Mark 5 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

678 679began to beg him to depart from their regions.680 6815.18 And as he is getting into the boat, the one who was demon-possessed was682 683begging him that he might be with him. 5.19 And he did not permit him, but rather, he678The phrase ñîáíôï ðáñáêáëåí áôí, erksanto parakalein auton, “they began tobeg him,” is changed to read pareka,loun, parekaloun, “they were begging,” by Bezae,Theta, Minuscules 565, 700, 1424, a few other Greek manuscripts, the Old LatinManuscript a and a few manuscripts of the Sahidic Coptic.The variant reading does not change the meaning of Mark, but says the same thingas the original, only in a briefer way.679Literally, “from their boundaries.” France comments that “Jesus’ meek acceptance ofthe local people’s desire to be rid of him is assumed without comment.” (P. 232)Strange reaction, isn’t it? Luccock, while admitting that this story has many“opaque” features, holds that this is an all too typical response of our world to thetransforming power of Jesus. “Apparently they feared sanity less than insanity...Manypeople today, and through the years, concerned for the continuation of some existing orderor custom, either because it works to their advantage, or because of the dead weight ofinertia, fear sanity far more than the perpetuation of delusion. They are afraid of man in hisright mind. The militarist fears with congealing terror the spectacle of a humanitystruggling to emerge from the delusions of force. The disciples of ‘white supremacy’ fearthe debunking of humbug on the subject of race...It is easy to grow indignant and scornfulabout the blind folk, like these villages of Gerasa, who prefer the evils of disorder to sanityof mind and spirit. But the question comes home to each of us. Are we infected in anyway by that blindness? Can we listen in our day to the voice of Jesus saying, ’Comeout...you unclean spirit’?” (P. 716)Schweizer comments on verses 15-16 that “Accurate eyewitness accounts may behelpful–but all this does not result in the understanding of faith.” (P. 106)680Maclaren notes, “And he goes away. The tragedy of life is that we have the awfulpower of severing ourselves from His influence. Christ commands unclean spirits, but Hecan only plead with our hearts.” (P. 184)681Here, in contrast to the preceding two present participles used to describe thedemon-possessed person (verses 15 and 16), Mark here uses the aorist participle, äáéìïíéóèåò, ho daimonistheis, which means “the one who was possessed” (but now isnot).682For the phrase “to be with Jesus,” compare Mark 3:14 with its footnote 406. “Beingwith Jesus” was the first prerequisite for becoming an “envoy” for Jesus in the world. Isthis what the formerly demon-possessed person desires to become? And what could(continued...)422