Matt. That is why the inhabitants of the area are referred to variously in different Bible manuscripts as Gergasenes, Gadarenes, or Gerasenes. March 2021 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 . We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. Slain Los Angeles auxiliary bishop was remembered at the Mass of Christian burial as friend of Jesus Christ and of Mary, our Blessed Mother.. Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. 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. 118 H. of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were So he got into the boat and left. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. I felt somewhat guilty, particularly fearing that I may have created an unintentional hardship for some classmate. December 2022 Will they be rejected? Ridiculous? Another indication of demonic control is the fact that this man was continually doing harm to himself by gashing himself with stones (verse 5). Unfortunately, Christians [or those using the name] can be harsh, condemning and critical driving people further into sin and away from God. In Luke 2:8 it is applied to the city of Bethlehem; in Acts 18:23 to Galatia and Phrygia. If Jesus had that kind of power, then He could not be controlled. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, Highlights in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ. (2) Anti-social behavior. 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. 4, p. 102. Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? Luke 8:26And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. Horoscopes and astrological predictions are found in most major newspapers. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). 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. 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. 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. January 2016 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. Winthrop Congregational Church, UCC No matter who you are. Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? 22, xvii. That is not the choice at all. The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. He could just as easily commanded them to return to the deepest, darkest pit of Hell. Why as the question? 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. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. 122 Quoted by Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to Saint Luke, (Edinburg: T. and T. Clark, 5th ed., 1969): p. 228. There is no true freedom and fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of men. They are unclean spirits, (vss. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus among them? It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. 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. 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. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. 21,22). It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. 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. Jesus had simply sailed across the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes. Instead, they reject Him because all they know is His power and purity. Early Christians like St. Polycarp clearly held the Catholic view on salvation. In Mark 1:5 it is used of the land of Judaea (KJV) and in Acts 10:39, to land of the Jews (KJV). More from Medium Jameson Steward in. February 2022 Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? The lose of the pigs meant loose of partial income in the area. 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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. The sons of god ended up becoming the gods of these nations. SubscribeStart your Register subscription today. The time of this event was before Jesus' crucifixion, and before the gentiles were grafted in to the promise (Acts 10). They look forward to their future with great dread. What did Jesus do? When you get a chance, please take the, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. . - 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. 61-62. . Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Sign up for 6 Free IssuesTry us out with a free trial subscription. 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. 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. Why would the Gerasene people beg Jesus to leave their region after He cast the demons into the pigs? Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! xx. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.110. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. The Truth is Jesus is a safe Person Who loves them, values them, wants their best and will never force Himself on them. You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. 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. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Lets learn why. Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized . 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. It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lords disciples.125. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The commission of our Lord is considerably different from His instructions to the Israelites whom He had delivered. ESV - NEW STAR WARS MERCH PAGE: https://bit.ly/3baWVZv For all sponsorship and business inquiries please contact: thestupendousscrub@gmail.com NEW CHANNEL: https:/. When once he was an instrument of Satanic opposition against the Messiah, now he is a witness to His power. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. Others are absolutely controlled (hooked) by the drug and totally dependent upon it. 2). . 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. This name (Strong's #G3003) is a reference to a Roman military regiment that varied in soldier strength from 4,000 to 6,000. It indicates full and permanent control. Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. ), you also need to understand the significance of this - to the people in Gerasene. The demonically possessed man who came to Jesus cried out his name was Legion. And, lastly, this would allow sufficient time for those miracles which took place on that second day in Capernaum after His return thither. 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. Those demons were terrified of Him! Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. Jesus had been performing miracles in Gods nation - Israel. No! When Jesus asked the demoniac his name, it was not without significance for He was, I believe, asking the demons to reveal their identity. And they were afraid. June 2017 The ego is so impaired that the spirits speak through him. 23, 24, viii. But as Gergesa was a small village, and little known, the evangelists, who wrote for more distant readers, spoke of the event as taking place in the country of the Gadarenes, so named from its largest city, Gadara; and this country included the country of the Gergesenes as a state includes a county. Most people confessed to having the fear of things not working out, an inability to trust and others said they . 14ff. July 2017 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. Why is that. So much pain, so much sin. 