Mark 5:1-20

1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.

² And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

³ who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,

⁴ because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.

⁵ And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.

⁶ When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.

⁷ And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”

⁸ For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”

⁹ Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

¹⁰ Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.

¹¹ Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.

¹² So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.”

¹³ And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.

¹⁴ So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened.

¹⁵ Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.

¹⁶ And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.

¹⁷ Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.

¹⁸ And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.

¹⁹ However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.”

²⁰ And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

Also found in Matthew 8:28-34 and Luke 8:26-39.

Gadarenes (v.1) — The word in the Greek text is Gerasenon, speaking of the people of the town Khersa or Gerasa, in the district of Gadara, which latter borders on the southeastern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Matthew refers to the Gadarines, since the village of Gerasa is obscure, and the locality, Gadara, in which it is situated, is better known. — Wuest, page 100.

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Mark mentions a man, but Matthew reports that there were two. However, Mark does not specifically limit it to one. Probably one stood out as a leader. — KJBC, page 1244.

Perhaps, only one of the men trusted Christ.

tombs (v.2) — If Jewish, the tombs may have been in natural caves or in holes excavated in the rock.

dwelling (v.3) — has an idea of permanency — continually possessing, settled down

shackles and chains (v.4) — The Greek includes the idea of a job having been done thoroughly. The man was well-restrained, by both his hands and feet, but he broke loose.

tame (v.4) = subdue

crying out (v.5) = shrieking

cutting himself (v.5) = gashing, hacking, cutting one’s whole body so that it was covered with scars.

ran and worshiped (v.6) — At first perhaps with hostile intentions. The onrush of the yelling maniac must have tried the newly recovered confidence of the Twelve. We can imagine their surprise when, approaching, he threw himself on his knees. The “and” connects the fact of the demoniac’s unusual behavior with his usual habit of attacking strangers who came near his abode. The fact that he saw Jesus at a distance would not lead him to worship Him, but to run to Him, and when he drew closer, the spiritual power and grace that always pervaded the personality of the Son of God, quieted his spirit and caused him to fall on his knees in reverence. “Worship” is proskuneo, to prostrate one’s self, to kills the hand to (towards) one in token of reverence, to fall upon the knees and touch the ground with the forehead as an expression of profound reverence, by kneeling or prostration to do homage to one or make obeisance, either in order to express respect of make supplication. … Here we have a being, incorrigible in his nature, destined to be damned for all eternity, one of the cohorts of Satan, bending the knee to the Son of god. This is that of which Paul was speaking when he referred to the universal adoration of the Lord Jesus, even by beings under the earth (Philippians 2:10). … In the last analysis, it was not the demoniac who was prostrating himself before the Lord Jesus. He was under the control of the demon, and the latter was the source of the homage paid the Son of God. — Wuest, page 102.

worshiped (v.6) — in the sense of bowing down before Jesus

What have I to do with You (v.7) — This Hebraism occurs in both Old and New Testaments. It [indicates] deep separation and distance, and denial of authority. — Williams, page 735.

Wuest translates it, “What is there in common between me and you?”

The phrase, the most High God, is the name of Jehovah among the non-Jewish races. It occurs in both Testaments in connection with Melchizedek the Canaanite. It is used throughout the Babylonian proclamations in the book of Daniel. Micah puts it into the lips of Balaam. And the damsel with a spirit of divination employed it in Philippi. Except once, in a Psalm which tells of the return of apostate Israel to the Most High God (Psalm 78:35), the epithet is used only in relation with the nations outside the covenant. Its occurrence here is probably a sign of the pagan influences by which Gadara was infected, and for which it was plagued. — Chadwick, page 144.

I implore You by God (v.7) — The demon was putting Jesus under an oath.

torment (v.7) = torture.

He said (v.8) — repeatedly. The Lord was repeatedly demanding that the demon come out of the man, which cause the demon to cry out to Him.

He asked him (v.9) — repeatedly. Apparently, the demon only responded after being asked several times.

legion (v.9) — The designation for a company of Roman soldiers numbering 6,826 men, an emblem of irresistible power and of a multitude organized into unity. A Roman legion was a common sight in these regions. … It seems that not only had one demon taken up his residence in this unfortunate man, but a legion of them had done so. — Wuest, page 103.

he begged Him earnestly (v.10) — repeatedly. He kept on pleading with Him

send (v.10) = a sharp command to be obeyed at once

Wuest believes that demons one had physical bodies, which is why they have no rest unless they are in some physical body, human or animal.

gave them permission (v.13) — Jesus did not command the demon to enter the swine, He only allowed them to go where they had asked to go.

ran violently (v.13) — When the demons entered the swine, it stirred them up and caused them to panic en masse.

Pigs were unclean, according to the Old Testament law, so the owners were either Gentiles, or Jews who were more concerned with making money than with obeying God. Some wonder why Jesus could destroy the property of others. But pigs shouldn’t have been in Israel, the man was more important than animals, and He didn’t command the demons to enter the pigs, He only allowed it.

fled (v.14) = sought safety by flight. They were terrified by what they had seen, and probably panicking about what had happened to their pigs.

they (v.14) — The swineherds who cared for the pigs, probably for the owners, of the pigs spread word through the countryside. If they were caring for the herds of others, they had to account for why 2,000 pigs were floating dead in the sea. The residents of the area came to see what had happened.

saw (v.15) = view attentively, survey, consider, find out by seeing, look at a thing with interest and attention, a critical, searching evaluation.

clothed (v.15) — He had previously been naked (Luke 8:27).

right mind (v.15) = exercising self-control, curbing one’s passions

told (v.16) = related in full, told the whole story, surely attempting to pass on the blame for what had happened.

They began to plead with Him (v.17) — They were more concerned about the loss of their hogs than they were with the healing of the possessed man. The also thought Jesus was dangerous since He had caused the destruction of their herds and obviously had great power. Jesus didn’t argue. They pleaded with Him to leave, so He got in the boat.

begged Him (v.18) — The man may have been afraid that the demons would return.

Go home to your friends (v.19) — lit. “Go into your home to your own.” His family. Jesus told him to go testify to his own flesh and blood.

done (v.19) — Greek indicates a permanent, once-for-all result.

compassion (v.19) = have sympathy with the misery of another which manifests itself in action.

proclaim (v.20) = a public proclamation. He was probably widely known in the area as the mad man who inhabited the area.

Decapolis (v,20) — ten Gentile cities southeast of the Sea of Galilee.