2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. especially fn. He felt Jesus' reassuring hand on his shoulder. 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. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. Paul tells us that our struggle is, at bottom, a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12). Gergesenes is also in some manuscripts (Khersa or Gersa was a town actually on the shore of the sea). (London: InterVarsity Fellowship, 1950), fn. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. I felt somewhat guilty, particularly fearing that I may have created an unintentional hardship for some classmate. 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. February 2018 August 2016 Lets learn why. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. Jesus asked some crazy questions like "Why are you afraid?" A crowd had come to see what had happened for themselves. verse 5). Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? As indicated in the textual note, the best Greek text reads Gerasenes in Mark and Luke, Gadarenes in Matthew. And, lastly, this would allow sufficient time for those miracles which took place on that second day in Capernaum after His return thither. The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, Highlights in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ. in 1971. In fact the region was known as the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. However, the point was clearly made; Jesus, the Son of God, has power over all things, including the powers of darkness. They are unclean spirits, (vss. Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. 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. 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. . 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. Why did the demon-possessed Gadarene bow down before Jesus? Ridiculous? Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were So he got into the boat and left. They were willing to post guards and chain and shackle their neighbor to keep him from hurting someone. Cookie Notice 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. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). 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. 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 . 115 While Mark and Luke describe only one demoniac, Matthew informs us that there were two. I asked why people are afraid of commitment and relationships and some said they are afraid because they fear being hurt again. January 2018 Spam. So who was afraid? March 2018 2. xiii. When Jesus asked his name the man answered, Legion, for we are many (Mark 5:9). August 2022 Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. Although the Gospels give us little information as to how individuals become targets of Satanic control, I would suggest for your consideration that they sometimes do so by leaving themselves open to Satanic influence. December 2020 It might be better to hide behind masks than risk being hurt again After all, if God rejects youwhere else can you go? Neither is it only a kind of physical disease, although spiritual and physical disease often accompany it (e.g. Many times people - Non-Christians and Christians - push Jesus away because they do not want to change. EWTN News, Inc. is the worlds largest Catholic news organization, comprised of television, radio, It is a violent tempest, that is, outside of the natural. September 2016 Matthew 12:43-45). COMMENTARY: Atheism is generally the expression of a moral attitude more than a real intellectual conviction based on evidence thought through. July 2018 Ouija boards are found in many American homes. What did we miss because we allowed fear instead of faith to drive our lives? When the pigs were sent into the sea, the people of Gadara lost money. They were instructed to keep quiet about what Jesus had done for them (cf. The capital of the region was Gerasa, and the largest city in the region was Gadera. April 2020 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. The choice is to be free by submission to Christ (cf. Jesus deserves the benefit of the doubt even when we don't have all the facts. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. It is amazing to think that people could be fearful of Jesus. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. Winthrop Congregational Church, UCC No matter who you are. 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). 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 pig shepherds had gone and spread the news of what had happened all around. 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. 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. Putting all of these factors together the term demon-possessed inplies too much. 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. 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). 17, pp. The sons of god ended up becoming the gods of these nations. They all say country of (in the sense of region, not nation). The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. November 2021 Will they be condemned like unclean animals? Who do you care more about, people or pigs? December 2017 This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). 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. February 2015 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. 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. It is ironic that while the demons didnt want to leave the country, the dwellers of that land didnt want the Messiah to stay. 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. They were content where they were. It was opposite Galilee. We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . 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. At their request, He left. This makes sense, I couldn't believe they asked Jesus to leave. Those demons were terrified of Him! 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. In this story, we have a demon-possessed Gadarene who saw Jesus from a distance, and immediately he appeared to have felt a strong compulsion to run up to Jesus and bow down before him. She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. I will not ask him to leave. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Series NotesScripture references are based on the King James translation. For many Christians today, the horrifying experience of Legion should be sufficient testimony of the reality of the Satanic underworld. 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. By His power, we, too, are able to overcome Satans treacheries. Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. 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. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. 0 Responses Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear (Luke 8:35-37). 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. Can devils entreat in such a manner any highest of angels, be he Michael, Gabriel or Raphael, or any greatest cherub or seraph? 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. 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? Did Jesus command the demon before he fell on his knees in Mark 5:6? In any event, they were not Israelites, as indicated by the fact that a herd of swine was being kept nearby, which would have been forbidden by the Mosaic Law, since swine were unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7-8). NEW STAR WARS MERCH PAGE: https://bit.ly/3baWVZv For all sponsorship and business inquiries please contact: thestupendousscrub@gmail.com NEW CHANNEL: https:/. Pastor Chrissy is a native of East Tennessee. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. (it should be added that Plummer himelf does not hold to any of these views.). xvi. Jesus showed to the local population the inferiority of pagan life. The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. 14). It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lords disciples.125. Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. In Luke 2:8 it is applied to the city of Bethlehem; in Acts 18:23 to Galatia and Phrygia. 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. In this account we, by inference, learn much about the demonic spirits. Father Macaire, 33, who was ordained fewer than two years ago, was kidnapped the morning of Feb. 7 when he was on his way to his missionary community in Kazal, about 20 miles north of Port-au-Prince. April 2018 There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. The region and polygon don't match. Where did the demons go after they went into the pigs and caused them to jump to their death. May 2016 Now they were delivered and ready to be productive members of society. In both the accounts of Mark and Luke, the primary motivation is described as that of fear. This man demonstrated all four characteristics. Lane, Mark, p. 182, fn. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. Why is this sentence from The Great Gatsby grammatical? Perhaps they clenched their fists or picked up driftwood with which to defend themselves. Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. Why do people like Jesus a lot? . Slain Los Angeles auxiliary bishop was remembered at the Mass of Christian burial as friend of Jesus Christ and of Mary, our Blessed Mother.. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. What did Jesus mean when he said only prayer can cast out this demon? 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. All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat November 2022 xvii. 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. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Commentator R. C. H. Lenski states: The distance of these cities from the lake is immaterial for the narrative since this deals with the region that is near the lake and not with the vicinity of either of the cities to the lake.. No matter what men attempted to bind him with, he broke loose. 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. Is there any archaeological evidence for Joshua entering Israel and conquering cities in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age? 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. Why did Jesus not allow demons to proclaim his name, Archaeological or Historical Support for the Gerasene Pigs. Sermon for July 26, 2020: Why Were They So Afraid: Mark 5:1-20. 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. Although Gadarenes and Gergesenes are derived from a different Greek word, they are essentially referring to the same area. 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, b he entered Capernaum. For some people, the cost is too high. Treasury of Scripture. July 2016 Another reason could be as Dr. R.C. Why would God tell King David to take a census of the people in verses one through nine, and then cast judgment on him because he did what he told him to do? September 2020 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. and thank you for your contribution. 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 . How much more sinful than Peter were the Geraseneans, who because of love of money did not shun even to engage in a non-Jew business of herding swine; how much more unbearable and dreadful must have been for them the Lords presence! 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. January 2023 4. Here is where Satan can use a man to influence scores of people, blinding minds and hearts to the truths of the Word of God (2 Corinthians 4:4). Having been properly warned of the demonic underworld, let us not fall into the opposite error of absolute paranoia. 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. His teachings have inspired great moral reformations such as abolition of slavery and the Civil Rights movement. Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved.
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