28); Mark the country of the Gerasenes (v. 1), and Luke, probably, the country of the Gergesenes (viii. So he got into a boat and returned. I will not look for a reason to return to it. of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were So he got into the boat and left. Verse 1. How do I connect these two faces together? December 2020 16ff., xix. Mark 5:1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. They are happy in their sin and the consequences seem far away. August 2021 If they dare to open up their lives to Jesus what will happen? If he was a pagan, why did Jesus cast out his demons? Then people came to see what it was that had happened. Christians are to be the answer, but often they are part of the problem. Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. 26). 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. Mark 3:14). 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. Jesus had actually helped them. 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. Horoscopes and astrological predictions are found in most major newspapers. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. So they refer to Gerasenes. It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lords disciples.125. Was it fear that a secret sin might be exposed? The region and polygon don't match. The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. 2,8) who can possess men and animals. On the other hand, the scene gains in grandeurhas, so to speak, a fitting backgroundif we suppose the Saviour and His disciples to have landed on the other side late in the evening, when perhaps the silvery moon was shedding her pale light on the weird scene, and laying her halo around the shadows cast upon the sea by the steep cliff down which the herd of swine hurried and fell. November 2022 First let us see what the Sacred Texts says: The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. He who feared His arrival now dreaded His departure. The fear of the unknown, the uncontrollableof change. The region is located east of the Jordan River and southeast of the Sea of Galilee. August 2015 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. People who have no appr Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? It was significant. Immediately, as this weary group disembarked from the ship, they were met by what appeared to be a madman. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. xvi. In contrast, the people of Gerasene are asking him to leave their place. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.126. I will not ask him to leave. Ouija boards are found in many American homes. In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. Jesus asked a sick man if he wanted to get well. Many times people - Non-Christians and Christians - push Jesus away because they do not want to change. Finally, there is in demon possession a counterpart to the filling (or control) of the Holy Spirit. Some today have given demons far more than their due by blaming demons for every malady of mankind. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. But as Gergesa was a small village, and little known, the evangelists, who wrote for more distant readers, spoke of the event as taking place in the country of the Gadarenes, so named from its largest city, Gadara; and this country included the country of the Gergesenes as a state includes a county. Others cited unfaithfulness, lack of seriousness, and the lack of confidence to sustain a relationship. Putting all of these factors together the term demon-possessed inplies too much. Clarify November 2016 184-185. February 2016 The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. May 2018 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? Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. Can devils entreat in such a manner any highest of angels, be he Michael, Gabriel or Raphael, or any greatest cherub or seraph? xvii. January 2015 John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30), or to be the pawns of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2). It was like being attacked by two Hulks. They probably thought of quickly getting aboard ship and pushing off. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. Its important to note that this was the first demonstration of Jesuss authority outside of Canaan. 17, pp. Matt. 0 Responses 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. Our children would probably understand best if I said that his appearance must have been somewhat like that of the television creation, The Incredible Hulk. Why is this sentence from The Great Gatsby grammatical? 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). It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. Its ruins include two amphitheaters, a basilica, temple, a hippodrome, aqueducts and colonnades, showing its importance and stature. ii. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. October 2022 The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. More from Medium Jameson Steward in. 7. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known.. Note: 'had the legion', i.e., the many unclean spirits inhabiting him. 606-607. 111 Edersheim maintains that it must have been late the same night of the storm: Most writers have, indeed, suggested, that the healing of the demonized on the other side took place at early dawn of the day following the storm on the lake. First of all, the EPA would have been investigating the pollution of Lake Galilee with decaying pigs. 16, x. 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. Now appreciate the reaction - another God was messing with their god - and demonstrating authority! Bible scholar Gleason Archer (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties) argues similarly, It is entirely possible that the political control of this region was centered in Gadara as the capital city. September 2016 Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. No! 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. They are unclean spirits, (vss. And they were afraid. (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. Why is there a voltage on my HDMI and coaxial cables? Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. 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 were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus among them? Thus, all the circumstances lead us to regard the healing of the demonized at Gerasa as a night scene, immediately on Christs arrival from Capernaum, and after the calming of the storm at sea. Alford Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), I, pp. Give a Gift SubscriptionBless friends, family or clergy with a gift of the Register. Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. All of this sure seems perfectly consistent with calling the same area the country (chra) of either the Gerasenes or the Gadarenes, after the two major cities. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 991. And, it can not be understood properly out of this context. Rev. Why as the question? 113 According to the Talmud there were four characteristics of madness: walking abroad at night; spending the night on a grave; tearing ones clothes and destroying what one was given. April 2020 And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. 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. His greatest impact would be on those who knew his former state. "The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. 127 The view of Greek philosophy was that these were the spirits of those who lived in the Golden Age. Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant. They likely were Gentiles and had been under the influence of the demonic principality of the region their whole life. Swine were unclean animals according to the Torah. She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. Why were the Romans afraid of the Christians? Why is that. The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. Subscriber Service CenterAlready a subscriber? They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. Did Jesus command the demon before he fell on his knees in Mark 5:6? I understand why," the HBO "Real Time" host told Jake Tapper on Tuesday as part . Mark and Luke, on the other hand, write to more general audiences, and Gerasa was the main Greek-Roman city of the area. "They sailed to the country of the Gerasenes which is opposite Galilee. The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. Once a menace to society, now a messenger with words of deliverance and healing. 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). Thus an economic lose of revenue was involved. