ACC ~ Mark 5 v1 - 20

OVERVIEW:

It was for the greater good of attesting God’s power and eliciting faith that the swine were slain by the agency of demons (JEROME, CHRYSOSTOM). The glory of humanity made in the image of God has freely fallen to the depths under the power of unclean spirits (PRUDENTIUS). These fallen spiritual creatures were first to recognize the Son as holy, sovereign God (ATHANASIUS, PETER CHRYSOLOGUS, PRUDENTIUS). It is one who is truly man and truly God that the demons instantly recognize with dread (GREGORY NAZIANZEN). Even if a whole army of demons takes up residence in a single body, the redeemer can transform human misery into soundness (LACTANTIUS, EPHREM THE SYRIAN). Limited powers are temporarily permitted to the demonic to test faith (TERTULLIAN). The church continues to petition God to deliver the faithful from demonic powers (APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS, EPHREM THE SYRIAN). The demonic powers are not originally and directly willed by God but are only permitted by God under the conditions of sin, and as a consequence of taking freedom seriously, they play a role in drawing forth a greater good. They are already being bound up by the anointed one (JOHN OF DAMASCUS). The faithful today attest the same cleansing grace (GREGORY THE GREAT).

5:1 | The Country of the Gerasenes

GERASA OR GADARA OR GERGESA?

ORIGEN: One who aims at fuller understanding of the holy Scriptures must not neglect the careful examination of the proper names in it. Concerning Palestinian place names the Greek copies are often incorrect, and one might be misled by them. The displacement of the swine, who were driven down a steep place by the demons and drowned in the sea, is said to have taken place in the country of the Gerasenes. [1] Now, Gerasa is a town of Arabia, and has no sea or lake near it. The Evangelists would not have made a statement so obviously and demonstrably false; for they were men who informed themselves carefully of all matters connected with Judea. But in a few copies we have found, “into the country of the Gadarenes.” On this reading, Gadara is described as a town of Judea. In its neighborhood are the well-known hot springs. There is no lake there with overhanging banks, nor any sea. But Gergesa, from which the name Gergesenes is taken, is an old town in the neighborhood of the lake now called Tiberias. On the edge of it there is a steep place bordering on the lake, from which the pigs could have been driven down by the demons. Now, the meaning of Gergesa is the “dwelling of the one who drives out,” and may contain a prophetic reference to the response of the citizens toward the Savior. They “begged him to depart out of their coasts.” [2] COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.24. [3]

[1] Cf. Lk 8:26-37.

[2] Mt 8:34; Mk 5:17; Lk 8:37.

[3] TLG 2042.005, 6.40.207.6-6.41.211.7; ANF 9:371**. This passage shows the great care that Origen took to identify place names accurately and to check the Greek against the Aramaic. The text could have referred to Gerasa or Gadara, but the geographical evidence may suggest Gergesa.

5:3 | One Who Lived Among the Tombs

FALLEN TO THE DEPTHS

PETER CHRYSOLOGUS: Behold where is he, who was promised all the glories of this world, found to dwell— where?—in the tombs! [1] Compassed about with the putrid rottenness of dead bodies. SERMONS 17. [2]

BEREFT OF REASON

Prudentius:

Then a man bereft of reason, dwelling in sepulchral caves,

Bound with cruel and grinding fetters and with raging frenzy torn,

Rushes forth and kneels in worship, as the saving Christ draws near. [3]

HYMN 9. [4]

[1] Cf. Mk 5:3; Lk 8:27.

[2] Cetedoc 0227, 17.38; GMI 97. What has become of the glory of humanity made in the image of God? In the person of the demoniac, humanity seems to have fallen to the depths under the power of the demonic.

[3] Mk 5:2-6; Lk 8:28.

[4] Cetedoc 1438, 9.52; FC 43:63. The redeemer was recognized even by one whose reasoning had become demonically enslaved.

