Chapter Summary
Core Passages from Mark 5
Mark 5:19And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
Jesus tells the restored man to share his story, showing that the best way to honor God's mercy is to tell others what He has done for us.Mark 5:34And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Jesus highlights that the woman's faith was the key to her healing, emphasizing a personal connection over a mere physical touch.Mark 5:36But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”
In a moment of total despair, Jesus gives the ultimate command to trust Him rather than the frightening circumstances of death.
Historical & Cultural Context
Jesus Restores a Man Beyond Human Help
Following the calming of the storm in Mark 4, Jesus and His disciples arrive on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This is Gentile territory, a place where Jewish people usually didn't go. Immediately, they are met by a man so controlled by evil spirits that he lives among graves and cannot be restrained by chains. This setting emphasizes the extreme isolation and hopelessness of the man's condition before Jesus arrives.
Two Miracles of Desperate Faith
After returning to the Jewish side of the lake, Jesus is met by a large crowd and a desperate father named Jairus. Jairus is a leader in the local synagogue, yet he humbles himself at Jesus' feet to beg for his dying daughter. As Jesus follows him, the story is interrupted by a woman who has been suffering for twelve years. These two stories are woven together to show that Jesus cares for both the prominent leader and the forgotten outcast.
The Authority of Jesus in Action
In Mark 5:1-43, the narrative moves from the wild, desolate tombs of the Gerasenes back to the bustling crowds of Galilee. We see Jesus move from a confrontation with a 'Legion' of demons to a tender moment with a suffering woman and finally into a home mourning a lost child.
The Gerasene Man and the Legion (Mark 5:1-20)
1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.
3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,
4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him.
5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.
6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him.
7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, "What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me."
8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!”
9 And Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "My name is Legion, for we are many."
10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country.
11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside.
12 And they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.”
13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.
14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened.
15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs.
17 And they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region.
18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him.
19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”
20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.
Commentary:
Jesus casts out a multitude of demons into a herd of pigs, completely restoring a man who was once uncontrollable and isolated.
A Touch of Faith in the Crowd (Mark 5:21-34)
21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea.
22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"
24 And he went with him. And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him.
25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years,
26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.
27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment.
28 for she said, "If I touch even his garments, I will be made well."
29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.
30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?”
31 And his disciples said to him, "You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, 'Who touched me?'"
32 And he looked around to see who had done it.
33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Commentary:
A woman suffering from a long-term illness is healed instantly by touching Jesus' garment, and He publicly commends her faith.
Victory Over Death (Mark 5:35-43)
35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?"
36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.”
37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James.
38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly.
39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.”
40 But they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.
41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking, for she was twelve years old. And they were immediately overcome with amazement.
43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.
Commentary:
Jesus raises Jairus' daughter from the dead, proving that His power is greater than the finality of death.
The Sovereign Power and Personal Care of Christ
Absolute Authority Over Evil
The story of the Gerasene man shows that even a 'Legion' of spiritual forces must bow to Jesus. He doesn't struggle or fight. He commands, and the darkness must flee, showing He is the supreme ruler over the spiritual realm.
Faith as the Bridge to Healing
Both the woman with the hemorrhage and Jairus demonstrate that faith involves taking a risk and trusting Jesus' character. Jesus honors this trust, showing that while He has the power to heal, He invites us to participate through our belief.
Restoration of the Outcast
Jesus repeatedly moves toward people who were considered 'unclean' or 'hopeless' by their society. By healing the demoniac and the bleeding woman, He breaks down social barriers and restores people to their families and communities.
Applying the Miracles of Mark 5 to Your Life
As the man in the tombs couldn't be bound by human chains but was set free by Jesus, this chapter reminds you that no habit, fear, or spiritual struggle is too strong for God. When you feel like you've lost control, Mark 5:8-13 shows that Jesus has the authority to bring order and peace back to your mind and life.
Jairus had to wait while Jesus stopped for the bleeding woman, and during that wait, his daughter died. However, Jesus used that delay to build Jairus' faith, as seen in Mark 5:36. If you feel like God is 'late,' remember that He is often working on a bigger miracle than the one you originally asked for.
For the woman in Mark 5:27-28, it meant reaching out in desperate faith despite her fear. Today, you can do this by bringing your honest needs to God in prayer, even when you feel unworthy or 'unclean.' Jesus isn't looking for a perfect approach. He is looking for a heart that recognizes He is the only source of true healing.
Jesus is the Lord of Every Situation
Mark 5 reveals that Jesus is the master of every realm - the spiritual, the physical, and even the boundary of life and death. Whether it is a man tormented by a legion of demons, a woman suffering from a chronic disease, or a family grieving a lost child, Jesus meets each person with transformative power. The message is clear: there is no darkness He cannot light, no sickness He cannot touch, and no death He cannot reverse. He invites us to move past our fear and place our total trust in His ability to restore what is broken.
What This Means for Us Today
The stories in Mark 5 are an invitation to bring our most 'impossible' problems to Jesus. He doesn't turn away from our mess or our desperation. Instead, He steps into them to bring life. Our response is to listen to His words: 'Do not fear, only believe.'
- What 'chain' in your life do you need to ask Jesus to break today?
- Are you willing to wait on God's timing even when things seem to be getting worse?
- Who in your life needs to hear the story of 'how much the Lord has done for you'?
Further Reading
Immediate Context
Connections Across Scripture
A parallel account of these same three miracles, providing additional details on the man's restoration and the woman's healing.
A prophecy about the Messiah's mission to bind up the brokenhearted and proclaim liberty to the captives, which Jesus fulfills in Mark 5.
Discussion Questions
- Why do you think the townspeople were more afraid of the healed man than they were of the demon-possessed man?
- In the story of the bleeding woman, why did Jesus insist on finding out who touched Him instead of letting her slip away quietly?
- How does Jesus' statement 'the child is not dead but sleeping' change the way we should look at the difficult or 'dead' situations in our own lives?