Chapter Five

1–20. The healing of the Gadarene demoniac, in whom was a legion of demons. – 21–43. The healing of the woman with an issue of blood and the raising of the daughter of Jairus.

Mark 5:1. And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. The most recent researchers of the text read here not “into the country of the Gadarenes” but “into the country of the Gergesenes.” This name comes from the city of Gergesa, which was located, according to the testimony of Origen, near the sea of Tiberias (Commentary on John 6:24, al. 40). Eusebius calls Gergesa a “village” and says it lay on a mountain. In Matthew, however, text researchers read not “Gergesenes” but “Gadarenes” (Matt 8:28). As for Gadara, it is known that it was a considerable Greek city situated approximately ten kilometers from the southeastern shore of the sea of Tiberias. The population of this city was mostly Greek, but in the villages surrounding it, Aramaic was also spoken. It is very probable that Gergesa was part of the territory of Gadara.

Mark 5:2. And when He came out of the boat, immediately there met Him from the tombs a man possessed by an unclean spirit, Here we find, evidently, an account of the same event about which evangelist Matthew speaks (Matt 8:28 and following). Mark speaks, however, of one demoniac, not two, as Matthew, but this means only that Mark considered it necessary to speak of the one of the two demoniacs who was most known to the inhabitants of that place for his strength and malice. The healing of this demoniac certainly made a great impression on the people and on Christ’s disciples. “Possessed...” (see Matt 4:24).

Mark 5:3. He had his dwelling among the tombs, and no one was able to bind him, not even with chains, Cf. Matt 8:28. “No one was able...” The strength of this demoniac was extraordinarily great; no chains or fetters could hold him (hand fetters).

Mark 5:4. because he had often been bound with fetters and chains, but the chains he broke apart and the fetters he shattered, and no one was strong enough to tame him; Mark 5:5. and always, night and day, in the mountains and in the tombs, he cried out and cut himself with stones; “Cut himself with stones...” More precisely: he clung to the stones, and they fell on him when he slipped and fell from the cliff (κατακόπτειν).

Mark 5:6. and seeing Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him, Mark 5:7. and crying out with a loud voice, he said: what have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure You by God, do not torment me! Mark 5:8. For Jesus had said to him: come out, you unclean spirit, from this man. Of course, it is not the demoniac himself, but the evil spirits dwelling in him that compel him to run to Christ and ask Him to leave them alone. They understand who now stands before them. They adjure Christ by God, acknowledging Him as the Son of the Most High God, so that He would not display His omnipotence over them this time. And as for the torment which they have in mind, it can be understood as the hellish torments which all the inhabitants of hell suffer (cf. Luke 16:23; Rev 9:5 and others). This torment is understood in the same way in the Gospel of Matthew, where the evil spirit adds the expression “before the time” (Matt 8:29). “For Jesus had said to him...” By these words, evangelist Mark does not wish to say that Christ addressed the demoniac before the latter spoke to Jesus. Had things happened in this way, the evangelist would, of course, have first given the address of Christ, and then the address to Christ of the demoniac (cf. Mark 1:25). The conjunction “for” rather gives to understand that the demon in the demoniac, even before entering into conversation with Christ, already well knew what to expect from Christ. And his expectations were fulfilled, “for...”

Mark 5:9. And He asked him: what is your name? And he said in answer: My name is Legion, for we are many. The Lord enters into conversation with the demon so as to inspire first of all the demoniac himself with the conviction that an evil force dwells in him, and then also to explain this to His disciples. “And he said...” One demon spoke for many. He spoke, making use of the power of speech of the demoniac, who could not help but obey the will of the demon. “Legion” (see Matt 26:53).

Mark 5:10. And they begged Him much that He would not send them out of the country. The demons did not wish to depart from this country, which apparently pleased them as being inhabited chiefly by pagans.

Mark 5:11. Now a great herd of swine was feeding there on the mountain. Mark 5:12. And all the demons begged Him, saying: send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. Mark 5:13. And Jesus immediately gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out and entered into the swine; and the herd rushed down the slope into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea. (Cf. Matt 8:30-32.) Evangelist Mark alone precisely designates the number of swine.

Mark 5:14. And those who tended the swine fled and told it in the city and in the villages. And people came out to see what had happened. Mark 5:15. And they came to Jesus and saw the man who had been possessed, sitting clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Mark 5:16. And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demoniac and about the swine. Mark 5:17. And they began to ask Him to depart from their region. The Lord as the Almighty immediately, without hesitation, consented to the fulfillment of the request of the demons, who showed their powerlessness to find any way out of their position. As for the fate of the demons, the question obviously does not concern evangelist Mark. He stops only on the impression which the miracle made on the inhabitants of that country. The inhabitants were afraid – apparently, having in mind the attitude which Christ had manifested toward their property, the herd of swine, which He had sent to destruction in order to free the former demoniac from any thought of the possibility of the return of demons to him. Their herds distressed them, and therefore they asked Christ to leave their country. It is evident that these people did not yet feel the hunger to hear the word of God (Amos 8:11).

Mark 5:18. And as He was entering the boat, the man who had been possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. Mark 5:19. But Jesus did not permit him, but said to him: go home to your own people and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you. Mark 5:20. And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and all marveled. The Lord does not remain in this country, but departs from here because the time for preaching here has not yet come. But this does not hinder the sowing of the seeds of Gospel teaching here by the healed demoniac, and the Lord sends him to proclaim to all his relatives what has happened to him. In a semi-pagan country, this proclamation of Christ the Wonderworker could not have produced the extraordinary enthusiasm for messianic hopes which was often manifested among the people of pure Jewish descent and which usually ended in the people striving to declare Christ as King (cf. Matt 8:4). If the healed man went out to proclaim throughout the Decapolis (see Matt 4:25), this is explained by the fact that he probably had many relatives living in different cities of this region.