5:4 | No One Had the Strength to Subdue Him

TRANSFORMING THE DEPTHS

LACTANTIUS: “Neither could anyone tame him.” [1] Give me a reprobate who is impetuous, foul-mouthed and overbearing. With few words the Lord will render him as gentle as a lamb. Give me one who is covetous, avaricious, grasping. The Lord will restore him to liberality, and he will dispose of his resources bountifully of his own hand. Show me one who trembles at the idea of pain and of death, and soon I will show you one who has learned to disdain crosses, flames and the bull of Perillus. [2] Even one who is sensual, adulterous and gluttonous can be made sober, chaste and abstinent. [3] DIVINE INSTITUTES 3.26.4. [4]

[1] Mk 5:4.

[2] Perillus was an Athenian artist, who designed the hollow brazen bull in which people could be roasted alive. Phalaris (c. 570-549 B.C.), the tyrant of Agrigentum, Sicily, who commissioned the bull, decided to make Perillus its first victim.

[3] Cf. Is 55:13; 1 Cor 6:9-11.

[4] Cetedoc 0085, 3.26.4; CSEL 19:260.4; cf. ANF 7:128. Are the demonic powers untamable? The redeemer can transform the worst.

5:7 | What Have You to Do with Me?

THE INSTANT RECOGNITION

ATHANASIUS: Obviously he would not be expelling evil spirits and pillaging idols if he were impotent, for the evil spirits would not obey one who was impotent. If, on the other hand, the very naming of him drives them forth, he clearly is not powerless. The spirits especially see through what is unseen by human eyes. They could tell if Christ was vulnerable and refuse him any obedience at all. As it is, what human disbelief doubts, the evil spirits see clearly: that he is God. For that reason they flee from him and fall at his feet, still crying out even as they once cried when he was in the body, “We know who you are, the holy one of God,” [1] and, “Ah, what have I in common with you, Son of God? I implore you, do not torment me.” [2] INCARNATION OF THE WORD 32.4.5. [3]

[1] Mk 1:24; Lk 4:34.

[2] Mk 5:7; Lk 8:28.

[3] TLG 2035.002, 32.4.1-5.5; cf. NPNF 2 4:53; LCC 3:86. The demons recognized him instantly as sovereign God. The unclean spirits could see what human eyes could not see.

THE GOD-MAN BEHELD

GREGORY NAZIANZEN: Yes, he is recognized by demons, [1] drives out demons, [2] drowns deep a legion of spirits [3] and sees the prince of demons falling like lightning. [4] He is stoned, yet not hit; [5] he prays yet he hears prayer. [6] He weeps, [7] yet he puts an end to weeping. [8] He asks where Lazarus is [9] —he was man; yet he raises Lazarus [10] —he was God. ORATION 29, ON THE SON 20. [11]

[1] Cf. Lk 4:33-34; Mk 1:23-24.

[2] Cf. Mt 8:16; Mk 1:34.

[3] Cf. Mt 8:32; Mk 5:9, 13; Lk 8:30, 33.

[4] Cf. Lk 10:18.

[5] Cf. Jn 8:59; 10:31, 39.

[6] Cf. Mt 8:13; Mk 1:35.

[7] Cf. Jn 11:35.

[8] Cf. Lk 7:13; 8:52; 23:28.

[9] Cf. Jn 11:34.

[10] Cf. Jn 11:43-44.

[11] FGFR 259; TLG 2022.009, 20.12-17. The demons instantly recognize one who is at once truly a man and truly God.

5:9 | My Name Is Legion

THE SUPPLICATION

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: Look too at Legion: [1] 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.” HYMNS ON PARADISE 12.8-9. [2]

[1] Cf. Mk 5:9; Lk 8:30.

[2] CSCO 174-175:51-52; HOP 163**. We still pray for the same cleansing.

GOD’S ANTECEDENT AND CONSEQUENT WILLING

JOHN OF DAMASCUS: One should also bear in mind that God antecedently wills all to be saved and to attain to his kingdom. [1] 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 twofold: 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. [2] THE ORTHODOX FAITH 2.29. [3]

[1] Cf. 1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9.

