5:1 And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes.
JESUS HEALS TWO GERGESENE DEMONIACS. (Gergesa, now called Khersa). Matthew 8:28-34; Matthew 9:1; Mark 5:1-21; Luke 8:26-40
And they came to the other side of the sea. They left in the "even", afternoon and were driven forward by the storm, they would have reached the far shore several hours before dark.
Into the country of the Gerasenes. Midway between the north and south ends of the lake, and directly east across the lake from Magdala, was the little city of Gergesa. In front and somewhat to the south of this city Jesus landed. Some sixteen miles away and to the southeast, and seven miles back from the lake, was the well-known city of Gadara. Further on to the southeast, on the borders of Arabia, and at least fifty miles from Gergesa, was the city of Gerasa. The name Gerasenes is, therefore, probably an error of the transcribers for Gergesenes, as Origen suggested. The region is properly called "country of the Gadarenes", as in the Authorized Version, for Gadara was an important city, and the stamp of a ship on its coins suggests that its territory extended to the Lake of Galilee.
5:2 And when he was come out of the boat, straightway there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
There met him out of the tombs. The sides of the mountain near the ruins of Gergesa are studded with natural and artificial caves which were used as tombs.
A man with an unclean spirit. Matthew tells of two, Matthew 8:28, while Mark and Luke describe only one, Luke 8:27. They tell of the principal one--the one who was the fiercer. In order to tell of two, Matthew had to omit the name "legion", which belonged to one; and conversely, Mark and Luke, to give the conversation with one, did not confuse us by telling of two. On unclean spirits, see Mark 1:23.
5:5 And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones1.
And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out, and cutting himself with stones. The natural spirit of the man seeking to throw off the dominion of the demons would cry out in agony, and the demons themselves, in their own misery, would use him as a vehicle to express their own grief. It would be hard to imagine a more horrible state.
5:6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him;
And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshipped him. The demons showed the supremacy of Jesus not only by their cries to be let alone, but by the fact that they made no effort to escape from him. They ran to him, knowing that it was useless to do otherwise.
5:7 and crying out with a loud voice, he saith, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure thee by God, torment me not.
What have I to do with thee. On this phrase, see John 2:4.
I adjure thee by God, torment me not. The judgment-day, the time of punishment and torment (Matthew 25:41; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 1:6).
5:8 For he said unto him, Come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the man.
Unclean spirit. See Mark 1:23.
5:9 And he asked him, What is thy name? And he saith unto him, My name is Legion; for we are many.
What is thy name? It is likely that Jesus asked the "sufferer" his name wished to assure him of sympathy, but the "demons" in him had the floor and continued to do the talking. If Jesus asked the demon its name, he did so that he might disclose this fact to his disciples.
My name is Legion; for we are many. A legion was a division of the Roman army containing from four to six thousand men.
5:10 And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.
And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. As one mouth entreated for many, Mark uses both the singular ("him") and the plural ("them").
5:13 And he gave them leave. And the unclean spirits1 came out, and entered into the swine: and the herd rushed down the steep into the sea, [in number] about two thousand; and they were drowned in the sea.
The unclean spirits. See Mark 1:23.
And the herd rushed down the steep into the sea. About a mile south of Khersa a spur of the mountain thrusts itself out toward the lake so that its foot is within forty feet of the water line. This is the only spot on that side of the lake where the mountains come near the water. The slope is so steep and the ledge at its foot so narrow that a herd rushing down could not check itself before tumbling into the water.
[In number] about two thousand; and they were drowned in the sea. Skeptics have censured Jesus for permitting this loss of property. God may recognize our property rights as against each other, but he nowhere recognizes them in the realm of nature. What was done to the swine was done by the demons, and the owners had no more right to complain than they would have had if the herd had been carried off by the murrain, by flood, or by other natural cause. All animals have a right to die, either singly or in numbers. The demons evidently did not intend to destroy the swine. Their desire to have live bodies to dwell in shows that they did not. But the presence of the demons in their bodies made the hogs crazy, as it had the demoniac, and they ran the way their noses were pointed at the moment. For discussion of demoniacal possession, see Mark 1:23.
5:14 And they that fed them fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they came to see what it was that had come to pass.
They that fed them. There being no fences in Palestine, herds were invariably attended by herdsmen.
5:15 And they come to Jesus, and behold him that was possessed with demons sitting, clothed and in his right mind, [even] him that had the legion1: and they were afraid.
And behold him that was possessed with demons sitting, clothed and in his right mind, [even] him that had the legion. A faint suggestion that there was another. See Mark 5:2.
5:16 And they that saw it1 declared unto them how it befell him that was possessed with demons, and concerning the swine.
They that saw it. The herdsmen.
5:17 And they began to beseech him to depart from their borders.
They began to beseech him to depart from their borders. The loss of the swine moved them to a fear a further loss of property. To them the loss of swine was more important than the recovery of a man. To this day, worldly interests move men more than acts of mercy.
5:18 And as he was entering into the boat, he that had been possessed with demons besought him that he might be with him.
He that had been possessed with demons besought him that he might be with him. As a frightened child newly awakened from a horrible dream clings to its parent, so the man clung to Christ.
5:19 And he suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and [how] he had mercy on thee.
Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and [how] he had mercy on thee. Jesus departed, but left behind him a witness whose very body was a living monument bearing testimony to Christ's compassion and power. Jesus revisited this locality some months later. See Mark 7:31-37.
5:20 And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men marvelled.
This is a commentary I got from Crosswalk.com. What I find interesting about this commentary is that they are assuming that there were two people who got healed and not one. It makes more sense, at least to me. Legion is many. Why not two instead of one person, as the Matthew account would give. Their could still be two people in the other accounts, but they happen to only mention one of the two. Interesting. I like it. I feel this is a good explanation. I will, still, of course study more on Legion in days and weeks to come. Johnny Out.
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