And, lastly, this would allow sufficient time for those miracles which took place on that second day in Capernaum after His return thither. The time of this event was before Jesus' crucifixion, and before the gentiles were grafted in to the promise (Acts 10). Another reason could be as Dr. R.C. Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. Why is that. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1991. Accordingly this was not merely an ordinary form of mental disease as some writers have alleged, but a special phenomenon which was particularly frequent during Jesus earthly sojourn and thus was directly connected with His coming to destroy the power of darkness. December 2022 Matt. The Gadarenes was the place where Jesus confronted a man whose possession by demons gave him a level of superhuman strength like Samson (Mark 5:3 - 5, Luke 8:27). 128 In most of the stories of possession what is at issue is not merely sickness but a destruction and distortion of the divine likeness of man according to creation. 117 so that, by their own confession, a time is coming when there shall be an entire victory of the kingdom of light over that of darkness (Rev. This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom.117. He felt Jesus' reassuring hand on his shoulder. Those possessed are depicted throughout as unfortunate sufferers who by no fault of their own are dominated by evil spirits and who, when the spirits are cast out by Jesus, accept their deliverance with joy and gratitude (Mark v. 18-20, Luke viii. As the world's top superpower, how unsure of itself can the US be to . To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. It is a violent tempest, that is, outside of the natural. EWTN News, Inc. is the worlds largest Catholic news organization, comprised of television, radio, Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. No matter where you are on life's journey. Jesus did say to count the cost [Luke 14:28-33]. (London: InterVarsity Fellowship, 1950), fn. Acts 19:16). Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. Non-Christians can often experience this fear of Jesus as well. We read at Mk 5:14-17 (NRSVCE), the immediate after-effects of the driving out of evil spirits by Jesus at Gerasene by allowing them to enter pigs: The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. Wasn't the answer obvious? (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. Then any greatest of men, like any prophet, hero or king? Another indication of demonic control is the fact that this man was continually doing harm to himself by gashing himself with stones (verse 5). . May 2020 61-62. Sometime after the Lord Jesus miraculously calmed the storm, the ship landed, perhaps late in the evening,111 on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gerasenes.112 If, indeed, it was late at night, the scene must have been an eerie one, with the nerves of the disciples already worn thin by the terrifying experience of the storm. Is it a bug? Acts 5:1-6). Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) and thank you for your contribution. June 2015 Rather, they attributed the power of Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:22). 34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. It became one of the proudest cities of Syria. It was situated some 30 miles southeast of Gadara, on the borders of Peraea and a little north of the river Jabbok. October 2020 Mark 5:16 says the thoughts of the people were on the swine. The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. They likely were Gentiles and had been under the influence of the demonic principality of the region their whole life. especially fn. You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. The presence of holiness and, moreover, the most intense divine holiness is undesirable; I mean, unless you are an angel or a saintly recluse in his ascetic toils in a cave or a top of a pillar. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. October 2017 The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave. For the Christian, there are two extremes which must be avoided with reference to Satanic activity. May 2022 Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized . May 2018 And the people there were scared, they recognised this, but more, they realised the significance of this. When the townspeople arrived on the scene, they saw the formerly demon-possessed men, clothed, in their right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus. February 2021 I will not ask him to leave. January 2021 The difference between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ in Japanese, Is there a solutiuon to add special characters from software and how to do it. She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. The account occurs in all three Synoptic gospels; in Mark (the shortest gospel) the story is in the longest and most detailed version; Matthew 8.28-34 is the shortest, The city of Gadara and its surrounding area are referred to as the Gadarenes. 22, xvii. Why did Jesus have the authority to forgive sins, why did the scribes take it as a blasphemy, and was this authority also given to men in general? Understand the meaning of Luke 8:37 using all available Bible versions and commentary. As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. How do I connect these two faces together? Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. Pope Francis Inexhaustible Font of Words: 10 Gems From the Heart Over 10 Years, Pope Francis, Biden Commend Peacemaker Bishop OConnell as Memorial Services Begin. Winthrop Congregational Church, UCC No matter who you are. What scared them was a power so fierce it could free a man. Unbelieving men may not rave and carry on like the Gerasene demoniac, but they are nevertheless under Satans control, doing his bidding. