Mark 5:1-20 The man with a legion of demons. Demon possession is a reality in many parts of the world. There are probably more that are demon possessed today than we realize. In America, for example we seldom look for demon possession. Through my years as a Christian, I have spoken with many people from around the world on this subject. I have seen demonic activity at work and have seen it stopped through spiritual authority. It is real. For this reason, I cannot watch horror movies. The accuracy of the movies is uncanny and dead on the mark for demonic activity. Today, from the trailers that I have been exposed to, they are becoming more accurate. What is even worse is that Christians are embracing these movies as great entertainment. Demonic activity may not be noticeable in America, but why should it, if we entertain it in our living rooms? Enough said on that. It is very real to those who are involved in inter-city missions, and those involved with worldwide missions. Keep this in mind as you read through my thoughts on this passage. Also remember, keep an open Bible. I am commenting on the thoughts of the passage, not focusing on every word. Refer to the Bible to see if I am accurate and keeping the ideas in context.
Doctors of Medicine and Psychiatry look for physical and psychological anomalies rather than look for demon possession. Why would you look for demons if you have ruled them out with medicine? I wonder if we have masked some demons with drugs and intervention treatment. I am certain that there are many cases where the brain is not working right for some reason. There are probably other times that demonic forces are at work which look like classic psychological disorders.
That makes the expulsion of the demons from this man to be very interesting. This man was plagued with a few obvious disorders. First, we have the disorder that includes self-mutilation. He was gashing himself with stones. He was also plagued with intermittent explosive disorder since he was shouting and displaying extreme violence. I am sure that those well versed in the DSM-5 can find others. This poor man was very sick psychologically. The intriguing element is that these disorders originated from demon possession.
His statement: “Son of the Most High God…I implore you by God…” (Mark 5:7). In the Greek language this statement speaks of the deity of Jesus. He calls Jesus the Son of the Highest God. Then clarifies his statement by pleading with Jesus as literally “I beg you (the, or the same as), God”. The article translated as “by” can be translated many ways. It points to the subject of the sentence. Therefore, it defines Yeshua as the same as or equal to the Highest God. As an example, in Matthew 1:23, the article is translated as “the” as in “the virgin”. Look at this note:
(XI) With a proper noun in the gen. following, it often denotes affinity as in Matt. 10:3, ho toú Alphaiou “James the son of Alpheus,” but where “the son” is implied. See Mark 16:1, “Mary the mother of James” (cf. Mark 15:40); John 19:25, meaning Mary the wife of Cleophas; Acts 7:16.[1]
Let’s break this down now. “Theon” the word used for God in Mark 5:7 is in the genitive gender. If Zodhiates is correct in His discussion of the word, then in this cast the article “to” should be translated as “the” God. Many biblical translators simply cower to traditional translations. The usage of this article may be debatable among the scholars. However, one thing is certain. If Jesus is the “Son of the Highest God”, then in the setting of the culture that makes Him God. With Hebrew thinking, this is stretching them way out of their comfort zone.
Yeshua demonstrates His deity by verifying the truth of the statement. When He casts the demons into the pigs, it is a demonstration of spiritual authority with physical evidence. Most people would compare the man before and after. Before casting out the demons, the man was insane. Now he is sane. Yeshua went a step further. He cast the demons into pigs as a demonstration of His power. The man was insane, the pigs killed themselves, and now the man is sane.
Let’s talk about pigs for a moment: The pig is one of the most unclean animals of all to the Jewish people. It represents the abandonment of Torah. Many other animals fall into the category of “unclean” for many reasons. The pig is the most visible. Casting the demons into a herd of pigs gives a powerful spiritual demonstration. The pig is an example of living without Torah, or living while compromising Torah. The pig represents compromise since God explicitly forbids eating pork and speaks out against eating pork through the entirety of the Bible. Therefore, eating pork represents rebellion against the instructions of God. The Pig represents “torahlessness” or living outside the instructions of God since anyone according to the Jewish mindset that would eat pork does not know God’s instructions.
Many parasites stay in the pig for various reasons, one of which is that it does not sweat. The Trichinella parasite which causes Trichinosis is an example of a parasite that is common in pork. This roundworm should be able to be killed with cooking, but some cysts been found to survive cooking to the charred level. Complications include myocarditis (heart infection), encephalitis (brain infection), meningitis (nerve infection), and pneumonia (lung infection).[2] Undercooked pork can cause mild to extremely severe symptoms depending on the infestation of roundworms.
When these pigs received the demons, they ran to the sea and killed themselves. I have often wondered if the pigs realized that now they were defiled with a parasite greater than any other and killed themselves rather than being out of fellowship with God.
