(lent) 5

#5


second rule. the amount of time food that is dropped on the floor is allowed to be consumed without facing public ridicule.

Bands with "five" in their name include The Jackson 5, Maroon 5, Jump5, Jurassic 5, We Five, Five for Fighting, Zanussi 5, The Click Five, MC5 (short for "Motor City Five"), Ben Folds Five, Five Man Electrical Band, The Five Keys, The Jive Five, The Count Five, The Five Satins, Five Iron Frenzy, Five Finger Death Punch, and The Dave Clark Five.

Johnny 5 - the lead character in the 80's movie Short Circuit, who easily would have won the Oscar for Best Robotic Actor in a leading role, if such a category existed. "Johnny 5 alive!"

number of interlocking rings that make up the Olympic logo, representing the 5 inhabited continents represented in Olympic play.

in baseball, many Hall of Famers and greats have worn the jersey number 5: New York Yankees Joe DiMaggio, Cincinnati Reds Johnny Bench, Kansas City Royals George Brett, Detroit Tigers Hank Greenberg, Cleveland Indians Lou Boudreau and Baltimore Orioles Brooks Robinson.

common number of gears on a standard shift automobile.


The Torah contains five books—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy—which are collectively called the Five Books of Moses, the Pentateuch (Greek for "five containers," referring to the scroll cases in which the books were kept).

The book of Psalms is arranged into five books, paralleling the Five Books of Moses.

the 5th Amendment permits a defendant from having to give 'self-incriminating' information, also known as 'pleading the 5th'.



chapter in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus makes a special trip to the region of the Gerasenes. upon arrival he and the disciples encounter a demon possessed man living among the dead - in the tombs. the man fell to his knees at the foot of Christ and acknowledged His power.

"What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?"

Jesus took time to speak with the man - eventually casting the demons within him into a herd of pigs nearby. the two thousand pigs then ran wildly over a cliff, into the sea and drowned.

the towns-people were not happy to see what had happened to the pigs and they were surprised to see the man, now dressed and in his right mind. and they were terrified. the people were not happy with what Jesus has done and so Jesus and his crew got back in their boats and left.

The once-demon-possessed man, now freed from that bondage, begged to go with Jesus - but Jesus gave him other instructions:

“Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed. (vs. 19-20)


such a compelling story at so many levels. in some senses it reminds me of the Good Shepherd leaving the 99 sheep to go after that lost one. Here, Jesus goes after the one... the lost one... the abandoned one... the hopeless one. overcome by evil, the man can not save himself, yet the second Jesus appears on the scene, he runs to him and cries out.

at no other time in scripture do we read about Jesus going to this region and based on the towns-people's response, i doubt he would have been welcomed back. so in essence, Jesus went to the region of the Garasenes for one man... to save one man. to heal one man.

how inspiring is that? Leaving the 99 to rescue the lost one. that's the Jesus i cling to. can you fully grab ahold of that? what love the Savior has for us - no matter how far we wander - he pursues us, wanting to rescue us. do we run from him or do we hear His voice - the good Shepherd - and do we run towards Him?

lastly, i find it interesting that Jesus doesn't let the man come with him and the disciples... instead - he empowers him to go and be a disciple... or an evangelist, perhaps. a missionary in his home region... to go and tell the people of his new freedom. to tell his people of the mercy and grace of God, found in Christ Jesus, the Savior of the world.

and how did the people respond?

and all the people were amazed.

had the man gone with Jesus, who would have preached to the Garasene people? to go with Jesus would have been the safe bet - but Jesus compels the man to do greater things... to risk it all and to share the love of God with others.

and the man obeyed.

see what can happen when we embrace God's grace and mercy? see what can happen when we obey?

what a compelling story. one of my favorites...