Mark 5.1-43 tells us about three individuals who were dealing with life and death situations: a man with an unclean spirit living in tombs, a woman with an unclean issue, and a young girl who had died before Yeshua could get to her.
v 1…And they came to the other side of the sea (Galilee), into the country of the Gerasenes (“alien, stranger, foreigner” and probably “Kursi or Gergesa but the site is uncertain; and the same as the “Gadarenes in Matt 8.28 and Luke 8.26. There is a concept here centered around the Sea of Galilee. Yeshua did much teaching there, around the Sea of Galilee. It is also called “Genesseret” or “Kinneret” in Num 34.11 and it comes from the Hebrew “kinor” meaning a harp; this sea is shaped like a harp-see Psa 33.2-3 and Psa 49.4 notes on this site; Rev 14.2-3 says, “And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters, like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps.” Harps are a picture of the heart-Prov 20.27. The harp is the only instrument that can be played by the wind, a type of the Ruach ha Kodesh, or Holy Spirit. Our hearts (harps) are stimulated the same way. The Spirit “plucks” our heartstrings. That is why Yeshua taught so much around the “harp” of the sea of Galilee).
v 2…And when he had come out of the boat, immediately a man (Matt 8.28 says there were two, but Mark makes mention of the main individual) from the tombs with an unclean spirit met him;
v 3…and he had his dwelling among the tombs (unclean carries the idea of “out of place, the living among the dead). And no one was able to bind him anymore, even a chain (to hold him; he had supernatural strength);
v 4…because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him (he could not be managed in any way).
v 5…And constantly night and day among the tombs and in the mountains (where some tombs were), he was crying out and gnashing himself with stones.
v 6…And seeing Yeshua from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before him (acknowledging his power and superiority);
v 7…and crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What do I have to do with you, Yeshua, son of the most high God? I implore you by God, do not torment me (by being cast out, or his power diminished, or by being sent to the pit which awaits him)!”
v 8…For he had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit (there was no fighting or doubt about Yeshua’s power and authority)!”
v 9…And he was asking him, “What is your name (Yeshua knew it, and how many he was dealing with, but this was said to show just how miserable his condition was to those around)?” And he said to him, “My name is Legion (a specific military unit in the Roman occupational army, and this was a political statement; this alludes to cosmic warfare); for we are many (they were organized, united, and irresistible in power, like a Roman legion of five or six thousand men).
v 10…And he began to entreat (ask) him earnestly not to send them out of the country (because expelling Roman forces would have raised numerous fears, and there were many who didn’t know Yehovah there).
v 11…Now there was a big herd (“herd” is sometimes used for military recruits of swine (pigs symbolize the enemies of God and apostates-Isa 65.3-4, 66.17; 2 Pet 2.22) feeding there on the mountainside (around the lake).
v 12…And they entreated him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them (Why? To work their mischief by destroying the property of others and turn their hearts against Yehovah. If the owners were Jewish, this was an illegitimate trade-Deut 14.8. If they were non-Jews, it insulted their region because they were probably idolatrous).
v 13…And he gave them permission (this permission was just). And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand; and they were drowned in the sea (symbolic of the self-defeating aspect of Roman violence; this is a picture of the judgment that awaits the enemies of God and the apostates in the Lake of Fire; this also alludes to the drowning of Pharaoh and his chariots in Exo 14.27, “a chaotic host swallowed by a chaotic sea”; the convergence of demons, pigs, and the sea gives us a clear picture of cosmic conflict-The Greatest Exodus: A Divine Warrior Tradition, by Dinah Dye, p. 90, 104-105)
v 14…And those who tended them (not the owners), ran away and reported it in the city (populated area) and in the country (in the fields). And the people came to see what it was that had happened (with their own eyes-Matt 8.34).
v 15…And they came to Yeshua and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed (like a new man) and in his right mind (a new heart), the very man who had the “Legion”; and they became frightened (of Yeshua and his power because their superstitions told them the demons should have overcome just one man; ancient readers living under Roman occupation, imperial rule was understood as the byproduct of a cosmic conflict between God and Ha Satan, and would have viewed this narrative as both a confrontation with spiritual darkness and a pointed commentary on Roman imperial oppression; ancient readers did not see a separation of spiritual and political power-see “The Greatest Exodus” by Dinah Dye, p. 107-108).
v 16…And those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine (how they requested to enter the swine and how Yeshua allowed it).
v 17…And they began to entreat him to depart from their region (they saw him as one who would hurt their finances; they loved the world more and felt they would suffer “loss” if he stayed. They did not want to change. They were more comfortable having the demon-possessed man around than Yeshua).
v 18…And as he was getting into the boat (he turned his back on them), the man who had been demon-possessed was entreating him that he might accompany him (he wants to be around Yeshua, unlike the others).
v 19…And he did not let him, but he said to him, “Go home to your people (relatives and community; his house-Luke 8.39) and report to them what great things the Lord (Yehovah) has done for you, and how he had mercy on you (he had a ministry with his own family and associates in a non-Jewish world in a way Yeshua could not at this time; Yeshua was sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel first).
v 20…And he went off and began to proclaim (he obeyed Yeshua) in Decapolis (ten Greek cities on the eastern side of the sea, including Damascus) what great things Yeshua had done for him; and everyone marveled (at the power of Yeshua and all the benefits that had come upon the man).
v 21…And when Yeshua had crossed over again in the boat to the other side (from Gadara to Capernaum), a great multitude gathered about him; and he stayed by the seashore (possibly with Levi/Matthew).
