May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. Mark and Luke, on the other hand, write to more general audiences, and Gerasa was the main Greek-Roman city of the area. NEW STAR WARS MERCH PAGE: https://bit.ly/3baWVZv For all sponsorship and business inquiries please contact: thestupendousscrub@gmail.com NEW CHANNEL: https:/. I think all these attempts to harmonize what may at first seem like a contradiction are plausible, respectable, and adequate. 110 C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1971), p. 3. Significantly, the demons are called unclean spirits (verse 2,9). Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? A land that was essentially under another god (lower case g). Privacy Policy. Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. They had dealt with Legion (I suspect) by forcing him from their presence. Matthew 8:28 - 29, 31, 34And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. No! When Jesus asked his name the man answered, Legion, for we are many (Mark 5:9). Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. The commission of our Lord is considerably different from His instructions to the Israelites whom He had delivered. 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. October 2021 This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). November 2020 Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. 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! 1, pp. People who have no appr Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. 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. Or they are too afraid of what the change might bring. Acts 5:1-6). 4, p. 180. He seemed to view Jesus approach as the launching of a direct attack on the demonic forces. Once a menace to society, now a messenger with words of deliverance and healing. Thats why also Peter having realized who Christ was, was dreaded and asked Him to leave him for he said to be a sinful man (Luke 5:8). The people were gentiles who had not yet any interest in the Messiah. 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. No! 0 Responses 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! The first two are in the Authorized Version. 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. The Politics of Luke 8:26-39 | Political Theology Network Cookie Notice 606-607. xvii. 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. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. to sign up for our free Water Of The Word newsletter at the top of any page! 18). In the King James Version it is called the country of the Gadarenes in Mark and Luke, and of the Gergesenes in Matthew. Matt. 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. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. Once naked, he is now clothed. It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. It was scary. It is not difficult to imagine what was going through the minds of the disciples as their ship landed and as these two demon possessed men rushed to them. 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. 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. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. September 2015 The Death Of Relationships In Nairobi - YAZA Kenya Early Christians like St. Polycarp clearly held the Catholic view on salvation. Have we stepped back, in effect asking Jesus to leave us alone, only to discover, as a Gentleman, He did? They were content where they were. What would happen to them? Why did Jesus allow the demons to enter the herd of pigs? The demonically possessed man who came to Jesus cried out his name was Legion. You can like Jesus for two different reasons. 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. From this point on, Jesus began to speak to the crowds in parables in order to veil or conceal the gospel from those who had blasphemed the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:lff). Wasn't the answer obvious? 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. Why is that. So they refer to Gerasenes. Although Gadarenes and Gergesenes are derived from a different Greek word, they are essentially referring to the same area. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. They are happy in their sin and the consequences seem far away. Why were the Romans afraid of the Christians? Pig carcasses were washing ashore and drifting out to sea. July 2016 September 2022 Thus an economic lose of revenue was involved. It might be better to hide behind masks than risk being hurt again After all, if God rejects youwhere else can you go? Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus - Quora vi. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. March 2020 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. The man looked out on the Tiberius. This name (Strong's #G3003) is a reference to a Roman military regiment that varied in soldier strength from 4,000 to 6,000. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. Such must have been the response of those with our Lord. monetization of National Catholic Register RSS feeds is strictly prohibited. In both the accounts of Mark and Luke, the primary motivation is described as that of fear. Others cited unfaithfulness, lack of seriousness, and the lack of confidence to sustain a relationship. It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. Catholic Church. and 1 Kings xxii. These, however, are not the problem raised by Bible students. "I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don't think he likes me. or school. Nor was it the Jewish population of Galilee. Another reason could be as Dr. R.C. 1) He Exposes Evil (v 28-30) . 10). 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! Why Darth Sidious Was AFRAID of General Grievous - YouTube Some appeared not to be oppressed by them so much as exploiting their powers (cf. Jesus deserves the benefit of the doubt even when we don't have all the facts. 5:5). That is why the inhabitants of the area are referred to variously in different Bible manuscripts as Gergasenes, Gadarenes, or Gerasenes. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. Paul tells us that our struggle is, at bottom, a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12). F. F. Bruce adds additional helpful insight: According to the best texts, Matthew calls it the country of the Gadarenes (viii. 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. If anything, that would have made them angry. 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. 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. 