Mark 5:21. And when Jesus had crossed over in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered to Him, and He was by the sea. The Lord crossed over from Perea into Galilee, to the shore on which Capernaum was located (cf. Matt 9:1). Here He was met by a multitude of people, apparently who had from afar noticed the approach of the well-known boat of the apostle Peter, in which Jesus was. There was such a crowd that it was difficult for the Lord to make His way into the city, and He remained on the shore for a long time.

Mark 5:22. And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, named Jairus, and seeing Him, fell at His feet Mark 5:23. and urgently begged Him, saying: my daughter is at the point of death; come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed and live. At this time Jairus came to Him (see Matt 9:18) and Jesus went with him.

Mark 5:24. And Jesus went with him. And a great crowd followed Him and pressed upon Him. Mark 5:25. And a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years, Mark 5:26. and had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse, Mark 5:27. hearing about Jesus, came up behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment, Mark 5:28. for she said: if I only touch His garments, I shall be made well. Mark 5:29. And immediately the flow of her blood ceased, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. In the crowd, along the way, the woman seeking healing touched Christ (cf. Matt 9:20-21), and received healing. Evangelist Mark exclaims that she “had suffered much under many physicians” (verse 26). This expression may indicate the barbarous means to which ignorant physicians resorted in those times. The tractate Kiddushin therefore says: “the best of physicians deserves Gehenna” (IV, 14).

Mark 5:30. And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power had gone out from Him, turned around in the crowd and said: who touched My garments? Mark 5:31. And His disciples said to Him: You see the crowd pressing around You, and You say: who touched Me? Mark 5:32. But He looked around to see the woman who had done this. Mark 5:33. And the woman, in fear and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came forward and fell down before Him, and told Him all the truth. Mark 5:34. And He said to her: Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction. The Lord knew what had happened to the woman because of her touching His garment, but asks the question in order to draw out her confession and make clear that she was healed not by virtue of any magical action of the garment of the Wonderworker, but by virtue of her faith in Him as the Son of God. “Be healed,” that is, remain in that new condition in which you found yourself at the moment you touched My garment with faith.

Mark 5:35. While He was still speaking, there came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house those saying: your daughter is dead; why do you trouble the Teacher further? Regarding the raising of the daughter of Jairus, evangelist Mark speaks with greater detail than Matthew (Matt 9:23-26).

Mark 5:36. But Jesus, hearing these words, said at once to the synagogue leader: Do not fear, only believe. Mark 5:37. And He allowed no one to follow Him, except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James. The Lord, as is evident from what follows (v. 43), did not wish the miracle of the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter to become the subject of excited talk among the people. Therefore He took with Him not all His disciples, but only three who were closest to Him, so that afterward they might be able to come forward as reliable witnesses of the miracle of resurrection (cf. Deut 17:6). Of course, the master of the house himself and his wife were also present at the performance of the miracle (v. 40).

Mark 5:38. He came into the house of the synagogue leader and saw confusion and people weeping and wailing loudly. Mark 5:39. And entering, He said to them: Why are you troubled and weeping? The girl has not died, but sleeps. “The girl has not died, but sleeps.” With these words the Lord expresses the general Israelite understanding of death. There is no death, as He, so to speak, says. The soul of a man is immortal, and in time it must be united with the body which it left behind. Therefore the state of one who is dead is similar to sleep. If Jairus believes this so deeply, there is no reason for him to surrender to despair.

Mark 5:40. And they mocked Him. But He, having sent everyone out, takes with Him the father and mother of the girl and those who were with Him, and enters where the girl lay. Mark 5:41. And taking the girl by the hand, He said to her: “Talitha koumi,” which means: Girl, I say to you, arise. The evangelist here gives two words in Aramaic, the language in which Christ spoke, in order to let his readers from among the gentiles hear the sounds of Christ’s speech. He translates these two words with some expansion, adding the expression “I say to you.”

Mark 5:42. And the girl at once got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And those who saw it were overcome with great amazement. Mark 5:43. And He strictly ordered them that no one should know about this, and said that food should be given to her. The Lord did not wish news of the first miracle of resurrection to spread throughout the land. He did not want the people, excited by rumors of this extraordinary miracle, to see in Him their King (cf. John 6:15), for this might prematurely arouse the extreme hatred of His enemies against Christ. Therefore He forbids spreading word of what happened, even though He had just brought forth the woman who was healed through touching His garment to make an open confession of the miracle that had occurred to her. The latter, indeed, was not so extraordinary as the miracle of resurrection. Why did Christ order that the girl whom He had raised be given food? The ancient interpreters believed that He wanted in this way to confirm the reality of the girl’s return to life; but it is more natural to suppose that He in this case showed His kindness and care for her whom He had just called from the realm of death to her former life, when everyone was occupied with the miracle just performed. He directs the attention of the girl’s household to her condition... Holtzmann attempts to prove that Jairus’s daughter was only in a state of lethargy and was not dead, and that she awoke when Christ took her by the hand... But probably she had already been taken by the hand even before Christ’s arrival, yet this did not lead to her coming to life. Besides, the evangelist Mark recounts everything with such simplicity that there is absolutely no reason to suspect him of having fabricated the account of the girl’s death and resurrection...