Mark5

Jesus casts a legion of unclean spirits from a man into a herd of swine, which then drown in the sea. The healed man is sent to testify of God's mercy to his friends. Later, Jesus heals a woman who touches his garment by faith, and subsequently raises Jairus's daughter from the dead, demonstrating his power over sickness and death.

Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac

Yeshua and his talmidim arrived at the other side of the lake, in the Gerasenes' territory.

As soon as he disembarked, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the burial caves to meet him.

He lived in the burial caves; and no one could keep him tied up, not even with a chain.

He had often been chained hand and foot, but he would snap the chains and break the irons off his feet, and no one was strong enough to control him.

Night and day he wandered among the graves and through the hills, howling and gashing himself with stones.

Seeing Yeshua from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him

and screamed at the top of his voice, "What do you want with me, Yeshua, Son of God Ha`Elyon? I implore you in God's name! Don't torture me!"

For Yeshua had already begun saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of this man!"

Yeshua asked him, "What's your name?" "My name is Legion," he answered, "there are so many of us";

and he kept begging Yeshua not to send them out of that region.

Now there was a large herd of pigs feeding near the hill,

and the unclean spirits begged him, "Send us to the pigs, so we can go into them."

Yeshua gave them permission. They came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering around two thousand, rushed down the hillside into the lake and were drowned.

The swineherds fled and told it in the town and in the surrounding country, and the people went to see what had happened.

They came to Yeshua and saw the man who had had the legion of demons, sitting there, dressed and in his right mind; and they were frightened.

Those who had seen it told what had happened to the man con trolled by demons and to the pigs;

and the people began begging Yeshua to leave their district.

As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been demonized begged him to be allowed to go with him.

But Yeshua would not permit it. Instead, he said to him, "Go home to your people, and tell them how much ADONAI in his mercy has done for you."

He went off and began proclaiming in the Ten Towns how much Yeshua had done for him, and everyone was amazed.

Jesus Returns; Jairus Seeks Help

Yeshua crossed in the boat to the other side of the lake, and a great crowd gathered around him.

There came to him a synagogue official, Ya'ir by name, who fell at his feet

and pleaded desperately with him, "My little daughter is at the point of death. Please! Come and lay your hands on her, so that she will get well and live!"

He went with him; and a large crowd followed, pressing all around him.

Healing the Woman with an Issue of Blood

Among them was a woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years

and had suffered a great deal under many physicians. She had spent her life savings; yet instead of improving, she had grown worse.

She had heard about Yeshua, so she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his robe;

for she said, "If I touch even his clothes, I will be healed."

Instantly the hemorrhaging stopped, and she felt in her body that she had been healed from the disease.

At the same time, Yeshua, aware that power had gone out from him, turned around in the crowd and asked, "Who touched my clothes?"

His talmidim responded, "You see the people pressing in on you; and still you ask, `Who touched me?'"

But he kept looking around to see who had done it.

The woman, frightened and trembling, because she knew what had happened to her, came and fell down in front of him and told him the whole truth.

"Daughter," he said to her, "your trust has healed you. Go in peace, and be healed of your disease."

The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter

While he was still speaking, people from the synagogue official's house came, saying, "Your daughter has died. Why bother the rabbi any longer?"

Ignoring what they had said, Yeshua told the synagogue official, "Don't be afraid, just keep trusting."

He let no one follow him except Kefa, Ya`akov and Yochanan, Ya`akov's brother.

When they came to the synagogue official's house, he found a great commotion, with people weeping and wailing loudly.

On entering, he said to them, "Why all this commotion and weeping? The child isn't dead, she's just asleep!"

And they jeered at him. But he put them all outside, took the child's father and mother and those with him, and went in where the child was.

Taking her by the hand, he said to her, "Talita, kumi!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!").

At once the girl got up and began walking around; she was twelve years old. Everybody was utterly amazed.

