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Mark 5:1
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A Demon-Possessed Man Healed

1 Then athey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the1 Gadarenes.  
2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an aunclean spirit,  
3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind1 him, not even with chains,  
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.
5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him.
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 aimplore You by God that You do not torment me.”  
8 For He said to him, a“Come out of the man, unclean spirit!”  
9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”
10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country.
11 Now a large herd of aswine was feeding there near the mountains.  
12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.”
13 And1 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.  
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.
15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been ademon-possessed and had the legion, bsitting and cclothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.  
16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine.
17 Then athey began to plead with Him to depart from their region.  
Commentaries:
Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< Mark 4:41   Mark 5:2 >>

What Does Mark 5:1 Mean?



Mark 5:1-20

In this miracle, (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; and Luke 8:26-39), Jesus Christ commands unclean spirits to come out of two men. Demons must obey Jesus even if people do not. Even so, the demons do not obey Christ's command immediately. They object, unwilling to abandon their victims. Christ could have compelled them to come out of the men immediately if He had wished, but the men may not have been able to survive the exorcism on their own strength.

In a separate incident, Mark 9:26-27 informs us, "Then the spirit [one demon] cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, 'He is dead.' But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose." Here, the exorcism had induced convulsions in the man as a single demon left him. Both exorcisms were under Christ's control; He used His great power but with wise, gentle, and cautious concern.

Jesus addresses the men as if they are possessed by a single spirit, but the demon's answer, giving his name as "Legion," shows that he led a company of demons. Mark records that the swine that the demons entered after their exorcism numbered about two thousand (Mark 5:13). If this was the number inhabiting the two men—each with its own personality, all under the power of one will, animated by one purpose and united in operation—then the plight of the two men must have been horrific in the extreme.

Martin G. Collins
The Miracles of Jesus Christ: Two Demon-Possessed Men Healed (Part Three)




Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Mark 5:1:

Matthew 8:28-34
Matthew 8:28-34
Matthew 20:29-34
Mark 5:1-20
Mark 8:22-26
Luke 8:26-39


 
<< Mark 4:41   Mark 5:2 >>

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