Breaking Boundaries in Mark 4–5: Who Gets to Belong?
Reading through Mark 4–5, I noticed how often the stories turn toward people considered "unclean" or untouchable in their society. These chapters are filled with parables, storms, and miracles, but what stands out is how Jesus interacts with those on the margins.
A Wild Man Among the Tombs
In Mark 5:1–20, there’s the story of the man possessed by demons in the region of the Gerasenes. His situation is described in vivid detail: he lived among the tombs, bound with chains that he broke again and again, and no one could control him. From a cultural standpoint, this man is about as far removed from society as someone could be—living outside the community, feared, and associated with death and impurity. Yet this is the person Jesus goes directly to, speaking with him and restoring him to his right mind. What’s even more interesting is how the local people react. Instead of celebrating his healing, they ask Jesus to leave. Perhaps the disruption of their order, even for the better, felt threatening.
A Brave Touch in the Crowd
Later in Mark 5:25–34, another “untouchable” figure appears—a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. According to purity laws, her condition made her perpetually unclean, and anyone she touched would also be considered unclean. The text describes her suffering not just physically, but socially and economically: she had spent everything on treatments that never worked. Her quiet decision to reach out and touch Jesus’ cloak feels almost desperate, yet also incredibly brave. When she is healed, instead of rebuking her for breaking social and religious boundaries, Jesus acknowledges her action and calls her “daughter.” The contrast between her invisibility before and her recognition here is powerful.
Death Doesn’t Stop the Story
The third story in this sequence is Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:35–43). Touching a dead body was also associated with impurity, and yet Jesus takes the girl by the hand. The detail of touch seems consistent across these stories—whether with the bleeding woman who reaches out, or with Jesus himself taking hold of the girl who had died. In each case, the barrier of uncleanness is crossed, not avoided.
What I find compelling in these accounts is the repeated theme of social and ritual boundaries being overturned. The man among the tombs, the bleeding woman, and the dead child all represent states of impurity under Jewish law. Yet the narrative doesn’t dwell on uncleanness as a barrier but rather highlights restoration, recognition, and reintegration. The healed man is clothed and sent back to his community; the woman is publicly affirmed; the child is returned to her family.
Rethinking Our Own Boundaries
It raises questions about how communities define who is “in” and who is “out.” Who are the people today who live at the edges, whether because of stigma, illness, poverty, or social rules? These stories suggest that those boundaries, while deeply embedded in society, are not fixed. They can be crossed, challenged, or even dissolved when someone is willing to extend recognition and human connection.
Mark 4–5 seems less about miraculous spectacle and more about the restoration of those who had been excluded. That perspective opens the door to thinking about the many ways societies still mark people as untouchable—and what it might mean to rethink those boundaries.