Mark Chapter 5

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Mar 5:1

Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.: This was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Apparently, there are three words used interchangably: Gadarenes, Gerasenes, and Gergesenes.

Mar 5:2

And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,: The Jews couldn't bury the dead inside the city because they would be defiled. They built caves in the mountains, and this is where this guy was living.

Mar 5:3

who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains,: He lived in the burial chambers, and could not be constrained. Chains couldn't even hold him.

Mar 5:4

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.: Apparently demons can give you inhuman strength if they possess you. 

Mar 5:5

And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.: There must be varying degrees of possession too. This guy was completely under control. And such strange behavior too. They must hate us humans.

Mar 5:6

When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.: Notice that Jesus didn't stop this demon possessed guy from worshipping Him. That alone should make it clear that Jesus was God.

Mar 5:7

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.": I really wish I understood spiritual warfare, and the relationship between Jesus, demons, unclean spirits, fallen angels, and nephilim. Are demons fallen angels? Are they spirits of dead nephilim? Are demons unclean spirits? This is one area that I'll need to study up on. What I do know is that these spirits didn't want to be sent to the abyss, a place of torment. From what I understand, this abyss is the bottomless pit and is most likely not the place described by Jesus in Luk 16:19-31. The abyss is a place for spirits, whereas Hades is a place for humans. They seem similar in nature, except there's Abraham's Bosom in Hades, but no mention of a good part of the abyss. Both are holding cells, but one is for humans and one is for spirits. After the judgement, everyone not found in the Book of Life gets cast into the lake of fire.

Mar 5:8

For He said to him, "Come out of the man, unclean spirit!": Crazy how Jesus addresses the man, but is addressing the spirits. Jesus tells the spirit to come out of the man.

Mar 5:9

Then He asked him, "What is your name?" And he answered, saying, "My name is Legion; for we are many.": Jesus told the spirits to come out, but it seems they didn't obey right away. Jesus is still addressing the man. The demons answer through the man and call themselves Legion. This is something I can't understand. I wish I knew more about the spirit realm. I'll know more when Jesus wants me to.

Mar 5:10

Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.: This is an amazing verse. The demons, as one, beg Jesus, but the Bible records it as he, like it was the man. So there must be some responsibility we have of possession. Or maybe it was the man asking not to send them out of the country. Hard to know exactly how this works. Are demons angels? We know that Satan enters Judah, so apparently demons and fallen angels can possess people. All the evidence points to it, although I have heard an explanation that they are the spirits of the Nephilim. I'm not sure.

Mar 5:11

Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains.: Even though Jews didn't eat pork, the Romans did. This herd was a considerable distance from the city.

Mar 5:12

So all the demons begged Him, saying, "Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.": This seems a logical choice because the Jews don't eat them. But notice that they had to get permission first. Strange.

Mar 5:13

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.: Jesus didn't stop to think. He immediately gave permission. I didn't understand this verse for a long time, but the Pulpit commentary explains it quite well. Humans are way more valuable than pigs. To redeem this person possessed by these demons, Jesus was willing to have a herd of pigs die.

Mar 5:14

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.: These herders were freaked out. They ran and told people, and the news spread very quickly throughout the city and the country. The owners came out to see what happened.

Mar 5:15

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.: Interesting how the owners came to Jesus and were afraid when they saw that the crazy man was in his right mind. Instead of reverence, they were afraid.

Mar 5:16

And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.: As it is in a crowd, people will kind of fill newcomers in on what's going on. That's what happened here.

Mar 5:17

Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region.: I kind of understand. These people had just lost their livelihood. They were afraid that they'd lose even more if he stuck around. Instead of realizing what a great work took place, they were afraid about losing their incomes.

Mar 5:18

And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him.: The herders may not have realized the amazing miracle that was done, but the demon possessed man did. He wanted to come with Jesus. Give it some time my friend! We saved will be with Jesus!

Mar 5:19

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.": There's no explanation why, but Jesus doesn't allow him to come. Instead, it looks like Jesus tells him to become a missionary, telling people what happened.

Mar 5:20

And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.: The demon possessed man did as he was told, going to Decapolis, and telling everyone what Jesus did. What a powerful witness this man must have been.

Mar 5:21

Now when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea.: He crosses the sea again, this time to somewhere around Capernaum. Again the people followed.

