Tonight we will attempt to finish Mark 5 by returning to the story of the woman with the issue of blood and then moving into the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter. I don’t want to go back too far but even in finishing the passage I think it is important that we see just how amazing it has been. The end of Mark 4 told us of Jesus and the disciples boarding a boat to cross the Sea of Galilee. In the midst of the journey, as Jesus slept, a great storm came up that put the disciples in a state of fear. They did all they knew to do and then, in a panic they woke up Jesus saying “do You not care that we are perishing?” Their fear led to accusation, which is what fear and anxiety attempt to do, they come to rob faith and break trust and attempt to cause the break of relationship. Jesus, unoffended, stood and simply said “Peace, be still!” and at once the wind ceased and the sea became calm. He revealed Himself as having power over creation. The disciples were in awe, in fact Mark says they “feared exceedingly” wondering “Who can this be, that even the wind and waves obey Him!” From the calming of the storm Mark then leads us through Jesus’ miraculous encounters with three separate people. To again go back to the quote from Michael Card that we have been using, “Each individual described in Mark 5 is being held captive: one by demons, one by disease and one by death.” Jesus is revealing Himself as the Messiah to each of these people and through His work in each of these people’s lives. He showed Himself as having power over evil in the deliverance of the man possessed by a legion of demons. He showed Himself as having power over disease in the healing of the woman with the issue of blood and He shows Himself as having power over death in the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter. In each event Jesus is not merely flexing His muscles, He is revealing that He is compassionate, that He is concerned, that He is loving and that He is the source of hope even in the most hopeless of situations.