He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. When addressed, the person was the mouthpiece of the demon (such as Legion, Mark 5:9). 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! They are happy in their sin and the consequences seem far away. Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. Rev. They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. In Acts 8:1 we have the regions of Judaea and Samaria (KJV), and in Acts 16:6, Galatia alone. What purposes did Mark intend to achieve by the inclusion of this event? Why do people like Jesus a lot? Luke 8:37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. It is mentioned in some ancient manuscripts of the . Jesus had freed the man and for a reason known only to Himself, He had granted the demons request to go into a nearby herd of pigs rather than go into the Abyss [bottomless pit]. Why would Jesus ask, "Who touched Me?" 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. Author of The Gnostic Notebook series, stand-up comedian, and Gnostic. The presence of holiness and, moreover, the most intense divine holiness is undesirable; I mean, unless you are an angel or a saintly recluse in his ascetic toils in a cave or a top of a pillar. November 2021 The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. And, it can not be understood properly out of this context. Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. The people were gentiles who had not yet any interest in the Messiah. 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. 184-185. (3) Spiritual insight. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. 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. It is something like the behavior and personality change in a man who is totally intoxicated. The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? 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. 13ff.). No one was strong enough to subdue him (verses 3,4). Such was the case with this man (cf. And, yes, Dana did just read us something about a man possessed by a whole bunch of demons that later go and possess a bunch of hogs. In the form of tongues as of fire, the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself. (CCC 696). 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. 2). The region is located east of the Jordan River and southeast of the Sea of Galilee. Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. According to another theory, the Chapati movement of 1857 was an attempt to prevent a cholera outbreak in central India. Yet, conversely, the known can be just as scaryif not more. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.110. Rather, they attributed the power of Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:22). Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. and our 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. Winthrop Congregational Church, UCC No matter who you are. September 2020 Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). The Gadarenes' Rejection | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at 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. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. 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. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. Why is this even an issue, I wonder? They were content where they were. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1991. For more information, please see our January 2023 October 2017 4, p. 102. 14ff. And he said to them, Where is your faith? 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. EWTN News, Inc. is the worlds largest Catholic news organization, comprised of television, radio, Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Even as the purpose of Roman legions was to enforce the will of the emperor, the goal of the multiple evil spirits was to carry out the devil's will of bringing pain, destruction and chaos to humans! Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. It was opposite Galilee. October 2020 He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. The fear of the unknown, the uncontrollableof change. What would happen to them? So who was afraid? We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. 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. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Thus an economic lose of revenue was involved. Why were the Romans afraid of the Christians? Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. The expression to be with Jesus is used particularly of His disciples (cf. For the reason why this is so we refer the reader to the introduction preceding the exposition of verses 33-7. The pigs had been driven mad and rushed down a steep slope plunging into the lake and drowning. More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. 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. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. xvi. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 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. Women, children and defenceless people all admired Him and felt comfortable in His presence. 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. No matter what men attempted to bind him with, he broke loose. EIN 27-4581132 The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. August 2022 What was it that caused these people to react in such a way? . and thank you for your contribution. They have three sons and a daughter (all homeschooled) and reside in southeast Michigan. Early Christians like St. Polycarp clearly held the Catholic view on salvation. April 2016 Then any greatest of men, like any prophet, hero or king? The country of the Gadarenes (Gergesenes) is one of the few areas Jesus visited where Gentiles (non-Jews) composed the majority of the population. Order Bulk SubscriptionsGet a discount on 6 or more copies sent to your parish, organization (2) Anti-social behavior. So, they asked Him to leave. Luke 8:26And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. Non-Christians can often experience this fear of Jesus as well. Lets face it, we all like to be in control. First of all, the EPA would have been investigating the pollution of Lake Galilee with decaying pigs. Jewish theology, at least on this point, seems consistent with biblical revelation. Daniel 10:13; Ephesians 6:12), whose leader and prince is Satan (Matthew 12:24). Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. November 2015 They would have to trust Jesus. Once a menace to society, now a messenger with words of deliverance and healing. Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac - Wikipedia "They sailed to the country of the Gerasenes which is opposite Galilee. Who do you care more about, people or pigs? 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! By His power, we, too, are able to overcome Satans treacheries. How Satan blinds our minds! Jesus showed to the local population the inferiority of pagan life. It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! August 2021 The Greeks were believers in the spirit world, but not necessarily convinced that demons were evil.127 As a result, Marks readers needed to be instructed as to the essential nature of demons and demon possession. 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. 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. July 2021 How ironic, as others have noted, that the tormentor pleads not to be tormented. 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? Known as the Judas Iscariot of Gnosticism for revealing that which is not to be revealed. Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. I will not ask him to leave. 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. A crowd had come to see what had happened for themselves. A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). 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? Horoscopes and astrological predictions are found in most major newspapers. December 2014 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. Jesus never interacted with people as they were, but as He knew they were created to be. 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. December 2015 What did Jesus mean when he said only prayer can cast out this demon? When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons. July 2017 This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known.. We dismiss it the more readily, that, in our view, it conveys a wrong impression. It is ironic that while the demons didnt want to leave the country, the dwellers of that land didnt want the Messiah to stay. For more information about Glenn Davis see our About Glenn page and/or his Author's Page. This was a power far beyond anything they had seen or even imagined. And they were afraid. Why as the question? The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus (Luke 8:26-39, NIV) Into the country of the Gadarenes, or rather, Gera-senes, which is now generally admitted to be the true reading, from Gerasa, Gersa, or Kersa.There was another Gerasa, situated at some distance from the sea, on the borders of Arabia Petraea. Chapati Movement 1857: Why were the British afraid of the Roti? Now' as to the pigs (an unclean animal, so you know Jesus wasnt in Israel! Gergesa may have been a variant spelling of Gerasa. Ralph Earle, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), p. 70. September 2015 The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. No matter where you are on life's journey. We see the first reaction to this in the storm MARK 4:7 And a great windstorm arose [snip]. Unfortunately, Christians [or those using the name] can be harsh, condemning and critical driving people further into sin and away from God. 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? 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. to sign up for our free Water Of The Word newsletter at the top of any page! March 2018
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