We have all had something happen that we were amazed by and told other people many times what had happened in that situation. But soon, we’ve told the people around us, and maybe, if we’re forgetful, we’ve even told the story several times to the same people who have either been patient with us or have told us that they have already heard this story one or more times previously.
In Mark 5, there are three stories that are truly amazing that, if someone told us today that they saw them happen, depending on how we react, we would either not believe them, or we would want to go see for ourselves!
Jesus drives a “legion” of demons out a notoriously well-known man in the region of Gerasenes, then he heals a woman who had been constantly bleeding for twelve years, and finally, he raises a little girl, the daughter of a synagogue leader, from the dead.
So we see three different types of healing: spiritual, as he drives out evil spirits; physical, as he heals the woman; and finally death, the most final of all sicknesses, as Jesus even overcomes the physical death of this little girl.
And so it is for this reason that, in this chapter of Mark 5, we see this type of statement two times:
Immediately the girl stood up and began to walk around (she was twelve years old). At this they were completely astonished.
Mark 5:42
In truth, the miracles that Jesus is doing are amazing. No one has ever done anything like this, let alone in such rapid succession, moving from one person to the next, performing one miracle after another. And yet today, we can often say… Oh, yeah, hang on… I’ve heard that one before.
We’ve forgotten the fact that we are reading about God himself walking on the earth, offering healing from physical and spiritual ailments, but even overcoming death itself. We are so wrapped up in our own lives, in looking at all of the things that we are worried about, in our ability to get ahead, in our own issues and emotions, that we’ve forgotten that there is a God in heaven who came to earth in the form of Jesus to offer us hope. He gives us hope for healing in our physical bodies, in our emotional lives, and in our spiritual being, both now and forever. Jesus calls us into his Kingdom where we can live with him, our Creator, forever.
So let’s be amazed that these stories, while true for people more than 2000 years ago, can also be true for us today. They act as a promise for the hope and life that Jesus also offers to us – so be amazed!