Tyndale Open Study NotesMark 5

The three miracle stories in this section are connected by:

• a shared location (the Sea of Galilee),

• the presence of the disciples,

• the use of a boat, and

• a common theme, "Who is this" (4:41).

Jesus and the disciples reached the other side of the lake, finishing the journey started in 4:35. As in 1:21–28 and 3:11, the demons recognized that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God (1:34). For the first time in the Gospel of Mark, a Gentile was healed by Jesus (see study note on 5:10–13; compare 7:24–30).

in the region of the Gerasenes: The exact location is uncertain because of differences in the manuscripts and geography.

Manuscript evidence supports Gerasa, a city in this region located 59.5 kilometers (37 miles) southeast of the Sea of Galilee (5:13).

Some manuscripts read Gadarenes. Gadara was eight kilometers (five miles) southeast of the Sea of Galilee.

A few manuscripts read Gergesenes. The town of Gergesa was on a steep bank on the Sea of Galilee’s eastern shore.

Mark focuses on Jesus. The evil spirit was strong, but Jesus had even greater authority (5:6–13).

• Despite the man's terrible condition, the arrival of Jesus gave him hope. He ran and knelt before Jesus, asking for help.

• Son of the Most High God: Evil spirits know who Jesus really is (1:24, 34; 3:11).

• There was no struggle. Jesus was in control, and the unclean spirit obeyed him. Torture is the final judgment awaiting unclean spirits (Matthew 8:29; Luke 8:31).

A legion was a Roman military unit of 5,000–6,000 men. Here it describes the presence of many evil spirits.

The spirits kept begging Jesus, which shows his authority over them. Jesus allowed them to enter a herd of about 2,000 pigs. The pigs show that this was Gentile (non-Jewish) territory.

Some people focus on the loss of the pigs or ask why Jesus allowed the demons to destroy them. But Mark and his audience focused on how Jesus saved the man.

The change in the man shows the power Jesus has to save. Before, the man had been controlled by evil spirits. Now he was restored.

The frightened people asked Jesus to go away. Fear and amazement are frequent responses to the mighty acts of Jesus (see 1:22, 27; 2:12; 4:41; 6:50–51). People reacted in different ways to the saving work of Jesus (see 4:14–20).

Unlike his neighbors, the man experienced God's grace and wanted to go with Him (literally that he might be with him; see 3:14).

• Jesus wanted the man to tell others about the great things the Lord had done for him. Thus, Mark identifies Jesus as the Lord.

• tell them how much: Unlike other times, Jesus did not hide his identity, possibly because it was safer in this non-Jewish area (see 3:11–12).

• the Decapolis: See study note on Matthew 4:24–25.

When Jesus had again crossed by boat to the other side … A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived: Jairus organized the worship services at the synagogue and represented the Jewish community to the outside world (compare Acts 13:15).

Two healing miracles are connected by the need for faith (5:34, 36). The story of Jairus’s daughter begins, then the account of the woman with constant bleeding comes in the middle (5:25–34), and then the story of Jairus’s daughter continues. This pattern places the two stories together and connects them (see Mark Book Introduction, “Literary Features”). During the delay caused by the woman’s healing, Jairus’s daughter died (5:35–43).

The father wanted Jesus to heal her physically (Greek so that she might be saved; see 3:4; 5:28, 34; 6:56; 10:52; 15:30–31).

As Jesus heads to Jairus's home, followed by a large crowd, Mark introduces a woman in the crowd who suffers from constant bleeding. This condition not only harms her health but also makes her ceremonially unclean. This prevents her from participating in normal community life (see Leviticus 15:25–27). She is an example of the faith that Jairus should have.

The woman's faith led her to believe that touching the clothing that Jesus was wearing would heal her, and it happened right away (5:34).

The woman felt afraid, not because she was guilty, but because she realized she had witnessed a powerful miracle from God. Unlike the fear of the people in the region of the Gerasenes (5:15–17), her fear was positive and led to Jesus blessing her. She experienced God’s grace and salvation.

Since Jairus had left home, his daughter had died. Jesus reassured Jairus that, despite the death of his daughter and the seeming hopelessness of the situation, Jairus should not be afraid but have faith in Jesus.

just believe: Like the woman did (5:28).

Peter, James, and John became the closest followers of Jesus (see 3:16–17; 9:2; 14:33).

the commotion … weeping and wailing loudly: These things the messengers' report and emphasized the hopelessness of the situation. Such displays of grief were common at funerals in the time of Jesus, where people often hired professionals to sadly cry (see Matthew 9:23).

Sleep is a metaphor for death (John 11:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–15). The child is not dead because Jesus will resurrect her. She is only asleep and will soon "wake up" and continue her life. The same Greek word translated here as asleep refers to death in Matthew 27:52; Acts 7:60; 13:36; 1 Corinthians 15:6, 18, 20, 51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–15.

The crowd did not understand what Jesus meant. They laughed at him, knowing the girl had died. He made them all leave, probably to keep them from discouraging the parents any further.

Mark translates Talitha koum for his Greek-speaking audience as "Little girl, I say to you, get up!" These Aramaic words are not magical. They are simply what Jesus said when he raised the girl. Aramaic was his native language. Mark likely learned the story in Aramaic while in Jerusalem.

Jesus showed his power over death when the little girl stood up and walked immediately. She did not need time to recover. The change was instant and complete.

• After the miracle, there is a command not to tell anyone about it (see 3:11–12).

• give her something to eat: The Lord, who controls creation, demons, illness, and death, also cares about the daily needs of his creatures.