February 10th, 2024

This Sunday is the last Sunday in the Epiphany season, and within the Gospel according to Mark, one could say that this Sunday focuses on the most significant epiphany or manifestation of Jesus. He was transfigured in an amazing way on the mountaintop, and there were actually some people with him, watching this amazing thing happen. (When describing the baptism of Jesus, the perspective in this gospel account is that only Jesus saw the heavens being torn open; cf. Mark 1:10.) The gospel reading for this Sunday is Mark 9:2-9.

Within the writings of this website, we are reading the Gospel according to Mark from beginning to end, in the order it was given, and we are currently looking at what is usually called ‘chapter five’. At the end of the previous chapter, there is a significant number of historical presents (a present tense verb where a past tense was expected), and those ‘presents’ come up when Jesus calms the storm. And a few of those ‘presents’ are connected to the mount of transfiguration as well.

Some connections could be made with those ‘presents’ to the appearances of Jesus after his resurrection and how the Christians are doing after Jesus ascended into heaven (and it would be helpful to remember that neither the resurrection nor the ascension is a significant focus when it comes to the shorter ending of the Gospel according to Mark). Perhaps the early Christians were thinking that there were too many words and not enough miracles happening. Why would a loving God let Christians be killed for believing in Jesus? The same case could be made when we are dealing with a significant casting out of demons—note the word is in the plural. (By the way, a legion in earthly terms is typically six thousand.) But Jesus is basically treating those multiple spirits as only one—note Jesus’ words, that the word ‘spirit’ is in the singular. The high number of unclean spirits is not important to Jesus.

What is interesting is that, when Jesus did a similar miracle before this, he told the person not to tell anyone. But Jesus does not say that this time. He has the man go to his own people though. And the location of his house, along with the name of the towns—the Decapolis—show that he was in a non-Jewish situation. We are beginning to see some significant progression within the work in Jesus spreading the good news among the Gentiles.

You may have already noticed that the way Jesus does this job of spreading the good news is not to give another exhortation. There is a lot of exhorting going on in this section, but Jesus is very gentle in just saying to him that he should go home and tell what the Lord has done, particularly in terms of mercy. 

You may wish to look at other translations or a study bible, but what follows is this writer’s attempt at a somewhat-literal translation of the beginning of chapter five of the Gospel according to Mark (5:1-20; and the historical presents are in bold print):

And they came into the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. And having come out, he, out of the boat, immediately he met him, out of the tombs, a man, in a spirit, unclean, who the dwelling he had in the tombs, and not even with a chain, no longer, no one was able, him, to bind; on account of the him, often with fetters and chains, to have been bound, and to have been burst by him, the chains and the fetters, to have been broken up, and no one had strength, him, to subdue. And through all, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and cutting himself with stones.

And having seen the Jesus from far away, he ran and knelt before him, and having cried out with a voice, great, he says, “What to me and to you, Jesus, Son of the God of the Highest? I adjure you, the God, not me, torment.” For he was saying to him, “Come out, the spirit, the unclean, out of the man.”

And he was questioning him, “What name to you?”

And he says to him, “Legion, name to me, because many we are.” And he was exhorting him much, that not them, he would send outside the country. Now it was there, near the mountain, a herd of pigs, great, grazing. And they exhorted him, saying, “Send us into the pigs, that into them we may enter.” And he allowed them. And having come out, the spirits, the unclean, they entered into the pigs, and it rushed, the herd, down the cliff, into the sea, about two thousand, and they were choking in the sea.

And the ones grazing them, they fled, and they reported into the city and into the fields; and they came to see what is the thing having happened. And they come toward the Jesus, and they see the one being demon-possessed, sitting, having been clothed and being of sound mind, the one having had the legion, and they were afraid. And they described to them, the ones having seen, how it happened to the one being demon-possessed, and about the pigs.

And they began to exhort him to go away from the territory of them. And getting in, he, into the boat, he was exhorting him, the one being demon-possessed, that with him he might be. And not he permitted him, but on the contrary, he says to him, “Go into the house of you, toward the yours, and report to them what things the Lord, to you he has done, and he had mercy on you.
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And he went away, and he began to proclaim in the Decapolis what things he did to him, the Jesus, and all were marveling.