June 15, 2004. The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. They asked Jesus to leave that place. Were the writers of the synoptic gospel accounts confused about where Jesus was when He healed the men? [4], The Gospel of Matthew shortens the story dramatically (Matthew 8:2834) and writes not of one possessed man, but of two. 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. Swine were unclean animals according to the Torah. It was, in fact, his demons that had recognized Jesus. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. The story was interpreted by Saints Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas to mean that Christians have no duties to animals. This reveals to us that demons have an intuitive knowledge of their impending doom.117. How Satan blinds our minds! The man jumped up and said to him, "Sir, please, may I go with you? He had thought he'd been living in hell already. First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. (1) Severe personality change. Luke 4:29), Girard comments: "But in these cases, it is not the scapegoat who goes over the cliff, neither is it a single victim nor a small number of victims, but a whole crowd of demons, two thousand swine possessed by demons. The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. Why did Jesus not allow demons to proclaim his name, Archaeological or Historical Support for the Gerasene Pigs. Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms. Was it one or two? 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. Gadara). The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. The entrance of the term into colloquial speech indicates that the Roman occupation was a heavy burden. ), you also need to understand the significance of this - to the people in Gerasene. In that case, of course, it would be in the early morning that the Gerasenes afterwards resorted to Jesus and that He again returned to Capernaum. Mark 5:1-20,Luke 8:26-39 NIV - Jesus Restores a Demon - BibleGateway I know that your will for me leads to the most full and fruitful life. Jesus' Power over Demons: The Gerasene Demoniac - Matthew 8:28-34; Mark Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. 128 In most of the stories of possession what is at issue is not merely sickness but a destruction and distortion of the divine likeness of man according to creation. 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. 21,22). There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. Mark 5:16 says the thoughts of the people were on the swine. None of the accounts indicate why Jesus allowed the demons to go into the swine, but certainly it was better that they go into the pigs than into people. 17, pp. 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. (it should be added that Plummer himelf does not hold to any of these views.). The Syrians made reprisals, and took many prisoners. No! McGarvey, J.W. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. For the first time in a long time he was in full control of his mind. Until then, we have been commissioned to preach the gospel and declare God's saving gr Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. Whatever witchcraft Jesus possessed, they wanted it far away from them. If he can break the death-grip Satan once had on us and set us free, then he can redeem the places of our former slavery and make them showcases of God's omnipotent grace. Did they bring their sick to Jesus so that he might heal them? This solution is as old as Origen (Commentary on John, VI, 24) who, faced with the textual problem, suggested that the precise site of the healing of Legion was Gergesa, the small town in the territory of Gadara, but hardly in the more remote territory of Gerasa. An inscr. about a.d. 65. The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. city in Pal. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today. The story shows Jesus exorcising a demon or demons out of a man and into a herd of swine, causing the swine to run down a hill into a lake and drown . Spam, November 04 2019 Jesus visits Gadara - easyenglish.bible The story of the Gerasene demoniac is surely one of the strangest in the Gospels. Following Jesus with you wherever he calls. 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. Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). The Madman. Can devils entreat in such a manner any highest of angels, be he Michael, Gabriel or Raphael, or any greatest cherub or seraph? 115 While Mark and Luke describe only one demoniac, Matthew informs us that there were two. GERASA, GERASENES ( , ). 2,8) who can possess men and animals. They greatly desire to enter and control a physical body, whereby they may reflect their character and attributes. 9. Since all of these areas overlap, one may take the references as meaning the same place. or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. The exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac (Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20; Luke 8.26-39), frequently known as the Miracle of the (Gadarene) Swine and the exorcism of Legion, is one of the miracles performed by Jesus according to the New Testament. It shows that the writers had not agreed to impose on the world; for if they had, they would have mentioned the same city; and it shows, also, they were familiar with the country. