Mark 5:9 Komentář

In this chapter, we have, I. Christ's casting the legion of devils out of the man possessed, and suffering them to enter into the swine (v. 1-20). II. Christ's healing the woman with the bloody issue, in the way as he was going to raise Jairus's daughter to life (v. 21-43). These three miracles we had the story of before (Mat 8:28, etc. and Mat 9:18, etc.) but more fully related here.

And they came over unto the other side of the sea,.... Of Galilee, or Tiberias; into the country of the Gadarenes: in the Evangelist Matthew it is called, "the country of the Gergesenes", as it is here in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions. The Vulgate Latin reads, "of the Gerasenes", and so some copies, from Gerasa, a place in the same country; but the Syriac and Persic versions read, "Gadarenes", as do most copies; so called from Gadara, a city either adjacent to, or within the country of the Gergesenes; which was called by both names, from these different places. It was not far from Tiberias, the place from whence this sea has its name, over which Christ and his disciples passed, Joh 6:1. Chammath was a mile from (e) Tiberias, and this Chammath was so near to the country of Gadara, that it is often called, , "Chammath of Gadara" (f); unless it should be rather rendered, "the hot baths of Gadara": for so it is (g) said, that at Gadara are the hot baths of Syria; which may be the same with the hot baths of Tiberias, so often mentioned in the Jewish writings (h); hence the town of Chammath had its name, which was so near to Tiberias, that it is sometimes reckoned the same with it (i): Pliny (k) places this Gadara in Decapolis, and Ptolemy (l) in Coelo Syria; and Meleager, the collector of epigrams, who is called a Syrian, is said (m) to be a Gadarene, a native of this Gadara. Mention is made of the whirlpool of Gadara (n), which remained ever since the flood. It appears to be an Heathen country, both from its situation, and the manners of the people. (e) T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 2. 2. (f) T. Hieros. Erubin, fol. 23. 3. & Trumot, fol. 41. 3. & Sabbat, fol. 5. 4. (g) Eunapius in Vita Iamblici, p. 26. (h) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 108. 1. T. Hieros. Sabbat, fol. 6. 1. (i) T. Bab. Megilia, fol. 6. 1. (k) L. 5. c. 18. (l) L. 5. c. 15. (m) Fabricii Bibliotheca Grace. T. 2. p. 683. (n) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 108. 1.

And he asked him, what is thy name?.... Which question Christ put, not for his own sake; for he was not ignorant of his name, nor of the number of the unclean spirits which were in the man; but partly, that it might be known what a miserable condition this poor man was in, being infested, and vexed with such a large company of devils; and partly, that his own pity and power in delivering him, might be more manifest; and he answered, saying, my name is Legion: the Syriac version renders it, "our name is Legion"; the reason of which name is given, for we are many: as a Roman legion did consist of many, though its number was not always alike: in the time of Romulus, a legion consisted of three thousand foot, and three hundred horse; afterwards, when the city was, increased, of six thousand foot, and six hundred horse; sometimes it was six thousand and two hundred foot, and three hundred horse; sometimes four thousand foot, and three hundred horse; sometimes five thousand foot, and three hundred horse (x). Some make a legion to consist of six thousand six hundred sixty six; and others make it much larger, even twelve thousand five hundred: however, the number in a legion was many; hence the word is retained among the Jews, and is used for a large number, either of persons or things; as, , "a legion of olives" (y): that is, a large number of them; though sometimes it is used of a single person, who has others under him, as the general of an army: thus it is said (z) that one man should say to another, "from whence art thou? he replies, from such a "legion" am I;--the man went to the legion--the legion heard, and was afraid--the man said, woe unto me! now will the legion slay me--the legion heard, &c.'' And again (a), "a certain legion asked R. Abba, is it not written, &c.'' Once more (b), "Lo! such a legion shall go with thee, to keep thee, &c.'' Upon which the gloss is, , "the general of an army"; so called, because he had a legion, or a large number of soldiers under his command: and just so this unclean spirit is called by this name, because he had a great many more with him, and under him, in that man; sometimes it is only used of a single person himself, as of a king's servant sent into a foreign country, to collect his (c) tax: a legion was reckoned by the Jews unclean and defiled, whatsoever place they entered into (d); how much more unclean must this man be, that had a legion of unclean spirits in him! From hence it appears, that the devils are very numerous; for if there was a legion of them in one man, how many must there be in all the children of disobedience, to maintain their ground, and support their interest among them? As there is an innumerable company of holy angels to encamp about the saints, and do them all the service they can, and axe appointed to; so there is undoubtedly an innumerable company of devils, who do all the hurt they can, or are permitted to do, unto the sons of men: hence they are expressed by words, which signify number as well as power; as principalities and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, spiritual wickedness in high places, the power or posse of the air, the angels of Satan, the angels that sinned and left their habitations, &c. As also that they are in a body, and in the form of an army; with a general at the head of them, the prince of devils, and king of the bottomless pit: there are whole squadrons and regiments of them, yea, even legions; which are formed in battle array, and make war against Christ, the seed of the woman; as they did when he was in the garden, and hung upon the cross, which was the hour and power of darkness; and against his members; as they did in Rome pagan against the Christian church, and in Rome papal, against the same, Rev 12:7, and what a mercy it is for the saints, that besides twelve legions of good angels and more, which are ready to assist and protect them, they have God on their side, and therefore it signifies not who is against them; and they have Christ with them, who has spoiled principalities and powers; and greater is the Holy Spirit that is in them, than he that is in the world. (x) Alexander ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 1. c. 5. Liv. Hist. l. 8. c. 8. (y) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 20. fol. 17. 4. (z) Zohar in Gen. fol. 96. 4. & Ivare Binah in ib. (a) Ib. in Exod. fol. 50. 2. (b) Zohar in Exod. fol. 51. 4. (c) Vajikra Rabba, sect. 30. fol. 170. 4. & Mattanot Cehuna in ib. (d) T. Bab. Cholin, fol. 123. 1.

