Mark chapter 5
Jesus frees a man from demonic possession. Jairus begs Jesus to heal his daughter. A woman is healed by her own faith. Jesus restores Jairus’ daughter to life.
JESUS FREES A MAN FROM DEMONIC POSSESSION
VERSE 1. They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
the other side of the sea. That is, the east side.
VERSE 2. When he had come out of the boat, immediately a man with an unclean spirit met him out of the tombs.
the tombs. These were probably cavelike rooms cut into the rocks of nearby hills which served as tombs and sometimes as hideouts.
VERSE 3. He lived in the tombs. Nobody could bind him any more, not even with chains,
bind. The Greek word is from damazô, which means “to tame a wild animal.”
VERSE 4. because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Nobody had the strength to tame him.
VERSE 5. Always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones.
Always … he was crying out. This behavior demonstrates that demonic possession is not merely sickness or insanity.
VERSE 6. When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and bowed down to him,
bowed down to him. This was done in homage, not worship.
VERSE 7. and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have I to do with you, Jesus, you Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, don’t torment me.”
Son of the Most High God. This was probably an attempt to gain control over Jesus.
VERSE 8. For he said to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
he said. When the Lord Jesus encounters a problem, he speaks directly to it. He commands the problem itself. The Gospel of Mark has many such narratives. Read more »
VERSE 9. He asked him, “What is your name?” He said to him, “My name is Legion, for we are many.”
What is your name? Those who are involved in deliverance ministries and exorcisms say that this is a very important question. You need to ask the demonic entity its name. Once you know its name, you can command it, by name, to leave.
Legion. In those days, this denoted a Roman army regiment of about 6,000 soldiers. However, it could also have meant a very large number.
we are many. This man had been taken over by many demons. They tormented him as one combined force under the leadership of one demon who spoke for them all.
VERSE 10. He begged him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
VERSE 11. Now on the mountainside there was a great herd of pigs feeding.
VERSE 12. All the demons begged him, saying, “Send us into the pigs, that we may enter into them.”
Send us into the pigs. The demons were willing to infest the pigs. Otherwise, they would be consigned to a disembodied state until the Final Judgment at the End of Time.
VERSE 13. At once Jesus gave them permission. The unclean spirits came out and entered into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and they were drowned in the sea.
Jesus gave them permission. When the Lord Jesus encounters a problem, he speaks directly to it. He commands the problem itself. The Gospel of Mark has many such narratives. Read more »
The herd of about two thousand. We can assume that at least one demon infested each pig. In that line of reasoning, there were at least 2,000 demons.
VERSE 14. Those who fed them fled, and told it in the city and in the country. The people came to see what it was that had happened.
The people came to see. This report was so unbelievable that they needed to see for themselves.
VERSE 15. They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid.
VERSE 16. Those who saw it declared to them what happened to him who was possessed by demons, and about the pigs.
VERSE 17. They began to beg him to depart from their region.
beg him to depart. They had just suffered a massive financial loss of 2,000 pigs. They don’t want this to happen again. So they beg Jesus to leave.
VERSE 18. As he was entering into the boat, he who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him.
VERSE 19. He didn’t allow him, but said to him, “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you.”
tell them what great things. The man is instructed to go tell people that great things had been done for him by:
the Lord. The Greek word is Κύριός (“Kyrios”). It means lord, Lord, master, sir. It does not mean “LORD” as used in the Old Testament to mean the Sovereign LORD God Almighty. Rather, it is more like referring to Obi-wan as a Jedi “Master.”
has done for you. The man is instructed to people what the Lord, the Most High God, had done for him. So what did the man do? The next verse tells us.
VERSE 20. He went his way, and began to proclaim in Decapolis how Jesus had done great things for him, and everyone marveled.
how Jesus had done great things for him. The man told people what JESUS had done for him. Implicitly, this is a proclamation of the Divinity of Jesus Christ.
everyone marveled. The Greek word is hethaumazon. It means astonished.
JAIRUS BEGS JESUS TO HEAL HIS DAUGHTER
VERSE 21. When Jesus had crossed back over in the boat to the other side, a great multitude was gathered to him; and he was by the sea.
the other side. That is, the west side.
VERSE 22. Behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, came; and seeing him, he fell at his feet,
VERSE 23. and begged him much, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Please come and lay your hands on her, that she may be made healthy, and live.”
lay your hands on her. The practice of “laying on of hands” was thought to transfer vitality to the recipient. It was associated with healing.