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. This was a power far beyond anything they had seen or even imagined. But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. First of all the Scriptures do not say that the local Pagans were afraid of Jesus, but that they merely begged him to leave their neighbourhood. The region and polygon don't match. More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. Jesus asked a sick man if he wanted to get well. The pig shepherds had gone and spread the news of what had happened all around. The exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac (Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20; Luke 8.26-39), frequently known as the Miracle of the (Gadarene) Swine and the exorcism of Legion, is one of the miracles performed by Jesus according to the New Testament. The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). Second (and primarily), Mark employs this event to authenticate the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God and Israels Messiah. Jesus had just performed an incredible miracleand one they desperately needed, at that! More from Medium Jameson Steward in. Gergesenes is also in some manuscripts (Khersa or Gersa was a town actually on the shore of the sea). to men facing fear and death. It only takes a minute to sign up. "They sailed to the country of the Gerasenes which is opposite Galilee. Renew or manage your subscription here. A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. Where did the demons go after they went into the pigs and caused them to jump to their death. 3); they are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day (Jude 6); and what the unclean spirits deprecate here, is the bringing in, by anticipation, of that final doom. R. C. Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1949), p. 100. Jewish theology, at least on this point, seems consistent with biblical revelation. Clarify As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. Holy Communion From the Chalice Reintroduced in the UK: What About the US? The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. But, the context is not going to be comfortable (accepted by) to some traditional understandings. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. Neither is it only a kind of physical disease, although spiritual and physical disease often accompany it (e.g. Why is this even an issue, I wonder? Confusion, fear in moments after crash "There were many big pieces of steel," said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. In Luke 2:8 it is applied to the city of Bethlehem; in Acts 18:23 to Galatia and Phrygia. Will they be condemned like unclean animals? Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed. Verse 1. April 2015 Was it fear that a secret sin might be exposed? November 2020 Fear that you would not be in control? It is very appropriate that these two incidents . vi. Rev. Most people confessed to having the fear of things not working out, an inability to trust and others said they . Finally, there is in demon possession a counterpart to the filling (or control) of the Holy Spirit. 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, b he entered Capernaum. What did we miss because we allowed fear instead of faith to drive our lives? People who have no appr Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. It indicates full and permanent control. I understand why," the HBO "Real Time" host told Jake Tapper on Tuesday as part . As always, we must begin with the principle: Interpretation is one, application is many. Satan loves those Christians. June 2017 It would seem that these people had no Messianic expectations, and therefore wanted nothing to do with One Who had such awesome power, a power over which they had no control. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30), or to be the pawns of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2). In other words, even though he set the bar extremely high, he seemed to be a fascinating man. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. French Monastery Survives War and Famine After 885 Years, the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan, and More Great Links! Daniel 10:13; Ephesians 6:12), whose leader and prince is Satan (Matthew 12:24). They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. He was a totally safe Person. It is mentioned in some ancient manuscripts of the . Vote Up Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. Some of the proposed answers to this question are totally unacceptable to an orthodox, evangelical Christian.123 By way of explanation, there are several factors which should be given serious consideration. Can devils entreat in such a manner any highest of angels, be he Michael, Gabriel or Raphael, or any greatest cherub or seraph? of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were So he got into the boat and left. August 2020 In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. Why did Jesus allow the legion of demons to stay in the area when they begged him? He obviously attracted crowds. Gerasenes could have had a sense of reference to the entire region (as well as to a city: just as New Yorker can refer to the state or city), and Gadarenes likely was a reference to the most prominent city of the region at the time. Satans most effective tool is not the demoniac wandering about the desolate places. 3. They found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. It is something like the behavior and personality change in a man who is totally intoxicated. June 2020 The Gospels use different names for the place where this occurred: This is supposedly a contradiction. Gerasa is (as we know) some 30-35 miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, but may have also been the name of the larger region. It was not the loss of their property or investment that caused them to be afraid of Jesus. Sign-up for E-NewsletterGet Register Updates sent daily or weeklyto your inbox. The country of the Gadarenes (Gergesenes) is one of the few areas Jesus visited where Gentiles (non-Jews) composed the majority of the population. This was surely not so in every case, and perhaps in none. The people (nations) were divided up, and boundaries allocated' and the sons of god were put over these nations. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. It should also be observed that nowhere in the Old Testament (except in I Sam. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. 2. xii. Gergesa may have been a variant spelling of Gerasa. Ralph Earle, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), p. 70. (2) Anti-social behavior. Although Gadarenes and Gergesenes are derived from a different Greek word, they are essentially referring to the same area. The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. What would happen to them? When Jesus asked the demoniac his name, it was not without significance for He was, I believe, asking the demons to reveal their identity. