Dear Friends,

I hope you can join me tonight for Bible study (at 5:30!) as we consider the episode in Jesus' ministry often referred to as the healing of the Gadarene demoniac. The Scripture is Mark 5:1-20. Notes are attached.

LIVING THE CHRISTLIFE

WAYNE BARRETT

AUGUST 13, 2025

Mark 5:1-20

They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.a 2 And when Jesus had stepped

out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived

among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been

bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces.

No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was

always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell

down before him. 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.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out

of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is

Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a

great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs;

let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs;

and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in

the sea. 14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it

was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessedb man, the one who had

had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had

seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they

began to beg Jesusc to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been

possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to

him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had

mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done

for him, and everyone marveled.

______________________

v 1 – They came to the other side …

Gerasenes, Gergesenes, Gadarenes – manuscripts differ, likewise with Luke 8:26, 37 and with

Matthew 8:28 (where Gadarenes is the ESV translation). Gerasa, Gergesa, and Gadara were

cities in the Decapolis. People probably referred to this particular area within the Decapolis,

and the people in it, in different ways.

In any event, these people seem unfamiliar, even “foreign,” to the gospel writers. They sailed to

the “other side of the sea”—and not to a specifically named city or even region, but to “the

country of the Gerasenes.” Except for this event in Jesus’ ministry, these people are not

mentioned elsewhere in Scripture.

It appears that the Gerasenes were mainly Greeks, including the man with an unclean spirit.

v 2 – “And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat …”

Whether by design or not, they landed the boat near a cemetery. It does not seemed planned,

except that they were taking the Gospel to an unfamiliar place.

“immediately” there met him – eutheós. Mark uses this word frequently. It makes his narrative

“fast paced.” He writes with excitement.

a Some manuscripts Gergesenes; some Gadarenes [ESV]

b Greek daimonizomai (demonized); also verses 16, 18; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons [ESV]

c Greek him [ESV]

2

No sooner does Jesus get out of the boat, he is met but this startling man who appears from out of the

tombs!

A man with an unclean spirit.

Luke tells us that “for a long time he had worn no clothes (8:27).”

(And here Mark goes into the “historical present”)

v 3 “who has his dwelling in the tombs” – as in “This guy—he lives in the tombs!”

“and no longer is anyone able to bind him—not even with chains”

v 4 “such that many times he has been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains have been

torn in two by him, and the shackles have been shattered”

“and no one has the strength to tame him”

If we believe this description—and we do—then this appears to be a person unlike anyone else

described in Scripture, except perhaps, in some ways, Samson.

It is often reported about demon-possessed people that they can display enormous physical

strength.

It is also documented that some persons with certain mental illnesses as well as some persons

who are high on narcotics can display enormous physical strength and are very hard to

subdue.

v 5 – “And through all the night and day in the tombs and in the mountains he is crying out and cutting

himself with stones.”

This completes the picture of a tormented, possessed man—in mental and spiritual misery and

self-destructive.

v 6 – “And having seen Jesus from afar, he ran and fell on his knees befored him.

At his point, it would seem that it is actually the demon(s) that are encountered Christ, not the

man himself

This wild, tormented man would almost certainly have had no idea who Jesus was, let alone run

to him and prostrate himself before him.

But the demons do know Christ, and this type of encounter with Jesus appears elsewhere as well

(cf. Mark 1:23-27).

The demon(s)—through the man—knelt before Christ, not out of love or faith, but in recognition

of who Jesus is!

v 7 – “And crying out with a loud voice…”

A loud, dramatic, demonic encounter

More lit. “Having cried out with a loud voice, he sayse…”

“What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

lit. “What to me and to you, Jesus…”

A demon, not for the first time, appears to be shocked at the appearance of Jesus into this world

and, at least indirectly, tries to challenge his presence here

“I adjure you by God…”

This is an interesting first-hand witness of an encounter of a demon with the living Christ

d “fell on his knees before” – Gk. proskuneó, usually translated “worship”

e back to the historical present

3

It is quite an irony that a demon “adjures” Jesus “by God.” This might be compared to a guilty

perpetrator of a crime, upon being apprehended, declaring “I know my rights”—appealing to

the very rule of law that he, himself, has violated.

more lit. – “that you might not torment me.”

