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. The gospels. "Doesn't Jesus Treat Animals as Property?". The city was large and well planned. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? For years the tomb-man, this one-man barracks of a thousand devils, had terrorized them. It was like being attacked by two Hulks. They probably thought of quickly getting aboard ship and pushing off. Did Jesus command the demon before he fell on his knees in Mark 5:6? xviii. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. First, the man is hunted, then stoned, and finally he is killed; this is why the possessed lived among the tombs. Spam, December 19 2016 Matthew recorded that Jesus commanded demons to come out of two men (8:29). Unfortunately, like anyone who feels wrongfully yet feasibly accused, the Gerasenes protest violently, they protest their good faith with violence, thereby reinforcing the terror of the possessed. I will not ask him to leave. 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. Instantly he recognized the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God (verse 7).116 There was a source of spiritual insight beyond human capabilities here. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More. And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to depart from them; for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat, and returned (Luke 8:35-37). Home for him was not a warm place of sentimental memories. But Jesus motioned to Peter to ready the boat. He had thought he'd been living in hell already. Lane believes the modern Kersa is the most likely place: The point of arrival is indicated in a general way as the district of the Gerasenes, most probably in reference to a town whose name is preserved in the modern Kersa or Koursi. 68f. The demonically possessed man who came to Jesus cried out his name was Legion. HDB, II, p. 158, 159 for a detailed description.). 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. 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. That is not the choice at all. The man looked out on the Tiberius. Jon Bloom serves as teacher and cofounder of Desiring God. As soon as Jesus disembarked from the boat that carried him here, a man possessed by demons approached, shrieking and falling before him. Neither is it only a kind of physical disease, although spiritual and physical disease often accompany it (e.g. It is a violent tempest, that is, outside of the natural. 1 THEY CAME to the other side of the sea to the region of the Gerasenes. This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). And all the people in the region of the Gerasenes begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them. Romans 9:19-23). about a.d. 65. 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. I know this, yet, like the people in the story, I can hesitate. The Gospel of Luke's version (Luke 8:2639) is shorter than Mark's, but agrees with most of its details. 23, 24, viii. How many demons possessed the man in Mark 5:6? What happened to the evil spirits Jesus cast out of the man named "Legion" after the swine drowned? What is the significance of the Sea of Galilee in the Bible? 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. As has been said before, look for Satans man behind the pulpit. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, XLIX(4), 567588; Burdon, Christopher. NE side Sea of Galilee; Gennesaret. Fellowship is an irreplaceable means of grace in the Christian life and offers us two priceless joys: receiving Gods grace through the helping words of others and giving his grace to others through our own. where something similar occurs) is a demon-possession mentioned, and that outside the Gospels it is referred to only twice in the New Testament (Acts xvi. 2ff., xvv. It opens our eyes to a world that is largely unknown and frankly unsettling. 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. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. Also, the wholesale slaughter of these pigs dramatically illustrated the destructive purposes of the demons. The tomb-man from Gadara looked up at Jesus again. 7. Moreover, this story challenges us to examine our own reaction to Jesus. 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. 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. They didn't understand! ', referring to the nuclear power plant in Ignalina, mean? Luke 8:26 They arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is opposite Galilee. 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. 1), and apparently occupied these cities with Jewish patriots. Here is one of the few times that a miracle drove people away, rather than to draw them to Jesus. (1) Severe personality change. The thought of returning there conjures up fears of our old demons and the people who knew us as we were back then. A contradiction occurs only when one statement makes the other impossible. The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). Thats just westernised interpretation which simply doesnt work when interpretating a Jewish book. Yet, on a deeper level, they we afraid of how Jesus might impact their lives. The writers were not confused about Palestinian geography. War III. 0 Responses PRAYER: Dear Lord, first of all, I want to thank you for your healing, restoring power. It is a fascinating by Matt Slick | Apr 4, 2023 | Genesis - Deuteronomy, Bible Difficulties. The crowd should remain on top of the cliff and the victim fall over; instead, in this case, the crowd plunges and the victim is saved. Q. At the conclusion of this day of teaching by parables, the Lord had instructed His disciples to cross over the Sea of Galilee to the other side. v. 37) describe Jesus healing of the demoniac Legion and the drowning of the swine in the Sea of Galilee (cf. especially fn. If you are able tosupport usthis month we will invest your gift in making the hope of the gospel freely available to others who are wandering in the tombs of despair. There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. Matt 8:28). The King James Version in (Matthew 8:28) has the location as "Gergesenes" which corresponds to the modern "Kursi" (Kheras), the most plausible location of the Gospel event. tar command with and without --absolute-names option. 5:5). At times, my honest prayer might be: Lord, yes, do in me the things I want you to do. "[15], The story is the origin of the English proverbial adjective Gadarene, meaning "involving or engaged in a headlong or potentially disastrous rush to do something".[16]. Thank you for all of the ways you have delivered meand still are delivering me. (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. Why was God angry with Balaam for going with the Moabites. 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. 5. There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. It was conquered by the Moslems in the time of Omar (Guy le Strange, Palestine under the Moslems, 462). He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. 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? Satans most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. 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. A main street with columns on both sides leads out of the forum. 14:22-36. What is the significance of the blind man seeing tree-like people walking in Mark 8:22-25? Generic Doubly-Linked-Lists C implementation, Understanding the probability of measurement w.r.t. The lose of the pigs meant loose of partial income in the area. When the pigs were sent into the sea, the people of Gadara lost money. 