Because the rebellion was subdued, the Slave-Savior and His disciples “came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes” (5:1). The record in 5:1-20 is much more detailed than that in Matthew 8:28-34. This is strong evidence that Mark’s Gospel, as a biography of the Slave of God, emphasizes His work instead of His word and gives more details than the other Gospels.
Mark 5:2 says, “And when He came out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.” Concerning this man, verse 7 says, “And crying out with a loud voice, he says, What do I have to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure You by God, do not torment me!” This indicates that the possessed man was usurped by the possessing spirit to such an extent that he was used by the evil spirit to be as that spirit himself.
As soon as the Lord Jesus came into the country of the Gerasenes, the situation there was exposed to Him and His disciples. There was a man possessed by a legion of demons, and the people in that country were in the business of raising hogs (vv. 11-14). What a terrible industry!
In His wisdom, the Slave-Savior took care of two problems at the same time. He cast out the demons from the possessed man, and He cleared up the unclean industry of hog raising. Before He went to the country of the Gerasenes, that place was full of demons and hogs. Would you like to make a home for your family in such a place? To be sure, no normal person would want to settle down in such a country. Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus went there for the purpose of casting out demons and of clearing up the unclean industry. The disciples did not know the Lord’s purpose for telling them to pass over to the other side (4:35). The Lord, of course, knew why He wanted to go to the country of the Gerasenes.
God’s people should not be in the business of raising hogs. Instead, they should raise sheep. By raising sheep, they would then have the proper sacrifices to offer to God. However, those in the country of the Gerasenes were in the unclean business of raising hogs.
The principle is the same among unbelievers today as it was with those in the land of the Gerasenes. Whenever human beings are occupied by demons, they will be engaged in some form of unclean business or industry. They need the Lord Jesus to come to cast out the demons and clear up all their unclean activities.
Mark 5:13 says, “And having come out, the unclean spirits entered into the hogs, and the herd rushed down the steep slope into the sea, about two thousand, and were choked in the sea.” Here we see that there were about two thousand hogs. Surely, there must have been a large number of demons to drive these hogs into the sea. If there had been only twenty demons, each demon would have had to cause a hundred hogs to rush down the slope into the sea. The important point here is the relationship between the demons and the unclean industry. The reason that the unbelievers today are involved in unclean activities and sinful forms of entertainment is that they are under the influence of demons.
In 5:21-43 we have the record of the healing of a woman with a flow of blood and the raising up of a dead girl. In this record also of the miraculous deeds of the Slave of God in His gospel service, Mark gives us more details than Matthew. It is a vivid presentation, portraying especially the sufferings of the sick, and the Slave-Savior’s tenderness and kindness in His saving service toward them. This detailed presentation also indicates that Peter was present at that time.
Mark 5:22 and 23 say, “And one of the synagogue rulers comes, Jairus by name; and seeing Him, he falls at His feet, and entreats Him much, saying, My little daughter is at the point of death; come and lay your hands on her, that she may be healed, and live.” The synagogue ruler did not have much faith. This was the reason he begged the Lord Jesus to come to his home. The Lord agreed, and He went with him.
According to verse 24, “a great crowd followed Him and pressed upon Him.” In verses 25 through 34 we see that a woman who had had a flow of blood twelve years came in the crowd behind the Lord, touched His garment, and was healed. Since this woman’s case is merged with the case of the ruler’s daughter, and since the twelve years of her sickness are the age of the girl, and both are females, one older, one younger, these cases may be considered a complete case of one person. In this view, the girl was born, so to speak, in the woman’s death-sickness and twelve years later died of it. When the woman’s death-sickness was healed by the Savior, the girl rose up from death. This signifies that every fallen person is born in the death-sickness of sin and is dead in it (Eph. 2:1). When his death-sickness of sin is dealt with by the Savior’s redeeming death (1 Pet. 2:24), he rises up out of death into life (John 5:24-25).