5:1 And {1} they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the {a} Gadarenes.
(1) Many hold the virtue of Christ in admiration, and yet they will not lose even the least thing they have in order to redeem it.
(a) See Geneva Mt 8:30
5:1 Healing the Afflicted
SUMMARY OF MARK 5:
In the Country of the Gadarenes. The Fierce Demoniac. The Demons and the Swine. The Gadarenes Do Not Wish Jesus. The Preacher in Decapolis. Jesus Again in Capernaum. The Daughter of Jairus. The Woman with the Issue of Blood. Healed by Faith. The Dead Damsel Made Alive.
They came over unto the other side. After the storm.
Into the country of the Gadarenes. Matthew in the parallel account says Gergesenes (Mt 8:28). The explanation is easy. Gerasa, a town whose modern name is Gersa, stood on the southeast shore of the sea, while Gadara, the chief city of the district, was south about seven or eight miles. As the capital of the district, the country of the Gadarenes embraced Gerasa and its vicinity.
5:1 Mt 8:28; Lu 8:26.
5:1-20 Some openly wilful sinners are like this madman. The commands of the law are as chains and fetters, to restrain sinners from their wicked courses; but they break those bands in sunder; and it is an evidence of the power of the devil in them. A legion of soldiers consisted of six thousand men, or more. What multitudes of fallen spirits there must be, and all enemies to God and man, when here was a legion in one poor wretched creature! Many there are that rise up against us. We are not a match for our spiritual enemies, in our own strength; but in the Lord, and in the power of his might, we shall be able to stand against them, though there are legions of them. When the vilest transgressor is delivered by the power of Jesus from the bondage of Satan, he will gladly sit at the feet of his Deliverer, and hear his word, who delivers the wretched slaves of Satan, and numbers them among his saints and servants. When the people found that their swine were lost, they had a dislike to Christ. Long-suffering and mercy may be seen, even in the corrections by which men lose their property while their lives are saved, and warning given them to seek the salvation of their souls. The man joyfully proclaimed what great things Jesus had done for him. All men marvelled, but few followed him. Many who cannot but wonder at the works of Christ, yet do not, as they ought, wonder after him.
