The Gospel of Mark
The man with Legion: Mk 5,1-20
Comparing Mark with Matthew's account, we can note how Mark takes 20 verses to tell the story while Matthew has only 8. In general, Mark tells a story with graphic details while Matthew cuts it down to the essentials. Verses 4 & 5 with the details of the man's condition are unique to Mark. Matthew has two demoniacs instead of one. Again, this is typical of Matthew because two are needed to be witnesses.
Mark has an addition, 5,18-20, as also Luke (Lk 6,39) where Jesus gives the healed man a missionary task. That would not fit Matthew’s approach to his story.
The scenes
I see this tale unfolding in five scenes:
5,1-5: setting the scene, description of the demoniac
5,6-10: Jesus speaks with the possessed man
5,11-13: The demons enter the herd of pigs
5,14-17: The reaction of the local people
5,18-20: Jesus and the healed man: his mission
With that overall view in mind, we can see that the central scene is the exorcism and Jesus' power over the legion of demons.
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verses 1-5: setting the scene, description of the demoniac
Verse 1 links to the previous story by completing the crossing of the lake. For the first time in Mark’'s story, Jesus is in Gentile territory, the region of the Decapolis, ten Greek towns. It matters not exactly where the land of Gerasene or Gaderene may be.
Verse 2 has the man coming to met Jesus. It was thought that demons inhabited tombs, the place of the dead. This sets the scene for an exorcism.
Verses 3-5 describe the man in graphic terms unique to this Gospel. Take note of his strength – he could break those shackles. Is someone coming who will be stronger, we can wonder.
5,6-10: Jesus and the possessed man
Verse 6 conflicts somewhat with verse 2 but the point is the man is taking the initiative and also the overtones of worship as he prostrates himself before Jesus
Verse 7 has the demons speaking, recognizing Jesus and by naming him trying to control him (see Gen 2,19). The demons already know the name of Jesus (1,23).
Verses 8 -9: Jesus speaks to the demons and wins the argument by forcing them to give him their name: Legion. A legion was the main unit of the Roman army, the occupying forces of the land. Jesus wins the struggle.
Verse 10: Now the demons are seeking a concession from Jesus: it was commonly thought that demons belonged to one particular place.
5,11-13: The herd of pigs
Verse 11: the scene changes as a large herd of pigs appears on the hillside. This is Gentile territory; for Jews of course, pigs are unclean animals (Lev 11,1-8).
Verses 12-13: the demons plead to enter the pigs, the unclean into the unclean. It is Jesus, the victor and now in control, who gives his assent. The demons are silenced with the drowned pigs(see 3,12 for example).
5,14-17: Reaction of the local people
verse 14: The swineherds make a brief appearance but only as reporters of what has happened. The tale is enough to aroused the inevitable local curiosity
Verse 15: the new description of the man contrasts markedly with the earlier description in verses 3-5
verses 15b-17: The result was fear and a rejection of Jesus, rather than faith and acceptance. Those who witnessed the incident in verse 16 may have been the disciples (who were in the boat in verse 2)
5,18-20: Jesus and the healed man: his mission
Verse 18: The man wished to become a disciple but that initiative, the invitation, belongs to Jesus (1,16)
Verse 19: However, Jesus instructs the man to be the first missionary to Gentile territory: “all that the Lord has done for you” may carry overtones of the mission of the Church after the resurrection.
Verse 20: keeps us within the Gospel story by speaking of Jesus. Like John the Baptist (1,4) and Jesus himself (1,14) the man “proclaims” the good news just as the disciples will do (13,10).
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