Mark 5:3

Mark 5:3, in plain English

This man had been living in the tombs, and no one could restrain him anymore — not even with chains. He was completely beyond human help.

Why it's here

Mark is building up just how hopeless this situation was. Every human solution had failed. No chain, no person, nothing could contain what was happening to this man.

Who's speaking

Mark describes the man's desperate condition before Jesus arrived.

Where it sits in the story

The man was so tormented that he lived among the dead, and nothing anyone tried could hold or help him. It's a picture of utter despair — until Jesus shows up.

The scholarly reading

The description of the man's unrestrained wildness emphasizes that no human means — including chains (halysesin) — could contain the demonic power. His tomb-dwelling marks complete social death.

Language and setting

Mark builds an escalating portrait of the man's condition to magnify the power of Jesus' forthcoming deliverance. The inability to be 'restrained' (dedeshai) foreshadows the binding of the strong man (3:27).

Voice

Mark provides background detail on the demonized man's condition.

Significance

Mark paints a devastating picture: this man lived in tombs and was beyond all human control. Chains couldn't hold him, and no one could help him.

1On the other side of the sea, they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes.

2As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, He was met by a man with an unclean spirit, who was coming from the tombs.

3This man had been living in the tombs and could no longer be restrained, even with chains.

4Though he was often bound with chains and shackles, he had broken the chains and shattered the shackles. Now there was no one with the strength to subdue him.

5Night and day in the tombs and in the mountains he kept crying out and cutting himself with stones.

Read all of Mark 5 — A man possessed by a thousand demons, a woman who has bled for twelve years, a father whose daughter has just died — all healed in a single chapter.