v 22…And one of the synagogue officials (a zekan or elder) named Jairus (“Yairus” meaning Yehovah enlightens) came up, and upon seeing him, fell at his feet,
v 23…and entreated him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter (she was twelve-Luke 8.42) is at the point of death; please come and lay your hands on her (called “semicha” and part of the steps when offering a korban in the Temple. It is an elementary teaching of the faith in Heb 6.2. It means “to lean” and put your weight on, not a magical gesture “establishing a point of contact”-it was to show the following action was from the one who laid hands on the person or animal); that she may get well and live.”
v 24…And he went off with him (immediately); and a great multitude was following him and pressing in on him (to see what he was going to do).
v 25…And a woman who had a hemorrhage (called a “zavah” in Lev 15.25-27-she was ritually unclean and could not enter the Temple because she was considered ritually unclean and could not touch anyone and considered as if she was in her menstrual impurity) for twelve years (same age as the little girl),
v 26…and had endured much at the hands of many physicians (who had numerous “treatments), and had spent all she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse (this alludes to those who suffered under false doctrine and spent much money and were not helped),
v 27…after hearing about Yeshua, came up in the crowd behind (probably weak) and touched his cloak (the border of his talit where the tzitzit were, the fringes-Num 15.37-41; 1 Sam 15.28; Mal 4.2; Mark 6.56).
v 28… For she thought, “If I just touch his garments, I shall get well (she touched the tzitzit or fringes hanging on the corners of his outer garment, believing Mal 4.2 which says, “But for you who fear my name the sun of righteousness (Messiah) will rise with healing in his wings.” The term “wing” is “kanaf” in Hebrew and it means the corners of the garment where the tzitzit hung-Zech 8.23).
v 29…And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction (the tzitzit stood for the Torah and whoever keeps it can “grasp” the presence of Yehovah).
v 30…And immediately Yeshua, perceiving in himself that the power had gone from him (like a fountain gushing forth-Jer 17.12-14; Luke 6.19), turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments (he knew who did it, but he said it to illicit a confession from her so that the healing would be known)?”
v 31…And his talmidim said to him, “You see the multitude pressing in on you and you say, ‘Who touched me (they thought this was a strange comment, but they did not even know a healing had manifested)?”
v 32…And he looked around to see the woman who had done this (he knew who and where she was-he was pleased with what she did).
v 33…But the woman fearing and trembling (about what the Torah said in Lev 15.25-27; she should not have been around so many people; she may have thought he would reprove her for her improper method), aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before him and told him the whole truth.
v 34…And he said to her, “Daughter (instead of reproof, he kindly speaks to her as a believer and a child of Abraham), your faith (in me by your actions) has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction (“continue to be well” as a confirmation to her).
v 35…While he was speaking (poor Jairus is having to wait through all this as his daughter is dying) they came from (the house of ) the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the teacher (a term for the Messiah-Isa 30.20; John 11.28; in Joel 2.23 the “early rain” is “moreh tzedekah” meaning “teacher of righteousness) any more.
v 36…But Yeshua overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid, only believe (or keep on believing-v 23).
v 37…And he allowed no one to follow him (to witness what was about to happen through his power over death) except Peter and James, and John (Mark gives special status to these three for the first time-Yeshua’s inner circle), the brother of James.
v 38…And they came to the house of the synagogue official; and he beheld a commotion (of people) and loudly weeping and wailing (with hand gestures, etc).
v 39…And entering in, he said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died (permanently) but is asleep (and will shortly wake up).”
v 40…And they were laughing at him (they took his words literally and thought what he said was absurd; they tried to humiliate him). But putting them all out (it is good not to be surrounded by unbelief; an ordered expulsion), he took along the child’s (Hebrew “yaldah” being twelve) father and mother and his own companions, and entered where the child was.
v 41…And taking the child by the hand, he said to her, “Talitha cumi” which is an Aramaic phrase meaning “little girl, arise.” Some believe this phrase means, “she who is in the talit, arise.” You can clearly see the word “talit” here, and in the corners of that talit was the tzitzit, the same ones the woman touched in v 28. He may have put the tzitzit in her hand. Being twelve he would have said, “Yaldah cumi (if he spoke Hebrew).” If she were thirteen to seventeen he would have said, “Almah cumi.” If she were eighteen or unmarried, he would have said “Betulah cumi.” Is it possible that the same outer garment or talit that was used to heal the woman with a twelve year hemorrhage was wrapped around the 12 year old girl with tzitzit? What is the message here? The tzitzit are given to remind us about the Torah in Num 15.37-41. This alludes to the fact that the Torah and the Scriptures are greater than defilement and death).
v 42…And immediately the girl got up and to walk; for she was twelve years old (twelve is the number of authority and perfect governmental order, namely the kingdom of God, and time and borders among other things).
v 43…And he gave them strict orders that no one should know about this (this applied while he was in the area to avoid attention, and the jealousy of the religious authorities, and any attempt to make him a “king” to oppose the Romans, etc. He had come to be rejected by the people and to die and he had more work to do. The full revelation of who he was will come later. Many have asked, “If Yeshua was the Messiah why did so many reject him?” But the opposite is true. If everyone accepted him, then he could not have been the Messiah. The prophets wrote that the Messiah was to be rejected and killed, rising from the dead on the third day. That is why he said on the cross, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachtani” which means in Aramaic, “this is my destiny, to this end I was born”); and he said that something should be given to her to eat (to show that her functions had returned to normal).”
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