The Meaning of Mark 5:20 Explained

Mark 5:20

KJV: And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.

YLT: and he went away, and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how great things Jesus did to him, and all were wondering.

Darby: And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him; and all wondered.

ASV: And he went his way, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men marvelled.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  he departed,  and  began  to publish  in  Decapolis  how great things  Jesus  had done  for him:  and  all  [men] did marvel. 

What does Mark 5:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Decapolis was a league of10 Greek cities all but one of which stood on the east side of the lake. One of these towns was Gergesa. The others were Damascus, Kanatha, Scythopolis, Hippos, Raphana, Pella, Dion, Philadelphia, and Gadara. [1]
People marveled at the man"s testimony. That was good as far as it went, but it should have led them to seek Jesus out. Perhaps some of them did.
Mark"s account of this miracle stressed Jesus" divine power and authority that was a greater revelation of His person to the disciples than they had previously witnessed. It also provides a model of how disciples can express their gratitude to God for His saving work in their lives.
"Furthermore, in the flow of Mark"s narrative, this story must be read against the backdrop of the dispute between Jesus and the scribes over his exorcisms in Mark 3:22-27. It vividly describes Jesus as the one in whom "the Most High God"s" sovereign rule was being established through the binding of the "strong man" ( Mark 3:27) who through Legion had so powerfully controlled a man that no one else could successfully bind with human fetters ( Mark 5:3-5)." [2]
The raising of Jairus" daughter and the healing of a woman with a hemorrhage5:21-43 (cf. Matthew 9:18-26; Luke 8:40-56)
This is one of the sections of Mark"s Gospel that has a chiastic structure (cf. Mark 3:22-30; Mark 6:14-29; Mark 11:15-19).
AThe appeal of Jairus for his daughter Mark 5:21-24BThe healing of the woman with the hemorrhage Mark 5:25-34A"The raising of Jairus" daughter to life Mark 5:35-43
In this case the delay caused by the healing of the woman created a greater problem that Jesus overcame easily. This account of a double miracle further revealed Jesus" identity to His disciples.
"The healing of Jairus"s daughter shows that Jesus is the Lord of life, and the healing of the woman with the problem of persistent bleeding shows that He is the Lord of health." [3]
Some commentators believed that Mark did not follow a chronological order of events but rearranged them to make his theological points. [4] However all three synoptic evangelists recorded the events in the same order, so perhaps they occurred in this sequence. [4]5 Mark"s account is the fullest of the three.
"The stilling of the storm and the healing of the demonized were manifestations of the absolute power inherent in Christ; the recovery of the woman and the raising of Jairus" daughter, evidence of the absolute efficacy of faith." [6]

Context Summary

Mark 5:1-20 - Power Over Unclean Spirits
This poor victim of a dark tyrant power was endowed with superhuman strength, and scorned restraint. Terrible to others, he endured untold misery himself, and sought relief in tears and self-inflicted torture. The evil spirit who inflicted torment was also in dread of torment from the gentle Savior, as one whose eyes are inflamed dreads the light. What an admixture of man and demons-he answered, We are many! And how malignant! The demons dread disembodiment and prefer a swine's body to none. Many in our midst are held by a similar diabolic power, against which, because they yielded at first by imperceptible degrees, they now struggle in vain. Yet for such there is absolute deliverance in Christ. The emblem of a sinner, a very Samson in evil-doing, this man gives encouragement to all those who are driven to evil by demon power.
Distinguish between the sinner and the evil spirits that have control of him, and do their will. The demon that torments a man loves mischief, and would rather destroy swine than be idle. It was not Christ who destroyed these animals, but the spirit of evil. Hast thou been redeemed? Go forth and win others for thy Lord. Tell them what he has done for thee! [source]

Chapter Summary: Mark 5

1  Jesus delivering the possessed of the legion of demons,
13  they enter into the pigs
22  He is entreated by Jairus to go and heal his daughter
25  He heals the woman subject to bleeding,
35  and raises Jairus' daughter from death

Greek Commentary for Mark 5:20

He went his way [απηλτεν]
He went off and did as Jesus told him. He heralded The man had a greater opportunity for Christ right in his home land than anywhere else. They all knew this once wild demoniac who now was a new man in Christ Jesus. Thousands of like cases of conversion under Christ‘s power have happened in rescue missions in our cities. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Mark 5:20

Mark 8:11 Began []
The beginnings of things seem to have a peculiar interest for Mark. See Mark 1:1, Mark 1:45; Mark 4:1; Mark 5:17, Mark 5:20; Mark 6:2, Mark 6:7, Mark 6:34, Mark 6:55. [source]
Luke 8:39 Throughout the whole city [κατ ολην την πολιν]
Mark 5:20 has it “in Decapolis.” He had a great story to tell and he told it with power. The rescue missions in our cities can match this incident with cases of great sinners who have made witnesses for Christ. [source]

What do the individual words in Mark 5:20 mean?

And he departed began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much had done for him - Jesus all were marveling
Καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἤρξατο κηρύσσειν ἐν τῇ Δεκαπόλει ὅσα ἐποίησεν αὐτῷ Ἰησοῦς πάντες ἐθαύμαζον

ἀπῆλθεν  he  departed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπέρχομαι  
Sense: to go away, depart.
ἤρξατο  began 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἄρχω  
Sense: to be the first to do (anything), to begin.
κηρύσσειν  to  proclaim 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: κηρύσσω  
Sense: to be a herald, to officiate as a herald.
Δεκαπόλει  Decapolis 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: Δεκάπολις  
Sense: a track of land so called from the ten cities that were in it.
ὅσα  how  much 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: ὅσος  
Sense: as great as, as far as, how much, how many, whoever.
ἐποίησεν  had  done 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ποιέω  
Sense: to make.
αὐτῷ  for  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
ἐθαύμαζον  were  marveling 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἐκθαυμάζω 
Sense: to wonder, wonder at, marvel.

What are the major concepts related to Mark 5:20?

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