Look too at Legion: when in anguish he begged, our Lord permitted the demons to enter into the herd. He asked for respite, without deception, in his anguish, and our Lord in his kindness granted this request. His compassion for the demoniac is a rebuke to the demons, showing how much anguish his love suffers in desiring that humans should live. Encouraged by the words I had heard, I knelt down and wept there, and spoke before our Lord: “Legion received his request from you without any tears. Permit me, with my tears, to make my request.”

Ye energumens, afflicted with unclean spirits, pray, and let us all earnestly pray for them, that God, the lover of mankind, will by Christ rebuke the unclean and wicked spirits, and deliver His supplicants from the dominion of the adversary. May He that rebuked the legion of demons, and the devil, the prince of wickedness, even now rebuke these apostates from piety, and deliver His own workmanship from his power, and cleanse those creatures which He has made with great wisdom.

(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) Lest he should not be believed, if He affirmed there were many, He wishes that they themselves should confess it; wherefore there follows, And he saith unto him, Legion, for we are many. He gives not a fixed number, but a multitude, for such accuracy in the number would not help us to understand it.

(ubi sup.) But by the public declaration of the scourge which the madman suffered, the virtue of the Healer appears more gracious. And even the priests of our time, who know how to cast out devils by the grace of exorcism, are wont to say that the sufferers cannot be cured at all, unless they in confession openly declare, as far as they are able to know, what they have suffered from the unclean spirits in sight, in hearing, in taste, in touch, or any other sense of body or soul, whether awake or asleep. It goes on, And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.

And he asked him, "What is your name?" And he said to him, "Legion is my name, for we are many." He inquires not as one ignorant of the name, but so that, once the plague that tormented the man had been publicly confessed, the virtue of healing might appear more gracious. Even the priests of our time, who know how to cast out demons through the grace of exorcism, are accustomed to say that the afflicted can only be healed to the extent that they can disclose, by confessing openly, everything that they have suffered from unclean spirits through sight, hearing, taste, touch, or any other sense of the body or mind, whether awake or asleep. Now, what the spirit said, "Legion is my name, for we are many," signifies that the people of the nations are not subjected to any one individual but to countless and various rites of idolatry. Against this, it is written that the multitude of the believers were of one heart and one mind (Acts IV). Hence, well in the construction of Babylon, the unity of languages was shattered by the spirit of pride, while in Jerusalem, the diversity of languages was united through the grace of the holy. And that confusion, this vision of peace, because evidently in various languages and nations, one faith and piety fortifies the elect throughout the world, bringing about peace. But for the reprobates, several sects, more than languages, dissociate and confuse them.