[2] Cf. Mk 5:13.

[3] TLG 2934.004, 43.67-81; FC 37:262-63**. The demonic powers are not from the beginning (antecedently) willed by God but are permitted by God (consequently) under the conditions of sin to play a role in drawing forth a greater good.

5:13a | The Unclean Spirits Came Out and Entered the Swine

THE TEMPORARY POWER TO TEST FAITH

TERTULLIAN: The devil’s legion would not have had power over the herd of swine [1] unless they had gotten it from God. Thus they are far from having power over the sheep of God. Even the bristles of the swine were counted by God, just as were the hairs of the heads of the just. [2] The devil, it must be admitted, seems indeed to have power—in this case really his own—over those who do not belong to God. In relation to God the idolatrous nations are all counted as a drop in the bucket, as dust on the threshing floor, as spittle in the mouth, [3] and so thrown open to the devil as if they were a free possession. But the devil has no power over those who belong to the household of God, and cannot treat them as if they were his own. The cases marked out in Scripture show when and for what reasons he may touch the faithful. Indeed to vindicate faith, the power of trial of a believer is sometimes temporarily granted to the devil to test and challenge faith. [4] Or to elicit repentance the sinner may be temporarily handed over to the devil as though he were an executioner to whom belonged the inflicting of punishment, as we see in the case of Saul. [5] ON FLIGHT DURING PERSECUTION. [6]

[1] Cf. Mk 5:11-13.

[2] Cf. Mt 10:30; Lk 12:7.

[3] Cf. Is 40:15 LXX; 4 Ezra 6:56.

[4] Cf. Job 1:12.

[5] Cf. Acts 9:1-2.

[6] Cetedoc 0025, 2.52; ANF 4:117*. Limited powers are temporarily given to the demonic to test faith or elicit repentance.

WHY SWINE WERE DESTROYED

JEROME: It need not disturb anyone that by the Lord’s command two thousand swine were slain by the agency of demons, since those who witnessed the miracle would not have believed that so great a multitude of demons had gone out of the man unless an equally vast number of swine had rushed to ruin, showing that it was a legion that impelled them. THE LIFE OF ST. HILARION 32. [1]

[1] Cetedoc 0618, 106.14.20; NPNF 2 6:309. It was for the good of attesting God’s power that the swine were slain by the agency of demons.

5:13b | Two Thousand Swine

WAS THIS JUST?

JEROME: Was it just that two thousand swine perished so one soul might be saved? One seeking purity of heart had best not become preoccupied with the natural prerogative of the demonic legion or animals. It is better that each single reader reflect upon his own soul, his own way of life, and the rarity of true excellence. Remember when the whole of Judea was led into captivity when Nebuchadneser came, and thousands were displaced into Babylonia as prisoners [1] —Jeremiah alone was left praising God. And they threw him into a muddy cistern. [2] Nevertheless, the soul of this one man was more decisive for the destiny of Israel [3] than all the rest. HOMILY 54. [4]

[1] Cf. 2 Chron 36:20.

[2] Cf. Jer 38:6.

[3] Within the scheme of the history of salvation.

[4] Cetedoc 0592, 143.267; FC 48:390**. One godly human soul may make more difference than an unclean multitude of animals. Each believer must look to his or her own soul to ferret out the legion of unclean spirits.

WHETHER DEMONS TAKE UP SPACE

EPHREM THE SYRIAN: I asked this too, whether Paradise was sufficient in size for all the righteous to live there. I asked about what is not written in Scripture, but my instruction came from what is written there: “Consider the man in whom there dwelt a legion of all kinds of demons. [1] They were there although not apparent, for their army is of a stuff finer and more subtle than the soul itself. That whole army dwelt in a single body. A hundred times finer and more subtle are the bodies of the righteous when they are risen at the resurrection. [2] They resemble the mind that is able, if it so wills, to stretch out and expand, or, should it wish, to contract and shrink, so as either to focus on one place or to expand to encompass all places. Listen and learn: A lamp with thousands of rays can exist in a single house. Ten thousand scents can exist in a single blossom. Though located in a small space, they have ample room to extend themselves. So it is with Paradise: though full of spiritual beings, it is amply spacious for their habitation.” HYMN 5. [3]

[1] Mk 5:9; Lk 8:30.

