Mark 5:17 Meaning and Explanation

The region delivers its verdict: "they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts." The begging that has run through the chapter -- the demons' pleas, and soon the healed man's -- here belongs to the citizens, and their request is that the healer go away.

It is one of the most sobering moments in the Gospels: people who have seen a man delivered ask the deliverer to leave. Perhaps they feared more losses; perhaps they simply preferred a manageable misery to an unmanageable Lord. Jesus does not argue, and he does not force himself on anyone. He grants the request and turns toward the boat. What we ask Christ to do with his presence, he often does.