Mark 5:4
Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
Mark 5:4 describes two demon-possessed men living among the tombs who had often been bound with fetters and chains but with extraordinary demonic strength tore the chains apart and broke free so that no man could tame or control them. Their uncontrollable violence, torment and self-injury were visible evidence that they were possessed and controlled by Satan as mediums of the prince of darkness. Christ alone had supremacy over Satan and power to break that bondage and release His captives, commanding the unclean spirits to come out of them. Once freed they were calm and restored to reason, clothed and in their right minds, no longer needing bolts or chains and no longer a danger to others. Those once degraded into instruments of Satan were turned through His grace into messengers of righteousness and witnesses to God's mercy and saving power to their households and region.
Helpless Bondage Described
Mark 5:4 belongs to the meeting on the shore in the early morning after the crossing of the sea, when Jesus was confronted by two demon-possessed men who lived among the tombs and graves. As soon as Jesus and the disciples and those who followed them across the sea stepped upon the beach, the two men rushed fiercely toward them. They had often and repeatedly been bound with fetters and chains in attempts to confine them, but with extraordinary demonic strength and violence they plucked the chains asunder and broke the fetters in pieces to break free.
Fragments and parts of the chains they had broken in escaping from confinement still hung and clung about them. Possession had blotted out the likeness of humanity so they looked more like wild beasts than men, with faces and glaring eyes staring out from long and matted hair. They rushed as if to tear in pieces, gnashing and foaming, while cutting and bruising themselves with sharp stones and other missiles they could lay hands upon until flesh was torn and bleeding.
They had terrorized the country and community so that they were a terror to the neighborhood and difficult to restrain. No traveler was safe to pass that way, for they would rush upon him with demonic fury and kill him if they could. No man could tame or control them, showing they were completely beyond human control and that satanic power of this kind cannot be overcome by human wisdom or strength alone. The healing at Gadara took place just before Jesus returned to where Jairus met Him to ask for the healing of his dying daughter.
Christ's Power to Deliver
Their raging violence, loss of self-control, torment and helplessness, with wounds from cutting and bruising themselves, were the visible proof of the cruel power of the demons possessing them, for they were mediums of the prince of darkness, possessed and controlled by Satan himself. No human restraint could hold them, and their extraordinary strength that snapped chains and shattered fetters only displayed how completely the demons ruled them. Their uncontrollable condition showed that such satanic bondage lies beyond all human power to tame.
When they rushed upon Him the disciples fled, but Jesus did not flee. With the same authority that had stilled the tempest He lifted His hand, and the gnashing, foaming men could come no nearer but stood raging yet helpless before Him. He commanded the unclean spirits to come out of them, and His words pierced their darkened minds so that they dimly understood that One was near who could save them from torment.
Christ alone has supremacy over Satan, with power to break that bondage and set His captives free. Even the power of demons is under His control, and the working of evil is overruled for good. Those whom He healed from terrorizing the community became living proof that He can break Satan's power and transform the possessed.
After He freed them from the evil spirits they sat calm and restored to reason, clothed and in their right minds, listening to Him in peace and soundness. Their restoration displayed His power and mercy in delivering them from torment. They no longer needed bolts or chains and were no longer a danger to others.
Transformed Witnesses and Application
Those who had been controlled by darkness and degraded into instruments of Satan were through Christ's grace turned into messengers of righteousness and witnesses to God's mercy and saving power. Their former condition, in which chains and fetters could not restrain them and no one could tame them, stands in contrast to this transformation after Jesus freed them from the demons. The men who had terrorized the community, having been repeatedly chained yet breaking the chains, were healed by Jesus and made into messengers of truth, showing that He could break Satan's power and transform them into witnesses to salvation. In obedience to Christ they carried the good news to others that He could save people from Satan's bondage, telling their households, neighbors, and the wider region about His power to save.
Though Christ Himself departed when rejected, the healed men remained as channels of light and messengers of the Son of God to their own heathen region. As mediums of the prince of darkness who had been possessed and controlled by demons so that no man could tame them, their deliverance shows that even the power of demons is under the control of Christ and the working of evil is overruled for good. Through them a door was opened to the gospel throughout that region, directing attention to Christ and preparing the way, so that when Jesus returned to Decapolis thousands from all the surrounding country flocked to Him and heard the message of salvation for three days. The man whose strength could break chains and fetters and whom no human effort could tame was freed by Christ from his madness, after which he obeyed Christ and worshiped Him.
The same demonic possession exists when a person gives soul, body, and spirit to Satan to accomplish a determined will to rule her husband in mind and body. As the fierce and untamable man could not be held by fetters and chains and tore and cut himself until Jesus cast out the devils, so such a course turns married life into a reign of terror and constant warfare that sacrifices his manhood and integrity. His case shows extraordinary demonic strength in repeatedly breaking chains and fetters, which no human power could tame, and that satanic power of this kind cannot be overcome by human wisdom or strength alone. Yet Christians need not be hopeless or discouraged before such satanic power.