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. By submitting your email address, you understand that you will receive email communications from Bible Gateway, a division of The Zondervan Corporation, 3900 Sparks Drive SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 USA, including commercial communications and messages from partners of Bible Gateway. and thank you for your contribution. 1). The excavations uncovered what is to date the best preserved Rom. Immediately, the pigs ran into the lake. Jesus' power was clean, holy. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. What Jesus wants us to know is that his salvation and his protection extend to those old, horrible haunts. 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? [15] In his analysis, the opposition of the entire city to the one man possessed by demons is the typical template for a scapegoat. So, Jews think that God does not want them to keep pigs. Definition of Gadarenes (Gergesenes) in the Bible - Bible Study The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. It appears that is because the CARM is a nonprofit, non-denominational, multi-staffed Christian Apologetics Ministry that supports evangelism, radio outreach, and provides full-time support for several foreign missionaries. [ a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 118 H. June 15, 2004. The New Testament speaks of those who had a spirit, or a demon, or demons, or an unclean spirit, or the spirit of an unclean demon, but chiefly of persons who were demonised. Edersheim, Life and Times, I, p. 479. In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. 8). The exercising of authority over demons, in the land under another god, was a message. The best known Gerasa was a Greek city nearly forty miles southeast of the lake (modern village of Khersa, on the east shore of the lake. The forum, with a semicircle of columns still standing, was paved with large cut stones. New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Gerasa, Gerasenes. Jesus, Demoniacs, and Public Authorities: A Socio-Historical Study. 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. I will not look for a reason to return to it. Who would have thought that the Son of God looked so much like other Jewish men? Second (and primarily), Mark employs this event to authenticate the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God and Israels Messiah. [2] It has been a point of contention in discussions of Christianity and animal rights. They had dealt with Legion (I suspect) by forcing him from their presence. (4) Super-human strength. The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. 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. 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. Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. and 1 Kings xxii. 4.1K views, 50 likes, 28 loves, 154 comments, 48 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from 7th District AME Church: Thursday Morning Opening Session 32, after Passover. What purposes did Mark intend to achieve by the inclusion of this event? It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lords disciples.125. Luke seems to base this fear solely upon what happened to the demoniac, not on the loss of their pigs. 8:28-29 but only one is Mk. But let us return to the gist of the matter: if Christ showed them His Divinity through the reason given above, is it easy to be in the presence of God? Theologian Tom Wright calls him "the first apostle to the gentiles". But then also Christ will triumph, and finally put an end to the evil one and all his powers of darkness (Rev. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. Mark 5 MSG - The Madman - They arrived on the other - Bible Gateway Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. Such must have been the response of those with our Lord. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.126. The sons of god ended up becoming the gods of these nations. It would be hard to imagine a more horrible state] c and for a long time he had worn no clothes, Published What is this brick with a round back and a stud on the side used for? What does Mark 5:1 mean? | BibleRef.com What was it that they saw? (Jos. Jesus goes across the sea into the "region of the Gerasenes". Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. God has commisioned us to work and create, to develop the resources he has given us and share with those in need. The tomb-man had beaten off much larger men in his demonic rages. Who do you care more about, people or pigs? Coffman, James Burton (1975), Commentary on Mark (Abilene, TX: ACU Press). That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. Some were already hurrying back toward the city. Thank you for setting the demoniac free. It was a region of 10 Greco-Roman cities, a Gentile region. In his description of the boundaries of Perea, Josephus mentions Gerasa as one of the cities on the eastern boundary between Perea and Arabia, the other border cities being Philadelphia and Sebonitus (Jos. 14. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. 3); they are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day (Jude 6); and what the unclean spirits deprecate here, is the bringing in, by anticipation, of that final doom. R. C. Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1949), p. 100. 13; Luke iv. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. The man jumped up and said to him, "Sir, please, may I go with you? Mark 9:17-29). 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. Jesus' visits to the Decapolis can help us understand some aspects of his ministry that would not be as clear if they had occurred in Jerusalem, Capernaum, or some other "orthodox" Jewish site. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. The best text in Matthew reads Gadarenes, in Mark and Luke it reads Gerasenes, whereas some MSS preserve Gergesenes and Gergustenes (cf. 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. Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. Son of God was their term. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. No one could restrain himhe couldn't be chained, couldn't be tied down. The Secret behind Jesus Healing the Gerasene Demoniac The Cross And Separation From The World (1 Peter 4:1-6), 7. iii. 84,145). Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. john kiuta masuka, December 19 2016 Josephus names it as marking the eastern limit of Peraea (BJ, III, iii, 3). You could hear alarm in their voices. Spam, November 04 2019 With your gift of any size, youll enable us to continue equipping Christians with high-quality biblically-based content. 21,22). Acts 5:1-6). xvi. 1 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. The gospels. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). Though Legion bowed before Jesus (verse 6), it was no act of worship (as the King James Version would seem to indicate). Gerasa was rebuilt in splendor and remained prosperous for several centuries. Declare how much God has done for you. Journeys of Jesus: Capernaum to Gadara - SDG Games The lesson of this passage is that Satan is a defeated foe. On Girard's account, then, the uneasy truce that the Gaderenes and the demoniac had worked out was that the evil power in him was contained and thereby neutralized.
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