Mark 5:1-5 - A man with an impure spirit

5:1

In your Bible you will probably see footnotes against “Gerasenes”, saying some manuscripts have “Gadarenes” or “Gergesenes”. The “region of the Gerasenes” probably refers to the whole region of the Decapolis, a group of Hellenistic towns, i.e. Gentile towns. Matthew has “Gadarenes”. It was common for a region to be known by a single city. Gadara is actually nearer the sea than Gerasa, and the Gadarenes is geographically where the event took place, and Matthew is the most “Jewish” of the gospels. Mark was writing for Jews and Gentiles who were distant from the area, and Gerasa was the larger city, and more likely to be known by his readers.

5:2-5

Jesus got out of the boat and was met by a man with an impure spirit, i.e. he was demon possessed. In the early stages of the account it seems that it is the demon speaking through the man. After Jesus sets him free, the man comes into his own again. The man came from the tombs. In fact he was in a very sorry state indeed. The demon made him very violent. The people had tried to restrain him by chaining him hand and foot, but this no longer worked, he was able to break free. He spent his time wandering among the tombs, crying out, and self-harming. The people wanted nothing to do with him, and this was largely out of fear and not knowing what to do with him. Sometimes well meaning Christians will criticise others for not wanting to have anything to do with certain types of people. At one level the criticism is fair, but it should also be recognised that it is often largely out of fear and not knowing how to handle the person. Just criticising people for not being “loving enough” is not a sufficient or helpful reaction. We need the power of God, and we may well be dealing with demonic activity. The love of God and the power of God go together.