The Gerasen Demoniac

St Mark Chapter V : Verses 1-20

[1] And they came over the strait of the sea into the country of the Gerasens. 

[2] And as he went out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the monuments a man with an unclean spirit, 

[3] Who had his dwelling in the tombs, and no man now could bind him, not even with chains. 

[4] For having been often bound with fetters and chains, he had burst the chains, and broken the fetters in pieces, and no one could tame him. 

[5] And he was always day and night in the monuments and in the mountains, crying and cutting himself with stones.
[6] And seeing Jesus afar off, he ran and adored him. 

[7] And crying with a loud voice, he said: What have I to do with thee, Jesus the Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God that thou torment me not. 

[8] For he said unto him: Go out of the man, thou unclean spirit. 

[9] And he asked him: What is thy name? And he saith to him: My name is Legion, for we are many.

[10] And he besought him much, that he would not drive him away out of the country.

And the unclean spirits going out,
entered into the swine. J-J Tissot

[11] And there was there near the mountain a great herd of swine, feeding.

[12] And the spirits besought him, saying: Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. 

[13] And Jesus immediately gave them leave. And the unclean spirits going out, entered into the swine: and the herd with great violence was carried headlong into the sea, being about two thousand, and were stifled in the sea. 

[14] And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city and in the fields. And they went out to see what was done: 

[15] And they came to Jesus, and they see him that was troubled with the devil, sitting, clothed, and well in his wits, and they were afraid.
[16] And they that had seen it, told them, in what manner he had been dealt with who had the devil; and concerning the swine. 

[17] And they began to pray him that he would depart from their coasts. 

[18] And when he went up into the ship, he that had been troubled with the devil, began to beseech him that he might be with him. 

[19] And he admitted him not, but saith to him: Go into thy house to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had mercy on thee. 

[20] And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men wondered.

[1] Et venerunt trans fretum maris in regionem Gerasenorum. [2] Et exeunti ei de navi, statim occurrit de monumentis homo in spiritu immundo, [3] qui domicilium habebat in monumentis, et neque catenis jam quisquam poterat eum ligare : [4] quoniam sæpe compedibus et catenis vinctus, dirupisset catenas, et compedes comminuisset, et nemo poterat eum domare : [5] et semper die ac nocte in monumentis, et in montibus erat, clamans, et concidens se lapidibus. [6] Videns autem Jesum a longe, cucurrit, et adoravit eum : [7] et clamans voce magna dixit : Quid mihi et tibi, Jesu Fili Dei altissimi? adjuro te per Deum, ne me torqueas. [8] Dicebat enim illi : Exi spiritus immunde ab homine. [9] Et interrogabat eum : Quod tibi nomen est? Et dicit ei : Legio mihi nomen est, quia multi sumus. [10] Et deprecabatur eum multum, ne se expelleret extra regionem. [11] Erat autem ibi circa montem grex porcorum magnus, pascens. [12] Et deprecabantur eum spiritus, dicentes : Mitte nos in porcos ut in eos introeamus. [13] Et concessit eis statim Jesus. Et exeuntes spiritus immundi introierunt in porcos : et magno impetu grex praecipitatus est in mare ad duo millia, et suffocati sunt in mari. [14] Qui autem pascebant eos, fugerunt, et nuntiaverunt in civitatem et in agros. Et egressi sunt videre quid esset factum : [15] et veniunt ad Jesum : et vident illum qui a dæmonio vexabatur, sedentem, vestitum, et sanæ mentis, et timuerunt.[16] Et narraverunt illis, qui viderant, qualiter factum esset ei qui dæmonium habuerat, et de porcis. [17] Et rogare cœperunt eum ut discederet de finibus eorum. [18] Cumque ascenderet navim, cœpit illum deprecari, qui a dæmonio vexatus fuerat, ut esset cum illo, [19] et non admisit eum, sed ait illi : Vade in domum tuam ad tuos, et annuntia illis quanta tibi Dominus fecerit, et misertus sit tui. [20] Et abiit, et cœpit praedicare in Decapoli, quanta sibi fecisset Jesus : et omnes mirabantur.

