The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 213

this spot is o. lofty mounto.in, in which e.re by the man as soon u he left the boat. anoient tombs; e.nd from this mounto.in Vere. 3-5 inclusive must be regarded as there ie o.n o.lmost perpendiculo.r declivity, parenthetica.l. They describe the ordinary litere.lly (1tp,iµvds) corresponding nccnrately condition of the demoniac, and his sad wild to who.t ie required by the description in life from day to day. From the high the ne.rrntive of the mire.cle. Dr. Farrar ground which he frequented he had seen (' Life of Christ') enye the.t in the de.ye of the boa.t, in which Jcsns was, nearing the Eueebius e.nd Jerome, tre.dition pointed to e. shore. He had seen the other boats. Per- " steep plo.ce " neo.r " Gere.ea " ae the scene haps he had seen the sudden rise of the of the miraclo. The foot of this etvt>p is storm and its equally sudden suppression; washed by the waters of the lo.ke, whid1 are and he, like others who witnessed it, was e.t once very deep. affected by it. So he hastened to the shore ; Vere. 2-5.-There met him oat of the he ran and worshipped him. He felt the tombs a man with e.n unclean spirit. St. power of his presence, and so he was con- Me.tthew says that there were two. St. strained through fear to do him reverence, Luke, like St. Mark, mentions only one, e.nd for "the devils also believe and shudder him "possessed with devils." The one (.pp(a-a-ova-1)" (Jae. ii 19). mentioned by St. Mark was no doubt the Ver. 7.-He cried with a loud voice; that more prominent and fieroe of the two. This ie, 1.he evil spirit cried out, using the organs does not mean merely a person with e. dis- of the man whom he possessed. What have ordered intellect. No doubt, in this case, as I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the Most in that of insanity, physice.l causes may have High God 1 From hence it appears that, helped to lay the victim open to such an although at the great temptation of our incursion; and this may account for cases Lord in the wilderness, Satan had but an of possession being enumerated with vnrioue imperfect knowledge of him; yet now, after sicknesses, though distinguished from thetn. the evidence of these great miracles, and more But our Lord evidently deals with these especially of his power over the evil spirits, persona, not as persons suffering from insan- there waa a general belief amongst the ity, but ae the subjects of an alien spiritual hosts of evil that he was indeed the Son of power, external to themselves. He ad- God, the Messiah. I adjure thee by God, dressee the unclean spirit through the mnn torment me not. The torment which he that was possessed, and so.ye, " Come forth, dreaded wae that which be might suffer thou unclean spirit" (ver. 8). There met after expulsion. Bo St. Luke says that they him out of the tombs. The Jews did not entreated him that he would not command have their burie.1-ple.ces in their cities, lest them l.o depart into the abyss. Great as they should be de tiled; therefore they buried this mystery of evil is, we may believe that their dead without the go.tee in the fields or the evil spirits, although while they roam mountains. Their sepulchres were fre- about ;upon this earth they are in misery, quently hewn out of the rock in the sides of still it is some nlleviation that thoy are not 1.he limestone hills, and they were lofty and yet shut up in the prison-house of hell, but capacious; so that the living could enter are suffered to wo.nder about and find their them, as into a vault. So this demoniac depraved pleasure in tempting men; so dwelt in the tombs, beoe.use the unclean that, if possible, they may at last drag them spirit drove him thither, where the as- down with them into the abyss. For they soointions of the place would accord with are full of hatred of God and envy of man; his mnlady and aggravate its symptoms. und they find o. misero.ble so.tisfaction in St. Matthew, speaking of the two, says that endeavouring to keep men out of those they wero "exceeding fierce, so that no man heavenly mansions from whioh, through might pass tho.t way." The demonio.o par- pride, they are thetnselves now for ever e.i- ticularly mentioned by St. Mark is described clucled. as having been possessed of thut extraordi- Vere. 8, 9.-For he said unto him, Come nary musoular strength which maniacs so forth, thou unoleo.n spirit, out of the man; often put forth ; so that all efforts to bind literally, /<Yr he was saying (fA<")'<). 'l'he and restro.in him had proved ineffectual uncleo.n spirit endeavoured to arrest, before No man oould any more bind him, no, not it Wllll spoken, that worJ of power which he with a aha.in (ova, ci.Aua-,i). Chains and knew he must obey. So in what follows, fetters had often been tried, but in vain. He was asking him (l1r11pdin), What ill thy Frequently too, in the paroxysms of his name 1 Why does our Lord ask this ques- mo.l11dy, he would turn his violence against tion 1 Clearly to elicit from him an answer himself, orying out, and outting himself with tho.t would reveal the multitude of the evil stones. spirits, and so make his own power over Ver 6.-And when he saw .Tes11B from them to be fully known. And he saith afar. These words, "from o.far," explain nnto him, My name is Legion ; for we are the faot of our Lord being immediately met many. The Roman legion consi~ted of si:1 BT. lU.llX, p  THE GOSPEL ACCORDING '1'0 ST. MARK. [oB. V. 1-43.