Mark Chapter 5

What is the meaning of Mark 5?

Have you ever faced a situation so overwhelming that you felt completely powerless? Maybe it was a battle in your mind, a long-standing struggle with your health, or a desperate prayer for someone you love. Mark 5 is a chapter for those moments—the times when all hope seems lost.

This chapter isn’t just a collection of miracles; it’s a dramatic display of Yeshua’s unmatched authority over darkness, disease, and even death itself. From the tormented man possessed by a legion of demons to the woman who had suffered for twelve years, and finally, to a grieving father who had just lost his daughter, each story carries a profound truth: when Yeshua steps in, everything changes.

But Mark 5 isn’t just about them—it’s about you. It invites you to consider: What is holding you back? Where do you need His power to break through? As we explore this chapter, prepare to see how the Messiah’s compassion and authority still transform lives today—just as they did then.

Context of Mark 5

Mark 5 follows directly after Yeshua’s demonstration of authority over nature through calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41. This progression is intentional, as Mark builds a careful narrative showing Yeshua’s complete dominion over every aspect of creation: natural forces, demonic powers, chronic illness, and death itself. The chapter serves as a pivotal point in Mark’s Gospel, where Yeshua’s identity becomes increasingly clear through His actions, even as opposition to His ministry grows.

Within the larger context of Mark’s Gospel, this chapter falls within the section (Mark 4-8) that emphasizes Yeshua’s mighty works and growing fame in Galilee. These miracles serve multiple purposes: they authenticate His messianic claims, demonstrate the arrival of God’s kingdom, and reveal His compassionate heart. The geographic movement in the chapter – crossing the Sea of Galilee into Gentile territory and back – also highlights the universal scope of His mission, breaking down barriers between Jew and Gentile.

The chapter also connects thematically to the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah’s ministry. The power over demons, healing, and resurrection all echo prophecies from Isaiah 35:5-6 and Isaiah 61:1-3, where the coming of God’s kingdom would be marked by such signs. This positions Yeshua firmly within the prophetic tradition while showing Him to be greater than any prophet who came before.

Ancient Key Word Study

• Legion (Λεγιὼν): Derived from the Latin “legio,” this military term referred to a unit of 6,000 Roman soldiers. Its use here emphasizes the overwhelming force of evil opposing the one Man, Yeshua. The term would have carried political overtones for Mark’s readers, suggesting both oppression and foreign occupation, making the demon’s defeat even more significant.
• Torment (βασανίσῃς): This Greek word originally referred to testing metals with a touchstone but came to mean torture or severe testing. Its use here reveals the demons’ recognition of Yeshua’s authority and their fear of judgment, highlighting His divine identity.
• Unclean (ἀκάθαρτος): This ritual term appears repeatedly in the chapter, connecting physical and spiritual impurity. In Jewish thought, uncleanness was contagious and isolating. Yeshua’s willingness to encounter and cleanse uncleanness demonstrates His mission to restore both ritual and moral purity.
• Issue of blood (ῥύσει αἵματος): This medical term describes a chronic hemorrhage that rendered the woman perpetually unclean according to Levitical law (Leviticus 15:25-27). The physical condition carried severe social and religious implications.
• Touch (ἅπτομαι): This word appears multiple times in the chapter, emphasizing physical contact that would typically transmit uncleanness. However, in Yeshua’s case, His touch transmits cleansing and life instead of contamination.
• Talitha koum (ταλιθα κουμ): These Aramaic words, meaning “Little girl, arise,” are preserved in their original form, suggesting the authenticity of the account and providing a glimpse into Yeshua’s everyday language.
• Faith (πίστις): The Greek term implies both belief and trust. Its repeated use in this chapter emphasizes that the recipients of miracles demonstrated active faith rather than passive acceptance.
• Fear (φόβος): This term describes both terror at supernatural events and reverent awe before divine power. The different responses to fear in the chapter reveal various stages of spiritual understanding.
• Daughter (θυγάτηρ): Used for both Jairus’s child and the woman with the issue of blood, this term emphasizes familial relationship and indicates Yeshua’s creation of a new family through faith.

