John Gill

On the other side of the sea, they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes.

“And they came over unto the other side of the sea,.... Of Galilee, or Tiberias; into the country of the Gadarenes: in the Evangelist Matthew it is called, "the country of the Gergesenes", as it is here in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions.”

And he shouted in a loud voice, “What do You want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg You before God not to torture me!”

“And cried with a loud voice,.... The man possessed with the devil; or the devil in him, making use of his voice, expressing great fear, dread, and horror, at the appearance of Christ in these parts: and said, what have I to do with thee…”

For Jesus had already declared, “Come out of this man, you unclean spirit!”

“For he said unto him,.... Or he had said unto him, as soon as he came up to him, and fell before him; even before he had confessed, and adjured him; and which indeed drew out the confession from him, that he was superior to…”

There on the nearby hillside a large herd of pigs was feeding.

“Now there was there, nigh unto the mountains,.... Where this man often was, Mar 5:5 according to Beza, the mountains of Galaad, which ran through that country, or the mountains that surrounded Tiberias.”

So the demons begged Jesus, “Send us to the pigs, so that we may enter them.”

“And all the devils besought him,.... The whole legion of them, not only their chief, in the name of the rest, but all of them earnestly entreated him; they were all humble supplicants, not from love, but fear, and with a view to do mischief…”

A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet

“And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue,.... Having heard of his return, and where he was; See Gill on Mat 9:18.”

and pleaded with Him urgently, “My little daughter is near death. Please come and place Your hands on her, so that she will be healed and live.”

“And besought him greatly,.... Used much importunity with him, and was very urgent in his requests: saying, my little daughter lieth at the point of death, or "is in the last extremity"; just breathing out her last; for she was not actually dead when he…”

She had borne much agony under the care of many physicians and had spent all she had, but to no avail. Instead, her condition had only grown worse.

“And had suffered many things of many physicians,.... She took many a nauseous medicine, and had gone through courses of physic with different physicians; for there were many among the Jews that pretended to the cure of fluxes; and various are the prescriptions the Jewish…”

But He kept looking around to see who had done this.

“And he looked round about,.... The press and throng of people, on every side of him; though he knew very well where she stood, who had done the thing, and had received the cure: to see her that had done this thing; how she looked…”

Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him trembling in fear, and she told Him the whole truth.

“But the woman fearing and trembling,.... Lest she should be reproved, and suffer the penalties of the law, for appearing in public during the time of her uncleanness, Lev 15:25, or that Christ was displeased with her, for her taking an improper method to obtain…”

“Daughter,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be free of your affliction.”

“And he said unto her, daughter,.... Instead of reproving her, or showing any anger, or resentment at her, as she feared, he speaks to her in a very soft, kind, and tender manner, and called her "daughter", which was not only an expression of affection…”

When they arrived at the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus saw the commotion and the people weeping and wailing loudly.

“And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue,.... Along with him, and the three disciples above mentioned; and the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read, "and they came", the above persons: and seeing the tumult; the throng and crowd…”

Taking her by the hand, Jesus said, “Talitha koum!” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”

“And he took the damsel by the hand,.... See Gill on Mat 9:25. And said unto her; in the Syriac language, which was then commonly spoken by the Jews, and well understood: hence the Syriac version expresses the following words without an interpretation, Talitha Cumi.”

Jesus went on from there and came to His hometown, accompanied by His disciples.

“And he went out from thence,.... From Capernaum; and came into his own country; or "city", as the Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read, the city of Nazareth; so called because it was the place where Christ was conceived, and where he was educated…”

When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas?” they asked.

“And when the sabbath day was come,.... For it seems that it was on a weekday, or on one of the common days of the week, that he entered into the city, where he remained without making himself known, till the sabbath day came: and…”

And He was amazed at their unbelief. And He went around from village to village, teaching the people.

“And he marvelled because of their unbelief,.... Which was the reason, as Matthew says, Mat 13:58, why he did not many mighty works there, because they continued their prejudices against him, and their unbelief in him, notwithstanding what he did do, which was matter of…”

and to wear sandals, but not a second tunic.

“But be shod with sandals,.... Which were different from shoes, and more fit to travel with, and therefore allowed when shoes were forbidden; See Gill on Mat 10:10, though some think there was no difference between shoes and sandals, and that Christ, in Mat 10:10…”

They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil.

“And they cast out many devils,.... Which they had power given them to do; and this they did, in confirmation of their mission and doctrine, and for the benefit of miserable creatures, who were possessed by them; and to show their power over the devils…”

For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married.

“For Herod himself had sent forth,.... Some of his guard, a detachment of soldiers, and laid hold upon John; who seized upon him, and took him up: and bound him in prison; in the castle of Machaerus: for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife, for…”

So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she had been unable,

“Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him,.... Was angry with him, conceived wrath, and laid up hatred against him, and was an adversary to him; which is the sense of the Oriental versions.”

On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

“And when a convenient day was come,.... For Herodias; who had long sought and watched for an opportunity of avenging herself on John, and such a time Herod's birthday proved; though some think, that this phrase is the same with יום טוב, "a good day"…”

So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place.

“And they departed into a desert place,.... Which belonged to the city of Bethsaida, Luk 9:10, by ship, privately; over some part of the sea of Tiberias, this place lying on a more remote side of it.”

But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” They asked Him, “Should we go out and spend two hundred denarii to give all of them bread to eat?”

“He answered and said unto them, give ye them to eat,.... This he said to try their faith, and make way for the following miracle: and they say unto him, shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?”

So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

“And they sat down in ranks,.... Or "beds": in such form as little beds are placed in a garden, or as rows of vines in a vineyard, in which form the scholars of the wise men sat in their schools: it is said (g), "R.”

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves.

“And when he had taken the five loaves and two fishes,.... Out of the hands of those that brought them into his own: he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves: See Gill on Mat 14:19, and gave them to his disciples…”