Mark Chapter 5
Showing all 43 verses for Mark Chapter 5.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. "
"Jesus and his disciples crossed the Sea of Galilee and arrived in the country of the Gadarenes, on the far, non-Jewish shore."
I cross into places that make others uncomfortable, because no person or place is beyond my reach - I go wherever someone needs help, whoever they are.
"And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, "
"As soon as he stepped off the boat, a man controlled by an evil spirit came out from among the tombs to meet him."
I go straight to the person everyone else avoids - the one living on the margins, written off as too far gone - because that's exactly where I'm needed most.
"Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: "
"He lived among the graves, and nobody could restrain him - not even with chains."
I'm not intimidated by problems that have defeated every other attempt to fix them - human effort has limits, but I don't.
"Because that he had been often bound with festers and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the festers broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. "
"People had repeatedly tried to shackle him with fetters and chains, but he tore them apart every time - nobody could tame him."
Whatever has broken every chain people have tried to hold you with - addiction, rage, despair - I'm not limited by what has already failed to help you.
"And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. "
"Day and night, without rest, he wandered the hills and tombs, screaming and cutting himself with stones."
I don't flinch from the ugliest parts of a person's pain - I see all of it, and I'm not repelled by what frightens everyone else away.
"But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, "
"But when he spotted Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell down before him."
However broken you feel, something in you can still recognise real help when it arrives - trust that instinct and run towards it.
"And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. "
"He shouted, 'What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you in God's name, don't torture me!'"
I know who I am and what I've come to do, even when the loudest voice in the room tries to twist that truth into something to fear.
"For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. "
"(Jesus had already told it, 'Come out of this man, you evil spirit.')"
I deal with what's destroying you directly and without hesitation - I don't need elaborate methods, just a clear word spoken with real authority.
"And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. "
"Jesus asked, 'What's your name?' And it answered, 'My name is Legion, because there are many of us.'"
I'm not overwhelmed by how many things are wrong at once - even when your struggles feel like an army, I can face all of them together.
"And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. "
"The spirits begged Jesus repeatedly not to send them out of that region."
Nothing gets to dictate terms to me - even what resists me most still has to reckon with my authority over it.
"Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. "
"Nearby, on the hillside, a large herd of pigs was grazing."
I work in the middle of what looks unclean or off-limits by religious convention - no setting is too impure for me to bring healing into.
"And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. "
"All the demons begged him, 'Send us into the pigs - let us go into them.'"
Nothing that troubles you moves without my say-so - real control, even over what feels chaotic and uncontrollable, rests with me, not with what frightens you.
"And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. "
"Jesus allowed it. The evil spirits left the man and entered the pigs, and the whole herd - about two thousand of them - rushed down the cliff into the sea and drowned."
When I free you from what's been destroying you, it's real and visible, not something you have to take purely on trust - the change shows.
"And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. "
"The men looking after the pigs ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and people came out to see what had happened."
What I do in one person's life ripples outward - real transformation gets noticed, whether people are ready for it or not.
"And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, siting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. "
"They came to Jesus and saw the man who'd had the legion of demons sitting there, dressed, and thinking clearly - and it frightened them."
Real change can unsettle people who witness it, even when it's entirely good - don't let other people's fear of my power stop you receiving it.
"And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. "
"The eyewitnesses explained to the others exactly what had happened to the demon-possessed man, and about the pigs."
I don't hide what I do - the truth of what happens gets told plainly, even the parts that cost people something.
"And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts. "
"So they begged Jesus to leave their region."
I won't force myself on anyone - if people prefer their old comforts and possessions to what I offer, I respect that choice and move on, even though it costs me too.
"And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. "
"As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who'd been freed begged to go with him."
I understand wanting to cling to me once you've experienced what I can do - but sometimes I ask you to go and live that change out where you already are.
"Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. "
"But Jesus wouldn't let him come. Instead he said, 'Go home to your family and friends, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how he had mercy on you.'"
I don't need you at my side to matter to me - I send you back into your own life, among the people who know you, because your changed story speaks louder there than anywhere else.
"And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel. "
"So the man went off and began telling everyone in the Decapolis region what Jesus had done for him, and everyone was amazed."
Your own story of change, told honestly, can reach people I might never meet any other way - you don't need special training, just your own truthful experience.
"And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea. "
"When Jesus sailed back across to the other side, a large crowd gathered around him again by the shore."
I stay available and present, even when the crowds never let up - I don't retreat from need just because I've already given so much.
"And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet, "
"Then a synagogue official named Jairus came up, and when he saw Jesus, he fell down at his feet."