Mark 5 Unique Insights

The chapter contains several elements that would have resonated deeply with ancient readers while carrying profound theological significance. The presence of pigs in the Gerasene account, while explaining the economic impact of the miracle, also carries deeper meaning. In Jewish thought, pigs represented the ultimate in uncleanness, making their destruction a powerful symbol of purification. The number 2,000 (pigs) and 12 (years of hemorrhage) both carry symbolic weight in Jewish numerology – 2,000 suggesting complete destruction and 12 representing the people of God.

Early rabbinic sources discuss the concept of ritual impurity transfer through touch, making the healing of the woman with the issue of blood particularly significant. The Talmud (Hagigah 2b) discusses cases where even indirect contact with someone with such a condition could transmit impurity. Yet in this account, instead of Yeshua becoming unclean, His power flows outward to cleanse and heal. This reversal of the normal flow of ritual impurity challenged fundamental assumptions about holiness and divine presence.

The early church father Tertullian saw in the Gerasene demoniac a symbol of the Gentile nations being delivered from idolatry, while Clement of Alexandria interpreted the woman’s hemorrhage as representing the flow of sin that only the Messiah could stanch. The Jewish historian Josephus mentions various exorcism practices contemporary to Yeshua, typically involving elaborate rituals, herb roots and incantations. The stark simplicity of Yeshua’s authority stands in marked contrast.

The chapter also demonstrates sophisticated literary structure. The story of Jairus’s daughter frames the account of the woman with the issue of blood (a technique called intercalation or sandwiching), creating multiple layers of meaning. As both stories involve the number 12, both feature desperate individuals falling at Yeshua’s feet, and both demonstrate the relationship between faith and healing. This careful composition suggests deep theological reflection on the events.

Question the Text

As you read Mark 5, take a moment to question the text. What stands out as puzzling or unexpected? Where do the characters act in surprising ways? What cultural or theological assumptions are being challenged? Instead of rushing to find definitive answers, let these questions guide you into deeper reflection about human nature, divine interaction, and the unspoken details within the passage.

• Why does the demonized man immediately recognize Yeshua and call HIM “Son of the Most High God” while others struggle to see HIS true identity? (Mark 5:7)
• Why does Yeshua permit the demons to enter the herd of pigs instead of simply destroying them? What does this reveal about the nature of spiritual forces? (Mark 5:12-13)
• Why do the townspeople react with fear and ask Yeshua to leave instead of rejoicing at the man’s deliverance? What does this say about their priorities or spiritual condition? (Mark 5:15-17)
• Why does Yeshua refuse to let the healed man follow HIM but instead tells him to proclaim what יהוה (Yahweh) has done for him? (Mark 5:18-19)
• The woman with the issue of blood believes touching Yeshua’s garment will heal her. Is this just an act of faith, or is there a cultural or religious belief at play? (Mark 5:27-28)
• Why does Yeshua say, “Who touched MY clothes?” Wouldn’t He have known? What was the purpose of calling attention to her? (Mark 5:30-32)
• Why does Yeshua tell Jairus to “only believe” when he receives the news that his daughter has died? How does this moment challenge natural human reactions to despair? (Mark 5:36)
• Why does Yeshua only allow Peter, Yaakov, and Yochanan to witness the resurrection of Jairus’s daughter? (Mark 5:37)
• Why does Yeshua command the witnesses to keep the resurrection a secret when HE had just instructed the healed demoniac to spread the news of his deliverance? (Mark 5:43)

These questions are meant to provoke deeper thought and discussion. What do you think the answers might be? How does questioning the text shape your understanding of Yeshua’s power and mission?

