Schizophrenic or Following a Plan?

In Mark 5 we find three miracles. The first was when Jesus delivered the demon possessed man in the area of the Gerasenes. The second occurred when a woman reaches out to touch the hem of Jesus garment believing that she would be healed and she was. The third miracle began as a request to heal a man’s daughter, but when the report came that the little girl had died, Jesus told the man to not lose faith. Jesus went with the man to his house and raised his daughter back to life. Notice how each of these miracles ends:

• Jesus did not let him, but said, "Go home to your family and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you."
• He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
• He gave strict orders not to let anyone know about this, and told them to give her something to eat.
  Mark 5: 19, 34, 43 (NIV)

Now I can’t help but wonder why Jesus responded so differently in each of these miracles. The first and third are exact opposites; the man freed from demons is told to go home and tell everyone what Jesus did for him, but the parents whose daughter was raised from the dead are instructed to keep quite about the miracle. No one would have known about the second miracle except Jesus and the woman, but Jesus who draws attention to what had happened seeking out the woman to find out why she had touched Him and then sent her away in peace.

On the surface it might seem like Jesus is acting a little schizophrenic, but I think I see a common thread in how Jesus concludes each of these miracles. In each case Jesus wanted the miracle made known as an announcement that the Kingdom of God had indeed come.

For the demoniac the real proof of the miracle was for this man who had been “out of his mind” to go home and live his life in front of family and friends so they could all know that Jesus truly had delivered him (this too announced the coming of God’s kingdom among the Gentiles and that’s a whole other topic). In the second it was because the miracle happened unexpectedly and without anyone else’s knowledge that Jesus made it known. In the final miracle, the little girl’s life would speak for itself. People had already gathered to mourn her death so everyone would know that it was Jesus who brought her back to life; the parents didn’t need to say anything.

Jesus brought God’s Kingdom into being and it is among us today. Sometimes we proclaim the good things God has done for us. At other times we need to point out what God has done for others. And then there are the times that all we need to do is live our life for everyone to see that it is Jesus who has made us alive in Him. In each of these ways we verify the reality of God’s Kingdom in the here and now interacting in our lives and the lives of others. What do you think?