Getting to Know Jesus in the Gospel of Mark
Study Twenty-Five:
Mark 5:1-20
1 They
came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 2 And when Jesus had stepped
out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an
unclean spirit. 3 He
lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain,
4 for he had often been
bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke
the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the
tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with
stones. 6 And
when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud
voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I
adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come
out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What
is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we
are many.” 10 And
he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs
was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the
pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So
he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs;
and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the
sea and drowned in the sea. (Mark 5)
1. Describe the
condition of the man Jesus was helping.
2. What are some
contemporary issues that could make people feel similar things?
3. Since demons neither
die-off nor reproduce, the demons in question knew Jesus prior to them being
banished from God’s presence, and prior to Jesus coming into the world in human
flesh. What things do we learn about Jesus from the way the demons responded to
him?
14 The herdsmen fled and told
it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had
happened. 15 And
they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man, the one who had had the
legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid.
16 And those who had
seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the
pigs. 17 And
they began to beg Jesus to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the
boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be
with him. 19 And
he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your
friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had
mercy on you.” 20 And
he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for
him, and everyone marveled. (Mark 5)
4. What was the
distinguishing characteristic of the man after Jesus had dealt with the demons
that had taken over his life?
5. What was the
distinguishing characteristic of the people of the area after they had learned
what Jesus had done for this man?
6. What was the
difference between the way the crowds related to Jesus and the way the healed
man related to Jesus?
7. Which of the two
best identifies your response to Jesus Christ?
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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