16Some people were there who saw what Jesus had done. They told the others what had happened to the man who had the demons living in him. And they also told about the pigs. 17Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their area.
18Jesus was getting ready to leave in the boat. The man who was freed from the demons begged to go with him.
19But Jesus would not allow the man to go. Jesus said, “Go home to your family and friends. Tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you.” 20So the man left and told the people in the Ten Towns# In Greek, called “Decapolis.” It was an area east of Lake Galilee that once had ten main towns. about the great things Jesus had done for him. All the people were amazed.
Jesus Gives Life to a Dead Girl and Heals A Sick Woman
21Jesus went in the boat back to the other side of the lake. There, a large crowd gathered around him. 22A ruler from the synagogue, named Jairus, came to that place. Jairus saw Jesus and bowed before him. 23The ruler begged Jesus again and again. He said, “My little daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her. Then she will be healed and will live.” 24So Jesus went with the ruler, and many people followed Jesus. They were pushing very close around him.
25A woman was there who had been bleeding for the past 12 years. 26She had suffered very much. Many doctors had tried to help her. She had spent all the money she had, but she was not improving. She was getting worse. 27When the woman heard about Jesus, she followed him with the people and touched his coat. 28The woman thought, “If I can even touch his coat, that will be enough to heal me.” 29When she touched his coat, her bleeding stopped. She could feel in her body that she was healed.
30At once Jesus felt power go out from him. So he stopped and turned around. Then he asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31The followers said, “There are so many people pushing against you! And you ask, ‘Who touched me?’”
32But Jesus continued looking around to see who had touched him. 33The woman knew that she was healed. So she came and bowed at Jesus’ feet. Shaking with fear, she told him the whole story. 34Jesus said to the woman, “Dear woman, you are made well because you believed. Go in peace. You will have no more suffering.”
35Jesus was still speaking to her when some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. The men said, “Your daughter is dead. There is now no need to bother the teacher.”
36But Jesus paid no attention to what the men said. He said to the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid; only believe.”
37Jesus let only Peter, James, and John the brother of James go with him to Jairus’s house. 38They came to the house of the synagogue ruler, and Jesus found many people there crying loudly. There was much confusion. 39Jesus entered the house and said to the people, “Why are you crying and making so much noise? This child is not dead. She is only asleep.” 40But they only laughed at Jesus. He told all the people to leave. Then he went into the room where the child was. He took the child’s father and mother and his three followers into the room with him. 41Then he took hold of the girl’s hand and said to her, “Talitha, koum!” (This means, “Little girl, I tell you to stand up!”) 42The girl stood right up and began walking. (She was 12 years old.) The father and mother and the followers were amazed. 43Jesus gave the father and mother strict orders not to tell people about this. Then he told them to give the girl some food.
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Mark 5: ICB
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Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.