Commentary - Mark 5:1-20

Bird's-eye view

In this dramatic confrontation, Jesus Christ sails into pagan territory and is immediately met by the most extreme case of demonic oppression recorded in the Gospels. This is not just a healing; it is a spiritual D-Day, an invasion of enemy-held territory. The story demonstrates with stark clarity the absolute authority of Jesus over the demonic realm, the utter bankruptcy of human strength in the face of true evil, the profound transformation the gospel accomplishes, and the mixed, often hostile, reception the world gives to its own liberation. A man whom no chain could hold is set free by a simple command from the Lord. A legion of demons is sent packing into a herd of pigs, providing undeniable, public proof of their expulsion. The response of the locals, who value their pigs more than a restored man, is a sobering picture of the unregenerate heart. The passage concludes with the commissioning of this newly freed man as the first apostle to the Decapolis, a living sermon on the mercy and power of God.

The central point is the absolute and effortless lordship of Jesus Christ. The demons know exactly who He is and are terrified of Him. They, who could snap chains and terrorize a region, are reduced to begging before the Son of the Most High God. This is a picture of the gospel's power. It does not negotiate with evil; it commands it. It does not reform the old man; it makes a new one. And it establishes a beachhead of God's kingdom in the darkest of places, one transformed life at a time.

Outline

Context In Mark

This account follows immediately after Jesus demonstrated His authority over the natural world by calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35-41). The disciples were left asking, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?" Mark answers that question by showing that Jesus' authority is not limited to the physical realm. He now demonstrates His absolute power over the spiritual realm, over the forces of darkness. Mark's Gospel is fast-paced, presenting a series of powerful deeds that reveal Jesus' identity as the Son of God. This exorcism is one of the most potent of those revelations. It serves as a graphic illustration of the kingdom of God invading the kingdom of Satan, a central theme in Mark. Jesus is not just a teacher; He is a warrior-king, binding the strong man and plundering his house (Mark 3:27).

Key Issues

The Lord of the Legion

We live in a sanitized age that is deeply uncomfortable with the spiritual realities described in this passage. We are sophisticated, and we prefer psychological or sociological explanations for this kind of behavior. But the Bible is not the least bit embarrassed to tell us that there is a spiritual world, and that it is inhabited by hostile spiritual beings. More importantly, the Bible is not the least bit intimidated by them. This story is not told to make us afraid of demons; it is told to make us marvel at the authority of Jesus Christ, before whom all demons tremble. This is a military engagement. A king lands on a hostile shore, and the occupying army is thrown into a panic. The outcome is never in doubt.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1-2 Then they came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. And when He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him,

Jesus deliberately crosses the sea into Gentile territory, the Decapolis. This is an intentional expansion of His ministry beyond the borders of Israel. The moment He steps ashore, He is met by the enemy's chosen representative. The confrontation is immediate. This man is the very picture of uncleanness. He has an "unclean spirit" and he lives among the "tombs," a place of death and ceremonial defilement. He is a man utterly dominated by sin and death.

3-5 who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. And constantly, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was screaming and gashing himself with stones.

Mark emphasizes the hopelessness of the man's condition by detailing the failure of all human efforts to control him. This is not just a social problem; it is a supernatural one. The strength he possesses is not his own. He snaps chains and breaks shackles. The phrase no one was strong enough to subdue him is key. It establishes the baseline of human impotence. Furthermore, his condition is one of constant, unending torment. He is homeless, isolated, screaming day and night, and engaged in self-destruction. This is what the kingdom of darkness does to a human being made in the image of God. It degrades, isolates, and destroys.

6-7 And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!”

The reaction of the demonic is instantaneous and revealing. They see Jesus from a distance and, through the man, they run and bow down. This is not an act of willing worship; it is the compelled submission of a defeated foe before a conquering king. The demons have a perfectly orthodox Christology. They know His name, "Jesus," and His title, "Son of the Most High God." They know there is no common ground between them ("What do I have to do with You?"). And they know He is their judge, and that their ultimate destiny is torment. Their theology is better than that of many churchgoers. They know who Jesus is, and they are terrified.

8-9 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”

Jesus is already engaged in the battle. His simple command, "Come out," is the basis for the demon's terror. Jesus then demands the demon's name. In the ancient world, to know someone's name was to have a measure of authority over them. The answer is chilling: Legion. A Roman legion consisted of up to 6,000 soldiers. This man was not just possessed; he was occupied by an army. This name reveals the scale of the spiritual oppression and highlights the magnitude of the victory Jesus is about to win. One man, Jesus Christ, against a legion.

