In recent years the matter has been getting uncomfortably close to home. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. What Does Luke 8:37 Mean? "And all the people of the country of the At their request, He left. (3) Spiritual insight. Now' as to the pigs (an unclean animal, so you know Jesus wasnt in Israel! The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. 122 Quoted by Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to Saint Luke, (Edinburg: T. and T. Clark, 5th ed., 1969): p. 228. This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom.117. June 2017 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. Author of The Gnostic Notebook series, stand-up comedian, and Gnostic. How Can a Person Get Rid of Evil Spirits. 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. Bill Maher: 'I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level' By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy. We see the first reaction to this in the storm MARK 4:7 And a great windstorm arose [snip]. All of this sure seems perfectly consistent with calling the same area the country (chra) of either the Gerasenes or the Gadarenes, after the two major cities. Acts 19:16). When you get a chance, please take the, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. (1) Severe personality change. 2,8) who can possess men and animals. Is there any archaeological evidence for Joshua entering Israel and conquering cities in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age? The Gadarene: When Following Jesus Means Going Home Region of the Gerasenes - Fire and Light (London: InterVarsity Fellowship, 1950), fn. I think all these attempts to harmonize what may at first seem like a contradiction are plausible, respectable, and adequate. Second (and primarily), Mark employs this event to authenticate the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God and Israels Messiah. The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. Thus an economic lose of revenue was involved. 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. 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. 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. The Politics of Luke 8:26-39. 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. Jewish theology, at least on this point, seems consistent with biblical revelation. February 2017 Mark 5:1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Jesus did say to count the cost [Luke 14:28-33]. 05 /5 Another theory. Why is Darrow's victory in the Passage taken so personally? 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. The demons freak out that Jesus is there because it's not time for them to be tormented by Him yet. 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. 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. Crazy question or.? 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. It was significant. 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? Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. It indicates full and permanent control. 4, p. 102. How to show that an expression of a finite type must be one of the finitely many possible values? Neither is it only a kind of physical disease, although spiritual and physical disease often accompany it (e.g. seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Instead of opening themselves up to Jesus and receiving His love and forgiveness, they allowed fear to drive a wedge between them. print and digital media outlets, dedicated to reporting the truth in light of the Gospel and the Jesus asked some crazy questions like "Why are you afraid?" 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. So who was afraid? January 2018 January 2021 Whereas he had been a slave, he was now delivered from demon possession. 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. I felt somewhat guilty, particularly fearing that I may have created an unintentional hardship for some classmate. No! 9. August 2018 He was also humorous in his answers. Slain Los Angeles auxiliary bishop was remembered at the Mass of Christian burial as friend of Jesus Christ and of Mary, our Blessed Mother.. 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.. Pig carcasses were washing ashore and drifting out to sea. Such was the case with this man (cf. The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. A land that was essentially under another god (lower case g). April 2015 The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. In contrast, the people of Gerasene are asking him to leave their place. It was not the loss of their property or investment that caused them to be afraid of Jesus. 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. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. Will they be condemned like unclean animals? 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, Acts 16:16), while others were the virtual pawns of these spirits, losing their own identity and autonomy. The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. 1, pp. I asked why people are afraid of commitment and relationships and some said they are afraid because they fear being hurt again. As indicated in the textual note, the best Greek text reads Gerasenes in Mark and Luke, Gadarenes in Matthew. when He was the only One Who truly knew what had happened. Cookie Notice He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. November 2017 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. The expression to be with Jesus is used particularly of His disciples (cf. In the third chapter of Marks Gospel, our Lords miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (verse 22). 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. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. The Man Jesus Renamed | Reformed Theological Seminary or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. . Jesus asked a sick man if he wanted to get well. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. Why is there a voltage on my HDMI and coaxial cables? Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. You will receive a monthly newsletter with Scriptural teaching plus notifications of any new articles, courses or books. July 2017 And, it can not be understood properly out of this context. . October 2022 At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. August 2020 Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. 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. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. September 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. (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. Oh Hye-son recently published a Korean-language memoir on how she and her husband Thae Yong-ho, then deputy ambassador at North Korea's London embassy, defected in 2016. They are happy in their sin and the consequences seem far away. 123 1. In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? Jesus deserves the benefit of the doubt even when we don't have all the facts. October 2021 We dismiss it the more readily, that, in our view, it conveys a wrong impression. 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. What was the country of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes) and why is it Finally, there is in demon possession a counterpart to the filling (or control) of the Holy Spirit. Who Were The Gerasenes In The Bible? - Mastery Wiki It hit them hard in the pocketbook. 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. At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. Although it is likely that the larger towns of Galilee were predominantly Gentile, as was the Decapolis, the first-century civilian diet did not . 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. Jesus had simply sailed across the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes. The most likely answer is to the country of the Gerasenes: i.e., Gerasa, a Greek town thought to be the same as the similarly-named Kersa on the east shore of Lake Tiberias. Rather, they attributed the power of Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:22). Lets learn why. 14ff. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. Hence it would be called the land of the Gadarenes.. It became one of the proudest cities of Syria. It was situated some 30 miles southeast of Gadara, on the borders of Peraea and a little north of the river Jabbok. 7. Their first question is a rather pragmatic one, namely, How can demons possess animals? To this we must confess that we know too little to understand the mechanism of demon possession but the reality is very evident. Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms. There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well.