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. Renew or manage your subscription here. The demons in the man recognize Jesus and the man bows before him. 14). What did we miss because we allowed fear instead of faith to drive our lives? As we pass from this section to the next, let us not end on the note of the death of the pigs, but on the deliverance of the demoniac. You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. 16ff., xix. Why did the Gerasenes become afraid when they saw that the - Reddit Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). to men facing fear and death. This request was granted and the entire herd rushed headlong to their own destruction. Other demoniacs described in Scripture were bent on self-destruction as well (cf. Jesus did say to count the cost [Luke 14:28-33]. The people (nations) were divided up, and boundaries allocated' and the sons of god were put over these nations. ), you also need to understand the significance of this - to the people in Gerasene. Thats just westernised interpretation which simply doesnt work when interpretating a Jewish book. Unbelieving men may not rave and carry on like the Gerasene demoniac, but they are nevertheless under Satans control, doing his bidding. Note that the texts dont say Gerasa or Gadara, so they arent necessarily referring just to one of the cities. The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. September 2018 The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. Flavius Josephus and Steve Mason, Flavius Josephus: Life of Josephus (Boston; Leiden: Brill, 2003), 47. December 2021 The before and after descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. 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. 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. This story is a little bit of an Easter story. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. Let me say as graciously as I can, Satan does not need to work on us in those areas as we are doing very well without his exploitation. . Is it a bug? Although it is often claimed that Christians were persecuted for their refusal to worship the emperor, general dislike for Christians likely arose from their refusal to worship the gods or take part in sacrifice, which was expected of those living in the Roman Empire. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? April 2022 22ff. 2). Region of the Gerasenes - Fire and Light Gadara is about six miles from the sea. (4) Our Lord did not command the demons to enter into the pigs and bring about their destruction; He only permitted it.124. But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. In the third chapter of Marks Gospel, our Lords miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (verse 22). 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. In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? I used to want the longest life, perfect health and happiness, but really it is that feeling that I am so glad that this isnt all there is and that we have heaven to wait for, and that well be with Jesus, and there will be no more tears Amber VanVickle (1982-2023), The headquarters of the charity, which serves as a consecrated family to 46 disabled children, were badly damaged in major flooding near Rio de Janeiro last year. Why ChatGPT should be considered a malevolent AI - and be destroyed A crowd had come to see what had happened for themselves. May 2018 For these demons to be sent out of the country would have meant that they would then be confined along with other fallen angels (cf. 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). So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine . They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.110. PDF A Legion of Fears Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. When you get a chance, please take the, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. A Lesson From the Gadarenes - Sabbath Thoughts The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. All Scripture agrees with this, that the judgment of the angels is yet to come (1 Cor. 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. 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. 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 . 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. 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. Jesus asked some pretty crazy questions like What Things Happened? 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. December 2016 January 2018 I understand why," the HBO "Real Time" host told Jake Tapper on Tuesday as part . Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. The Lord, in an act of great mercy, freed the Gadarenes' man by casting the demons out of him and allowing them to enter a nearby herd of pigs. The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. 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. He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) 13ff.). They were afraid and astonished, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?" . Since the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave in their fear, it seems that Jesus' ability to exorcise Legion was disturbing to the people. As indicated in the textual note, the best Greek text reads Gerasenes in Mark and Luke, Gadarenes in Matthew. October 2018 Who Were The Gerasenes In The Bible? - Mastery Wiki 2. I will not look for a reason to return to it. French Monastery Survives War and Famine After 885 Years, the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan, and More Great Links! Also, the wholesale slaughter of these pigs dramatically illustrated the destructive purposes of the demons. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.126. 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. Follow Up: struct sockaddr storage initialization by network format-string, How do you get out of a corner when plotting yourself into a corner, Movie with vikings/warriors fighting an alien that looks like a wolf with tentacles. Why is there a voltage on my HDMI and coaxial cables? Lets learn why. It was like being attacked by two Hulks. They probably thought of quickly getting aboard ship and pushing off. 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. Was it fear that a secret sin might be exposed? They came face-to-face with the Son of God, the Being with the power to change their world forever, and they said, "Please leave." Why? He was a totally safe Person. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! "They sailed to the country of the Gerasenes which is opposite Galilee. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. Such was the case with this man (cf. October 2017 We are seeking a replacement and hope to have it in your newspaper soon. Textual variations have compounded the problem. Why was Jesus going to walk past the disciples as they were rowing on the Sea of Galilee?

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