4. The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). But here we speak not about a bishop, but about Christ who made His Godhead revealed through devils beseeching Him not to cast them to hell but enter the swine. It was conquered by the Moslems in the time of Omar (Guy le Strange, Palestine under the Moslems, 462). It is also a possibility that in the handing down of New Testament manuscripts over many years, slightly different readings of the same word have developed. Country of the Gerasenes:The town itself is not named in Scripture, and is referred to only in the expression, "country of the Gerasenes" (Mark 5:1 Luke 8:26, 37; see Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Appendix, 11). In the King James Version it is called the country of the Gadarenes in Mark and Luke, and of the Gergesenes in Matthew. 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. Second (and primarily), Mark employs this event to authenticate the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God and Israels Messiah. On the other hand, it may be correct to understand that although there were many demons, they had combined as one force to possess this man.119 While Mark records Legions request as one of not being sent out of the country (verse 10), Luke adds a significant explanation by interpreting the meaning behind this request: And they were entreating Him not to command them to depart into the abyss (Luke 8:31). Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More. 184-185. (3) Spiritual insight. Vote Up [5] In this version, Jesus does not ask for the demon's name, which is considered an important element of traditional exorcism practice. 2. No ostracism hangs over you.' On one level, they may have been afraid that Jesus would send their herds into the sea. They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. (Cf. My ways are subtler, and for this reason perhaps even more insidious. (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. Why typically people don't use biases in attention mechanism? The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! He lived there among the tombs and graves. Gadara). Albert Barnes explained the difference between Gadara and Gerasa: Gadara was a city not far from the Lake Gennesareth, one of the ten cities that were called Decapolis. He shivered at the disturbing memory. May I open all that I am to you, boldly trusting you. The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. 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. There is no true freedom and fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of men. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. You could hear alarm in their voices. Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951), p. 174. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. No one could restrain himhe couldn't be chained, couldn't be tied down. May I never send you away from me, even in small things. Pastor John gets to the heart and offers practical suggestions for growing in evangelism. Now he knew better. [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. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. 21,22). Archeologists identify it with the modern Jarash. 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. ix. And now, with the demons gone, nothing he had ever experienced came close to the safety and peace he felt simply being near Jesus. One man: Mark 5:1-2, "And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the . Traces of ancient buildings in the vicinity show that there must have been a fairly numerous population in the district.2. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. 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. 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. Why does Jesus tell several people that He heals not to tell anyone, but in John 8:39 He tells the man healed of a legion to go and tell everyone? Matt. We greatly appreciate your consideration! This topical nine-session Bible study contains tips and encouragement to live a life of generosity and fruitfulness, helping us to redeem our use of resources by nurturing biblical attitudes. 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. 16K views, 545 likes, 471 loves, 3K comments, 251 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from EWTN: Starting at 8 a.m. 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. 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. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. He recognized most of them. In the Gospel of Mark, why does Jesus heal this blind man twice? As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. The Response of the People - Mt. [11] Further possible echoes include Isaiah 65:4 with parallels to both graves and swine:[12]. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). 8). 1 Response 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). 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. Gergesa is located, with relative certainty, midway along the E bank of the Sea of Galilee; Gadara is six m. SE from the S end of the Sea of Galilee; and Gerasa is some thirty-five m. SE. Mention is made of the strength of the site and the mighty masonry of its walls. This town is not to be confused with either Gerasa or Gadara. 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. Jesus goes across the sea into the "region of the Gerasenes". The demonically possessed man who came to Jesus cried out his name was Legion. It is clear that Matthew, Mark, and Luke did not contradict each otherin fact, they complemented each other. Obviously the writer, Luke, is intending to write a history of Jesus Christ that proves that He . iii. [citation needed]. 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. Perhaps they clenched their fists or picked up driftwood with which to defend themselves. Gergesa, Gerasa, or Gadara? 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. recognizes the military background of the term, pointing out that in the imperial period a legion consisted of 6000 foot soldiers, 120 horsemen and technical personnel. November's featured resource is an Advent poem that John Piper delivered in 1993 at Bethlehem titled "The Gadarene." The Greek word commonly accepted in Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 as the basis for the name of the people who inhabited the place where Jesus and the disciples went is rendered Gerasenes in English (Metzger, 1975, pp. The ruins of the town are not considerable; but there are remains of a strong wall which must have surrounded the place. First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. I felt somewhat guilty, particularly fearing that I may have created an unintentional hardship for some classmate. Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. When our Lord confronted the demons, they had to submit to His power and authority. A contradiction occurs only when one statement makes the other impossible. 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. 4, p. 102. The Greek word commonly accepted in Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 as the basis for the name of the people who inhabited the place where Jesus and the disciples went is rendered Gerasenes in English (Metzger, 1975, pp. 16ff., xix. But having recalled a passage in Ephesians, I realize now that this man is a reminder of the dilemma of every man, woman, and child who have not come to a saving dependence upon the work of Jesus Christ for sinners on the cross. 6:45-56 6:14-21. 32, after Passover. If it is a feminine spirit, the voice will be a feminine one, if masculine then very manly. Start for FREE. Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. How many demons possessed the man in Mark 5:6? This was a region east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. 23, 24, viii. Vote Up The thought of returning there conjures up fears of our old demons and the people who knew us as we were back then. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. john kiuta masuka, December 19 2016 He dispatched Lucius Annius with a force of cavalry and an army of foot soldiers, who took the city on the first attack, slaughtering a thousand young men, taking their families captive, plundering and burning the city and the surrounding towns (Jos. Gerasa itself is probably represented by the ruins of Kurseh on the South side of Wady Semak, just where it opens on the seashore. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? Textual variations have compounded the problem. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. noted the official establishment of Christianity and discontinuance of pagan worship in the 5th cent. Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. (2) Anti-social behavior. (4) Super-human strength. Matthew, Mark, and Luke were writing of the same general area. Description:Modern Jerash lies on both banks of Wady Jerash, about 6 miles from its confluence with Wady ez-Zerqa (the Jabbok). He felt Jesus' reassuring hand on his shoulder. The mountainside has caves and hewn tombs where, according to Mark and Luke, the demoniac had taken shelter. REPRODUCTION & DISCLAIMERS: We are happy to grant permission for this article to be reproduced in part or in its entirety, as long as our stipulations are observed. Just imagine, a man in a cinema, having bought popcorn and cola and watching an action movie, with a lot of violence and harsh language in it, and then he sees suddenly that a saintly bishop is sitting just next to his seat, not watching the movie, but reading silently psalms with a countenance radiating a deep contemplation; will not the first man be upset and lose all pleasure of watching the movie? F. F. Bruce adds additional helpful insight: According to the best texts, Matthew calls it the country of the Gadarenes (viii. In this instance, each writer intended to draw attention to an area close to the Sea of Galilee. But Jesus motioned to Peter to ready the boat. War III. But dont mess with my whole life. No rage. The Roman city Gerasa was a famous city that would have been familiar to a Gentile audience, but Gadara, as the capital city of the Roman province of Perea, was the chief of the ten cities in Decapolis (Lenski, 1946, p. 205; Coffman, 1975, p. 85; Youngblood, 1995, p. 468), so even those who lived in Gerasa could have been called Gadarenes. The Greek word in Matthew 8:28, however, reveals that Jesus went to the country of the Gadarenes (p. 23). They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. (no date), The Fourfold Gospel (Cincinnati, OH: Standard). The 'before' and 'after' descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence.
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