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Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Mark 5:1-17

Mark 5:1-17. They came into the country of the Gadarenes Called Gergesenes, Matthew 8:28. Gadara and Gergasa being towns near each other, and their inhabitants, and those of the country adjacent, taking their name indifferently from either. There met him a man with an unclean spirit Matthew mentions two. Probably this, so particularly spoken of here, was the most remarkably fierce and ungovernable. This whole story is explained at large, Matthew 8:28-34. My name is Legion, for we are many... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Mark 5:1-20

58. Demon power overcome at Gadara (Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39)Another place that Jesus visited was the district to the east and south of the Lake of Galilee known as Gadara. The people were mainly Gentiles and were known as Gadarenes (sometimes as Gerasenes, after the chief town of the district, or even Gergesenes, after another local town) (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1). Jesus was met there by a man whose body had been cruelly taken over by demons. To release the man from his... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Mark 5:8

For he said unto him, Come forth, thou unclean spirit, out of the man.There is no evidence that the unclean spirit had the power to resist Jesus' word here; therefore, we must disagree with Barclay who alleged that Christ failed twice to cast out the demon before finally succeeding.[6] It must be remembered that Mark did not set down "in order" the things Jesus did. Besides, Christ did not repeat the command, once being sufficient. By the demon's request to enter the swine, that evil being... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Mark 5:8

8. For he said unto him—that is, before the unclean spirit cried out. Come out of the man, unclean spirit!—Ordinarily, obedience to a command of this nature was immediate. But here, a certain delay is permitted, the more signally to manifest the power of Christ and accomplish His purposes. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 5:1-20

The deliverance of a demoniac in Gadara 5:1-20 (cf. Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-39)Even though Mark had already reported that Jesus had exorcized many demons, this case was extraordinary."Christ, Who had been charged by the Pharisees with being the embodiment and messenger of Satan [Matthew 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15], is here face to face with the extreme manifestation of demoniac power and influence. It is once more, then, a Miracle in Parable which is about to take place. The question,... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Mark 5:8

Jesus evidently addressed the leading demon. The Greek imperfect tense can mean that Jesus had been repeatedly commanding the demons to depart, as the NASB and NIV translations imply. However, it can also mean that something was about to follow. In this case a translation such as the AV, "For He said unto him," is better. Apparently in Mark 5:8 Mark gave us the reason for the demons’ request in Mark 5:7 even though Jesus did not command the demons to depart until Mark 5:13. read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 5:1-43

The Gadarene Demoniac. Jairus’ Daughter1-20. The Gadarene (Gerasene) demoniac (Matthew 8:28; Luke 8:26). See on Mt; Mk’s account is much the fullest.1. Gadarenes] RV ’Gerasenes.’9. Mk and Lk (not Mt) state that the man called himself ’Legion,’ because he believed himself to be possessed by numerous devils.18-20. Our Lord thought the quiet of home life better for the man than the excitement of going about with Him. He told him to proclaim the miracle, because in this mainly Gentile district... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Mark 5:8

(8) For he said unto him.—The Greek verb is in the imperfect tense, he was saying, as though the demoniac had interrupted our Lord even while the words were in the act of being uttered.Thou unclean spirit.—It is noticeable that our Lord first speaks as if the men were oppressed by a single demon only, and that it is in the answer of the man himself that we learn that their name was Legion. (On the man’s use of the word “Legion,” see Note on Matthew 8:29.) read more

William Nicoll

Expositor's Dictionary of Texts - Mark 5:1-43

The Saviour and the Maniac Mark 5:18 Of all the encounters of Jesus with men, surely none is more striking than His meeting with the maniac whose home was among the tombs. Jesus had just left the boat, and stepped upon the shore, when from out one of the caves that served for a burying-place among the limestone hills there rushed towards Him a creature that seemed not so much like a human being as like an evil spirit incarnate. Perhaps the unhappy man had been watching the boat coming across... read more

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