5:1–20 Mark’s stories of Jesus’ works are designed not only to tell something of what Jesus did but also to dramatize or symbolize important points. To read these stories the way Mark intended, we must look for what they suggest as symbols, and this involves reading the accounts carefully, with an eye for detail. The present story particularly seems intended to symbolize important truths, and it deserves close attention.

The first thing to notice is where this event takes place. Though there is some variation in the Gospel accounts and in ancient manuscripts as to the name of the town (called Gerasa [the region of the Gerasenes] here in 5:1, but see note), it is plain that the story is set on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee in an area called the Decapolis (or “the Ten Towns,” 5:20…