(ubi sup.) Who dwelt in the tombs, because they delighted in dead works, that is, in sins; who were ever raging night and day, because whether in prosperity or in adversity, they were never free from the service of malignant spirits: again, by the foulness of their works, they lay as it were in the tombs, in their lofty pride, they wandered over the mountains, by words of most hardened infidelity, they as it were cut themselves with stones. But he said, My name is Legion, because the Gentile people were enslaved to divers idolatrous forms of worship. Again, that the unclean spirits going out from man enter into swine, which they cast headlong into the sea, implies that now that the people of the Gentiles are freed from the empire of demons, they who have not chosen to believe in Christ, work sacrilegious rites in hidden places.

One should also bear in mind that God antecedently wills all to be saved and to attain to his kingdom. For he did not form us to be chastised, but to share his goodness, because he is incomparably good. Yet, because he is just, it is required that sin be punished. So, the first form of the will of God is called his antecedent will and blessing, which has God as its cause. The second is called God’s consequent will and permission, of which we are a participating cause. What God wills as a consequence of our sinning is two-fold: either that which God permits to continue by his gracious dispensation for our instruction and salvation, or that which God finally abandons to certain chastisement. These, however, belong to those things which do not depend upon us. As to the things which do depend upon us, whatever is good God wills antecedently and blesses. Whatever is evil he neither wills antecedently nor consequently, but permits them to the free will. If something is done under compulsion, it cannot be a virtuous act or according to reason, since virtue must be chosen. In these ways God provides for all creation. Through all creation God does good and teaches, and he may even use the demons themselves for this purpose of instruction, as he did in the case of Job and in the gospel narrative of the swine.

The Lord asks the demoniac not in order to know Himself, but so that others might know about the multitude of demons that had entered him. Since before their eyes stood one man, Christ shows how many enemies this wretched man was fighting against.

The Lord indeed asks, not that He Himself required to know, but that the rest might know that there was a multitude of devils dwelling in him. Also that by fighting with us, they may make us more expert.

Here again the demoniac is the people of the Gentiles, in a most hopeless case, bound neither by the law of nature, nor of God, nor by human fear. Or they are choked in hell without any touch of mercy by the rushing on of an early death; which evils many persons thus avoid, for by the scourging of the fool, the wise is made more prudent.

The man possessed with a legion of demons cured, vv. 1-20. He raises Jairus's daughter to life, and cures the woman who had an issue of blood, vv. 21-43.

Legion: for we are many - Could a disease have spoken so? "No, there was no devil in the case; the man spoke according to the prejudice of his countrymen." And do you think that the Spirit of God could employ himself in retailing such ridiculous and nonsensical prejudices? "But the evangelist gives these as this madman's words, and it was necessary that, as a faithful historian, he should mention these circumstances." But this objection is destroyed by the parallel place in Luke, Luk 8:30, where the inspired writer himself observes, that the demoniac was called Legion, because many demons had entered into him.

HEROD THINKS JESUS A RESURRECTION OF THE MURDERED BAPTIST--ACCOUNT OF HIS DEATH. ( = Mat 14:1-12; Luk 9:7-9). (Mark 6:14-29) And King Herod--that is, Herod Antipas, one of the three sons of Herod the Great, and own brother of Archelaus (Mat 2:22), who ruled as ethnarch over Galilee and Perea. heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad); and he said--"unto his servants" (Mat 14:2), his councillors or court ministers. That John the Baptist was risen from the dead--The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a specter, and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers, in the person of Jesus.

And he asked him, What is thy name?--The object of this question was to extort an acknowledgment of the virulence of demoniacal power by which this victim was enthralled. And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many--or, as in Luke (Luk 8:30) "because many devils [demons] were entered into him." A legion, in the Roman army, amounted, at its full complement, to six thousand; but here the word is used, as such words with us, and even this one, for an indefinitely large number--large enough however to rush, as soon as permission was given, into two thousand swine and destroy them.