On the other hand, Gadara is only six miles from the southern tip of the lake and could easily have given its name to the district. As indicated in the textual note, the best Greek text reads Gerasenes in Mark and Luke, Gadarenes in Matthew. Those demons were terrified of Him! To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. 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. 8; Mark vi. For example, He didnt condemn a prostitute for her actions, He saw a daughter of God who was valuable beyond measure and only needed genuine love and forgiveness. (2) Anti-social behavior. Have we stepped back, in effect asking Jesus to leave us alone, only to discover, as a Gentleman, He did? We owe it to Josephus, from whom it has passed into ecclesiastical language. Small sins lead to big sins, and big sins bring about a terrible spiritual darkness. January 2023 The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). Matt. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. art thou come hither to torment us before the time? (3) Our Lord was moved with compassion by the torment of Legion and the loss of these pigs should in no way dim our view of the deliverance of the demoniac. - And they came to the other side of the sea.The other side of the sea would be the south-east side of the sea. (5) Torment. It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. 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. April 2022 It is Geldenhuys who gives us the most concise description of demon-possession: in the New Testament demon-possession means that a person is dominated by the spirit of a demon and tormented by him. September 2015 Romans 9:19-23). Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. xiii. A crowd had come to see what had happened for themselves. Why is this sentence from The Great Gatsby grammatical? The man looked out on the Tiberius. Even the demons confessed that He was the Son of the Most High (Mark 5:7). 35Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. When Jesus asked the demoniac his name, it was not without significance for He was, I believe, asking the demons to reveal their identity. "And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes round about asked him to depart from them, for they were holden with great fear: and he entered into a bo." First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. Perhaps they clenched their fists or picked up driftwood with which to defend themselves. to men facing fear and death. And when the man spoke to Jesus, it looks like the demons inside the man were the ones doing the speaking. But the city of Gadara owned some territory round about Khersa, so that the district and the pigs could properly also be called Gadarene. F. F. Bruce, Are the New Testament Documents Reliable? Evil is self-defeating in the end. I used to want the longest life, perfect health and happiness, but really it is that feeling that I am so glad that this isnt all there is and that we have heaven to wait for, and that well be with Jesus, and there will be no more tears Amber VanVickle (1982-2023), The headquarters of the charity, which serves as a consecrated family to 46 disabled children, were badly damaged in major flooding near Rio de Janeiro last year. 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. Today, it is identified with El-Koursi or Kursi. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. "Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear." (Luke 8:37a) Fear plagues us. Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? The miracle referred to took place, without doubt, near the town of Gergesa, the modern Kersa, close by the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and hence in the country of Gergesenes. Jesus asked Mary why she was crying at the grave site. It is noteworthy that Jesus nowhere speaks of forgiveness of sins or of purification-sacrifices, that have to be brought after His curing of such cases (as He did in some cases of physical illness). Privacy Policy. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . These, however, are not the problem raised by Bible students. The choice is to be free by submission to Christ (cf. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Asked October 24 2014 (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. July 2015 Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant. As has been said before, look for Satans man behind the pulpit. July 2021 Nevertheless, for consideration. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. monetization of National Catholic Register RSS feeds is strictly prohibited. What scared them was a power so fierce it could free a man. Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. 3. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. October 2017 Jesus is conscious that He now breaks the power of the devil and his angels because He is the One in whom the dominion of God is present on behalf of humanity. W. Foerster, as quoted by Lane, Mark, fn. Paul says of the former life of the Christian, And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 1:1-2). 40, vii. These men were a danger to themselves and others. That the unclean spirits were personal beings is evident from what is related about their leaving a possessed person, talking or crying out, possessing knowledge concerning Jesus, as well as other supernatural knowledgeshowing fear, and the like. (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) In Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. But, the context is not going to be comfortable (accepted by) to some traditional understandings. Did Jesus command the demon before he fell on his knees in Mark 5:6? 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. They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. When Jesus and his disciples come to the mostly-Gentile region of the Gerasenes, they are met by a man whose life has been destroyed by demonic infestation. (5) What our Lord could have given the people of this territory was much greater than what He took away. The best known Gerasa was a Greek city nearly forty miles southeast of the lake (modern village of Khersa, on the east shore of the lake. June 2017 No! It was significant. All Scripture agrees with this, that the judgment of the angels is yet to come (1 Cor. Why did Jesus allow the demons to enter the herd of pigs? Acts 19:16). Five squad cars converged on it. Gergesenes is also in some manuscripts (Khersa or Gersa was a town actually on the shore of the sea). (1) As Lord of all, God has the right to make use of His creation any way that He deems best, and this includes not only pigs, but people (cf. 13; Luke iv. 