Mark 5 Connections to Yeshua

The miracles in Mark 5 powerfully reveal Yeshua’s identity as the promised Messiah and more – as God incarnate. His authority over demons recalls the prophecies of Psalm 110 about the Messiah’s victory over all enemies. The healing of the woman with the issue of blood fulfills prophecies about the Messiah bringing cleansing and restoration (Ezekiel 36:25). Most dramatically, the raising of Jairus’s daughter points to Yeshua’s ultimate victory over death through His own resurrection.

The chapter presents Yeshua as the one who crosses all boundaries – geographic (Jew/Gentile), ritual (clean/unclean), and social (outcast/elite) – to bring God’s kingdom. This universal scope of His ministry anticipates the great commission and the global spread of the gospel. His compassionate response to faith, regardless of the person’s background, demonstrates the heart of His redemptive mission. The power displayed in these miracles serves as a preview of the complete restoration that His death and resurrection would accomplish.

Mark 5 Scriptural Echoes

This chapter resonates with numerous Old Testament themes and prophecies. The deliverance of the demoniac recalls Psalm 107:10-16, where יהוה Yahweh delivers those bound in darkness. The woman’s healing echoes the promise of Malachi 4:2 that healing would flow from the wings (corners or edge) of the Messiah’s garment. The raising of Jairus’s daughter parallels Elijah and Elisha’s resurrections (1 Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4:32-37), but with greater authority and simplicity.

The theme of faith overcoming fear connects to numerous psalms, particularly Psalm 27. The restoration of the ritually unclean to community reflects the promised new covenant’s cleansing (Jeremiah 31:31-34). Even the command to give food to the raised girl echoes Genesis 1:29, suggesting new creation.

Mark 5 Devotional

This remarkable chapter challenges us to examine our own response to Yeshua’s authority and invitation. Like the Gerasene demoniac, we might find ourselves bound by forces that seem overwhelming – yet Yeshua’s power to deliver remains absolute. Like the woman with the issue of blood, we might feel unworthy or excluded – yet His compassion welcomes even the most hesitant faith. Like Jairus, we might face situations that seem beyond hope – yet Yeshua’s power extends even over death itself.

The chapter invites us to move from fear to faith, from isolation to community, from death to life. It reminds us that no situation is too desperate for divine intervention, no person too unclean for divine touch, no cause too hopeless for divine power. The key is reaching out to Yeshua in faith, even if that faith is expressed in something as simple as touching His garment.

Did You Know?

• The region of the Gerasenes was part of the Decapolis, a group of ten cities with strong Greek (Hellenistic) influence. The presence of a pig herd indicates this was primarily Gentile territory, making this miracle a powerful statement about Yeshua’s mission beyond Israel.
• The woman’s condition would have rendered her perpetually unclean according to Levitical law, meaning she had been effectively excommunicated from religious and social life for 12 years. Her touch of Yeshua’s garment was therefore a serious breach of religious protocol.
• The “fringe” of Yeshua’s garment likely refers to the tzitzit (ritual fringes) commanded in Numbers 15:38-39. These were symbols of covenant faithfulness and were associated with messianic healing in Jewish tradition.
• The story of Jairus’s daughter is one of only three resurrection miracles performed by Yeshua recorded in the Gospels, the others being the widow’s son at Nain and Lazarus.
• The term “Legion” for the demons would have carried political overtones for Mark’s readers, as Roman legions were symbols of oppression. The demons’ defeat thus carried implications of liberation on multiple levels.
• The detail about the girl being twelve years old creates a poignant connection with the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years, suggesting themes of completion, God’s government or Kingdom power and the restoration of God’s people.
• Archaeological excavations in the region have uncovered steep banks near the Sea of Galilee that could correspond to the site where the pigs rushed into the water, lending historical credibility to the account.
• The command to give the raised girl something to eat parallels other resurrection accounts in Scripture, serving both as proof of genuine resurrection and a sign of restoration to normal life.
• The description of the woman’s condition uses technical medical terminology similar to that found in ancient Greek medical writings, suggesting Mark’s careful research and attention to detail.
• Jairus’s position as synagogue ruler makes his public appeal to Yeshua particularly significant, as it likely put his religious standing at risk.