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. Some today have given demons far more than their due by blaming demons for every malady of mankind. 84,145). In all his tormented years, he had never felt anything like the terror that coursed through him when he saw Jesus get out of the boat. McClintock, John and James Strong (1969 reprint), Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker). Obviously the writer, Luke, is intending to write a history of Jesus Christ that proves that He . Textual variations have compounded the problem. density matrix. When addressed, the person was the mouthpiece of the demon (such as Legion, Mark 5:9). It became the seat of a bishopric, and one of its bishops attended the Council of Chalcedon. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. And that Jesus did not actually "send" the devils into the pigs, He merely allowed the demons to go where they themselves chose to go.[3][13][14]. . If an Israelite, why was he in Gerasene in the first place and why was he living so near a large herd of swine? For less than $5/mo. I have never actually begged Jesus to go away and leave me alone. and thank you for your contribution. A few men went on to survey the dead floating herd. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. Jesus approaches and calls the demon to come out of the man, who replies "What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? 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). He himself earnestly desired to stay with Jesus, knowing that Jesus had saved him an otherwise completely hopeless and unremediable condition. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 116 As Lane observes this title Son of the Most High God, is not a messianic designation but a divine one. Lane, Mark, p. 133, cf. Rev. May I never send you away from me, even in small things. Journeys of Jesus: Capernaum to Gadara - SDG Games Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. Are there things that perplex you? Pig carcasses were washing ashore and drifting out to sea. Therefore, Jesus Christ for demons is God and thus even demons inadvertently reveal themselves as being better theologians than Arians and their modern day heirs - Jehovawitnesians and all different breeds of Unitarians - their name being legion! He recognized most of them. In my head, I know that your ways are always best. Why are there two demon-possessed men in the Gerasene tombs in Matthew He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. At times, my honest prayer might be: Lord, yes, do in me the things I want you to do. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were writing of the same general area. But the rest stopped some twenty feet away. 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. The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Lord, save us! As the servant of Elisha was told, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them (2 Kings 6:16). For years the tomb-man, this one-man barracks of a thousand devils, had terrorized them. It is Geldenhuys who gives us the most concise description of demon-possession: in the New Testament demon-possession means that a person is dominated by the spirit of a demon and tormented by him. Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. He had thought he'd been living in hell already. What was the country of the Gerasenes (or Gadarenes) and why - eBible Matt. Most scholars today would agree with Origen that near Gergesa was the precise site for the healing of Legion. It was a small village about midway along the E shore of the Sea of Galilee. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. They look forward to their future with great dread. Five squad cars converged on it. The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. The Synoptic Gospels record one episode of Jesus calming a violent storm: "Then [Jesus] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? how many times did jesus go to gerasenes The demonically possessed man who came to Jesus cried out his name was Legion. An excellent account of the ruins is given in Thomson's LB, III, 558.There is nothing above ground of older date than the 2nd and 3rd centuries of our era; but there is no reason to doubt that the Greek city of Gerasa stood on the same site. 8). New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Gerasa, Gerasenes. Barnes, Albert (1949), Notes on the New Testament: Matthew and Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker). (3) Spiritual insight. Matt. 184-185. The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave. Some would identify the place with RAMOTH-GILEAD, which see.The site is now occupied by a colony of Circassians, and there is reason to fear that, unless something is done to preserve them, many valuable remains of antiquity will perish.W. Every resource on our site was made possible through the financial support of people like you. Pastor John gets to the heart and offers practical suggestions for growing in evangelism. 22, xvii. [The natural spirit of the man seeking to throw off the dominion of the demons would cry out in agony, and the demons themselves, in their own misery, would use him as a vehicle to express their own grief. Neither is it only a kind of physical disease, although spiritual and physical disease often accompany it (e.g. 