Outsiders
Mark 5
The series of miracles that take place in Mark chapter 5 are some of the most well known in the Bible. The first is of a madman who can't be chained. He roams the countryside, particularly in the town graveyard, and cuts himself with sharp stones. He is obviously in misery from his condition and Jesus's arrival by boat is a chance for him to experience freedom. The madman is clearly an outsider. People in town don't associate with him, they don't help him, they don't like him. Yet Jesus takes time to talk with him and ask him his name. After casting out the demon they take time to give him decent clothing and show him mercy. That's how Jesus treats outsiders.
After Jesus and the disciples get back in the boat they are near a church and one of the big financial givers comes to Jesus. He is named Jairus and he tells Jesus that his daughter is about to die from sickness. Before Jesus and the crowd of people following along can get there, though, a woman touches the edge of Jesus' clothing. She had several doctors look at her. She had horrible bleeding that couldn't be stopped by any of the doctors, but they were all sure to take her money and leave her in worse condition than she had been in before seeing them. She is another outsider, but Jesus doesn't care about that. He says to her "you took a risk of faith and now you're healed and whole." This outsider was completely healed when she touched Jesus' clothing.
The series of miracles that take place in Mark chapter 5 are some of the most well known in the Bible. The first is of a madman who can't be chained. He roams the countryside, particularly in the town graveyard, and cuts himself with sharp stones. He is obviously in misery from his condition and Jesus's arrival by boat is a chance for him to experience freedom. The madman is clearly an outsider. People in town don't associate with him, they don't help him, they don't like him. Yet Jesus takes time to talk with him and ask him his name. After casting out the demon they take time to give him decent clothing and show him mercy. That's how Jesus treats outsiders.
Then Jesus and the crowd get to Jairus' house. Some people that were at his house witnessed his daughter's death and they said to him "Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?" But Jesus is not stopped by death. He tells Jairus not to listen, but to simply trust in him. So the parents, a few disciples and Jesus head to the girls room. This girl is an outsider too. Women were often ostracized in this patriarchal society, and children basically had no social status and no rights. This girl was just old enough to get married, but her death before marriage would have been particularly tragic to the family and the town. Jesus goes to this outsider with such tragic circumstances and says "little girl, get up." She does. The dead live and outsiders are no longer on the outside with Jesus. They find life and in its fullest form when Jesus is present.