Mark 5–6

Jesus Heals a Man Controlled by Demons

5They went across the Sea of Galilee to the area of the Gerasenes. ²Jesus got out of the boat. A man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. ³The man lived in the tombs. No one could keep him tied up anymore. Not even a chain could hold him. ⁴His hands and feet had often been chained. But he tore the chains apart. And he broke the iron cuffs on his ankles. No one was strong enough to control him. ⁵Night and day he screamed among the tombs and in the hills. He cut himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus a long way off, he ran to him. He fell on his knees in front of him. ⁷He shouted at the top of his voice, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God, what do you want with me? Promise before God that you won’t hurt me!” ⁸This was because Jesus had said to him, “Come out of this man, you evil spirit!”

⁹Then Jesus asked the demon, “What is your name?”

“My name is Legion,” he replied. “There are many of us.” ¹⁰And he begged Jesus again and again not to send them out of the area.

¹¹A large herd of pigs was feeding on the nearby hillside. ¹²The demons begged Jesus, “Send us among the pigs. Let us go into them.” ¹³Jesus allowed it. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. There were about 2,000 pigs in the herd. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank. They ran into the lake and drowned.

¹⁴Those who were tending the pigs ran off. They told the people in the town and countryside what had happened. The people went out to see for themselves.

¹⁵Then they came to Jesus. They saw the man who had been controlled by many demons. He was sitting there. He was now dressed and thinking clearly. All this made the people afraid. ¹⁶Those who had seen it told them what had happened to the man. They told about the pigs as well. ¹⁷Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their area.

¹⁸Jesus was getting into the boat. The man who had been controlled by demons begged to go with him. ¹⁹Jesus did not let him. He said, “Go home to your family. Tell them how much the Lord has done for you. Tell them how kind he has been to you.”

²⁰So the man went away. In the area known as the Ten Cities, he began to tell how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

A Dying Girl and a Suffering Woman

²¹Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee in a boat. It landed at the other side. There a large crowd gathered around him. ²²Then a man named Jairus came. He was a synagogue ruler. Seeing Jesus, he fell at his feet. ²³He begged Jesus, “Please come. My little daughter is dying. Place your hands on her to heal her. Then she will live.” ²⁴So Jesus went with him.

A large group of people followed. They crowded around him. ²⁵A woman was there who had a sickness that made her bleed. It had lasted for 12 years. ²⁶She had suffered a great deal, even though she had gone to many doctors. She had spent all the money she had. But she was getting worse, not better. ²⁷Then she heard about Jesus. She came up behind him in the crowd and touched his clothes. ²⁸She thought, “I just need to touch his clothes. Then I will be healed.” ²⁹Right away her bleeding stopped. She felt in her body that her suffering was over.

³⁰At once Jesus knew that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd. He asked, “Who touched my clothes?”

³¹“You see the people,” his disciples answered. “They are crowding against you. And you still ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ”

³²But Jesus kept looking around. He wanted to see who had touched him.

³³Then the woman came and fell at his feet. She knew what had happened to her. She was shaking with fear. But she told him the whole truth.

³⁴He said to her, “Dear woman, your faith has healed you. Go in peace. You are free from your suffering.”

³⁵While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from the house of Jairus. He was the synagogue ruler. “Your daughter is dead,” they said. “Why bother the teacher anymore?”

³⁶But Jesus didn’t listen to them. He told the synagogue ruler, “Don’t be afraid. Just believe.”

³⁷He let only Peter, James, and John, the brother of James, follow him. ³⁸They came to the home of the synagogue ruler. There Jesus saw a lot of confusion. People were crying and sobbing loudly. ³⁹He went inside. Then he said to them, “Why all this confusion and sobbing? The child is not dead. She is only sleeping.” ⁴⁰But they laughed at him.

He made them all go outside. He took only the child’s father and mother and the disciples who were with him. And he went in where the child was. ⁴¹He took her by the hand. Then he said to her, “Talitha koum!” This means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” ⁴²The girl was 12 years old. Right away she stood up and walked around. They were totally amazed at this. ⁴³Jesus gave strict orders not to let anyone know what had happened. And he told them to give her something to eat.

A Prophet Without Honor

6Jesus left there and went to his hometown of Nazareth. His disciples went with him. ²When the Sabbath day came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given to him? He even does miracles! ³Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son? Isn’t this the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” They were not pleased with him at all.

⁴Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not honored in his hometown. He doesn’t receive any honor among his relatives. And he doesn’t receive any in his own home.”

⁵Jesus laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. But he could not do any other miracles there. ⁶He was amazed because they had no faith.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples

Jesus went around teaching from village to village. ⁷He called the Twelve to him. Then he sent them out two by two. He gave them authority to drive out evil spirits.

⁸Here were his orders. “Take only a walking stick for your trip. Do not take bread or a bag. Take no money in your belts. ⁹Wear sandals. But do not take extra clothes. ¹⁰When you are invited into a house, stay there until you leave town. ¹¹Some places may not welcome you or listen to you. If they don’t, shake the dust off your feet when you leave. That will be a witness against the people living there.”

¹²They went out. And they preached that people should turn away from their sins. ¹³They drove out many demons. They poured olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

John the Baptist’s Head Is Cut Off

¹⁴King Herod heard about this. Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That is why he has the power to do miracles.”

¹⁵Others said, “He is Elijah.”

Still others claimed, “He is a prophet. He is like one of the prophets of long ago.”

¹⁶But when Herod heard this, he said, “I had John’s head cut off. And now he has been raised from the dead!”

¹⁷In fact, it was Herod himself who had given orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. But now Herod was married to her. ¹⁸John had been saying to Herod, “It is against the Law for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹Herodias held that against John. She wanted to kill him. But she could not, ²⁰because Herod was afraid of John. So he kept John safe. Herod knew John was a holy man who did what was right. When Herod heard him, he was very puzzled. But he liked to listen to him.

²¹Finally the right time came. Herod gave a big dinner on his birthday. He invited his high officials and military leaders. He also invited the most important men in Galilee. ²²Then the daughter of Herodias came in and danced. She pleased Herod and his dinner guests.

The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want. I’ll give it to you.” ²³And he promised her with an oath, “Anything you ask for I will give you. I’ll give you up to half of my kingdom.”

²⁴She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”

“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

²⁵At once the girl hurried to ask the king. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a big plate right now.”

²⁶The king was very upset. But he thought of his promise and his dinner guests. So he did not want to say no to the girl. ²⁷He sent a man right away to bring John’s head. The man went to the prison and cut off John’s head. ²⁸He brought it back on a big plate. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

²⁹John’s disciples heard about this. So they came and took his body. Then they placed it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

³⁰The apostles gathered around Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. ³¹But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat.

Then Jesus said to his apostles, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.” ³²So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place.

³³But many people who saw them leaving recognized them. They ran from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵By that time it was late in the day. His disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already very late. ³⁶Send the people away. They can go and buy something to eat in the nearby countryside and villages.”

³⁷But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”

They said to him, “That would take eight months of a person’s pay! Should we go and spend that much on bread? Are we supposed to feed them?”

³⁸“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Go and see.”

When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”

³⁹Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of 100s and 50s.

⁴¹Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into…