4. What purposes did Mark intend to achieve by the inclusion of this event? Will they be rejected? seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. All Scripture agrees with this, that the judgment of the angels is yet to come (1 Cor. I will not look for a reason to return to it. Life with him would be heaven on earth. 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. They became as afraid of Jesus as the demons were. September 2021 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. Although Gadarenes and Gergesenes are derived from a different Greek word, they are essentially referring to the same area. 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. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. Is there any archaeological evidence for Joshua entering Israel and conquering cities in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age? Holy Communion From the Chalice Reintroduced in the UK: What About the US? Another approach is to note the different intentions of the Gospel writers. The Lord refused this request and commissioned this delivered man to return to his own people and declare to them what God had done for him. 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. Order Bulk SubscriptionsGet a discount on 6 or more copies sent to your parish, organization Then any greatest of men, like any prophet, hero or king? 13ff.). Jesus has lead me away from my old life. As the world's top superpower, how unsure of itself can the US be to . And they were afraid. The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). Those who have witnessed demon possession tell us that each demon has its own distinct personality and that the individual possessed begins to manifest the distinct personality of the demon by which he is possessed. A word of clarification is in order here for we must recognize that in this account the dark side of Satan is exposed, but this is perhaps the more unusual side of Satan. By clicking Post Your Answer, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy. February 2021 Have you even been in a service where the Spirit of God was moving and felt fear? 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. With a little knowledge of the geography of the region, this apparent contradiction can be resolved. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. 122 Quoted by Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to Saint Luke, (Edinburg: T. and T. Clark, 5th ed., 1969): p. 228. How Can a Person Get Rid of Evil Spirits. January 2022 especially fn. ESV - It had nothing to do the farmers losing revenue - at all. 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. 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. As an alternative to confinement, the demons posed the option of being permitted to enter the pigs, some 2,000 in number, feeding nearby. Acts 16:16), while others were the virtual pawns of these spirits, losing their own identity and autonomy. How Satan blinds our minds! June 2022 For more information about Glenn Davis see our About Glenn page and/or his Author's Page. Early Christians like St. Polycarp clearly held the Catholic view on salvation. Why was Jesus going to walk past the disciples as they were rowing on the Sea of Galilee? When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons. June 2017 Others cited unfaithfulness, lack of seriousness, and the lack of confidence to sustain a relationship. Nevertheless, for consideration. They were willing to post guards and chain and shackle their neighbor to keep him from hurting someone. Verse 1. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Fear that you might do something that would embarrass you? The demoniacs frightened the swine, and the transfer of demons from them to the swine was imagined. What was it that caused these people to react in such a way? More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. For the reason why this is so we refer the reader to the introduction preceding the exposition of verses 33-7. Satans most effective tool is not the demoniac wandering about the desolate places. Non-Christians can often experience this fear of Jesus as well. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. July 2015 April 2020 In Acts 8:1 we have the regions of Judaea and Samaria (KJV), and in Acts 16:6, Galatia alone. 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. February 2017 This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known.. Will they be condemned like unclean animals? 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 lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? (it should be added that Plummer himelf does not hold to any of these views.). It is not difficult to imagine what was going through the minds of the disciples as their ship landed and as these two demon possessed men rushed to them. The people were more terrified of Jesus and His authority than they were of this crazed and demonized man living among the tombs. to sign up for our free Water Of The Word newsletter at the top of any page! Jesus had been performing miracles in Gods nation - Israel. Christians are to be the answer, but often they are part of the problem. 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? 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. The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. I understand why," the HBO "Real Time" host told Jake Tapper on Tuesday as part . His greatest impact would be on those who knew his former state. Luke 8 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. Romans 9:19-23). In the third chapter of Marks Gospel, our Lords miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (verse 22). They had heard what had happened to the pigs and knew the Jews considered Gentiles unclean, too. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. . Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. What sort of strategies would a medieval military use against a fantasy giant? 123 1. . Although God's word does not name which cities were considered part of this region, Pliny's Natural History (c. 77 A.D.) lists these cities as Gerasa, Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia, Capitolias (Dion), Canatha, Raphana and Damascus. The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. 110 C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1971), p. 3. F. F. Bruce adds additional helpful insight: According to the best texts, Matthew calls it the country of the Gadarenes (viii. monetization of National Catholic Register RSS feeds is strictly prohibited. 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. Jewish theology, at least on this point, seems consistent with biblical revelation. So who was afraid? The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than the Gergesenes. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. Ridiculous? How ironic, as others have noted, that the tormentor pleads not to be tormented. Clarify (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. When once he was an instrument of Satanic opposition against the Messiah, now he is a witness to His power. June 2020 Textual variations have compounded the problem. November 2014. In Mark 1:5 it is used of the land of Judaea (KJV) and in Acts 10:39, to land of the Jews (KJV). 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. "The name "Gerasenes" is to be associated with the modern city of Jerash, located in Transjordan, 22 miles N of Amman." John McRay, "Gerasenes," ed. They came face-to-face with the Son of God, the Being with the power to change their world forever, and they said, "Please leave." Why? Gergesenes is also in some manuscripts (Khersa or Gersa was a town actually on the shore of the sea). Why did Jesus have the authority to forgive sins, why did the scribes take it as a blasphemy, and was this authority also given to men in general? Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 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. or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. These, however, are not the problem raised by Bible students. No! June 2015 14). The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. How to prove that the supernatural or paranormal doesn't exist? Pig carcasses were washing ashore and drifting out to sea. November 2022 Ananias and Sapphira did so by allowing their greed to grip their hearts (cf. 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. One is to disbelieve in their existence. When you get a chance, please take the, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. We owe it to Josephus, from whom it has passed into ecclesiastical language. Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. The lesson of this passage is that Satan is a defeated foe. She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. According to another theory, the Chapati movement of 1857 was an attempt to prevent a cholera outbreak in central India. It was scary. In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.110. Slain Los Angeles auxiliary bishop was remembered at the Mass of Christian burial as friend of Jesus Christ and of Mary, our Blessed Mother.. The country of the Gadarenes (Gergesenes) is one of the few areas Jesus visited where Gentiles (non-Jews) composed the majority of the population. In fact the region was known as the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. Thus an economic lose of revenue was involved. He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. In Luke 2:8 it is applied to the city of Bethlehem; in Acts 18:23 to Galatia and Phrygia. Luke 8:26-39 Mark 5:1-20 ESV - 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. and 1 Kings xxii. Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. Preisker, TWNT IV (1942), pp. ii. 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. I think all these attempts to harmonize what may at first seem like a contradiction are plausible, respectable, and adequate. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. How do I connect these two faces together? A friend of mine told me later that two students were attempting to cast a demon out of a fellow. 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. 05 /5 Another theory. On several occasions, when Jesus forgave someone, He specifically said, Go and sin no more. That only works for people who are sick of their sin and want to change. Mark 5:16 says the thoughts of the people were on the swine. November 2017 Since the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave in their fear, it seems that Jesus' ability to exorcise Legion was disturbing to the people. Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. October 2018 We are seeking a replacement and hope to have it in your newspaper soon. So, they asked Him to leave. If he was a pagan, why did Jesus cast out his demons? He felt Jesus' reassuring hand on his shoulder. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. 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). Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! The expression to be with Jesus is used particularly of His disciples (cf. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. Gergesa, also Gergasa ( in Byzantine greek) or the Country of the Gergesenes, is a place on the eastern ( Golan Heights) side of the Sea of Galilee located at some distance to the ancient Decapolis cities of Gadara and Gerasa.
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