In the end of the story we see a tragic ending. The man is sitting in his right mind completely restored to health. This frightens the people because they had heard the story of the deliverance and pigs from the herdsmen. Then they saw the evidence in the form of the sane man. They did not seek to harm Yeshua. Instead, they asked Him to leave their region. This is also evidence that the people believed Jesus to be God. They did not seek any money for the lost pigs. They pleaded with Jesus to leave. Remember, since they were herding pigs, they were most likely Gentiles. Jewish people would not even consider this form of commerce. Their mindset was focused upon the nature of gods according to the Greek understanding, not the Hebrew understanding. When they implored Yeshua to leave, they were acting according in a way to appease an angry god.
Yeshua did not allow the man to go with Him. This man was left behind to share his testimony of how his life had changed after meeting Jesus. Remember, the Hebrew name for Jesus is Yeshua. This name means “salvation”. The man was set free from bondage through his encounter with Yeshua. He literally received “salvation”.
With that in mind, the greatest chapter in the Bible that speaks about Torah is Psalm 119. The very end of the chapter the writer makes a remarkable statement. “I hope for Your salvation, O Lord, and do your commandments” (Psa 119:166). Broken down in the Hebrew, “I hope for Your Yeshua (Jesus), O YHVH, and “sh” or put in practice your commission for my life”. The demoniac had no idea Yeshua was going to pass his way. Yet, He was delivered.
Mark 5:21-43 Mt 9:20-22; Mk 5:25-34; Lk 8:43-48).
Having faith to be healed is of very little importance according to the Gospels. I often hear faith healers declare that if you have faith, you can be healed. I have carefully studied all the healing in the Gospels. There were only five of the twenty-three cases that faith of the person being healed was a factor. Every single case of healing was to establish the Messiah. Two of the five with faith were healed to protect the Messiah from uncleanliness. One of these is focused on in this section. The following two healings demonstrate the power of God to protect Yeshua from ceremonial uncleanliness. The faith factor only applies to the woman with the issue of blood. The other girl was dead, she had no faith at all.
(I will be talking about the healing in this discussion and not going verse by verse. It is extremely important that you read the passage cited. I am not retelling the story but filling in the blanks behind the story.)
It disgusts me when I hear ministers try to drum up faith by declaring if a person has faith they can be healed. The sick person is placed under guilt for not having faith! I am convinced that faith is not important with spiritual healing. Most sick people have exhausted their faith. They know they are sick.
What is important is getting prayer. I have seen many miracles take place on mission trips and some in American churches. Faith is not necessary. Most who are sick, or terminally ill, have very little faith. They are stuck in their misery and hope that God will extend mercy to them. We are looking at one in this passage.
When I encounter a sick person, who wants healing. My prayer is simple. “Let’s see what God will do. Yeshua’s name means salvation. He came to set people free. Let’s see if He will free you from your condition. Now, let’s pray.” This approach has worked best for me. I have literally seen and documented, to date, close to a thousand people who were healed using this approach.
In order for Jesus to die for our sin as the unblemished Lamb of God, He had to be sinless. In the following two healings which involved being touched by a woman on her menstrual cycle and touching a dead girl, both cases result in uncleanliness. However, the Holy Spirit intervenes in both cases and heals/resurrects prior to physical contact being made.
This is the first example that we see where Yeshua is protected from unintentional uncleanness. If a person touched a person that had either an issue of blood or being on a menstrual cycle then he becomes unclean (Lev 15:19-23). Torah demands that if a person unintentionally sins they must pay the penalty for their sin. Touching a woman on her menstrual period falls in this category. Yeshua was not aware that the woman was going to touch Him. Anyone who touches a dead person is unclean for seven days (Numbers 19:11-22).
I believe that the woman was healed prior to actually making contact with the Messiah. Here is something that we miss as Christians. We often reverse-engineer the New Testament by making it say what we want it to. For example, we translate the scriptures as “touched the fringe of His garment” (Matt 9:20). We fail to realize that the fringe is much more specific than that. The Greek specifies “outer cloak”, so we are not looking at touching a regular garment but rather something worn on the outside. We know that Yeshua never broke Torah. Therefore, it is safe to deduct from this that the garment that she touches may be affected by Torah. The New American Standard Bible makes a footnote: “i.e. tassel fringe with a blue chord”.
Numbers 15:38–41 (KJV) — 38 “Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: 39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring: 40 That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. 41 I am the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”
The significance of the fringe is that it represents Torah. It is a reminder to the wearer that they are to be Torah observant in every aspect of their life. It is clearly established in the scriptures that if a person follows Torah, they will see positive healing effects (Deuteronomy 28). The tassel is a reminder that Torah rules life, through Torah comes healing. The flip side of this coin is that if Torah is forgotten, then sickness will certainly follow as a curse (Deut 8:20). This is not a flippant command; it is also found in Deuteronomy 22:12. The point of the matter is simply that the Jewish people are to wear the tassels to remind them that they live according to Torah.
