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The Gospel of Mark, rightly Divided Mark 5:1-20 | Session 18 | Mark Rightly Divided

Mark 5:1-20 | The Gadarene Demoniac

Verse 1 -

Jesus and His disciples were in Capernaum, located at the northwest corner of the Sea of Galilee. After crossing the sea and enduring a storm, they arrived "unto the other side of the sea", specifically, "into the country of the Gadarenes."

The Roman city of Gadara was situated about five miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. The text mentions "the country of the Gadarenes," indicating they were not actually in Gadara itself. The event clearly took place near the seashore, not five miles away.

Modern translations, based on the critical text, refer to the "Gerasene" rather than the "Gadarene" demoniac. However, Gerasa and Gadara are different places, so one of these references is incorrect. Gerasa, modern-day Jerash, is approximately 30 miles southwest of the Sea of Galilee, with Gadara located between the sea and Gerasa. Referencing Gerasa for this region seems very unlikely. The only reason modern texts use Gerasa is that admitting an error in their "oldest and best" document could undermine their argument.

Verse 2 -

This verse suggests close proximity to water, indicating the presence of a nearby cemetery where a man "with an unclean spirit" resided.

During the era of Jesus and the early part of Acts, there was a significant rise in demonic activity, unprecedented and unparalleled since. The "unclean spirit" would later be explicitly identified as what we now refer to as demonic. It was not a case of mental illness, nor did it require advanced degrees to diagnose. The situation was clear, potent, and terrifying.

Verses 3-5 -

The physical characteristics of the man were noted.

He lived among the graves.
No one could restrain him, even with chains or shackles.
He was often secured with chains and shackles but would violently break the chains and smash the shackles.
He was untamable by anyone.
Continuously, day and night, he was wandering in the mountains and among the graves.
He was heard crying out and was seen cutting himself with stones.

In essence, the description of the man in Mark 5:2-5 portrays a condition far beyond natural human strength and behavior, indicating a clear case of demonic possession. The extraordinary feats such as breaking chains and shackles, and the self-destructive actions in isolation, signify a supernatural influence at work rather than a mere mental illness. The continuous distress and the inability of any person to subdue him further emphasize the presence of a malevolent spiritual force controlling him.

Verse 6 -

We have an amazing contrast and surprise here. The last thing we would expect is for the man to rush to Jesus and worship Him.

The word for "worshipped" here is "προσεκύνησεν" (prosekynēsen). This is a form of the word "προσκυνέω" (proskyneō), which can have several meanings in different contexts. In the New Testament Greek, it often refers to the act of showing reverence or submission, typically in a religious context. It can mean to bow down physically, to do obeisance, or to express profound respect. The word doesn't necessarily imply the worship due to God alone but can also describe the act of paying homage to someone of higher status.

In the context of Mark 5:6, the man's action toward Jesus is significant. Given the cultural and religious setting of the time, his act of bowing or prostrating himself before Jesus indicates recognition of Jesus' authority or status, which is particularly meaningful considering the man was influenced by an unclean spirit. This spirit's recognition of Jesus as authoritative, even in a non-verbal manner such as bowing down, is testimony to Jesus’ superior spiritual authority and power, with such superiority being immediately recognized and displayed by the unclean spirit.

Verse 7 -

The phrase “What have I to do with thee?” presents an interesting introduction. In Greek, It is idiomatic and does not translate smoothly into English; its literal rendering would be something like "What to me and to you?" The phrase appears several times in the scripture and consistently implies a confrontation or interference. It is essentially questioning what common interest or interaction there is between the two parties that warrants the current engagement. It's often used to denote a disassociation or a challenge to the right of the person addressed to interfere. It is used here, it seems, as an expression of a perceived boundary being crossed, an acknowledgment that Jesus has authority and power that the demon feels threatened by. It displays that the very presence of Jesus represented a threat to the current state from the spirit’s point of view.

The man (or the spirit?) acknowledged Jesus as the "Son of the most high God." In Mark 1:11, the Father declared Jesus as "my beloved Son," but there has not been any other explicit affirmation of Jesus' divinity. In John 1:49, chronologically preceding Mark 5:7, Nathanael was the first to explicitly testify to Jesus' divinity, stating, "Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel." John the Baptist had referred to Jesus as "the Lamb of God," a less explicit though theologically packed acknowledgement of divinity.

The man then gives a plea for mercy, “torment me not.” This all but testifies that the spirit has been speaking through the man all along, for why would Jesus torment a tormented man?

Verse 8 -

In this verse we are given information we had suspected. Verse 8 explains, retrospectively, that Jesus had already been commanding the unclean spirit to come out of the man, indicating that Jesus' exorcism efforts began even before the recorded dialogue.