Notes

1. Gerasens. A district south-east of the lake and opposite Caphar-naum. They would probably have arrived early in the morning, as the distance across the lake was about a night’s journey ; moreover, there had been a tempest, and this would have delayed them.
2. immediately. Probably the demoniac had seen the boat coming in and felt drawn to meet our Lord.
out of the monuments. Throughout Syria there are many natural caves, and it was also customary to hew tombs out of the solid rocks.
“ An immense mountain rises directly above Chersha in which are ancient tombs” (Thomson). Many of these tombs belong to very remote periods, even before the time of our Lord. These sepulchres were considered “ unclean ” on account of the dead having been buried there, hence no Jew would enter them, and demoniacs and other outcasts would hold undisturbed possession of these caves.
a man. St Luke also speaks only of one, while St Matt. (viii. 28) mentions two that were possessed. One does not exclude a second ; probably the more violent of the two is mentioned as being more dangerous.
    with an unclean spirit. The man was possessed by a demon of impurity.
3. his dwelling. The Jews made no provision for the mentally afflicted.

They bound them when they became violent ; otherwise the poor creatures roamed at will through the land. Maniacs, demoniacs, and lepers were alike treated as outcasts.

    no man now could bind him. Evidently he had become more and more violent. The devil gave him supernatural strength, as to the man mentioned in the Acts (xix. 16). And the man in whom the wicked spirit was, leaping upon them and mastering them both, prevailed against them , so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

4. chains. Bonds in general, particularly for the neck and hands — not necessarily metal chains.

    no one could tame him. He could neither he restrained by physical force nor subdued by will-power.

5. day and night in the monuments, etc. Probably passing his days wandering over the mountains, and his nights in the tombs. St Luke (viii. 27) says he wore no clothes, and St Matt. (viii. 28) points out that none could pass by that way for fear of the two demoniacs.

    cutting himself with stones. Demoniacs were often urged to lacerate and even to destrov themselves. Who, wheresoever he taketh him , dasheth him, and he foameth, and gnasheth with the teeth, and pineth away. And I spoke to thy disciples to cast him out, and they could not. And oftentimes hath he cast him into the fire and into waters, to destroy him. But if thou canst do anything, help us, having compassion on us (St Mark ix. 17, 21).

6. he ran and adored him. The devils feared Christ, hence their acknowledgment of His divinity. On the other hand, the poor demoniac may have felt something drawing him to the feet of Jesus ; and while the adoration was a forced one on the part of the devil, it may have been a willing homage on the part of the poor demoniac.

7. What have I to do with thee ? These words may mean “ What is there in common between us?” or “ Why do you trouble us thus? ”

Jesus the Son of the most high God. Perhaps the confession was forced from them, by the sense of power which they felt our Lord exercised over them. Certainly they had no good motive in confessing His divinity, and probably when the confession was publicly made, the devils may have hoped to throw discredit on our Lord, and by admitting that they knew Him, have led the bystanders to conclude that He worked in collusion with them.
    I adjure thee. Whenever a demoniac comes in presence of our Saviour we notice a strange mingling of supplication and arrogance. They evidently feared, and yet would fain defy Him.
    torment me not. St Matt, adds before the time (viii. 29). The devils do not wish to be sent back to hell. They prefer to roam at will and torment men. Though they carry their torments with them wherever they go, yet, evidently from these words, we may infer that they suffered more intensely when confined to their own place.
8. For he said unto him, i.e. Christ had said to the demon Go out, etc., before the demon adjured Him, saying, Torment me not.
9. What is thy name ? Thy : here our Lord addresses the spirit, not the man. Though there were many devils in the man, one seems to have acted as spokesman. What have I to do with thee ? Torment me not. Jesus asked the question for the benefit of the Apostles.
    Legion. Perhaps the devils wished to strike terror into the souls of the listeners and to give a great idea of their strength and power. A Roman legion varied from 3000 to 6000 men, and was a terror to the Jews. The number is not here to be taken literally. It simply implies they were many.
10. he besought him, etc. Notice the four requests made by the devil. He asked Christ : —

(a) Not to torment him by driving him out (v. 8).

(b) Not to drive him away out of the country (v. 10).

(c) Not to command them to go into the abyss (i.e. hell) (St Luke viii. 31).

(d) That he might go into the swine (v. 12).

