| Mark 5 | |
|---|---|
 TheLatin text of Mark 1:5–5:8 inCodex Gigas (13th century) | |
| Book | Gospel of Mark |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 2 |
Mark 5 is the fifth chapter of theGospel of Mark in theNew Testament of theChristianBible. Taken with thecalming of the sea inMark 4:35–41, there are "four strikingworks [which] follow each other without a break":[1] anexorcism, ahealing, and theraising of Jairus' daughter.
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 43 verses.
Some earlymanuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
| Gospel of Mark |
|---|
Jesus and hisdisciples travel across theSea of Galilee by boat to the non-Jewish country of theGerasenes (some manuscripts have "Gadarenes", others "Gergesenes"[2]), a region now in modern-dayJordan.Tom Wright notes that "why Jesus went to that bit of territory we'll never know",[3] althoughJohann Bengel infers that many Jews dwelt there.[4]
A a man with an unclean spirit, or apossessed, man comes to meet them.[a] Mark relates the story "with a wealth of circumstantial detail":[5] the man had lived among the nearbytombs, and had fought off all attempts to chain him up: theGreek text has a complex string of negatives: οὐδὲ ἁλύσει οὐκέτι οὐδεὶς,oude halysei ouketi oudeis,no one, no longer, not even with chains.[6] He now roamed the tombs and hills screaming.
The man falls at Jesus' feet and begs Jesus not to harm him. Jesus asks him what his name is and he replies "My name isLegion, ... for we are many". Legion may be a reference to theRoman army.[7] They see some nearbypigs and thedemons ask if they can be put in the pigs, to which Jesus consents. The pigs, about 2000 of them (only Mark's account estimates the numbers),[8] then rush into the lake and aredrowned.
The people tending the pigs run off to town telling everyone what has happened, and some townspeople come to see for themselves. When they arrive the man is sitting dressed andsane. They are disturbed and ask Jesus to leave the area, and he complies. Out of "grateful love",[6] the man asks Jesus to let him be with him (Greek:ινα μετ αυτου η,hina met autou e), translated as "stay with him" in theJerusalem Bible,[9] but Jesus tells him to go home to his "family" (Amplified Bible) or to his "people" (New International Version) and tell them whatGod has done for him. The man then travels over theDecapolis telling people the story.Protestant theologianHeinrich Meyer suggests that "he was to abide in his native place as a witness and proclaimer of the marvellous deliverance, that he had experienced from God through Jesus, and in this way to serve the work of Christ".[6]
Anglican biblical scholarChristopher Tuckett argues that "a number of details and inconsistencies within the present narrative suggest that Mark may be combining more than one tradition here into a single story":
This story also occurs inMatthew8:28–34, where there aretwo possessed men, and inLuke8:26–39. The use of the word "Gadarenes" in some manuscripts may be an attempt to harmonize Mark withMatthew 8:28.[10]
On the other side of the lake Jesus is met by a man named Jairus, aSynagogue Ruler (a rich patron of the local house of worship),[7] who begs Jesus to heal his sick, twelve-year-old daughter. Jesus takes onlyPeter,James, andJohn. This story does not occur in theGospel of John. On the way there, a woman who suffers from chronic "bleeding", perhapsmenorrhagia or bleeding fromfibroids.[11] She sneaks up to Jesus and touches his garment, according toMatt 9:20–22 andLuke 8:43–48 (see alsoMark 6:53–56,Mark 6#Healing of the sick of Gennesaret) the"fringe of his cloak"[12] (Matt 9:20 – NRSV), by which she is healed. He turns to see who and she fearfully confesses. He says "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."
Men arrive and tell Jairus that his daughter is dead. Jesus brushes them off and says "Don't be afraid; just believe." They arrive at the house and everyone is crying loudly. Jesus assures everyone she is not dead, just asleep, goes inside and says to herTalitha kum, telling her to get up, and she does. Unlike his advice about the demon-possessed man, he tells themnot to tell people of these events.
This account also appears in the book of Matthew9:18–26 and Luke8:40–56. Luke keeps the stories of the possessed man and the two women together, but Matthew inserts the story of the paralyzed man, the calling ofMatthew, and the parable of the wineskins found inMark 2 between these two stories.
| Preceded by Mark 4 | Chapters of the Bible Gospel of Mark | Succeeded by Mark 6 |