10-13 And he began pleading with Him earnestly not to send them out of the region. Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. And the demons pleaded with Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” And Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

The commander of this legion is now reduced to begging. First, they plead not to be sent out of the region, their home turf. Then, seeing the herd of pigs, they see an alternative. They would rather inhabit pigs than face the abyss. Why does Jesus grant their request? First, it demonstrates His absolute authority. They cannot even enter a pig without His permission. Second, it provides a dramatic, visible, and undeniable sign that the exorcism was real. The man is free, and the proof is a pile of two thousand dead pigs at the bottom of the sea. Third, it externalizes the true nature of these spirits. Their goal is destruction, and what they were doing to the man internally, they now do to the pigs externally. They drive them to a frenzy of self-destruction. There is no room for sentimentality about the pigs; their death served a glorious redemptive purpose.

14-15 And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. And they came to Jesus and observed the demon-possessed man sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had the “legion”; and they became frightened.

The report goes out, and the people come to see for themselves. They see two things: a herd of dead pigs, and a restored man. Notice the description of the man: sitting down, clothed and in his right mind. Where there was frenzied restlessness, there is now peace. Where there was naked shame, there is now dignity. Where there was insanity, there is now sanity. This is a picture of true salvation. And what is the people's reaction? Joy? Celebration? No. They were frightened. The raw power of God is terrifying to fallen man. They were more comfortable with a man in chains than with the man who could break those chains.

16-17 And those who had seen it recounted to them how this had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. And they began to plead with Him to leave their region.

The full story is told, connecting the man's healing with the loss of the pigs. The economic calculus is now clear. Their fear turns into a formal request. They plead with Jesus to leave. This is one of the most tragic verses in the Gospels. They had a choice between their pigs and the Prince of Peace, between their livelihood and their Lord, and they chose the pigs. They loved their sin, their comfort, and their economy more than they loved the Son of God. The presence of a holy God was a greater disruption to them than a local demoniac.

18-19 And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was pleading with Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, “Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.”

Here we see two different pleadings. The townspeople plead with Jesus to leave, and He does. The restored man pleads to go with Jesus, and He says no. Jesus honors the request of the wicked and denies the request of the redeemed, which shows His sovereign purposes in all things. The man's desire to follow Jesus is a good and natural one, but Jesus has a more strategic mission for him. He is to become a missionary to his own people. His testimony is simple and powerful: tell them what the Lord has done, and tell them it was an act of mercy.

20 And he went away and began to preach in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was marveling.

The man obeys. He becomes the first evangelist to the ten cities of the Decapolis. The word for "preach" here is the word for heralding or proclaiming. He was the town crier for the kingdom of God. And his sermon was his own story. The result was that everyone was marveling. Jesus left the region, but He did not leave it without a witness. He left behind a living, breathing trophy of His grace, a man who was a walking sermon on the power of God to save. This is how the gospel advances: not through programs, but through transformed lives.

Application

First, we must recognize the absolute authority of Jesus Christ. There is no power in heaven, on earth, or under the earth that is not subject to Him. Our spiritual battles are not fought against an equal and opposite force. We fight a defeated foe, and we fight in the name of the King who has already won the war. This should fill us with courage, not fear.

Second, this passage shows us the true nature of salvation. The gospel does not merely offer behavioral modification. It does not put new chains on the old man. It sets him free, clothes him in righteousness, and restores him to his right mind. What society, with all its strength and ingenuity, could not do, Jesus did with a word. We must never underestimate the power of the gospel to transform the most hopeless of situations.

Third, we must be prepared for the world's hostility. When the gospel truly works, it is disruptive. It upsets economic systems built on greed. It confronts comfortable sins. It shines a holy light that makes people afraid. Like the Gerasenes, many will prefer their familiar brokenness to the radical salvation offered in Christ. They will ask Jesus to leave so they can get back to their business.

Finally, our primary mission is to be witnesses. Like the restored man, we are all called to "go home to our people" and simply report what great things the Lord has done for us, and how He has had mercy on us. Our testimony is not a complex theological treatise; it is the story of our own rescue. That man was the beginning of a great work in the Decapolis. And your testimony, offered in simple obedience, can be the means God uses to make His grace known in your home, your workplace, and your town.