Holiness hurts! Such must have been the response of those with our Lord. "And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes round about asked him to depart from them, for they were holden with great fear: and he entered into a bo." March 2015 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! 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. As the world's top superpower, how unsure of itself can the US be to . Rev. 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. This was surely not so in every case, and perhaps in none. Understand the meaning of Luke 8:37 using all available Bible versions and commentary. (5) Torment. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. Holy Communion From the Chalice Reintroduced in the UK: What About the US? 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. EIN 27-4581132 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. Wasn't the answer obvious? The before and after descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. Having been properly warned of the demonic underworld, let us not fall into the opposite error of absolute paranoia. Clarify The subject of demons and demon possession has always seemed somewhat remote and academic to sophisticated 20th century Americans. 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. Even the demons confessed that He was the Son of the Most High (Mark 5:7). They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.110. I think all these attempts to harmonize what may at first seem like a contradiction are plausible, respectable, and adequate. October 2020 July 2021 61-62. 4. April 2021 (3) Our Lord was moved with compassion by the torment of Legion and the loss of these pigs should in no way dim our view of the deliverance of the demoniac. Horoscopes and astrological predictions are found in most major newspapers. Sproul says in his commentary on Mark, When the Holy One is manifest in the midst of unholy people, the only appropriate human response is dread.. As He had landed with His disciples He had been confronted with a demon-possessed man - a man that no one had been able to control. According to another theory, the Chapati movement of 1857 was an attempt to prevent a cholera outbreak in central India. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. The confrontation between the powers of heaven and hell are nowhere seen in better perspective than in Marks account of the encounter of the Gerasene demoniac with our Lord Jesus Christ. - And they came to the other side of the sea.The other side of the sea would be the south-east side of the sea. Thus, all the circumstances lead us to regard the healing of the demonized at Gerasa as a night scene, immediately on Christs arrival from Capernaum, and after the calming of the storm at sea. Alford Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), I, pp. First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. 14ff. Thayers Greek Lexicon defines it as the space lying between two places or limits region or country. The Sea of Galilee was clearly one of the limits. When Jesus and his disciples come to the mostly-Gentile region of the Gerasenes, they are met by a man whose life has been destroyed by demonic infestation. 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 pig tenders reported it far and wide, in city and country (verse 14). Jesus deserves the benefit of the doubt even when we don't have all the facts. January 2016 Like children convinced there are monsters under our beds, the unknown scares us. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. 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. February 2017 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. They were content where they were. The sons of god ended up becoming the gods of these nations. September 2016 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, b he entered Capernaum. Why did the demon-possessed Gadarene bow down before Jesus? I have always wondered what my Christian brothers had to say to the police officers by way of explanation. 68f. Nevertheless, for consideration. It is mentioned in some ancient manuscripts of the . This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). 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. 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. You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. 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). 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. 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. December 2021 In recent years the matter has been getting uncomfortably close to home. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus among them? When Jesus asked his name the man answered, Legion, for we are many (Mark 5:9). Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. He felt Jesus' reassuring hand on his shoulder. Note: 'had the legion', i.e., the many unclean spirits inhabiting him. November 2022 15; Mark ix. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. 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. (2) Anti-social behavior. 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, What were the women in Mark 16:8 afraid of? Jesus never interacted with people as they were, but as He knew they were created to be. The first two are in the Authorized Version. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. This man demonstrated all four characteristics. Lane, Mark, p. 182, fn. March 2022 They all say country of (in the sense of region, not nation). By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Have we stepped back, in effect asking Jesus to leave us alone, only to discover, as a Gentleman, He did? ), you also need to understand the significance of this - to the people in Gerasene. 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). 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. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. Sermon for July 26, 2020: Why Were They So Afraid: Mark 5:1-20. The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. Why would Jesus ask, "Who touched Me?" 5. 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. The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Mark 5:1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. The choice is to be free by submission to Christ (cf. Instead, they reject Him because all they know is His power and purity. His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby. Until we decide on a new comic, you'll likely see a gray box where "Dilbert" had appeared. Renew or manage your subscription here. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. It only takes a minute to sign up. . February 2016 When the townspeople arrived on the scene, they saw the formerly demon-possessed men, clothed, in their right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus. And, it can not be understood properly out of this context. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. Another reason could be as Dr. R.C. Satans most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. Why is this sentence from The Great Gatsby grammatical? They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. The entrance of the term into colloquial speech indicates that the Roman occupation was a heavy burden. We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . I think that this story is a little bit of an Easter story. It was like being attacked by two Hulks. They probably thought of quickly getting aboard ship and pushing off. 2,8) who can possess men and animals. Lets learn why. He obviously attracted crowds. Another approach is to note the different intentions of the Gospel writers. Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms. As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. Fear that you would not be in control? Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. 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. The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. August 2021 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). There is no conflict, however, for Mark and Luke have apparently focused their attention on the most striking of the two. The whole story is a myth. art thou come hither to torment us before the time? It might be better to hide behind masks than risk being hurt again After all, if God rejects youwhere else can you go? It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. People who have no appr Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. There is no true freedom and fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of men. Bob is a pastor/teacher and elder at Community Bible Chapel in Richardson, Texas, and has contributed many of his Bible study series for use by the Foundation. August 2017 F. F. Bruce adds additional helpful insight: According to the best texts, Matthew calls it the country of the Gadarenes (viii. The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. Demon possession, such as that of the Gerasene demoniac is the crudest and cruelest form of Satanic control, but by and large also one of the less common manifestations of Satans work in the world today. All Scripture agrees with this, that the judgment of the angels is yet to come (1 Cor. Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. . October 2018 As has been said before, look for Satans man behind the pulpit. 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. June 2016 If Jesus had that kind of power, then He could not be controlled. "The trains were . People who have no appr No! 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. He seemed to view Jesus approach as the launching of a direct attack on the demonic forces. Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951), p. 174. and thank you for your contribution. The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. There is the so-called demon of doubt, of anger, of overindulgence, of drunkenness, laziness and so on. What did Jesus do? As always, we must begin with the principle: Interpretation is one, application is many. January 2018 Why is there a voltage on my HDMI and coaxial cables? Such an entreaty can be addressed by them to only God. 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. print and digital media outlets, dedicated to reporting the truth in light of the Gospel and the They had heard what had happened to the pigs and knew the Jews considered Gentiles unclean, too. Is there a single-word adjective for "having exceptionally strong moral principles"? The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. 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. Hence it would be called the land of the Gadarenes.. First of all, the EPA would have been investigating the pollution of Lake Galilee with decaying pigs. The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. The spread of cholera was linked to the movements of . Once a menace to society, now a messenger with words of deliverance and healing. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). 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. It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lords disciples.125. And, Gerasene was one. Some appeared not to be oppressed by them so much as exploiting their powers (cf. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.126. Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). 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. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. These men were a danger to themselves and others. All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine . 115 While Mark and Luke describe only one demoniac, Matthew informs us that there were two. 4, p. 180. November 2020 Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30), or to be the pawns of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2). Why as the question? Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 0 Responses No matter where you are on life's journey you are welcome here! 7. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Pigs were specifically set aside as the animal used in sacrifices to their god. For more information about Glenn Davis see our About Glenn page and/or his Author's Page. . January 2021 For some people, the cost is too high. Why is that. The swine then immediately killed themselves by rushing off a cliff. (1) Severe personality change. Bill Maher says he's scared of former President Trump "on a very personal level" and "what he would do" to the comedian if he were to win the 2024 White House race. The ego is so impaired that the spirits speak through him. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. Second, while the death of the pigs is clearly an economic loss for the owner, Jesus is illustrating the infinite value of human life. 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. Matthew is habitually more oriented to a Jewish readership, and so he refers to Gadarenes because Gadara was the most important Jewish city in the area. It was scary. 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. When the pigs were sent into the sea, the people of Gadara lost money. We will examine two incidents -- the stilling of the storm on the sea of Galilee, and that which follows immediately, the healing of the demoniac. 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. The fear of the unknown, the uncontrollableof change. Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). The people (nations) were divided up, and boundaries allocated' and the sons of god were put over these nations. I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. A land that was essentially under another god (lower case g). COMMENTARY: Atheism is generally the expression of a moral attitude more than a real intellectual conviction based on evidence thought through. 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. Is it a bug? How ironic, as others have noted, that the tormentor pleads not to be tormented. He was a totally safe Person. At their request, He left. We owe it to Josephus, from whom it has passed into ecclesiastical language. 18). Lukes reading Gergesenes may represent even more accurately the ancient name of this place, as Origen knew of a Gergesa on the lake of Galilee. And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. Many times people - Non-Christians and Christians - push Jesus away because they do not want to change. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. 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. It is amazing to think that people could be fearful of Jesus. Sometime after the Lord Jesus miraculously calmed the storm, the ship landed, perhaps late in the evening,111 on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gerasenes.112 If, indeed, it was late at night, the scene must have been an eerie one, with the nerves of the disciples already worn thin by the terrifying experience of the storm. Brazilian Charity Caring for Children Who Survived Abortions Issues Urgent Appeal, Memento Mori: Remember You Are Going to Die, The Meat of the Matter: St. Patricks Day and the Lenten Fast. Reproduction of material from this website without written permission, or unlicensed commercial use or 10). This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. Such was the case with this man (cf. This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom.117. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ.