15; Mark ix. December 2022 The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! October 2015 More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. April 2018 The man, who was naked when he saw Jesus, had the added ability of enduring both freezing and sweltering temperatures as well as pain he inflicted upon himself! Cookie Notice November 2015 Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. February 2022 To understand this event, you need consider the incident at Babel, and Deuteronomy. 26). Now appreciate the reaction - another God was messing with their god - and demonstrating authority! 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. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby. 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). "The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. The first two are in the Authorized Version. Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant. 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. Significantly, the demons are called unclean spirits (verse 2,9). Mark 3:14). 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. There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. recognizes the military background of the term, pointing out that in the imperial period a legion consisted of 6000 foot soldiers, 120 horsemen and technical personnel. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. 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. Rev. 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. and 1 Kings xxii. May 2018 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. 115 While Mark and Luke describe only one demoniac, Matthew informs us that there were two. 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. Luke 8:37Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them: for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. For some people, the cost is too high. 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. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. 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. As I have been studying this account through the week, it has seemed to me a rather bizarre and remote situation, the liberation of this Gerasene demoniac. June 2017 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? In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. Jesus had simply sailed across the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes. There is, as we know, the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Jesus had been performing miracles in Gods nation - Israel. That is not the choice at all. 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. 2,8) who can possess men and animals. I will not look for a reason to return to it. The healing of the demoniacs and the repulse of the Healer by the inhabitants are historical, but the incident of the swine is a later figment. Not long after that, while I was still a student in seminary, there was a car parked by the seminary in a somewhat suspicious manner and I called the police to check it out. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. One is that he was a fascinating man. They had dealt with Legion (I suspect) by forcing him from their presence. How many demons possessed the man in Mark 5:6? where something similar occurs) is a demon-possession mentioned, and that outside the Gospels it is referred to only twice in the New Testament (Acts xvi. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. In fact the region was known as the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. 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. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. Smiths Bible Dictionary provides what I find to be a quite plausible explanation (not special pleading at all), and analogous to how we still use place names today: These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Why did Jesus not allow demons to proclaim his name, Archaeological or Historical Support for the Gerasene Pigs. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). If they dare to open up their lives to Jesus what will happen? when He was the only One Who truly knew what had happened. The lectionary reading for Trinity 1, Year C, is Luke's version of Jesus meeting and healing the demon-possessed man in the 'region of the Gerasenes' (Luke 8.26-39). A friend of mine told me later that two students were attempting to cast a demon out of a fellow. 116 As Lane observes this title Son of the Most High God, is not a messianic designation but a divine one. Lane, Mark, p. 133, cf. Demonic influence further destroys mans reflection of God as originally designed.128 Demons have great spiritual insight and reluctantly submit to Jesus as Lord of all. There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. As these people began to piece together the previous events, not only of the destruction of the pigs, but also the deliverance of Legion, they began to sense that there was One far more awesome, much more to be feared, than Legion. 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. Acts 19:16). December 2017 It is very appropriate that these two incidents . From this it is clear that demon-possession is a phenomenon which occurred almost exclusively, but then to be sure on an amazing scale, during Jesus appearance on earth and to a lesser extent during the activity of the apostles. It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. Jesus never interacted with people as they were, but as He knew they were created to be. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. 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 . (London: InterVarsity Fellowship, 1950), fn. 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? Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. 28); Mark the country of the Gerasenes (v. 1), and Luke, probably, the country of the Gergesenes (viii. He was also humorous in his answers. 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. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. 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. They became as afraid of Jesus as the demons were. Sermon for July 26, 2020: Why Were They So Afraid: Mark 5:1-20. It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. For those near by the local name would be used; but in writing to a distant people, as the Greeks and Romans, the more comprehensive and general name would be given.. 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. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. 120 The request is in both cases the same; for, according to Jewish notions, certain countries being assigned to evil as well as to good spirits, whose limits they were unable to overpass, to be sent out of their own country, no other being open to them, implied being sent into the abyss, or bottomless pit, since that remains for them alone. Trench, Miracles , p. 101. Mark and Luke, on the other hand, write to more general audiences, and Gerasa was the main Greek-Roman city of the area. But, the context is not going to be comfortable (accepted by) to some traditional understandings. 2ff., xvv. 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. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, Highlights in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. If he was a pagan, why did Jesus cast out his demons? March 2016 June 2022 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. (5) What our Lord could have given the people of this territory was much greater than what He took away. They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. 13ff.). She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. Top Ten Reasons Why There Were Pigs In Gerasenes Remember the story of Jesus casting demons out of the crazy man in Luke 8? . But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. Lane believes the modern Kersa is the most likely place: The point of arrival is indicated in a general way as the district of the Gerasenes, most probably in reference to a town whose name is preserved in the modern Kersa or Koursi. Daniel 10:13; Ephesians 6:12), whose leader and prince is Satan (Matthew 12:24). To date they have failed to respond in any way. 110 C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1971), p. 3. to men facing fear and death. Then the Livestock Association and consumer groups would have been greatly distressed over the sudden decrease in the pig population and the resulting impact on pork prices. In that case, of course, it would be in the early morning that the Gerasenes afterwards resorted to Jesus and that He again returned to Capernaum. March 2022 May 2016 Although God's word does not name which cities were considered part of this region, Pliny's Natural History (c. 77 A.D.) lists these cities as Gerasa, Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia, Capitolias (Dion), Canatha, Raphana and Damascus. Its important to note that this was the first demonstration of Jesuss authority outside of Canaan. 68f. The before and after descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. 18). This is probably the Gerasa of Mark and Luke. ii. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! The demoniacs frightened the swine, and the transfer of demons from them to the swine was imagined. 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. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. Luke 8 The city of Gadara and its surrounding area are referred to as the Gadarenes. Hence there was demon-worship, the worship not necessarily of evil spirits; but of the spirits of those who had existed in the Golden Age. G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel According to Mark (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1927), p. 114. Did Jesus command the demon before he fell on his knees in Mark 5:6? The man, who was naked when he saw Jesus, had the added ability of enduring both freezing and sweltering temperatures as well as pain he inflicted upon himself! Acts 16:16), while others were the virtual pawns of these spirits, losing their own identity and autonomy. Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. They valued their pigs more than they valued salvation. 61-62. Lets face it, we all like to be in control. The swine then immediately killed themselves by rushing off a cliff. Verse 1. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.126. January 2023 . Jesus had actually helped them. xii. What would happen to them? It is mentioned in some ancient manuscripts of the . He was a totally safe Person. In Galilee and Judea there were Messianic hopes which would have been quickly fanned into flames if the miracles of Jesus were too widely publicized. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. 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. It was scary. Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. People who have no appr Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. Luke seems to base this fear solely upon what happened to the demoniac, not on the loss of their pigs. Series NotesScripture references are based on the King James translation. December 2015 Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? 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. Mark 5:1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). Why did Jesus allow the legion of demons to stay in the area when they begged him? Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The demons freak out that Jesus is there because it's not time for them to be tormented by Him yet. November 2017 His website/blog, Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, has been online since March 1997. They are unclean spirits, (vss. They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. Women, children and defenceless people all admired Him and felt comfortable in His presence. 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. April 2021 It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions.
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