Mark Vol. 1 - Week 14 (5:1-20)
Mark 5:1-20
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The King of Power
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Mark 5:1-20 〰️ The King of Power 〰️
In Mark 5, we're again presented with a story of Jesus encountering someone with an unclean spirit. In this passage, we get a little more detail regarding who the unclean spirit is, what it does, and how it responds to Jesus. The opening verses in Mark 5 set the scene for us: Jesus and his followers had just returned from the Sea of Galilee. He again displayed His authority and power by rebuking the wind and commanding the seas to calm. We can't go through large portions of Scripture in one sitting, so we can quickly lose sight of common threads in the greater narrative. Since we only tackle one or two dozen verses at a time, we can forget or not easily see some connections that Mark is trying to draw for us. Between 4:35-41 and 5:1-20, we see this connection of Jesus' authority. Again, this theme is throughout Mark's gospel account, and we see it on full display again.
In this week's passage, we read of Jesus being approached by a man with an unclean spirit, not unlike the earlier encounter in 1:21-34. Here, however, we get a little more detail about how the unclean spirit afflicts the man. In previous passages in Mark, tormenting by the unclean spirit wasn't really described, with the focus on Jesus and His interactions. Here, we get a bigger view of what it's like for the man and the community to live among an unclean spirit. Mark describes the demoniac (someone vexed or tormented by an unclean spirit or demon) and where he lived. The passage tells us that the man lived in local tombs and was restrained at one point, only to have had the strength to break out of them. These tombs were known to be shallow caves in the walls of the hill where the dead were laid to rest. The local community likely exiled the man there because of the unclean spirit tormenting him.
Whether it was Mark's use of literary tools or the Lord's providence, we can draw a connection between this passage and our earlier reading in Mark 3. Let's flip back to verses 23-27: "So he summoned them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished. But no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can plunder his house." We already discussed this passage and what Jesus was trying to teach through the example, which you can reread here if you'd like. But today, we read about the strong man as someone who needs to be bound. Others have tried ("no one was able to restrain him anymore — not even with a chain — because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had torn the chains apart and smashed the shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue him" [v3-4]). In this passage, we see Jesus "bind" the strong man (in the case of His parable in ch. 3, Satan and his armies) by releasing the man of the unclean spirit(s) tormenting him.
When Jesus arrived, the man with the unclean spirit approached Him, bowed down, and acknowledged His deity as "Jesus, Son of the Most High God" (5:7). We saw a very similar reaction from the unclean spirit in chapter 1, where it cried out in fear of Jesus ("have you come to destroy us?" [1:24]) and acknowledged His deity (1:24). What is interesting about Mark 5, is that here the unclean spirit begs Jesus, "don't torment me" (v7). When speaking with Jesus, the unclean spirit gives a name, "Legion...because we are many" (v9). Interestingly, "legion" was a somewhat known term at the time, as "A legion was the largest unit of the Roman army, numbering up to six thousand soldiers."¹ It's not probable that six thousand demons had taken hold of the man, but a group. This is likely the source of the man's unnatural strength with which he broke chains and restraints (v3-4). After Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to leave the man, they begged Him to let them enter a herd of pigs, almost certainly because they did not want to be destroyed and desired to torment something or someone. Jesus permitted them to enter the herd of pigs, and they promptly ran off the cliff.
After being released from the bondage of the unclean spirits, Jesus gave instructions that were different from those we've read in earlier passages of Mark. Previously, Jesus instructed those He healed not to tell anyone of what He did for them, but here, Jesus said, "Go home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord has done for you and how he has had mercy on you" (v19). The man who had just experienced a life-change from Jesus wanted to follow Him but was told to tell others of the amazing event. Communities in the first century were much more localized, with long-distance travel less common. Because of this, there was much more familiarity in towns, and the testimony of the man in his community would have spoken volumes to those who knew his plight before Jesus. His testimony to those around him would have done more for the spreading of the good news of Christ than it would had he gone with Jesus. In the end, Jesus remembered His purpose: to prepare the way for the Kingdom of God through miraculous works on His way to the cross.
Authority of Jesus
In this passage, we again see the authority of Jesus. Again, after all they have seen, Jesus reminds His disciples of this, saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18b). In Mark 1, we see the unclean spirits recoiling at the words of Jesus because they know the authority Jesus holds, as the Son of God. In this week's passage, the unclean spirit begs Jesus not to banish them, knowing He has the final say. "You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe-- and they shudder" (James 3:1). There will come a day when the devil and all his demons will be destroyed, locked away, and punished for all eternity (Revelation 20:10). We can have hope, knowing that at the end of this age, our Lord will stand triumphantly over all darkness and evil beings. In the end, victory is the Lord's!
Discussion Questions
What stood out to you from the passage?
Does anything in this passage remind you of another part of Scripture?
Do you have any questions?
Why do you think Mark gave so much detail about the man tormented by the unclean spirit?
What does this story tell us about Jesus?
Read v6-8 again. How does the unclean spirit react to seeing Jesus?
What does this tell us about Jesus?
What is Mark communicating to us about the mission and authority of Jesus?
In our context, we don't commonly see spiritual activity like this. But when reading about God's authority, how can this affect our faith and hope in Him?
What was the man's response in v18 after Jesus cast out the demon? How can we learn from his response?
1. Dane C. Ortlund. Mark: A 12-Week Study, (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Publishers, 2013). https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/course/knowing-bible-mark/#week-4-jesus-later-galilean-ministry-mark-313-66