The Gospel According to Saint Mark
Mark 5
Chapter V · Vol. IV, pp. 117–120
1 Christ delivering the possessed of the legion of devils, 13 they enter into the swine. 25 He healeth the woman of the bloody issue, 35 and raiseth Jairus' daughter to life.
1 And theya came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the 1Gadarenes.
1 These people were so called from Gadara, a city in the half-tribe of Manasseh, about six miles south-east of the Sea of Galilee. It was one of the cities called Decapolis, and much celebrated for its hot baths. It was taken by Vespasian, and, after sustaining all the horrors of a siege, was laid in ashes—an awful retribution for the rejection of the Saviour, ver. 17. It was situated near to the city of Gerasa—whence the same country is also called the land of the Gergesenes.—C.
2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there bmet him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3 Who had his cdwelling among the 2tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
c Is.65.4.
2 It is worthy of note that the cliffs and rocks round Gadara are filled with ancient tombs. They are excavated in the limestone rock, and consist of chambers of various dimensions, some more than 20 ft. square, with loculi for bodies. The doors are slabs of stone, hung upon pivots, and many of them are still in their places. Most of the present inhabitants of Gadara live in these tombs.—P.
4 Becaused that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
d Lu.8.29. ch.9.18,20,22.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and ecutting himself with stones.
e 1 Ki.18.28. 1 Pe.5.8. Jn.8.44.
6 But when he saw Jesus afar off, ghe ran and worshipped him,
g Phi.2.10,11. Ps.72.9. Ac.16.17.
7 And cried with a loud voice, and said, hWhat have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? iI adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.
9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion;3 for we are many.4
3 About 6000 or 7000, Mat.12.45.
4 My name—for we are many. By these two phrases it appears that there was one chief, with numerous attendants, as wicked, but less powerful, than himself.—C.
10 And he5 besought him much, that he would not send them away out of the country.6
5 The chief devil.
6 Out of the country. What preference the demons might have for one locality above another, we cannot tell; but certainly as wicked men (embodied spirits) have such preferences for gratification of their appetites, there can be no reason assigned why disembodied spirits should not have a similar preference for indulgence of their wicked propensities.
13 And forthwith Jesus ngave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd oran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.7
n Mat.8.32. Lu.8.32,33. 1 Ki.22.22. Job 1.12;2.6. Re.13.7;20.7. 1 Pe.3.22.
7 'The owners of the swine were probably Jews, for our Lord as yet confined his ministry to that people; and the loss may therefore have been inflicted on them as a punishment for trading in swine's flesh, which they were strictly forbidden to eat themselves, and, by implication, to provide for their Gentile neighbours for the sake of gain.' This miracle may thus have been a miracle of judgment as well as of mercy.—P.
14 Andp they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.
15 And they come to Jesus, and see him thatq was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: rand they were afraid.
16 And they that saw it, told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.
17 Ands they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
s De.5.25. Lu.8.37. Mat.8.34. 1 Ki.17.18. Lu.5.8. Ge.25.34. Ac.16.39. Job 21.14,15. 1 Co.2.14,15, with ver.7;ch.1.24.
18 And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil tprayed him that he might be with him.
19 Howbeit, Jesus suffered him not,8 but saith unto him, uGo home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
8 See note * below.
u Ps.50.14;66.16. Jn.4.29. Ps.ciii.—cviii.xviii.cxvi.cxlv. Is.63.7-13;38.9-20. Jonah 2.1-10.
* The Gadarenes being unwilling to let Christ remain among them, he commissions the demoniac he had healed to be the witness of his power and his mercy.—Note, While no man should boast of himself, it is the duty of every sinner whom Jesus has 'plucked as a brand out of the burning,' to attest, and especially to his own friends and countrymen, what God has done for his soul.—C.
20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis9 how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
9 A country on the east of the Sea of Galilee.
21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, vmuch people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.
22 And,x behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue,1 Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,
x Mat.9.18-25. Lu.8.41-56;13.14. Ac.13.15.
1 Of the synagogue at Capernaum, to which he had now returned. See ch.2.1.—C.
23 And besought him greatly, saying, yMy little daughter lieth at the point of death: zI pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
25 And a certain woman, which had an bissue of blood twelve years,
b Le.15.19,25. Jn.5.5. Lu.8.43-48.
26 And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was cnothing bettered, but rather grew worse,
28 For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.
29 And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up: and she felt2 in her body that she was healed of that plague.
