John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 2. And when he was come out of the ship , etc..] As soon as he was landed, immediately there met him out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit . The Jews have a notion, that a man by dwelling among the tombs, becomes possessed with an unclean spirit: hence they say of one that seeks to the dead, or a necromancer f62 , this is he that starves himself, and goes and lodges in the tombs; hamwj j wr wyl [ hr t ydk , that so an unclean spirit may dwell upon him: which notion may arise from unclean spirits hurrying persons possessed by them, unto such places; partly for the terror, both of themselves and others; and partly to possess the minds of men with a persuasion, that they have power over the dead, and which is very great in such places. This case is the same with that, which is mentioned in ( Matthew 8:28) as appears partly from its following the storm, from which the disciples had a remarkable deliverance; and partly from the country, in which this affair happened; for the country of the Gergesenes, and of the Gadarenes, is the same, as has been observed; only it is called by different names, from two principal places in it: as also from various circumstances in this relation; as the character of the possessed being exceeding fierce, dwelling among the tombs, and coming out from thence; the expostulation of the devil with Christ, and adjuration not to torment him; his entreaty to go into the herd of swine, and the leave he had; the destruction of the swine in the sea; the fear and flight of the swine herds; the report they made to their masters and others; and the request of the people in general to Christ, that he would depart out of their coasts. And though Matthew makes mention of two that were possessed, and Mark but of one, there is no contradiction in the one to the other; for Mark does not say there were no more than one; had he, it would have been a glaring contradiction to the other evangelist; but as he has put it, there is none, and it creates no difficulty: wherefore the Jew has no reason to object this as he does, as if the evangelists clashed with one another; and Mark may only take notice of this one, because he was the fiercest of the two, and had the most devils in him, having a legion of them; and because the conversation chiefly passed between Christ and him; and because the power of Christ was more manifestly seen in the dispossession of the devils out of him.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 1-20 - Some openly wilful sinners are like this madman. The commands of the law are as chains and fetters, to restrain sinners from their wicke courses; but they break those bands in sunder; and it is an evidence of the power of the devil in them. A legion of soldiers consisted of sin thousand men, or more. What multitudes of fallen spirits there must be and all enemies to God and man, when here was a legion in one poor wretched creature! Many there are that rise up against us. We are not match for our spiritual enemies, in our own strength; but in the Lord and in the power of his might, we shall be able to stand against them though there are legions of them. When the vilest transgressor i delivered by the power of Jesus from the bondage of Satan, he wil gladly sit at the feet of his Deliverer, and hear his word, wh delivers the wretched slaves of Satan, and numbers them among his saints and servants. When the people found that their swine were lost they had a dislike to Christ. Long-suffering and mercy may be seen even in the corrections by which men lose their property while their lives are saved, and warning given them to seek the salvation of their souls. The man joyfully proclaimed what great things Jesus had done for him. All men marvelled, but few followed him. Many who cannot but wonder at the works of Christ, yet do not, as they ought, wonder afte him.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ εξελθοντι 1831 5631 V-2AAP-DSM αυτω 846 P-DSM εκ 1537 PREP του 3588 T-GSN πλοιου 4143 N-GSN ευθεως 2112 ADV απηντησεν 528 5656 V-AAI-3S αυτω 846 P-DSM εκ 1537 PREP των 3588 T-GPN μνημειων 3419 N-GPN ανθρωπος 444 N-NSM εν 1722 PREP πνευματι 4151 N-DSN ακαθαρτω 169 A-DSN
Robertson's NT Word Studies
5:2 {Out of the boat} (ek tou ploiou). Straightway (euqus) Mark says, using the genitive absolute (exelqontos autou) and qen repeating autwi associative instrumental after apentesen. The demoniac greeted Jesus at once. Mark and #Lu 9:27 mention only one man while Matthew notes two demoniacs, perhaps one more violent than the other. Each of the Gospels has a different phrase. Mark has "a man with an unclean spirit" (en pneumati akaqartwi), #Mt 8:28 "two possessed with demons" (duo daimonizomenoi), #Lu 8:27 "one having demons" (tis ecwn daimonia). Mark has many touches about this miracle not retained in Matthew and Luke. See on Mt 8:28.