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! The drowning of the swine was an accident, possibly simultaneous with the healing, and report mixed up the two incidents. There is, as we know, the world, the flesh, and the Devil. In fact the region was known as the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. Acts 16:16), while others were the virtual pawns of these spirits, losing their own identity and autonomy. Holiness hurts! verse 5). Although his symptoms would have appeared to be those of an insane man,113 the Gospel writers inform us that he was demon-possessed.114. And they were afraid. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. Author of The Gnostic Notebook series, stand-up comedian, and Gnostic. Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. T. H. Huxley, in his Essays upon some Controverted Questions (1892), made merry over the escapade of the Gadarene swine, running the seven miles between Gadar and the lake of Galilee, crossing the deep river Yarmuk en route. Why did the demons ask to be cast into the herd of pigs, and why did the pigs then run into the water to be drowned? Who was afraid of Jesus and why? So much pain, so much sin. I think that this story is a little bit of an Easter story. Into the country of the Gadarenes, or rather, Gera-senes, which is now generally admitted to be the true reading, from Gerasa, Gersa, or Kersa.There was another Gerasa, situated at some distance from the sea, on the borders of Arabia Petraea. Significantly, the demons are called unclean spirits (verse 2,9). When you get a chance, please take the, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. 26). Let me say as graciously as I can, Satan does not need to work on us in those areas as we are doing very well without his exploitation. December 2014 I think the coup de grce is to look up the Greek word for country in these passages, to see what latitude of meaning it has. 2 Now a centurion had a servant 1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. Matthew is habitually more oriented to a Jewish readership, and so he refers to Gadarenes because Gadara was the most important Jewish city in the area. This man demonstrated all four characteristics. Lane, Mark, p. 182, fn. 16, x. Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. In Acts 8:1 we have the regions of Judaea and Samaria (KJV), and in Acts 16:6, Galatia alone. So he got into the boat and left. The people were gentiles who had not yet any interest in the Messiah. Note: 'had the legion', i.e., the many unclean spirits inhabiting him. A friend of mine told me later that two students were attempting to cast a demon out of a fellow. July 2020 January 2022 But here we speak not about a bishop, but about Christ who made His Godhead revealed through devils beseeching Him not to cast them to hell but enter the swine. The demonically possessed man who came to Jesus cried out his name was Legion. He brought up the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them into pigs, which promptly ran over a cliff into the sea. When Jesus asked his name the man answered, Legion, for we are many (Mark 5:9). He did not appear to rush upon the small group of men to attack them (as he would normally have done), but rather to plead with Jesus. We owe it to Josephus, from whom it has passed into ecclesiastical language. April 2022 Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms. Why is there a voltage on my HDMI and coaxial cables? Since the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave in their fear, it seems that Jesus' ability to exorcise Legion was disturbing to the people. Although it is likely that the larger towns of Galilee were predominantly Gentile, as was the Decapolis, the first-century civilian diet did not . xx. The story shows Jesus exorcising a demon or demons out of a man and into a herd of swine, causing the swine to run down a hill into a lake and drown . Just as demons desire to possess persons through whom they can exhibit their personalities, so the Spirit of God indwells man, imparting new life, and progressively gaining control so that the character of God is exhibited, but not in such a way as to hinder our individuality and identity. One is that he was a fascinating man. Instead, they reject Him because all they know is His power and purity. 40, vii. The Politics of Luke 8:26-39. Their first question is a rather pragmatic one, namely, How can demons possess animals? To this we must confess that we know too little to understand the mechanism of demon possession but the reality is very evident. The pig tenders reported it far and wide, in city and country (verse 14). The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. Luke seems to base this fear solely upon what happened to the demoniac, not on the loss of their pigs. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. (2) Pork was a food forbidden to Jews, and as such, those who raised these pigs may have done so knowingly in violation of divine injunction. The second question is an ethical one: What right had the Lord to inflict this loss on the owners of the swine?121 Put even more crassly, Huxley censored this act with these words: the wanton destruction of other peoples property is a misdemeanour of evil example.122. In recent years the matter has been getting uncomfortably close to home. e.g., Matt. NET Bible Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized with great fear. 9. Mark 9:17-29). But having recalled a passage in Ephesians, I realize now that this man is a reminder of the dilemma of every man, woman, and child who have not come to a saving dependence upon the work of Jesus Christ for sinners on the cross. May 2015 Another reason they may have been afraid of Jesus was the realization that if they accepted Him, it would mean a radical change of lifestyle. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. The sons of god ended up becoming the gods of these nations. The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus (Luke 8:26-39, NIV) Mark 5:1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Jesus asked Mary why she was crying at the grave site. It is ironic that while the demons didnt want to leave the country, the dwellers of that land didnt want the Messiah to stay.
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