I don't care about your rank or reputation - when you come to me in genuine need and humility, I meet you exactly there.
"And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live. "
"He pleaded desperately with Jesus, 'My little daughter is dying. Please come and place your hands on her so she'll be healed and live.'"
I respond to desperate, honest need - you don't have to phrase your request perfectly or hide your fear when you come to me.
"And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him. "
"So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd followed, pressing in close all around."
I go towards urgent need without delay - and I'm not too important or too busy to let the crowd and its distractions interrupt me along the way.
"And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, "
"In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding continuously for twelve years."
I notice the person whose suffering has gone on so long that everyone else has stopped noticing it.
"And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, "
"She had endured a great deal at the hands of many doctors, spent everything she had, and instead of improving she'd only got worse."
I don't require you to have money, connections, or a good track record with everyone who's tried to help before - I meet you after everything else has failed, not only before it.
"When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. "
"Having heard about Jesus, she pushed through the crowd behind him and touched his cloak."
I don't need grand gestures or perfect approaches from you - even a quiet, desperate reach towards me, made in secret and fear, is enough to draw my attention.
"For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. "
"She had told herself, 'If I can just touch his clothes, I'll be healed.'"
Your faith doesn't need to be sophisticated or theologically precise - a simple, honest belief that reaching for me is enough, really is enough.
"And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague. "
"Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she felt in her own body that she was healed of her suffering."
When I act, the change is real and felt, not just hoped for - you'll know it in yourself, not only be told about it afterwards.
"And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? "
"At once Jesus, sensing that power had gone out from him, turned round in the crowd and asked, 'Who touched my clothes?'"
What I give to you costs me something real - I feel it happen, and I still choose to give it, because you matter enough to me.
"And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me? "
"His disciples said to him, 'You can see the crowd crushing in on you, and you're asking who touched you?'"
I can tell the difference between people who merely brush past me and someone who reaches out to me in genuine need - I notice you specifically, even in a crowd.
"And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing. "
"But Jesus kept looking around to find the woman who had done it."
I don't let you disappear back into the crowd once I've helped you - I want to know you, not just to have fixed a problem for you.
"But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth. "
"The woman, frightened and shaking because she knew what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and told him the whole truth."
I'm not going to shame you for the truth once you bring it into the open - come forward honestly, even trembling, and you'll find safety, not condemnation.
"And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. "
"Jesus said to her, 'Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace, and be free from your suffering.'"
I don't just heal your body - I restore your place among people, and I want you to walk away in peace, not just relief.
"While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? "
"While Jesus was still speaking, messengers arrived from Jairus's house saying, 'Your daughter has died. Why bother the Teacher any more?'"
I know the wait can feel unbearable, even fatal, when you're desperate - but a delay from me is never the end of the story.
"As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. "
"But as soon as Jesus heard what was said, he told the synagogue leader, 'Don't be afraid - just believe.'"
When your worst fear seems to have come true, I ask you to keep trusting me rather than giving up - hope doesn't have an expiry date with me.
"And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. "
"He didn't let anyone else come with him except Peter, James, and John."
I don't do everything in public - some of the most tender moments I share only with a few trusted people, protecting your dignity in your grief.
"And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. "
"They arrived at the synagogue leader's house, and Jesus saw the commotion - people weeping and wailing loudly."
I walk straight into the middle of loud, messy grief rather than waiting for things to calm down - your pain doesn't need to be tidy for me to enter it.
"And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. "
"When he went in, he said to them, 'Why all this commotion and crying? The girl isn't dead, she's asleep.'"
I see beyond what looks final to you - what feels like the absolute end is not beyond my reach to undo.
"And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. "
"They laughed at him mockingly. But he sent them all outside, took the girl's father and mother and his three disciples, and went in to where she was lying."
I'm not put off by people who mock what they don't understand - I clear away the doubt and noise around you and get on with what matters.
"And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. "
"He took the girl's hand and said to her, 'Talitha, cumi' - which means, 'Little girl, I say to you, get up.'"
I speak to you personally and tenderly, even in your most desperate state - real power and real gentleness aren't opposites for me.
"And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. "
"The girl got up at once and started walking around - she was twelve years old - and everyone was completely astonished."
I restore what looks permanently lost, fully and immediately - not partially, not eventually, but completely.
"And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. "
"He gave them strict orders not to tell anyone what had happened, and told them to give the girl something to eat."
I care about the small, practical details of your life, not just the dramatic rescue - after the miracle, I still think about whether you've eaten.