He gave them strict orders to say nothing about this to anyone, and told them to give her something to eat.

Study Notes for Mark 5

Verse 1

The country of the Gadarenes (or Gerasenes/Gergesenes in other manuscripts) refers to the Decapolis region, Gentile territory east of the Sea of Galilee, explaining the presence of swine (v. 11).

Verse 7

The demon immediately recognizes Jesus’s divine authority, addressing him as the 'Son of the most high God,' a title used in Jewish and Hellenistic contexts to denote supreme power.

Verse 9

A 'Legion' was a primary unit in the Roman army, consisting of thousands of soldiers. This name signifies the immense number and organized nature of the demonic presence confronting Jesus.

Verse 11

The presence of a large herd of swine (pigs) confirms that this area was populated by Gentiles, as pigs were considered ritually unclean under Mosaic Law (Leviticus 11:7).

Verse 13

The destruction of the herd (about 2,000 animals) demonstrates the sheer power of the unclean spirits and the magnitude of the spiritual deliverance that Jesus accomplished.

Verse 15

The sight of the man restored—clothed, sitting, and rational—is the ultimate proof of the miracle. The resulting fear shows the locals were more concerned with the disruption of their economic order than the man’s deliverance.

Verse 17

The townspeople ask Jesus to leave, prioritizing their economic loss (the swine) over the supernatural display of divine power and compassion.

Verse 19

Unlike previous healings where Jesus commanded secrecy, here he commissions the man to be a witness among his own people in the Gentile Decapolis region, making him the first missionary to the Gentiles.

Verse 21

Jesus returns to the Jewish side of the sea (likely Capernaum). The following two intertwined miracles demonstrate Jesus’s power over ritual uncleanness, chronic disease, and death itself.

Verse 22

Jairus was a respected 'ruler of the synagogue,' a local official responsible for organizing services. His public display of humility before Jesus underscores the desperation of his situation.

Verse 25

The woman’s chronic bleeding rendered her perpetually ritually unclean according to the Law (Leviticus 15:25). This condition isolated her from society, making her untouchable and preventing her from participating in temple worship.

Verse 26

The note about her suffering under physicians and spending all her money emphasizes the severity of her affliction and the hopelessness of her situation before encountering Jesus.

Verse 30

Jesus immediately sensed that divine power (*dynamis* or 'virtue') had been intentionally drawn out of him. This highlights that the healing was not accidental, but a direct consequence of faith.

Verse 34

Jesus affirms that her faith, not the mere physical touch, was the catalyst for her healing. By publicly addressing her as 'Daughter,' he restores her dignity and reintegrates her into the community.

Verse 35

The arrival of the messengers confirms the death of the girl, seemingly nullifying Jairus's plea and heightening the drama of the narrative.

Verse 36

This phrase, 'Be not afraid, only believe,' is a central command in Mark, contrasting human fear with the active faith required to witness divine intervention.

Verse 37

Peter, James, and John form Jesus’s inner circle, frequently selected to witness the most significant events, such as this raising and the later Transfiguration.

Verse 39

By stating the girl 'sleepeth,' Jesus redefines death as a temporary, reversible state that is subject to his divine authority, anticipating his own resurrection.

Verse 41

Mark often preserves the original Aramaic words spoken by Jesus (*Talitha cumi* means 'little girl, arise') to emphasize the authenticity, immediacy, and directness of his powerful command.

Verse 42

The girl’s age of twelve years intentionally parallels the twelve years of the woman’s illness (v. 25), linking the two miracles to show Jesus’s power over all forms of affliction and the ultimate enemy, death.

Verse 43

The command for secrecy (part of the 'Messianic Secret') ensures that the focus remains on Jesus’s identity and teaching, rather than attracting premature political attention. The instruction to feed her emphasizes her complete, physical restoration.

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Mark5

Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac

Jesus Returns; Jairus Seeks Help

Healing the Woman with an Issue of Blood

The Raising of Jairus’s Daughter

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