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.
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.
One of the main things in this story that would jump out to any reader familiar with Jewish customs is the amount of unclean stuff. Jesus has traveled to the eastern side of the sea of Galilee, which is Gentile, unclean territory. This guy is possessed by unclean spirits. Which is synonymous in Mark with demon as we have already seen in the exorcism of chapter 1.
The possessed man also lives among the tombs. Coming into contact with the dead or anything associated with the dead was thought of as unclean. They would then be unclean for 7 days. If they weren't cleansed on the 3rd and 7th day they would then be cut off from the community (Numbers 19:11-14)
On top of it all there is a massive herd of pigs nearby. Pigs were unclean animals that Jews were not allowed to come into contact with or eat. (Lev. 11:7; Deut. 14:8) No pulled pork or bacon 😢. The Mishnah (traditional document dictating Jewish practice in Jesus' day) definitively states, "none of you may rear swine anywhere." These pig farmers were likely supplying the Roman army in Hippos and Gergasa with pork. So their presence was doubly offensive as a reminder of the Roman occupation and unclean food.
In summary, Jesus meets a man possessed by a legion of unclean spirits (a legion in the Roman army was the largest unit of soldiers numbering 5,600 soldiers), in unclean territory, living in unclean tombs, with unclean animals around him. That's a whole lot of "yuk" to any Jewish reader. Yet Jesus willingly goes there! Tomorrow we will talk about why.