In Greek, the verb translated “he said” is in the imperfect, which would be used either of something being said repeatedly or something said previously with ongoing impact.

The final implication is clear: Jesus had spoken directly to the spirit, not the man, and verses 6-7 has the words of the spirit replying through the man.

Verse 9 -

Jesus, having instructed the spirit to come out, also asked his name. The reply is interesting, "My name is Legion: for we are many." The word λεγιών [legion] itself has been adopted into English, but at the time, it was the word for a large body of thousands of soldiers. Here it is used as a proper noun. What is insightful, however, is the singular use of "my name" but then the plural pronoun, "we." Assuming this is not simply a rhetorical device, we can assume that demonic spirits were able to manifest plurally in the singular, and vice versa. In other words, they transcend the earthly standard of singular and plural, but human language only allows for communication by the earthly standard, thus the reality condescends to the language. There is a complex interaction between the spiritual and physical realms, where the reality of the former is somewhat constrained by the language of the latter.

Because legion was used for a body of thousands of soldiers we are given some insight into the quantity of the demonic spirit.

Verse 10 -

Here, we encounter a pronoun reference issue. The sentence, "he besought him much that he would not send them away," is in question. The second "him" and "he" unambiguously refer to Jesus. However, the identity of the first "he" who is making the plea is unclear. Could it be the man possessed by the demon? This seems unlikely, as why would he resist being set free?

Though grammatically it could be the possessed man, it's more plausible that the interplay of singular and plural indicates that it is Legion beseeching Jesus not to send them away.

In my view, it seems that Legion is speaking. However, a compromise could be to say that Legion is speaking through the voice of the possessed man.

What is perhaps of greater interest is the desire not to be sent "out of the country." The word used for "country" is χώρα [chora], which is broader than other available synonyms. It is used for an extensive space rather than a specific parcel of ground. Why would a demon care about being in one region rather than another? It could be implied that Legion knew that "out of the country" meant "out of the action," since it was never known Biblically that such demonic activity was allowed worldwide. The land of the Jews was the arena of spiritual warfare, and being sent “out of the country” would sideline them during a very important time.

Verse 11 -

The presence of swine causes many to believe that this was Gentile territory and that the man himself was Gentile. I reject the premise on lack of evidence, believing it to be an oversimplification of the region. It could be that these were hellenized Jews, or even Kosher Jews raising pigs for profit (as here: https://forward.com/news/13245/on-israel-s-only-jewish-run-pig-farm-it-s-the-01742/). It could be that neighboring Gentiles were raising the pigs. They were not wild boar, as confirmed in verse 14.

Assuming that Jesus was in Gentile territory and that the man he interacted with was a Gentile would imply that he contradicted his subsequent instruction not to go to the Gentiles (Matt. 10:5), though it could be argued that that instruction was contextual. It seems unlikely that this was a wholly Gentile expedition. In fact, the town of Susita, traditionally believed to be the location of this event, has archaeological evidence of Jewish inhabitants in the first century. Remember also that Peter, who was surely present here, later claimed that it was unlawful to eat with Gentiles (Acts 10:28).

Verses 12-14 -

The text now explicitly refers to Legion using the Greek word δαίμων [daimon], later transliterated into English as “demon.” The word is in plural form. The demons, after begging for and receiving permission, entered the swine. The swine, upon being possessed, immediately ran into the sea and drowned. This event, predictably, caused quite a stir in the region, attracting even larger crowds.

Verses 15-17 -

The transformation of the man was shocking to the locals who gathered. He was now “sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind” (v. 15). This brought fear and not just astonishment. Their response was to ask Jesus to leave the area.

Admittedly, this is a different response than what was observed around Capernaum, where people lined up at the door with those who were demon-possessed (Mark 1:32-33). What caused this different reaction? It's difficult to say. It seems that Gentiles, especially of the Greco-Roman variety, would have welcomed a healer in their midst and would not have been bothered by His presence. The local Jewish population, likely highly Hellenized, may have been cautious about having the Messiah among them. They might have feared personal judgment from the Messiah, and also unwanted attention from Jewish leaders if Jesus stayed in their area.

Verses 18-20 -

The man who was once possessed now wishes to accompany Jesus, a seemingly natural reaction. However, Jesus responds with "Go home" (v. 19). He instructs the man to do two things. First, share the great deeds that the Lord has done. The simple term "the Lord" implies a broad understanding of Jesus as the Messiah, with no additional identification needed. Second, he should talk about the Lord's compassion. This compassionate mercy should be shown among those who respect the presence of Jesus. Over time, it would likely provide them with some assurance of the Lord's mercies.

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