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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadCambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Mark 5:17 - 5:17
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17. ἤρξαντο. We return to the inhabitants mentioned in Mar 5:15. Jesus had just freed them from a great terror, by delivering one who had relations and friends among them from an obsession of extraordinary violence; and they began to beseech Him—one expects some such conclusion as “to abide with them,” or “to heal their sick”; but there comes, with tragic irony, the conclusion—to depart from their borders. As in Luk 14:18, there is no ἀλλά or δέ to prepare one for this surprising conclusion, a conclusion which a writer of fiction would not be likely to invent. But ἐφοβήθησαν and περὶ τῶν χοίρων give the explanation. They were afraid of this mighty Wonderworker, and they did not want any more losses. Hoc foedi stuporis signum est, quod eos magis terret porcorum jactura quam animae salus exhilarat (Calvin). The widow of Zarephath (1Ki 17:18) is a somewhat similar case. Christ at once granted their request. They were not worthy, and He could do more effective work elsewhere.