Salvage.
The picture I have in my head when I hear this word is some sort of National Geographic-esque underwater shot of some sunken ship. So I looked it up.
Salvage: to save something for further use, rescue something from a bad situation, save something from destruction.This is what Jesus did for people in Mark 5.
- Salvaged the man with Legion
- Salvaged the woman with bleeding
- Salvaged the girl who died
Mark 5:19 (ESV)The sunken ship can sail again. The totaled car rolls into town. What was bound for destruction at the hands of demons has been set free and restored by the hand of Jesus. That is true for all three of these people in Mark 5.
And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
Short Commentary
Salvaged the man with Legion
Here we see Jesus' confrontation with another person oppressed by foul spirits. In this case, we find out that there were 'many' spirits inflicting upon this man ('legion' referred to a Roman regiment of up to 6 thousand men, but it also seemed to be used as a euphemism for 'a lot'), maybe even thousands. At some point, Jesus saw the man and determined that he was demonized. We know this because after Mark quotes the demonized man he writes that Jesus 'was saying to him "come out..."' The man runs to the shore, falls down in front of Jesus, and professes Him to be the Son of God. But in the same breath he (or the demon through him) lashes out and says basically 'mind Your own business, and swear You won't torment me before my time!' Jesus responds with in authority by asking the demon what his name is. This is where we find out that the man is demonized by many demons called Legion. Then the demon (probably the leader) begs Jesus not to send them away.
The first thing that sticks out to me is the vast and varying range of emotions and dispositions of this demonized man. He 'ran and fell down before him' (an act of worship or submission), he tells Jesus to 'mind His own business' (a statement of defiance), he tries to adjure (dfn. to force to take an oath) Jesus to swear that He won't torment him (an act of brash irreverence) and then begs Jesus not to send them out of the country but into a herd of pigs (a final pathetic plea of desperation).
I just love how Mark writes Jesus' response; 'So He gave them permission'. He is in charge. And the demons knew it even though they still tried to weasel out of punishment.
The man was grateful, and offered to follow Jesus. But Jesus told him to go to his home and testify to the work the Lord had done in his life. And everyone marveled.
Salvaged the woman with bleeding
Mark picks up the story on the other side of the lake where another great crowd had gathered (I just did a quick search on the word 'crowd' in Mark; 35 times). A man named Jairus, who was a ruler in the synagogue, came to Jesus and worshiped at His feet. He then implores Jesus to come heal his very sick daughter. As Jesus is going with the man to his house, He stops.
We find out that a woman had somehow sneaked close enough to Jesus to touch His robe. When she does, Jesus feels power go out from Him. He then asks the disciples 'Who touched me'? They aren't sure what to say because there were so many people around; how would they know? But the woman who touched Jesus heard Him and was convicted to make herself, and her intentions, known. She tells them of her disease and that she hoped that by simply touching the garment Jesus was wearing that she would be healed. Mark says that the flow of blood (her disease) immediately dried up. And see how Jesus treats this woman; 'Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your disease'. She was no doubt very freaked that He sensed the healing, and came in 'fear and trembling'. Jesus comforts her and blesses her for her faith. It was pointed out to me that this woman would have been a social outcast in this town because of her ceremonial uncleanness. Yet Jesus calls her 'daughter'. He was on his way to heal the beloved daughter of Jairus, and on the way healed an outcast daughter and gave her back her life.
Salvaged the girl who died
As he was talking with this woman, a servant of Jairus came to tell him that his daughter was dead. They told him not to bother Jesus anymore. Let's not forget the social implications of this. Jairus was a ruler in the synagogue...which was filled with people (his friends) who hated Jesus (e.g. the Pharisees). He was taking a huge social risk by coming to Jesus in this way. Mark doesn't give us Jairus' reaction, but only tells us that Jesus overheard the conversation (how many times do we see Jesus having tremendous hearing :). And what does He say?
"Do not fear, only believe."
If Jairus had as much faith as it took to come to Jesus so far, he must have displayed a willingness to still trust Him. Jesus took His executive committee (Peter, James and John) and went to Jairus' house. Everyone there was sure that the girl had died. There were already official mourners present (as was the custom). Jesus asks them "why are you mourning, she is not dead, but sleeping". They laughed at Him, because it was so obvious that this girl was dead. Notice how quickly this group goes from sadness/mourning to laughter/scorn. Jesus walked right through it, took His execs and the parents and went in to see the girl. He took her by the hand and simply spoke to her (the power of His Word). She got up. Jesus raised her from dead. And then He further cared for her by requesting food for her.
I have heard Jesus' mission on earth referred to as a 'rescue' mission. And it was. But in Mark 5 we see that Jesus also had a 'salvage' mission; saving souls from destruction for further use.
Jesus sees beauty and value in people the world has cast off.
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