And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.

MARK 5:17KJV
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Mark 5:17 (KJV)

What does Mark 5:17 mean?

Mark 5:17 describes how the people of the region, after witnessing Jesus’s power in casting out demons, urgently asked him to leave their area. The verse shows their strong reaction to what had just happened and their desire for Jesus to depart from their territory.

The people speaking in Mark 5:17 are the local residents of the region near the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus had just healed a man possessed by many demons. Instead of welcoming Jesus, they were afraid or unsettled by the dramatic change and the loss of their herd of pigs, so they pleaded with him to go away from their land. This verse highlights the tension between Jesus’s miraculous actions and the community’s response.

The Greek behind Mark 5:17

  • παρακαλέω (parakaleō, "pray"): This Greek word means to urge, beg, or entreat. Here, it shows that the people were not making a polite request but were earnestly and repeatedly asking Jesus to leave.
  • ἀρχίζω (archizō, "began"): This word often marks the start of a significant action. It suggests that the people’s plea was immediate and possibly spread among the crowd, not just a single person’s request.
  • χώρα (chōra, "coasts"): This term refers to a region or territory, not just a shoreline. The people wanted Jesus to leave their whole district, not just the immediate area.

Why Mark 5:17 matters

  • Mark 5:17 helps clarify that not everyone welcomed Jesus’s miracles; some were disturbed or afraid of the changes he brought, especially when it affected their livelihood or sense of normalcy.
  • The verse connects to the wider passage by showing the contrast between the man who was healed (who wanted to follow Jesus) and the townspeople (who wanted Jesus to leave), highlighting different responses to Jesus’s power.
  • Understanding the urgency and collective nature of the people’s plea helps explain the social and emotional impact Jesus’s actions had on the community.

Where else these words appear

“coasts” Greek G3725 · used in 10 verses

  • Matthew 2:16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
  • Matthew 15:22 And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.
  • Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis.

“began” Greek G756 · used in 84 verses

  • Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
  • Mark 10:47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me.
  • Luke 14:29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

“pray” Greek G3870 · used in 104 verses

  • Matthew 2:18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
  • Acts 16:40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.
  • 2 Corinthians 12:18 I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?

“depart” Greek G565 · used in 118 verses

  • Matthew 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:
  • Mark 5:20 And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
  • Luke 24:12 Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass.