It only takes a minute to sign up. 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. Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. The exercising of authority over demons, in the land under another god, was a message. 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? In both the accounts of Mark and Luke, the primary motivation is described as that of fear. xx. For the reason why this is so we refer the reader to the introduction preceding the exposition of verses 33-7. 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. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. . Why was Jesus going to walk past the disciples as they were rowing on the Sea of Galilee? There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. So he got into the boat and left., Luke 8:37, NIV, great fear [KJV] thoroughly frightened [Phillips]gripped with great fear [NASB]. My office mate of several years back was interrupted by a young and very zealous new Christian teacher accompanied by a student from whom she wanted my friend to cast out a demon. As always, we must begin with the principle: Interpretation is one, application is many. This was a power far beyond anything they had seen or even imagined. He who feared His arrival now dreaded His departure. Have we stepped back, in effect asking Jesus to leave us alone, only to discover, as a Gentleman, He did? 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. 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. 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. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. July 2018 The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. "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. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). Satan loves those Christians. The demons in the man recognize Jesus and the man bows before him. The US Congress is currently debating whether TikTok should be banned for everyone in the US, not just government officials. Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. At the conclusion of this day of teaching by parables, the Lord had instructed His disciples to cross over the Sea of Galilee to the other side. xvii. They had been unable to control these two men [Luke only mentions one man, but Matthew tells us there were two]. Mark 5:16 says the thoughts of the people were on the swine. . It is mentioned in some ancient manuscripts of the . Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. 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. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. When Jesus asked the demoniac his name, it was not without significance for He was, I believe, asking the demons to reveal their identity. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. 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! But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. How Can a Person Get Rid of Evil Spirits. The particular focus of this mans testimony was the Decapolis region. Sermon for July 26, 2020: Why Were They So Afraid: Mark 5:1-20. of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were So he got into the boat and left. So he got into the boat and left. Can devils entreat in such a manner any highest of angels, be he Michael, Gabriel or Raphael, or any greatest cherub or seraph? Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. Jesus had actually helped them. They liked Him and wanted to be with Him. The fear of the unknown, the uncontrollableof change. People who have no appr What did we miss because we allowed fear instead of faith to drive our lives? It was significant. What were the women in Mark 16:8 afraid of? Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. In contrast, the people of Gerasene are asking him to leave their place. There is no conflict, however, for Mark and Luke have apparently focused their attention on the most striking of the two. Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. Hence it would be called the land of the Gadarenes.. Acts 5:1-6). 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. 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. 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. 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). And they were afraid. 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. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. Dave Armstrong Dave Armstrong is a full-time Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981. 114 We are indebted to Edersheim, who reminds us that the expression demon possession never occurs in the New Testament: The term demoniacal possession occurs not in the New Testament. 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. Having been properly warned of the demonic underworld, let us not fall into the opposite error of absolute paranoia. (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. We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . Jesus asked some crazy questions like "Why are you afraid?" They were willing to post guards and chain and shackle their neighbor to keep him from hurting someone. 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. They would have to trust Jesus. 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. 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. The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. Evil is self-defeating in the end. 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. 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. Is it a bug? She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. April 2022 April 2015 3. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.126. (5) Torment. 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). Matthew 9:2-8 Why was "This man is blaspheming" considered an evil thought without knowing Jesus' identity? And when the man spoke to Jesus, it looks like the demons inside the man were the ones doing the speaking. Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. Crazy question or.? When addressed, the person was the mouthpiece of the demon (such as Legion, Mark 5:9). 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. Jesus has lead me away from my old life. Romans 9:19-23). October 2015 Demons are highly organized (cf. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! Jesus never interacted with people as they were, but as He knew they were created to be. In other words, even though he set the bar extremely high, he seemed to be a fascinating man. November 2017 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. By His power, we, too, are able to overcome Satans treacheries. (4) Super-human strength. They had dealt with Legion (I suspect) by forcing him from their presence. The ego is so impaired that the spirits speak through him. xiii. Oh Hye-son recently published a Korean-language memoir on how she and her husband Thae Yong-ho, then deputy ambassador at North Korea's London embassy, defected in 2016. Some appeared not to be oppressed by them so much as exploiting their powers (cf. Luke 8 Thus, it is not always used of one specific country (nation), but rather, usually to regions or areas of either small (Bethlehem) or large (Judaea and Samaria) size, including regions surrounding large cities. Gergesa may have been a variant spelling of Gerasa. Ralph Earle, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), p. 70. For the Christian, there are two extremes which must be avoided with reference to Satanic activity. Fear that you would not be in control? 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. 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. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. Mark and Luke, on the other hand, write to more general audiences, and Gerasa was the main Greek-Roman city of the area. Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. The Lord refused this request and commissioned this delivered man to return to his own people and declare to them what God had done for him. As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. The spread of cholera was linked to the movements of . 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. 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. December 2020 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. June 2022 Nevertheless, for consideration. The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. 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. 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. Another approach is to note the different intentions of the Gospel writers. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. May 2016 14ff. Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. The city of Gadara and its surrounding area are referred to as the Gadarenes. The first two are in the Authorized Version. That is why the inhabitants of the area are referred to variously in different Bible manuscripts as Gergasenes, Gadarenes, or Gerasenes. August 2015 They are happy in their sin and the consequences seem far away. And, it can not be understood properly out of this context. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. Matthew 12:43-45). They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. Verse 1. The New Testament speaks of those who had a spirit, or a demon, or demons, or an unclean spirit, or the spirit of an unclean demon, but chiefly of persons who were demonised. Edersheim, Life and Times, I, p. 479. art thou come hither to torment us before the time? That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. People who have no appr Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. 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, June 2017 He obviously attracted crowds. The nearby townspeople, upon hearing of the great miracle (and not wanting to suffer further economic loss), begged Christ to leave the Gadarenes and never come back! Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. This supposition would be further confirmed, if the evening when Jesus embarked was what the Jews were wont to call the first evening, that is, the time when the sun was declining in the heaven, but before it had actually set, the latter time being the second evening. For it seems most unlikely that multitudes would have resorted to Jesus at Capernaum after the second evening, or that either the disciples or other boats would have put to sea after nightfall. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. He shivered at the disturbing memory. Where did the demons go after they went into the pigs and caused them to jump to their death. July 2015 In recent years the matter has been getting uncomfortably close to home. Preisker, TWNT IV (1942), pp. May 2017 August 2017 August 2020 What was it that caused these people to react in such a way? So, they asked Him to leave. and 1 Kings xxii. verse 5). 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. 05 /5 Another theory. The demoniacs frightened the swine, and the transfer of demons from them to the swine was imagined. Though Legion bowed before Jesus (verse 6), it was no act of worship (as the King James Version would seem to indicate). One is to disbelieve in their existence. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. September 2020 August 2016 February 2016 Jesus showed to the local population the inferiority of pagan life. Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized . Luke 8:26-39 Mark 5:1-20 ESV - 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) In Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. Fear that you might do something that would embarrass you? A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. But, the context is not going to be comfortable (accepted by) to some traditional understandings. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. rev2023.3.3.43278. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. November 2016 Others are absolutely controlled (hooked) by the drug and totally dependent upon it. (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. This suggests that whoever was the customer for the swineherder in the "region of the Gerasenes", it was not the Roman army to any significant extent. 124 Augustine: The devils were driven out and permitted to go into the swine; and Aquinas: But that the swine were driven into the sea was no work of the divine miracle, but was the work of the devils by divine permission. Quoted by Trench, Miracles, fn. EIN 27-4581132 Vote Up Based on all the evidence we have seen over the past four months with regards to ChatGPT and how it can be manipulated or even how it will lie . 15; Mark ix. or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. It had nothing to do the farmers losing revenue - at all. xvi. If they dare to open up their lives to Jesus what will happen? We owe it to Josephus, from whom it has passed into ecclesiastical language. Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. April 2020 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. A land that was essentially under another god (lower case g). 606-607. March 2021 March 2016 They were instructed to keep quiet about what Jesus had done for them (cf. And the people went out to see what happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. What did Jesus do? The district of the Gerasenes probably included that of the Gadarenes; so that the demoniac of Gergesa belonged to the country of the Gadarenes and also to that of the Gerasenes, as the same person may, with equal truth, be said to live in the city or the state, or in the United States.

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