Many messianic Christians today have begun to adopt this practice of wearing the “tzit-tzit” string on their bodies. Some hook them into belt loops, while others wear the tallit katan which acts as a carrier for the tassels. As we return to Torah in these latter days, many are realizing that seemingly insignificant commands such as the tassels carry heavy meaning with them. Those who understand the story of the woman with the issue of blood realize that the tassels carry a much heavier meaning than we have been taught to believe.
Another reason that the woman was healed instantly was related to protecting Yeshua from becoming unclean. Mark’s account makes it clear that Yeshua was not even aware that the woman had touched him until it had already taken place (Mk 5:30-33). He was aware that healing power went forth from Him to somewhere. You can almost see the surprise in His remark as he ponders who touched Him (Mk 5:30). This is a point where it must be noted that since Yeshua was fully God, a move of the Father or Holy Spirit did not go unnoticed. The healing was not a progressive healing but rather a radical instantaneous healing that was completed in an instant. The woman was healed without Yeshua being conscious that she needed one.
There were a few purposes in this healing. We have discussed the idea of unintentional sin, or unintentionally becoming unclean. We also discussed the remarkable significance of the tassels. One purpose for the healing simply reflects on the name of the Messiah. His name is Yeshua. This name in Hebrew simply means salvation. His remark on the faith of the woman is simply that her faith “sodzo” or saved her. He was in the business of setting people free.
To wrap up this section, the woman certainly had the faith to be healed. No doubt that the exercise of her faith to touch the tzit-tzit effected a healing in her body. We do not know the cause, so it is impossible to label this as organic or functional healing. Finally, the purpose of the healing was larger than the woman. It was to protect the Messiah from having a blemish on His life.
This is a unique healing since it was instigated by the Holy Spirit or the Father. This healing was a functional healing that repaired a part of the body that was failing to function properly. It was instigated by the Godhead to establish Yeshua as Messiah.
One last note on the tassels. Mark records that many sought to touch the tzit-tzit’s of Yeshua’s garments, and all who touched them were healed (Mark 6:56). On this note, it is possible that Deuteronomy 28 swings into a deeper meaning. Since Yeshua was the living Torah according to John (John 1:1). The Tzit-tzit’s represented Torah. In the case of Yeshua, touching them was like embracing the pure Torah, which brings about healing. Just a thought.
Dead Girl (Matt 9:18-26; Mark 5:22-43; Luke 8:41-46).
In this healing, there is a bold demonstration of the Father protecting Yeshua from becoming unclean. If a priest touches a dead person, they become unclean (Leviticus 22:4). A person on the quest of the Nazarite vow becomes unclean when touching a dead person (Num 6:6). If Yeshua had touched the girl while she was dead, he would have become willingly unclean (Num 19:11-22). This would have been in violation of Torah, which would have been sin. Rather, Yeshua raised the little girl from the dead before he actually touched her, therefore the statement that she was merely sleeping was not an allusion to death. This is the same reason He spoke to Lazarus instead of touching him (Jn 11:43). As Messiah, Yeshua could not be defiled either with intentional or unintentional sin. The scenario of touching a dead person would have made him unclean.
Matthew placed the time of this raising just after calling Matthew. The demonstration of spiritual authority continues. In order to be the perfect, unblemished lamb, Yeshua had to remain spotless from sin through His entire life. Raising the little girl from death protected Him from becoming unclean. The demonstration to the disciples of His role as Messiah was still being established.
The little girl was the child of a synagogue official. Proof of His role as Messiah was also being sent to the religious community (Lk 8:41). It is obvious that death is entirely organic. Removing the cause of death will not bring a person back to life. The only way to raise a person is through the miraculous.
Lastly, faith displayed is not the faith of the little girl. As far as the scriptures demonstrate, her faith is not an issue. Jairus, her father, was absolutely certain that Yeshua could raise her. His faith for the healing of his daughter is the only faith that we see in this story (Mat 9:18).
There are several things in this passage that we did not discuss, but is worth pondering. Yeshua was aware that healing went out from Him, but did not know who was healed. When He took on the form of man, He was limited to a degree. Once He was aware of the woman, He reaffirmed the healing.
The death of the girl was clearly established by the presence of mourners. When He approached her, he only allowed the inner circle of His disciples to accompany Him. Why? Was this to respect the mourners, or to teach the three men deeper truth? Lastly, why were they sworn to secrecy?
These questions are worth pondering. The entire passage is one to think over and ponder. The reason is simple. It helps us to understand who Jesus was. He was and is the Yeshua (Salvation) the Messiah (one who is anointed). He lived a sinless life, without becoming unclean in any way according to Torah. His death as the spotless Lamb of God was necessary in order to pay the debt for sin (violation of God’s instructions).
Thank you for reading through my thoughts.
Joe Turner.
[1] Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000).
[2] https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/trichinosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20378583, accessed 5/20/19
