GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 5:5
Relieving the Pressure
In some medieval cultures, drinking beer was better for one’s health than drinking water because the water was often polluted with pathogens that could lead to sickness or death. The process of brewing beer destroyed the pathogens, making beer a better alternative to water. Currently, in the United States, that tradition has reversed. Municipal water supplies are continuously monitored for any unhealthy pathogens. Even people with wells can have their water tested for safety. On the other hand, last year, over 178,000 people died in the United States from alcohol consumption. There was an attempt to eliminate alcohol consumption in the United States throughout the 1920s by legislation—the 18th Amendment, the National Prohibition Act, or the Volstead Act, passed in 1919. It was such a complete failure that the law was repealed by the 21st Amendment in 1933. So, since 1933, the consumption of alcohol has been a legal personal choice. The self-inflicted consumption of alcohol can lead to cancer, cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure, weakening of the immune system, digestive problems, heart disease, memory problems, learning problems, physical injuries, violence, and a long list of other consequences.
St. Mark described a man who also inflicted damage upon himself. “And through every night and day, in the tombs and in the hills, he cried out and cut himself with stones.” (5:5) Trying to diagnose this man’s condition is futile. Mark simply said he had an unclean spirit. (5:2) He tried to find some relief by screaming—a sort of emotional-pressure-release valve. When that didn’t provide enough relief, he used rocks to inflict physical damage upon himself. The word Mark used here (κατακόπτων, katakopton) can mean cut or gnash, but it can also mean to scrape or strike. In this man’s condition, intense self-inflicted physical pain would be so great as to override the internal pain, apparently bringing moments of relief. Intense emotional or spiritual pain sometimes leads people to pound their chest, strike their fist against a wall, pull their hair, or perform some similar act of self-inflicted physical pain in order to overcome the emotional or spiritual pain. Some turn to the anesthetizing effect of alcohol to relieve spiritual or emotional pain.
Earlier in Mark’s story, this poor man sought help in still another way—he met Jesus. (5:2)
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