Mark 5:1-8: a reflection

1They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. 2When he had come out of the boat, immediately a man with an unclean spirit met him out of the tombs. 3He lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, 4because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Nobody had the strength to tame him. 5Always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. 6When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and bowed down to him, 7and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don’t torment me.” 8For he said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”

When Jesus comes to the country of the Gerasenes, he meets a man in the grip of an affliction that no one had been able to control; no chains could bind him, and no one had the strength to subdue him. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, the account says; the chains had been torn apart, the fetters broken; nobody had the strength to tame him. Here was a man so bound by his affliction that no human power could help him; every attempt to restrain or subdue him had failed. And yet, when he sees Jesus from afar, he runs and bows before him, and at Jesus' word the affliction that no one else could master is confronted and cast out. What no human power could subdue, Christ could. This shows Christ's power to free what no one else could master or subdue. Christ can free what no human power could subdue. What no one else could master, Christ mastered. Christ's authority reaches what is beyond all human help. No affliction is beyond Christ's power to free.

Notice the contrast between what no one could do and what Christ did. The man was in the grip of an affliction so severe that no human power could help him; he could not be bound, not even with chains, which he tore apart; no one had the strength to subdue or tame him. Every human attempt to help or control him had utterly failed; he was beyond all human help, a hopeless case. And yet, when Christ came, the affliction that had defeated every human effort was no match for him; at his word, the man was freed. This reveals the reach of Christ's authority and power. There are afflictions, bondages, and troubles in human life that are beyond all human power to remedy, that defeat every human effort, that leave us or others as hopeless cases. But what is beyond all human help is not beyond Christ. His authority reaches where ours cannot; he can free what no human power can subdue, master what has mastered us, help where all human help has failed. This is a great hope when we or others face afflictions and bondages that seem beyond all remedy. We can bring even the most hopeless case, the affliction no human power can touch, to Christ, whose power reaches beyond all human help. Christ's power reaches beyond all human help to free the most bound. What is beyond all human remedy is not beyond Christ. Bring even the hopeless case to Christ, who can free what no one else can. No bondage is beyond Christ's power to break.

That is worth resting in, for Christ can free what no human power could subdue, reaching where all human help has failed, as he confronted the affliction that no chains could bind and no one could tame. We can face afflictions and bondages, in ourselves or others, that are beyond all human power to remedy, that defeat every human effort and seem hopeless; but the man no one could subdue bowed before Christ, and at his word the affliction was cast out. What is beyond us is not beyond Christ. When you face what seems beyond all help, bring it to Christ, whose power reaches beyond all human remedy. Rest in the truth that Christ can free what no human power could subdue, reaching where all human help has failed, as when he came to the country of the Gerasenes he met a man in the grip of an affliction so severe that no one could bind him, not even with chains, which he tore apart, and no one had the strength to tame him, yet when the man saw Jesus he ran and bowed before him, and at Jesus' word the affliction that no one else could master was confronted and cast out; for the man was beyond all human help, a hopeless case whom every human attempt to restrain had failed, and yet what had defeated every human effort was no match for Christ, which reveals the reach of Christ's authority, since there are afflictions, bondages, and troubles in human life that are beyond all human power to remedy and leave us or others as hopeless cases, but what is beyond all human help is not beyond Christ, whose authority reaches where ours cannot and who can free what no human power can subdue, so that we can bring even the most hopeless case, the affliction no human power can touch, to Christ, whose power reaches beyond all human help.

Lord Jesus, when you come to the country of the Gerasenes, you meet a man in the grip of an affliction that no one had been able to control; no chains could bind him, and no one had the strength to subdue him. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains, the account says; the chains had been torn apart, the fetters broken; nobody had the strength to tame him. Here was a man so bound by his affliction that no human power could help him; every attempt to restrain or subdue him had failed. And yet, when he sees you from afar, he runs and bows before you, and at your word the affliction that no one else could master is confronted and cast out. What no human power could subdue, you could. Show me the contrast between what no one could do and what you did. The man was in the grip of an affliction so severe that no human power could help him; every human attempt to help or control him had utterly failed; he was beyond all human help, a hopeless case. And yet, when you came, the affliction that had defeated every human effort was no match for you; at your word, the man was freed. This reveals the reach of your authority. There are afflictions, bondages, and troubles in human life that are beyond all human power to remedy, that defeat every human effort. But what is beyond all human help is not beyond you. Your authority reaches where ours cannot; you can free what no human power can subdue, help where all human help has failed. This is a great hope when I or others face afflictions that seem beyond all remedy. Take that to my heart, for you can free what no human power could subdue, reaching where all human help has failed. When I face what seems beyond all help, in myself or others, help me bring it to you, Lord, whose power reaches beyond all human remedy, trusting that no bondage or affliction is beyond your power to break, as the man no one could tame was freed at your word.