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, Gergesa, also Gergasa ( in Byzantine greek) or the Country of the Gergesenes, is a place on the eastern ( Golan Heights) side of the Sea of Galilee located at some distance to the ancient Decapolis cities of Gadara and Gerasa. Is there a single-word adjective for "having exceptionally strong moral principles"? Christians are to be the answer, but often they are part of the problem. August 2015 Christians are to be a "safe" people - an expression of that love of God so people who do not know Him can be drawn to the Truth. According to another theory, the Chapati movement of 1857 was an attempt to prevent a cholera outbreak in central India. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. It had nothing to do the farmers losing revenue - at all. From this point on, Jesus began to speak to the crowds in parables in order to veil or conceal the gospel from those who had blasphemed the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:lff). 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. December 2022 Since the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave in their fear, it seems that Jesus' ability to exorcise Legion was disturbing to the people. If we put ourselves in their place, and use empathy to feel how we might have reacted if we were confronted with the loss of our next year's source of feeding our families, it will be easier to understand that they were afraid to suffer any other loss that might result if Jesus stayed in their area. October 2021 Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. More from Medium Jameson Steward in. June 2021 13ff.). Daniel 10:13; Ephesians 6:12), whose leader and prince is Satan (Matthew 12:24). Ananias and Sapphira did so by allowing their greed to grip their hearts (cf. Luke 8 "The name "Gerasenes" is to be associated with the modern city of Jerash, located in Transjordan, 22 miles N of Amman." John McRay, "Gerasenes," ed. Why were the Romans afraid of the Christians? 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. When addressed, the person was the mouthpiece of the demon (such as Legion, Mark 5:9). Now they were delivered and ready to be productive members of society. The drowning of these pigs has caused a great deal of discussion amongst Bible students, for as a friend of mine once observed, Thats a lot of pork chops! Had our Lord achieved such a miracle today He would have been in deep trouble. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. This makes sense, I couldn't believe they asked Jesus to leave. If Jesus had that kind of power, then He could not be controlled. The pigs had been driven mad and rushed down a steep slope plunging into the lake and drowning. I think all these attempts to harmonize what may at first seem like a contradiction are plausible, respectable, and adequate. No! September 2018 With a little knowledge of the geography of the region, this apparent contradiction can be resolved. 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 2022 The capital of the region was Gerasa, and the largest city in the region was Gadera. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. Only 30 of 175 dioceses ordained an average number of priests at or above replacement level over the five years from 2016 to 2021, according to the report. This is probably the Gerasa of Mark and Luke. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.110. This request was granted and the entire herd rushed headlong to their own destruction. November 2017 But about a mile further south there is a fairly steep slope within forty yards from the shore, and about two miles from there cavern tombs are found which appear to have been used for dwellings. William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), p.181. Author of The Gnostic Notebook series, stand-up comedian, and Gnostic. In this context, however, he insists that legion has nothing of its usual Roman military overtones, but is the designation of numerous powers which oppose themselves to Jesus as the embodiment of the power of God. Lane, Mark, fn. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! Read the Scripture: Mark 4:35 - 5:20. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. January 2018 In the wake of new restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass, two American bishops spoke with EWTNs Raymond Arroyo Thursday about how their dioceses have responded. April 2015 14). 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. September 2021 Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Until we decide on a new comic, you'll likely see a gray box where "Dilbert" had appeared. John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30), or to be the pawns of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2). Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. However, the point was clearly made; Jesus, the Son of God, has power over all things, including the powers of darkness. I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. April 2017 The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave. The people were gentiles who had not yet any interest in the Messiah. iv. 17, pp. A word of clarification is in order here for we must recognize that in this account the dark side of Satan is exposed, but this is perhaps the more unusual side of Satan. Known as the Judas Iscariot of Gnosticism for revealing that which is not to be revealed. He shivered at the disturbing memory. What were the women in Mark 16:8 afraid of? She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. For these demons to be sent out of the country would have meant that they would then be confined along with other fallen angels (cf. His teachings have inspired great moral reformations such as abolition of slavery and the Civil Rights movement. 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. This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom.117. For those who are shaken like leaves in the wind at the mention of demons, let us remember from this story that demons cannot even possess pigs without prior permission from our Lord. 3 When the centurion 2 heard about Jesus, c he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his . Subscriber Service CenterAlready a subscriber? 4, p. 180. July 2020 110 C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1971), p. 3. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. 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. Top Ten Reasons Why There Were Pigs In Gerasenes Remember the story of Jesus casting demons out of the crazy man in Luke 8? Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. xvi. Significantly, the demons are called unclean spirits (verse 2,9). The pig shepherds had gone and spread the news of what had happened all around. 1, pp. March 2022 I felt somewhat guilty, particularly fearing that I may have created an unintentional hardship for some classmate. 1) He Exposes Evil (v 28-30) . Unbelieving men may not rave and carry on like the Gerasene demoniac, but they are nevertheless under Satans control, doing his bidding.
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