Mar 5:22

And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet: I at first thought this was a religious leader, but then I thought, wait... a synagogue? What is the synagogue back then? I thought they had the temple, why would there be synagogues? I found this article which gives a pretty good explanation: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/articles/first-century-synagogues/. They were meeting places that didn't really have religious significance, sort of like the Jewish community centers today.

Mar 5:23

and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live.": I find it interesting that Jesus is asked to come with this Jewish leader, but the centurian knew that Jesus didn't need to be there to lay hands on the child for them to be healed. This ruler's daughter was about to die.

Mar 5:24

So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him.: Notice that Jesus didn't deny him. He started following as requested. Of course, the crowd followed, probably wanting to see miracles.

Mar 5:25

Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years,: Sometimes, we have afflictions, just to show the power of God. This woman had some sort of hemorrhage for twelve years.

Mar 5:26

and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse.: She had gone to all the doctors, and apparently, they had subjected her to many terrible treatments that didn't help at all. And only a person with money, just like today, can visit a number of doctors to seek treatments, so this lady was probably a wealthy person.

Mar 5:27

When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment.: Nobody told her that touching his garment would do anything. She came up with this idea.

Mar 5:28

For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.": This was the solution that she came up with. It hadn't been recorded that Jesus had done anything like this before. But this lady had faith that she would be healed if she did it.

Mar 5:29

Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.: She touched Jesus's garment, and she was instantly healed.

Mar 5:30

And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?": Isn't this an interesting question? Jesus knew what happened, because He had people bumping into Him all over. This wasn't an actual question, but he wanted to address the lady, so He was trying to get her to come to Him.

Mar 5:31

But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' ": The disciples didn't understand that Jesus wasn't really asking them who touched Him, so they gave Him this answer like, "How are we supposed to know!?"

Mar 5:32

And He looked around to see her who had done this thing.: So Jesus ignores their answer and looked around. Jesus knew that she would come to Him, so He put on a show of looking. It's really a beautiful thing if you think about it. Jesus wanted to let her know it was okay.

Mar 5:33

But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth.: Jesus patiently waits for the lady to tell Him everything. I imagine the crowd going silent as she tells Jesus her story.

Mar 5:34

And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.": Jesus waited for the woman to tell Him her story, and Jesus comforts her, and tells her that her faith made her well. There was no history of touching Jesus's garment for healing, so this lady believed this idea that she had created. And instead of chastising her, Jesus comforts her.

Mar 5:35

While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?": These people believed that Jesus had taken too long to get there and Jairus's daughter had died. They had come to deliver the bad news.

Mar 5:36

As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe.": But Jesus is the good news, and He was about to work a miracle to show the people that He was the prophesied Messiah. Again, Jesus talks about faith. Faith is the only thing that Jesus counts as righteousness.

Mar 5:37

And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.: The Bible doesn't explain why Jesus chose these three, but they are the leaders after He goes to Heaven.

Mar 5:38

Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly.: The professional wailers were already there, so everyone thought the child was dead.

Mar 5:39

When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.": Was she really just sleeping, and everyone thought she was dead? I doubt this because Jesus is the God of the living, not the God of the dead. When I die, I'll be sleeping, just as this girl is described as sleeping. The world will describe me as dead, but fellow Christians will know that the body died, but I myself did not die.

Mar 5:40

And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying.: Jesus tells the naysayers to leave. They don't get to see the miracle. It seems that there were some people who believed along with Jairus and his wife. Jesus brought them to where the child was lying.

Mar 5:41

Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise.": This is reminiscent of when God said, "Let there be light!" God speaks things into existence, just as Jesus speaks and the dead raise. At the end of the Tribulation, Jesus will speak and the armies of the Antichrist will be wiped out.

Mar 5:42

Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.: There was no delay. Jesus didn't need to do some crazy chanting, or cut Himself, or wait a certain length of time. He spoke, and the girl was raised from the dead.

Mar 5:43

But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given her to eat.: Jesus tells them not to tell anyone. He had just kicked all the naysayers out. This is probably related to Jesus's teaching the crowd in parables in Mark 4. Those outside will not hear, even though they hear, and even though they see, they will not see. Jesus knows who will believe and who won't. Jesus wouldn't turn away anyone that will believe. The fact that He didn't let them witness the miracle most likely means that they would not have believed, even if they witnessed it. I've also seen it said that Jesus didn't want the people to know that He was the Messiah yet. That is also a possibility.