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. But, Im telling you. On several occasions, when Jesus forgave someone, He specifically said, Go and sin no more. That only works for people who are sick of their sin and want to change. How Can a Person Get Rid of Evil Spirits. The time of this event was before Jesus' crucifixion, and before the gentiles were grafted in to the promise (Acts 10). October 2020 This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom.117. May 2020 Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. You can like Jesus for two different reasons. Another reason could be as Dr. R.C. Pig carcasses were washing ashore and drifting out to sea. Is there any archaeological evidence for Joshua entering Israel and conquering cities in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age? 10). Well, it is because atheists, in their zealous rush to make fun of Christians, Christianity, and the Bible, start to lose their logical rigor and rationality, leading them to contend for implausible things: as presently. Although it is likely that the larger towns of Galilee were predominantly Gentile, as was the Decapolis, the first-century civilian diet did not . Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. The drowning of the swine was an accident, possibly simultaneous with the healing, and report mixed up the two incidents. The people were more terrified of Jesus and His authority than they were of this crazed and demonized man living among the tombs. 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? Demons are highly organized (cf. Here is one of the few times that a miracle drove people away, rather than to draw them to Jesus. Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. When you get a chance, please take the, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. 2). December 2014 March 2015 July 2015 To understand this event, you need consider the incident at Babel, and Deuteronomy. The lose of the pigs meant loose of partial income in the area. So much pain, so much sin. October 2018 The center of personality, the volitional and active ego, is impaired by alien powers which seek to ruin the man and sometimes drive him to self-destruction (Mk. There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. The swine then immediately killed themselves by rushing off a cliff. But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. No matter what men attempted to bind him with, he broke loose. - 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. and thank you for your contribution. or school. It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. 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. Demon-possession is, therefore, not merely a mental state in which someone suffers from a delusion or is subjected to some subjective disturbance of the world of ideas. The religious rulers hated Jesus for exposing their hypocrisy and feared the consequences His actions might have with Rome, but they were not afraid of Jesus as a Person. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. No! 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). 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. May 2015 To date they have failed to respond in any way. The sons of god ended up becoming the gods of these nations. Wikipedia states about it: In the second half of the 1st century AD, the city of Jerash achieved great prosperity.. And the people there were scared, they recognised this, but more, they realised the significance of this. We owe it to Josephus, from whom it has passed into ecclesiastical language. In the past several weeks, there has come to light the case of a man arrested for various crimes who has several of the symptoms of demon possession, including multiple personalities, even multiple IQs. 3 When the centurion 2 heard about Jesus, c he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his . February 2015 As always, we must begin with the principle: Interpretation is one, application is many. 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. Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. The region was not poor or economically depressed. It is noteworthy that it is distinguished (especially in the Gospel of the physician, Luke) from cases of ordinary sickness, insanity (lunacy), leprosy, blindness, lameness, deafness and other natural defects and diseases (cf. April 2017 Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. December 2017 Jesus had just performed an incredible miracleand one they desperately needed, at that! It is something like the behavior and personality change in a man who is totally intoxicated. We see the first reaction to this in the storm MARK 4:7 And a great windstorm arose [snip]. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Jesus did say to count the cost [Luke 14:28-33]. Gadara is about six miles from the sea. 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. Matthew 9:2-8 Why was "This man is blaspheming" considered an evil thought without knowing Jesus' identity? Another approach is to note the different intentions of the Gospel writers. 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. It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. But notice, even though Jesus permitted them to enter the swine, they were unable to overcome their evil impulses and drove the swine over the cliff to their death. May 2021 (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. (2) Anti-social behavior. It is a violent tempest, that is, outside of the natural. What did Jesus do? But let us return to the gist of the matter: if Christ showed them His Divinity through the reason given above, is it easy to be in the presence of God? Although demon-possession after that time no longer occurs on such a devastating and noticeable scale, the absolute form of demon-possession will appear at the end of the age in the Antichrist and in his followers (2 Thess. The demoniacs were mere maniacs, whom Jesus cured by humouring their fancies; and His giving leave to imaginary demons to enter into the swine, produced the story of the disaster to the herd.All these explanations assume that the Gospel narratives are wholly or in part unhistorical. Plummer, Luke, p. 228. . Second, while the death of the pigs is clearly an economic loss for the owner, Jesus is illustrating the infinite value of human life. If an Israelite, why was he in Gerasene in the first place and why was he living so near a large herd of swine? He was a totally safe Person. Those who have witnessed demon possession tell us that each demon has its own distinct personality and that the individual possessed begins to manifest the distinct personality of the demon by which he is possessed. 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. Why would the Gerasene people beg Jesus to leave their region after He cast the demons into the pigs? He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. 14. Mark 5:16 says the thoughts of the people were on the swine. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. That is why the inhabitants of the area are referred to variously in different Bible manuscripts as Gergasenes, Gadarenes, or Gerasenes. Non-Christians can often experience this fear of Jesus as well. The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. These people from the region of the Gerasenes had undoubtedly felt the anger or disgust of Jews for making a career out of such unclean animals, but Jesus had not criticized them for their profession. 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. All Scripture agrees with this, that the judgment of the angels is yet to come (1 Cor. Rather, they attributed the power of Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:22). But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. ESV - Bible-believing Christians have always accepted the fact of demons and their activity in New Testament times, but most of us are inclined to relegate demonic activity in these days to pagan lands and missionary experiences. Dave Armstrong Dave Armstrong is a full-time Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981. Since the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave in their fear, it seems that Jesus' ability to exorcise Legion was disturbing to the people. Preisker, TWNT IV (1942), pp. The first two are in the Authorized Version. We dismiss it the more readily, that, in our view, it conveys a wrong impression. March 2022 How Satan blinds our minds! Reproduction of material from this website without written permission, or unlicensed commercial use or The ego is so impaired that the spirits speak through him. The US Congress is currently debating whether TikTok should be banned for everyone in the US, not just government officials. 61-62. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. March 2017 They look forward to their future with great dread. The man looked out on the Tiberius.
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