VERSE 24. He went with him, and a great multitude followed him, and they pressed upon him on all sides.
pressed upon him. The Greek word is synthlibô. It means thronging.
A WOMAN IS HEALED BY HER OWN FAITH
VERSE 25. A certain woman, who had a discharge of blood for twelve years,
A certain woman. We are not given her name.
a discharge of blood for twelve years. This made her ritually unclean and unable to participate in worship at the temple. It disbarred her from all involvement in society:
Leviticus 15:25. ‘If a woman has a discharge of her blood many days not in the time of her period, or if she has a discharge beyond the time of her period, all the days of the discharge of her uncleanness shall be as in the days of her period. She is unclean.
VERSE 26. and had suffered many things by many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better, but rather grew worse,
VERSE 27. having heard the things concerning Jesus, came up behind him in the crowd, and touched his clothes.
touched his clothes. This was an unbelievably courageous act, since by touching Jesus she rendered him ritually impure.
VERSE 28. For she said, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be made well.”
VERSE 29. Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction.
she was healed. Her healing took place without overt participation by Jesus.
VERSE 30. Immediately Jesus, perceiving in himself that the power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd, and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
Who touched my clothes? Jesus wanted to establish a personal relationship with the healed woman.
VERSE 31. His disciples said to him, “You see the multitude pressing against you, and you say, ‘Who touched me?’ ”
VERSE 32. He looked around to see her who had done this thing.
VERSE 33. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had been done to her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.
fearing and trembling. This expression is from the Greek word phobeomai. It means to have awe, reverence.
VERSE 34. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be cured of your disease.”
Daughter. This is the only time Jesus uses this word in the Bible.
your faith. Jesus attributes her cure to her faith, and not to the touch of his clothing.
be cured of your disease. The Bible seems to promise healing of our illnesses. We should expect miraculous healing. It should be commonplace. But it is not. Why? Read more »
JESUS RESTORES JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER TO LIFE
VERSE 35. While he was still speaking, people came from the synagogue ruler’s house saying, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher any more?”
VERSE 36. But Jesus, when he heard the message spoken, immediately said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Don’t be afraid, only believe.”
Don’t be afraid, only believe. Jairus had already exercised faith in coming to Jesus to heal his daughter of her illness. Now Jesus exhorts him to believe that Jesus can restore her life.
VERSE 37. He allowed no one to follow him, except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.
Peter, James, and John. These three disciples would serve as legal witnesses. And perhaps they were the only ones who would not disbelieve.
VERSE 38. He came to the synagogue ruler’s house, and he saw an uproar, weeping, and great wailing.
VERSE 39. When he had entered in, he said to them, “Why do you make an uproar and weep? The child is not dead, but is asleep.”
The child is not dead. Jesus does not see things as we do. Instead, he sees Reality. To him, the little girl is not dead. She is merely “sleeping.”
Many of us believers are steeped in our own perspectives. We take our own perspective to be reality. That is a great limitation, for we cannot envision what is possible. We cannot envision what is possible for God.
Some people assert that God cannot do miracles. They say it would violate the laws of the material universe. However, God can do anything he wants. He has no limitations.
Some believers have the gift of miracles. They do not see things in such a shallow and limited way. Instead, they see what is possible for God.
VERSE 40. They ridiculed him. But he, having put them all out, took the father of the child, her mother, and those who were with him, and went in where the child was lying.
They ridiculed him. They had no doubt that she was dead.
VERSE 41. Taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi!” which means, being interpreted, “Girl, I tell you, get up!”
he said to her. When the Lord Jesus encounters a problem, he speaks directly to it. He commands the problem itself. The Gospel of Mark has many such narratives. Read more »
Talitha cumi! These Aramaic words were a command, and not a magical formula.
VERSE 42. Immediately the girl rose up and walked, for she was twelve years old. They were amazed with great amazement.
They were amazed. The parents and the three disciples were completely astonished. The Greek word is from existêmi, which literally means “out of their minds with great amazement.”
VERSE 43. He strictly ordered them that no one should know this, and commanded that something should be given to her to eat.
something should be given to her to eat. Jesus resuscitated her body back to its normal earthly state. So she still needed to eat. This contrasts with a resurrected body, which never needs to eat.
MARK
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Commands, Spirituality, Miracles
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.