[2] Cf. 1 Cor 15:42.

[3] HOP 104-5*. So different from ours is the relation of demonic powers to space that a whole legion can take up residence in a single human body.

5:13c | And They Were Drowned

WHY DROWNED?

CHRYSOSTOM: He did this so that you might know that the demons would have done the same thing to human beings and would have drowned them if God had allowed them to do so. But he restrained the demons, stopped them, and allowed them to do no such thing. When their power was transferred to the swine, it became clear to all witnesses what they would have done to persons. From this we learn that if the demons had the power to possess swine, they also could have possessed humans. DISCOURSES AGAINST JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS 8.6. [1]

INTO THE MUDDY WATERS

PRUDENTIUS:

Driven forth, the wily demons, legion named that evil scourge,

Seize upon the sordid foulness of a herd of filthy swine

And into the muddy waters plunge themselves with maddened beasts. [2]

HYMN 9. [3]

[1] TLG 2062.021, 48.940.39-45; FC 68:236-27**. God justly allowed brute creatures to be drowned to show how the demonic power over human souls might be broken.

[2] Cf. Mk 5:13.

[3] Cetedoc 1438, 9.55; FC 43:64.

5:15 | Clothed and in His Right Mind

THE PETITION FOR EXORCISM

APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTIONS: After this, let the deacon say: Go out, catechumens, [1] in peace. And after they have gone out, let him say: You energumens, [2] afflicted with unclean spirits, pray, and let us all earnestly pray for them, that God, the lover of humankind, through Christ, may rebuke the unclean and wicked spirits, and deliver the faithful 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 demons which have turned away from piety. May God deliver his own workmanship from their power, and cleanse those creatures which he has with great wisdom created. CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 8.2.6. [3]

[1] A candidate for baptism; Tertullian Prescription Against Heretics 41; Hippolytus Apostolic Tradition 16-20; EEC 151; EECy 185.

[2] An individual believed to be possessed or inhabited by a demon.

[3] PG 1:1080; ANF 7:483-84*. The worshiping community is authorized to petition God to deliver the faithful from demonic powers.

5:19 | Tell Them How Much the Lord Has Done

ATTESTING DELIVERANCE

GREGORY THE GREAT: A legion of demons has been, as I believed, cast out of me. I would prefer merely to forget all of this that I have known and simply to rest at the feet of the Savior. But lo it is said to me, so strongly as to compel me against my will, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” [1] EPISTLE 5. [2]

[1] Mk 5:19.

[2] Cetedoc 1714, 140.1.5.38; NPNF 2 11:75*. The faithful even today may experience the same cleansing grace and are called to attest its power.

5:20 | All Marveled

MELTING THE CALLOUS HEART

PRUDENTIUS:

Behold, a legion hurls headlong the swine

Of Gerasenes, and once enchained in tombs,

It loudly grunts with pain. From lips possessed

It had cried out: “O Jesus, Son of God,

Offspring of David’s royal line, we know

Who you are and why you have come, what power

Expels us, at your coming filled with dread.”

Has not this voice, Judea, reached your ears?

True, but it has not pierced your darkened mind

And, driven back, has from the threshold fled.

Now sets the evening sun, where he who beholds

The rosy dawn beholds the Lord’s advent.

The fervent gospel word

Has thawed the Scythian frosts and Hyrcanian snows,

So that Rhodopeian Hebrus, freed from ice,

Flows from Caucasian cliffs, a gentler stream.

A HYMN ON THE TRINITY.