2 The removal of several acute diseases is often almost instantaneous: but the instantaneous or even speedy cure of a chronic and debilitating disease of twelve years' standing is unprecedented in the annals of medicine. Like the other miraculous cures performed by our Lord, it bears the visible mark of a miracle—an effect beyond human power; and also the spiritual mark—the prophetic faith and announcement of the woman.—C.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that evirtue3 had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?4
3 Virtue. Not moral virtue, but supernatural power.—C.
4 Who touched my clothes? He so inquired, not because he was ignorant, but because he desired to bear witness to the Father dwelling in him and doing the works; and also to furnish another specimen of the sanative power of faith.—C.
31 And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?
32 And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.
33 But the woman, gfearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
34 And he said unto her, hDaughter, thy faith hath made thee whole: igo in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
35 Whilej he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house, certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?
36 As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, kBe not afraid, only believe.
k Mat.17.20. ver.28,34;ch.9.23. 2 Ch.20.20. Is.50.10. Ro.4.17-20. Jn.11.25,40.
37 And he suffered no man to follow him, save lPeter, and James, and John the brother of James.
l ch.3.16,17;9.2;14.33.
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and mthem that wept and wailed5 greatly.
m 2 Ch.35.25. Je.9.17. Ac.9.39.
5 To the European, with whom in general grief is a silent feeling that courts retirement and solitude, few things can be more astonishing than the numbers that collect upon occasion of a death in several eastern countries, and the loud wailing in which they indulge.—C.
39 And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? nthe damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
40 And they olaughed6 him to scorn. But when he had qput them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
6 They laughed. The sudden transition from wailing to laughing, instead of throwing any doubt over the narrative, is an evidence of its truth; inasmuch as the wailing was not the effect of sorrow, but of custom, which could change at will from the one mood of spirit to the other.—C.
A.M. cir. 4035. A.D. cir. 31.
41 And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, rTalitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
42 Ands straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were tastonished with a great astonishment.
43 Andu he charged them straitly that no man7 should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.8
u ch.1.44;3.12;7.36. Is.42.2. Jn.5.41. See Mat.8.4;9.30;12.16-18. Lu.5.14.
7 That is, that no man should be made acquainted with the miracle at that time, partly to avoid all appearance of ostentation about so great a work, partly to avoid the danger of any political commotion, and partly lest the people should imagine he was come to interrupt the order of nature, and abolish the power of death, otherwise than by his own death, resurrection, and Spirit.—C.
8 A comparison of the narratives of this chapter with the parallels in Matthew and Luke will show, 1. That Mark must have been an eye-witness of the incidents; and 2. That he was a closer observer, and a more minute and graphic delineator of events than the others. The minute accuracy of Mark's details gives a peculiar charm to his Gospel, and constitutes one of its prominent characteristics.—C.
Notes
Ver. 3. His dwelling among the tombs. The tombs of the East are often roomy and ornamented caves cut in the faces of rocks, or builded on the surface of the earth with stone. That in ancient times they were often used as dwelling-houses, is recorded in Diogenes Laërtius, ix. 38; and in modern times the subterraneous tombs of Egypt are often so occupied by the Arabs. C.
Ver. 4. Fetters and chains. In the original the one signifies binding for the feet, the second for the hands. C.
**Reflections.—**Dreadful is the case of natural men who are filled with and governed by devils. Cruelly they tyrannize over their vassals, and furiously work in them, so that no restraints of human laws, solemn vows, awful or engaging providences, nor even common operations of the Holy Ghost, can in the least avail. But great is the mercy that Christ's compassion is infinitely greater than Satan's implacable malice, and his saving power infinitely superior to all his fury; and when he casts out the unclean spirit, he puts a new heart and a right spirit within us. In the most fearful forms he sometimes punishes worldlings by the hand of their own master, for the manifestation of his own power and grace. And great is their folly and wickedness who prefer their secular interests to Jesus Christ and his salvation, and, from inordinate love to the world, desire him to depart from them. If he take them at their word, how dismal is the consequence! But if some reject him, others will rise up ready to receive him. And no distance, no filthiness, no shame, no fear, no discouragement, no derision, no death, shall hinder their health, their comfort, their life, who apply to him; while vain, and even hurtful, are all other means of relief when used without due subordination to him. Even saints are ready to tremble when they ought to triumph; for Jesus often, by voluntary delays, lets the case, even of his most earnest supplicants, become apparently desperate before he grants relief. And scoffers exclude themselves from the means of their conviction. But if his mighty works must sometimes be only the subjects of private adoration and praise, cheerfully ought we to proclaim them, when it is most seasonable, and subservient to his and his Father's glory, and the benefit of mankind.