“But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,”
When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell on his knees in front of him — the man's action is ambiguous: he runs toward Jesus (which could be aggression or seeking help) and falls on his knees (which is a posture of supplication or submission). The distance from which he sees Jesus suggests that the demonic perception of Jesus' identity operates at range, before any human interaction has begun. The falling on knees before Jesus mirrors the demonic prostration in Mark 3:11 — the supernatural realm cannot approach Jesus standing. The gesture is the same as worship but from a different motive: the demon is not worshiping but acknowledging superior power.
Church Fathers on Mark 5:6
Those who were in the ship enquired among themselves, 'What manner of man is this?' and now it is made known Who He is by the testimony of His enemies. For the demoniac came up confessing that He was the Son of God. Proceeding to which circumstance the Evangelist says, 'And they came over unto the other side, &c.'
Geraza is a noted town of Arabia, across the Jordan, near mount Galaad, which the tribe of Manasseh held, not far from the lake of Tiberias, into which the swine were precipitated.
Though Matthew says that there were two, Mark and Luke mention one, that you may understand that one of them was a more illustrious person, concerning whose state that country was much afflicted.
Read all 23 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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