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. 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. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. Why was Jesus going to walk past the disciples as they were rowing on the Sea of Galilee? They had been unable to control these two men [Luke only mentions one man, but Matthew tells us there were two]. For those near by the local name would be used; but in writing to a distant people, as the Greeks and Romans, the more comprehensive and general name would be given.. As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. 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. Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. Matthew 9:2-8 Why was "This man is blaspheming" considered an evil thought without knowing Jesus' identity? May 2018 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 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. He shivered at the disturbing memory. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. 18). For more information about Glenn Davis see our About Glenn page and/or his Author's Page. The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. Sermon for July 26, 2020: Why Were They So Afraid: Mark 5:1-20. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. I think all these attempts to harmonize what may at first seem like a contradiction are plausible, respectable, and adequate. 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. 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, b he entered Capernaum. Asked October 24 2014 Other demoniacs described in Scripture were bent on self-destruction as well (cf. Preisker, TWNT IV (1942), pp. July 2016 They valued their pigs more than they valued salvation. Give a Gift SubscriptionBless friends, family or clergy with a gift of the Register. Jewish theology, at least on this point, seems consistent with biblical revelation. 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. In all three instances the word is chra (Strongs word #5561). November 2014. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. Subscriber Service CenterAlready a subscriber? Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. Jesus asked some pretty crazy questions like What Things Happened? So he got into the boat and left., Luke 8:37, NIV, great fear [KJV] thoroughly frightened [Phillips]gripped with great fear [NASB]. Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. On the other hand, Gadara is only six miles from the southern tip of the lake and could easily have given its name to the district. Wasn't the answer obvious? I was in a dialogue with an atheist regarding what he believes is one of many so-called biblical contradictions. Odd guy that I am, I actually find this sort of thing fun. The entrance of the term into colloquial speech indicates that the Roman occupation was a heavy burden. September 2015 In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. EIN 27-4581132 And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another . What scared them was a power so fierce it could free a man. 14). 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. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? In the King James Version it is called the country of the Gadarenes in Mark and Luke, and of the Gergesenes in Matthew. Why would Jesus ask, "Who touched Me?" 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. He brought up the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them into pigs, which promptly ran over a cliff into the sea. For some people, the cost is too high. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. When Jesus asked his name the man answered, Legion, for we are many (Mark 5:9). Like the Samaritans who followed the woman at the well to see this One who had told her all she had done, so these residents came to see for themselves what had happened. 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. How Satan blinds our minds! Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. July 2021 16ff., xix. Is it a bug? Demons are highly organized (cf. The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). I think that this story is a little bit of an Easter story. and our January 2021 Thus an economic lose of revenue was involved. February 2016 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. March 2020 May 2022 No! Jesus showed to the local population the inferiority of pagan life. The demons in the man recognize Jesus and the man bows before him. 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. The demons freak out that Jesus is there because it's not time for them to be tormented by Him yet. Yes, I know that Easter was weeks ago in April. This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom.117. xvi. 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. Though Legion bowed before Jesus (verse 6), it was no act of worship (as the King James Version would seem to indicate). November 2017 March 2022 How ironic, as others have noted, that the tormentor pleads not to be tormented. No matter what men attempted to bind him with, he broke loose. For the Christian, there are two extremes which must be avoided with reference to Satanic activity. He seemed to view Jesus approach as the launching of a direct attack on the demonic forces. So who was afraid? May 2015 Series NotesScripture references are based on the King James translation. vi. It is ironic that while the demons didnt want to leave the country, the dwellers of that land didnt want the Messiah to stay. All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the legion; and they were afraid. Demonic influence further destroys mans reflection of God as originally designed.128 Demons have great spiritual insight and reluctantly submit to Jesus as Lord of all. Is there a single-word adjective for "having exceptionally strong moral principles"? 05 /5 Another theory. 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. xii. June 2015 But the distance is so short that, even making allowance for the delay by the tempest, the passage could scarcely have occupied the whole night. But notice, even though Jesus permitted them to enter the swine, they were unable to overcome their evil impulses and drove the swine over the cliff to their death. September 2016 In fact the region was known as the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. The man looked out on the Tiberius. 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. 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. 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. Now' as to the pigs (an unclean animal, so you know Jesus wasnt in Israel! Acts 5:1-6). More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. To date they have failed to respond in any way. November 2015 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). September 2021 Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. (3) Spiritual insight. Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. 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. Bible scholar Gleason Archer (Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties) argues similarly, It is entirely possible that the political control of this region was centered in Gadara as the capital city.