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. Josephus mentions it with Pella and Golan as being taken by storm during Alexander Jannaeus campaign E of the Jordan in about 83 b.c. He calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) Now appreciate the reaction - another God was messing with their god - and demonstrating authority! The time of this event was before Jesus' crucifixion, and before the gentiles were grafted in to the promise (Acts 10). 5:5). The site is identified today with the town of Kersa, or Gersa, just below Wadi es-Samak. Let's open our Bibles to the 8th chapter of Luke's gospel. As if he is trying to avoid being expelled and stoned in reality, the possessed brings about his own expulsion and stoning; he provides a spectacular mime of all the stages of punishment that Middle Eastern societies inflict on criminals whom they consider completely defiled and irredeemable. He came into the region in which the two cities were situated, and one evangelist mentioned one, and the other another. The gospels. The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. Vote Up Jesus has lead me away from my old life. Then any greatest of men, like any prophet, hero or king? xx. So, Jews think that God does not want them to keep pigs. Another indication of demonic control is the fact that this man was continually doing harm to himself by gashing himself with stones (verse 5). 3). Mention is made of the strength of the site and the mighty masonry of its walls. (2) Pork was a food forbidden to Jews, and as such, those who raised these pigs may have done so knowingly in violation of divine injunction. Once a menace to society, now a messenger with words of deliverance and healing. Some were already hurrying back toward the city. His lucid mind mulled over the words, "Son of the Most High God.". 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. (5) What our Lord could have given the people of this territory was much greater than what He took away. Clarify Start for FREE. Jesus, Go Away! It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. 8; Mark vi. Girard notes that, in the demoniac's self-mutilation, he seems to imitate the stoning that the local villagers would likely have attempted to use against him to cast him out of their society, while the villagers themselves show by their reaction to Jesus that they are not primarily concerned with the good of the man possessed by demons: Notice the mimetic character of this behavior. This is just five miles from Capernaum, where Jesus had previously been, so it makes sense. What does it mean that the name of the demon was Legion? In this account we, by inference, learn much about the demonic spirits. It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. He shivered at the disturbing memory. When Jesus asked the demoniac his name, it was not without significance for He was, I believe, asking the demons to reveal their identity. by Matt Slick | Mar 5, 2009 | Bible Difficulties, Matthew - Mark, The Bible. 6:45-56 6:14-21. Two paved streets with double colonnades cut through the city at right angles, four massive pedestals still marking the point of intersection. [8] The city of Gerasa had been a major urban center since its founding and during the Roman period it was the more widely known among the ten-city league known as the Decapolis. A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. Josephus names it as marking the eastern limit of Peraea (BJ, III, iii, 3). As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. 31. The Demonized Man of the Garasenes (Luke 8:26-39) - JesusWalk Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. The words "return to your home" must have made this man's heart sink. The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. What scares you away from being fully sold-out as a disciple of Jesus? But Jesus had other plans. Many ancient tombs are to be seen in the face of the hills. The second question is an ethical one: What right had the Lord to inflict this loss on the owners of the swine?121 Put even more crassly, Huxley censored this act with these words: the wanton destruction of other peoples property is a misdemeanour of evil example.122. [13] Saint Augustine of Hippo concluded from the story that Christians have no duties towards animals,[2] writing: Christ himself shows that to refrain from the killing of animals and the destroying of plants is the height of superstition, for judging that there are no common rights between us and the beasts and trees, he sent the devils into a herd of swine and with a curse withered the tree on which he found no fruit. The exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac (Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20; Luke 8.26-39), frequently known as the Miracle of the (Gadarene) Swine and the exorcism of Legion, is one of the miracles performed by Jesus according to the New Testament. It was the terror of the damned. 3. The Greek word in Matthew 8:28, however, reveals that Jesus went to the country of the Gadarenes (p. 23). This man demonstrated all four characteristics. Lane, Mark, p. 182, fn. History:The great and splendid city in the Decapolis is first mentioned as taken after a siege by Alexander Janneus, 85 B.C. Acts 16:16), while others were the virtual pawns of these spirits, losing their own identity and autonomy. DEUT 32:8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples, according to the number of the sons of God. They valued their pigs more than they valued salvation. A friend of mine told me later that two students were attempting to cast a demon out of a fellow. Romans Bible Study, Chapter 5 Romans 5 speaks about justification and our relationship to Adam. The New Testament writers chose to refer to the area in different ways. Some appeared not to be oppressed by them so much as exploiting their powers (cf. The pig tenders reported it far and wide, in city and country (verse 14). Thank you for giving him new hope. [5] In this version, Jesus does not ask for the demon's name, which is considered an important element of traditional exorcism practice. The distance is about 19 miles from the river. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. He was sitting at Jesus feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane (8:35), thus serving as a vivid demonstration of the saving, healing power of Jesus. Declare how much God has done for you. 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an evil spirit came from the tombs to meet him. Learn more about these miraculous stories found in the Bible. Cindee Snider Re What is this brick with a round back and a stud on the side used for? 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). In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). Catholic Daily Mass - Daily TV Mass - April 23, 2023 - Facebook Theologian Tom Wright calls him "the first apostle to the gentiles". The longest and nearly detailed account of Jesus and the Gadarene swine is plant in the . 9. It had nothing to do the farmers losing revenue - at all. Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. 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. 3. It should also be observed that nowhere in the Old Testament (except in I Sam. Why was God angry with Balaam for going with the Moabites. These, however, are not the problem raised by Bible students. Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. Jon Bloom serves as teacher and cofounder of Desiring God. If total energies differ across different software, how do I decide which software to use? With your gift of any size, youll enable us to continue equipping Christians with high-quality biblically-based content. Modern Jerash lies on both banks of Wady Jerash, about 6 miles from its confluence with Wady ez-Zerqa (the Jabbok). (4) Our Lord did not command the demons to enter into the pigs and bring about their destruction; He only permitted it.124. 1 THEY CAME to the other side of the sea to the region of the Gerasenes. A city in Transjordania, situated about thirty-five m. SE of the S end of the Sea of Galilee, one of the cities of the Decapolis; the inhabitants of the city. Why typically people don't use biases in attention mechanism? That is not the choice at all. 16ff., xix. Moreover, this story challenges us to examine our own reaction to Jesus. Normal relationships are reversed. Vote Up In the third chapter of Marks Gospel, our Lords miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (verse 22). 68f. First let us see what the Sacred Texts says: The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. A Witness to the Decapolis | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at Clothing is an important prop in the Lucan narrative (see Biblical clothing), which in this scene portrays the demoniacs development from his animal-like state to his restoration as a human being. The precise place where the miracle occurred is not as essential to our understanding of the narrative as is the realization that Christ has control over the spiritual realm (Lenski, 1946, p. 205). 61-62. 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. On one level, they may have been afraid that Jesus would send their herds into the sea. verse 5). As soon as Jesus disembarked from the boat that carried him here, a man possessed by demons approached, shrieking and falling before him. Gergesa [probably a variation of GerasaCC] was a city about 12 miles to the south-east of Gadara, and about 20 miles to the east of the Jordan. The presence of a copious spring of sweet water makes it probable that the site has been occupied from olden time; but no trace remains of any ancient city. There is, as we know, the world, the flesh, and the Devil. This agrees with the general description of the site (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26). Life with him would be heaven on earth. noted the official establishment of Christianity and discontinuance of pagan worship in the 5th cent. It is ironic that while the demons didnt want to leave the country, the dwellers of that land didnt want the Messiah to stay. Gergesa may have been a variant spelling of Gerasa. Ralph Earle, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1957), p. 70. Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Marks Story of Jesus (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1988) p. 192; Richard A. Horsley, Hearing the Whole Story: The Politics of Plot in Marks Gospel (Louisville, KY: Westminster/John Knox, 2001); Gerd Thiessen, Miracle Stories of the Early Christian Tradition (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1983); Hollenbach, P. W. (1981). in 1971. People had tried to tie him down but he was too strong to be bound, even with chains, for he would always break out of them; night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones.

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