11. near the mountain. There are in the environs of Chersha large plateaus of fertile soil, where abundant pasture and bulbous roots suitable for swine’s food are slill to be seen.
    a great herd of swine feeding. Jews were forbidden to keep swine or to eat swine’s flesh. These swine may have belonged to some irreligious Jews or to Gentiles. Probably the herd was the property of more than one man. The greater number of the inhabitants of this region were certainly Gentiles, but there were also Hellenistic, i.e. Greek-speaking Jews living there.
12. Send us into the swine. If the devils could enter into a man’s body, still more would they be able to take possession of animals, but they needed our Lord’s permission to do this. The devils doubtless wished to go into the swine —

(1) That they might, by destroying the .swine, free themselves.

(2) In order to stir up the owners of the herd against our Lord.

13. the herd with great violence was carried headlong. Near Chersha, a little to the south, a steep mountain rises almost perpendicularly from the sea. The swine rushing down the sides of this mountain with great violence could not have checked their course on arriving at the edge of the abrupt descent, but must inevitably have fallen into the sea.
    two thousand. St Mark alone mentions the number.
    stifled. Suffocated in the water. Jesus, as God, has a right to give or take worldly possessions as He wills. If the owners of the swine were Jews, they were breaking the law and deserved to lose their herds. If they were Gentiles, they had probably induced the Jews, in view of profit, to trade in swine, and thus gave scandal. In any case God can always, without injustice, take back what comes from Him, and we know that famine and pestilence have been frequently sent as chastisements. This miracle and that of “ the cursing of the barren fig-tree ” are the only two miracles of destruction which our Lord wrought.
14. they that fed them fled, etc. They ran away in fear and told all whom they met. The owners of the herds would have dwelt in the city. Hence they went out into the plains to see what was done (v. 14).
15. they come .... and see him, i.e. the demoniac.
Mark the contrast.

(а) The demoniac, now well in his wits.

(b) sitting at His feet. No longer roaming about, crying out, or cutting himself with

stones.

(c) clothed: instead of naked.

they were afraid. Awed by the evident miracle.
16. In this verse St Mark relates the scene as an eye-witness might have done. Those who had seen the miracle are eager to give all details to the newcomers, and also they wish to exonerate themselves from all blame for the loss of the swine.
17. they began to pray him, etc. They regretted the loss of the swine, and feared to incur other losses. St Peter, in his humility, once said, Depart from me, 0 Lord, but the Gerasens did not ask our Lord to depart on account of their unworthiness, but simply from interested worldly motives.
18. He went up into the ship. Our Lord granted their request. He does not force His graces on the unwilling. These Gerasens were also selfish, not considering the blessings which the poor demoniac had received. Jesus returned there about a year later.
    that he might be with him. He wished to accompany our Lord, either out of gratitude, or perhaps he feared the devils might again take possession of him when Jesus had left. 
19. tell them how great things, etc. The man now delivered was to be a disciple of Jesus and tell what God had done for him. Thus some at least, must have been prepared to receive our Lord when He returned there.
20. Decapolis. A district containing a league of ten cities. It was established by Pompey the Great, in order to conquer and subjugate the native bands of robbers and Bedouin.

Decapolis

Decapolis (ten cities) was a district east and south-east of the Sea of Galilee. It consisted of ten principal cities, rebuilt and endowed with special privileges by the Romans in A.D. 65, when they conquered Syria. It was colonized by veterans from the army of Alexander the Great. All these ten cities, except Scythopolis, lay east of the Jordan. According to Pliny, the names of the cities were as follows : — Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia, Geresa, Dion, Canetha, Damascus, and Raphana. This list is differently given by other authors. In the Acts we find Damascus very prominent, but Josephus states that Scythopolis was the largest of the ten cities, hence he excluded Damascus. This region is only mentioned in the gospels four times.

(1) “ Much people followed him from Galilee and from Decapolis ” (St Matt. iv. 25).

(2) The Gerasen Demoniac “ went his way and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him ” (v. 20).

(3) “ He came through the midst of Decapolis, and they bring to him one deaf

and dumb ” (vii. 31).

(4) It was probably in this district that Jesus fed the four thousand (viii. 1-9).

 

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.