“torment” – basanizó, literally, to examine by torture

“And behold, they cried out, ‘What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here

to torment us before the time?’”—Matt. 8:29

The verb is in the aorist tense—meaning complete action—not ongoing action. The way we

might ask “Do not take me there” or “Do not mow the yard.” The demon is referring to

something that will be a completed action.

The demons know that God has judged sin and the world—and that the final judgment is

coming.

v 8 – “For he is saying to him …”

Jesus had immediately known what the situation was, and was commanding the unclean spirit to

come out

The unclean spirit was begging for leniency—but with no repentance

More lit. “And he was asking him, ‘What is your name?’”

1. Demons have a name

2. They must respond to Jesus’ questions. He is in complete authority.

“My name is Legion, for we are many”

This is the demon’s name, not the man’s

It may have been a name the demon gave himself (we don’t know). It certainly was a symbolic

name, even if his actual name.

It is from Latin and with a Roman reference

The man was possessed by multiple demons—one appears to be the representative. (This, also, is

not uncommon with demon possession.)

v 10 – “And he begged him earnestly…”

“country” – chóra, an expanse, a space, room. Here perhaps understood as referring to this realm

of existence.

cf. Luke 8:31: “And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.”

vv 11-12—“Now there was near the mountain a great herd of pigs feeding…”

We do not understand why, but demons, unlike angels that did not fall, apparently need a body

(cf Matt. 12:43-45).

They knew that Jesus would not give them permission to enter another person, and perhaps they

needed special permission to enter animals

They also knew that Jesus would not merely cast them out of the man, but would send them to

where he decided they had to go (cf Corrie ten Boom’s experience and instructions)

Jesus gave them what they asked for.

Although we are not told, it seems probable that Jesus knew what would happen if they

entered the pigs—and that the demons had not anticipated it. Presumably, when the

pigs drowned, the demons were without a body to inhabit.

This also had great impact for whoever owned the pigs.

v 14 – “And the herdsmen …”

This event certainly gathered a crowd—and that have been intentional

4

“country” – agros (not chóra, as in v 10)

v 15 “And they come to Jesus and see the man [formerly] being demon-possessed, [now] sitting,

being clothed, and being sound-minded—the one having had the legion.”

Victor Pitts

The man’s deliverance was immediate and complete

This was a great sign for the people of who was among them—this impossible man had

been completely healed by Jesus (who was apparently unknown to them)—and the

summary of their response was “they were afraid” [aorist].

They were not afraid (in this sense) that a fierce, strong, uncontrollable, miserable man

was living and howling among the tombs, cutting himself with rocks. Oh well, that’s

just one of those things…

But when God showed up and began to take action—this was too new, too different, too

unknown, too challenging to their lives and their view of the world—out of their

comfort zone

v 16 – “And those who had seen it …”

The people were given eye-witness accounts regarding this miracle, not apparently from Jesus

his, but from people they knew well

v 17 – “And they began to beg Jesusf to depart from their region [borders].”

This seems to be their sole and unified response

They were more comfortable with a demon-possessed man than they were with a man who just

set him free

Also, the loss of their pigs was too disruptive to their lives to be acceptable—no matter who did

it or why it was done

“We don’t really care or want to know who you are—please just go away and leave us (and our

pigs) alone!”

v 18 – “And as he was getting into the boat …”

Jesus, seemingly without argument, acceded to the people’s request—to go away. This stands as

a warning.

The man—understandably—wanted to be with Jesus.

On first glance, this might seem like the most thankful and dedicated response the man could

make—to be with Jesus.

v 19 – “And he did not permit him …”

Jesus had a different plan for the man than his own (however well-intentioned it was)

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has

had mercy on you.”

This was the most effective thing that the man could do in the service of Jesus and in gratitude to

him

v 20 – “And he went away and began to proclaim …”

And now this man—who perhaps had been infamous in the region—the last person anyone

would expect to be a “preacher”—began to proclaim his testimony

In the Decapolis – the ten-city region

more lit. “and all were marveling”

f Greek him [ESV]