Mar 5 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Mark 5:1-20: 5:1-20 Jesus and the disciples arrived at the other side of the lake , completing the journey begun in 4:35 . As in 1:21-28 and 3:11 , the demons truly recognized (1:34 ) that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God . For the first time in the Gospel of Mark, a Gentile was the recipient of Jesus’ healing ministry (see study note on 5:10-13; cp. 7:24-30 ). 5:1 The region of the Gerasenes: Textual and geographical problems make the exact location uncertain. Manuscript evidence supports Gerasa, a city in this region located thirty-seven miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee (5:13 ). Some manuscripts read “Gadarenes”; Gadara was five miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. A few manuscripts read “Gergesenes”; the town of Gergesa was located on a steep bank on the Sea of Galilee’s eastern shore.

Summary for Mark 5:1-20: 5:1-20 ^a Jesus and the disciples arrived at the other side of the lake, completing the journey begun in 4:35 ^b. As in 1:21-28 ^c and 3:11 ^d, the demons truly recognized (1:34 ^e) that Jesus was the Son of the Most High God. For the first time in the Gospel of Mark, a Gentile was the recipient of Jesus’ healing ministry (see study note on 5:10-13; cp. 7:24-30 ^f). 5:1 ^g The region of the Gerasenes: Textual and geographical problems make the exact location uncertain. Manuscript evidence supports Gerasa, a city in this region located thirty-seven miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee (5:13 ^h). Some manuscripts read “Gadarenes”; Gadara was five miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee. A few manuscripts read “Gergesenes”; the town of Gergesa was located on a steep bank on the Sea of Galilee’s eastern shore.
Summary for Mark 5:2-5: 5:2-5 ⁱ Mark focuses on Jesus. The evil spirit had great strength, but Jesus’ authority was even greater (5:6-13 ^j).
Summary for Mark 5:6-8: 5:6-8 ^k Despite the man’s horrible condition, Jesus’ coming provided him a glimmer of hope; he ran and knelt before Jesus, seeking help.

• Son of the Most High God: Evil spirits know Jesus’ true identity (1:24 ^l, 34 ^m; 3:11 ⁿ).

• There was no struggle; Jesus was in charge and the evil spirit obeyed the Master. Torture is the final judgment awaiting evil spirits (Matt 8:29 ^o; Luke 8:31 ^p).
5:9 ^q A legion was a Roman military unit of 5,000–6,000 men. Here it describes the presence of many evil spirits.
Summary for Mark 5:10-13: 5:10-13 ^r The spirits’ persistent begging shows Jesus’ mastery over them. They were permitted to enter a herd of about 2,000 pigs, whose presence marks this as Gentile territory. Some have focused on the economic loss of the pigs or have speculated about why Jesus let the demons destroy them, but Mark and his readers were interested in how Jesus saved the man.
Summary for Mark 5:15-16: 5:15-16 ^s The contrast between the former and present condition of the man who had been possessed was a testimony of Jesus’ saving power.
5:17 ^t The frightened people asked Jesus to go away. Fear and amazement are frequent responses to the mighty acts of Jesus (cp. 1:22 ^u, 27 ^v; 2:12 ^w; 4:41 ^x; 6:50-51 ^y). The response to Jesus’ saving work varied (cp. 4:14-20 ^z).
5:18 ^aa Unlike his neighbors (5:17 ^ab), the man experienced God’s grace and wanted to go with him (literally to be with him; see 3:14 ^ac).
Summary for Mark 5:19-20: 5:19-20 ^ad Jesus’ mission for the man was to tell others the great things the Lord had done for him. Mark thus identifies Jesus as the Lord.

• tell them everything: Unlike other occasions, Jesus did not try to keep his identity secret (see 3:11-12 ^ae), perhaps because it was less dangerous in this Gentile area.

• Ten Towns: See study note on Matt 4:24-25.
Summary for Mark 5:21-43: 5:21-43 ^af Two healing miracles are connected by the need for faith (5:34 ^ag, 36 ^ah). The story of Jairus’s daughter brackets the story of the healing of the woman who had constant bleeding (5:25-34 ^ai; see Mark Book Introduction, “Literary Features”), during which Jairus’s sick daughter died (5:35-43 ^aj).
Summary for Mark 5:21-22: 5:21-22 ^ak As Jesus arrived in Galilee on the other (i.e., west) side of the lake, ... a leader of the local synagogue named Jairus approached him. Jairus organized the worship services at the synagogue (cp. Acts 13:15 ^al) and represented the Jewish community to the outside world.
5:23 ^am The father wanted Jesus to heal her physically (literally that she might be saved; see 3:4 ^an; 5:28 ^ao, 34 ^ap; 6:56 ^aq; 10:52 ^ar; 15:30-31 ^as).
Summary for Mark 5:24-34: 5:24-34 ^at As Jesus goes to Jairus’s home with a great crowd following, Mark introduces a woman in the crowd who suffered from constant bleeding. This condition not only brought poor health, but made her ceremonially unclean and thus unable to participate in the normal life of the community (see Lev 15:25-27 ^au). She was a model of the kind of faith that Jairus should have.
Summary for Mark 5:27-29: 5:27-29 ^av The woman’s faith (5:34 ^aw) convinced her that just touching Jesus’ clothing would bring healing; this took place immediately.
Summary for Mark 5:33-34: 5:33-34 ^ax The woman responded in fear—not from guilt, but from the realization that she had experienced a mighty miracle from God. Unlike the fear of the Gerasenes (5:15-17 ^ay), her fear was positive and brought Jesus’ blessing. She experienced God’s grace and salvation.
Summary for Mark 5:35-43: 5:35-43 ^az 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.
5:36 ^ba Just have faith: As the woman had (5:28 ^bb).
5:37 ^bc Peter, James, and John became Jesus’ inner circle (see 3:16-17 ^bd; 9:2 ^be; 14:33 ^bf).
5:38 ^bg The commotion and weeping and wailing confirmed the report of the messengers and dramatized the hopelessness of the situation. Such outbursts of grief were typical of funerals in Jesus’ day, where professional mourners were often hired (cp. Matt 9:23 ^bh).
5:39 ^bi Sleep is a metaphor for death (John 11:11 ^bj; 1 Thes 4:13-15 ^bk). The child isn’t dead because she will be resurrected—she’s only asleep and will shortly “wake up” and resume her life. The same Greek word translated here as “sleep” refers to death in Matt 27:52 ^bl; Acts 7:60 ^bm; 13:36 ^bn; 1 Cor 15:6 ^bo, 18 ^bp, 20 ^bq, 51 ^br; 1 Thes 4:13-15 ^bs.
5:40 ^bt Because the crowd did not understand Jesus’ words, they laughed at him, knowing that the girl had died. He made them all leave, probably to keep them from discouraging the parents any further.
5:41 ^bu Mark translates Talitha koum for his Greek-speaking readers as Little girl, get up! The Aramaic terms are not magical; they are simply the actual words Jesus spoke when he raised the little girl, since Aramaic was his native language. The Aramaic terms that Mark records probably come from learning the story in Aramaic in Jerusalem.
5:42 ^bv Jesus’ authority over death was demonstrated when the little girl immediately stood up and walked around, with no need for recuperation. The transformation was instant and absolute.
5:43 ^bw The miracle is followed by a command not to tell anyone what had happened (see 3:11-12 ^bx).

• give her something to eat: The Lord of nature, demons, illness, and death is also concerned with the daily needs of his creatures.