(London: InterVarsity Fellowship, 1950), fn. Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) 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. 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. Another indication of demonic control is the fact that this man was continually doing harm to himself by gashing himself with stones (verse 5). It was a hard call to return to the place where he had known demons, chains, tombs, self-mutilation, public humiliation, abuse, loneliness, and suicidal torment. 5. It is almost 20 miles from Amman (Philadelphia), and 22 from Fahil (Pella). Thank you for all of the ways you have delivered meand still are delivering me. I know this, yet, like the people in the story, I can hesitate. It was the terror of the damned. 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. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. (4) Super-human strength. Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. How many demons possessed the man in Mark 5:6? First let us see what the Sacred Texts says: The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. But Jesus had other plans. There is the so-called demon of doubt, of anger, of overindulgence, of drunkenness, laziness and so on. Image by The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. 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. 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? Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms. His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby. The forum, with a semicircle of columns still standing, was paved with large cut stones. If there are two demoniacs, there is certainly at least one; therefore, there is no contradiction. 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. Vote Up Learn more about these miraculous stories found in the Bible. 14:13-21. At Luke 8:27, the gospel writer notes that the demoniac wore no clothes. It was Jesus they were afraid of. 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. 21,22). is there such a thing as "right to be heard"? Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. led to the substitute reading Gergesenes, a reading that was suggested by a study of the geography of the area. Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. 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. Satans most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. So Jesus had to cross the lake twice. I have never actually begged Jesus to go away and leave me alone. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. If Mark or Luke said that only one demoniac came to Jesus while Matthew says that two came out, that would be a contradiction. 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. First of all, the EPA would have been investigating the pollution of Lake Galilee with decaying pigs. 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. The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. He felt Jesus' reassuring hand on his shoulder. Having been properly warned of the demonic underworld, let us not fall into the opposite error of absolute paranoia. Are we welcoming him into our lives? Thank you for setting the demoniac free. There is, as we know, the world, the flesh, and the Devil. 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. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today. ( Luke 8:39) Some have suggested that the words Gergesenes and Gerasenes are not words referring to people from a city other than Gadara, but merely different variations of the word Gadarenes (Youngblood, p. 468; McGarvey, p. 344). The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. 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. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. tar command with and without --absolute-names option. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one . The sultan of Damascus is said to have fortified it; but there is nothing to show that the Moslems occupied it for any length of time.3. 14ff. Did they cease to exist? That the unclean spirits were personal beings is evident from what is related about their leaving a possessed person, talking or crying out, possessing knowledge concerning Jesus, as well as other supernatural knowledgeshowing fear, and the like. Lenski, Robert C.H. xvii. Barnes, Albert (1949), Notes on the New Testament: Matthew and Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker). This account is recorded in all three of the synoptic gospel accounts, but with two different renderings of the name of the place where the miracles occurred. Will a professing Christian go to hell if he never shares the gospel? Matt 10:5-6; 15:24). How do I stop the Flickering on Mode 13h? Soon, they gathered around Jesus and the man who had been set free from the demons. This reversal of the scapegoat mechanism by Jesus is central to Girard's entire reading of Christianity, and this reversal is on display in this story as well. 2,8) who can possess men and animals. 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 passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. Clarify We don't want any more trouble here!" The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. 5:5). He wasn't very big. 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 . When our Lord confronted the demons, they had to submit to His power and authority. What scares you away from being fully sold-out as a disciple of Jesus? 1. Swine were unclean animals according to the Torah. You could hear alarm in their voices. One man: Mark 5:1-2, "And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the . 3. The excavations uncovered what is to date the best preserved Rom. [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. 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. 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. Also, the wholesale slaughter of these pigs dramatically illustrated the destructive purposes of the demons. God has commisioned us to work and create, to develop the resources he has given us and share with those in need. 110 C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters (New York: The Macmillan Co., 1971), p. 3. Was it one or two? Demons are highly organized (cf. about a.d. 65. 2 And as soon as He got out of the boat, there met Him out of the tombs a man [under the power] of an unclean spirit. xvi. 4, p. 180. [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. You should not suggest in any way that The High Calling or Theology of Work endorses you or your use of the work. [5] One detail that is unique to Luke's version is a reference to both the demoniacs nakedness and his subsequent clothing. They look forward to their future with great dread. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. 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. As a herdsman recounted what happened, they kept looking at him and then to Jesus. (1) Severe personality change. ), you also need to understand the significance of this - to the people in Gerasene. We come to a riveting, compelling, fascinating, gripping story, an incident in the life of our Lord which introduces us again to His divine power. 1, pp. The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. A main street with columns on both sides leads out of the forum. Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. Was Aristarchus the first to propose heliocentrism? Were on a mission to change that. If they would just listen to what he had to say. There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. May I open all that I am to you, boldly trusting you. 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. In this instance, each writer intended to draw attention to an area close to the Sea of Galilee. Some were already hurrying back toward the city. My office mate of several years back was interrupted by a young and very zealous new Christian teacher accompanied by a student from whom she wanted my friend to cast out a demon. Or are we saying, in effect, Jesus, go away!? It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. For these demons to be sent out of the country would have meant that they would then be confined along with other fallen angels (cf. No! He had thought he'd been living in hell already. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. Lucius Annius, at the instance of Vespasian, sacked and burned the city, with much slaughter (BJ, IV, ix, 1). Two men: Matt. 23, 24, viii. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. So Jesus returned to the boat and left, crossing back to the other side of the lake. [5] In this version, Jesus does not ask for the demon's name, which is considered an important element of traditional exorcism practice. get to know the Bible better! The thought of returning there conjures up fears of our old demons and the people who knew us as we were back then. Be my helper. 4.1K views, 50 likes, 28 loves, 154 comments, 48 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from 7th District AME Church: Thursday Morning Opening Session No ostracism hangs over you.' 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. A small crowd of people was approaching, with the pig herdsmen leading the way. 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. Apparently Gerasa was rebuilt by the Romans before the revolt began, prob. Daily Reflection / Produced by The High Calling Then those who had seen what happened told the others how the demon-possessed man had been healed. ii. 18). Probably Capernaum . ger'-a-sa, ger'-a-senz (Gerasa; Gerasenon): 1. Evil is self-defeating in the end. Neither is it only a kind of physical disease, although spiritual and physical disease often accompany it (e.g. Does a password policy with a restriction of repeated characters increase security? When Jesus asked his name the man answered, Legion, for we are many (Mark 5:9). However, the point was clearly made; Jesus, the Son of God, has power over all things, including the powers of darkness. 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]. 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). The whole story is a myth. Other textual variations include "Gadarenes" and "Gergesenes". (5) Torment. What purposes did Mark intend to achieve by the inclusion of this event? I have always wondered what my Christian brothers had to say to the police officers by way of explanation. 184-185. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. 122 Quoted by Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to Saint Luke, (Edinburg: T. and T. Clark, 5th ed., 1969): p. 228. As indicated in the textual note, the best Greek text reads Gerasenes in Mark and Luke, Gadarenes in Matthew. As soon as Jesus disembarked from the boat that carried him here, a man possessed by demons approached, shrieking and falling before him. 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. But the city of Gadara owned some territory round about Khersa, so that the district and the pigs could properly also be called Gadarene. F. F. Bruce, Are the New Testament Documents Reliable? 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. Ananias and Sapphira did so by allowing their greed to grip their hearts (cf. Although his symptoms would have appeared to be those of an insane man,113 the Gospel writers inform us that he was demon-possessed.114. The story was interpreted by Saints Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas to mean that Christians have no duties to animals. Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. It is noteworthy that Jesus nowhere speaks of forgiveness of sins or of purification-sacrifices, that have to be brought after His curing of such cases (as He did in some cases of physical illness). No other place on the E side of the sea fits this requirement of the story. Why was Jesus going to walk past the disciples as they were rowing on the Sea of Galilee? HDB, II, p. 158, 159 for a detailed description.). 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. Gergesa, Gerasa, or Gadara? 5 They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes. 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. The Madman. 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. 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. We'd love to keep you up to date with what is happening at CARM. Jon Bloom serves as teacher and cofounder of Desiring God. 37 Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome Let me say as graciously as I can, Satan does not need to work on us in those areas as we are doing very well without his exploitation. 8). Jesus allows the fleeing evil spirits to enter a herd of pigs which promptly run into the sea and drown. 8:33-34; Mk 5:14-17; Lk 8:34-37 It indicates full and permanent control. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. He did not appear to rush upon the small group of men to attack them (as he would normally have done), but rather to plead with Jesus. But Jesus told him to go back. Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). Gerasa, one of the cities of Decapolis and the capital of the country of the Gerasenes, lay around 37 miles/60 kilometres away from the Sea of Galilee in what is today the city of Jerash in Jordan.3The country of the Gerasenes did not reach the Sea of Galilee (an important point that we'll get to in a bit). Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). The Good Shepherd will walk with you and protect you on the darkest road (Psalm 23:4). The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. ger'-a-sa, ger'-a-senz (Gerasa; Gerasenon):1. Mark 3:14). Generic Doubly-Linked-Lists C implementation, Understanding the probability of measurement w.r.t. (5) What our Lord could have given the people of this territory was much greater than what He took away. Were the writers of the synoptic gospel accounts confused about where Jesus was when He healed the men? No! They were instructed to keep quiet about what Jesus had done for them (cf. Modern Jerash lies on both banks of Wady Jerash, about 6 miles from its confluence with Wady ez-Zerqa (the Jabbok). Can you relate to the people who sent Jesus away? 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. 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. 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. It would seem that these people had no Messianic expectations, and therefore wanted nothing to do with One Who had such awesome power, a power over which they had no control. Jesus, Demoniacs, and Public Authorities: A Socio-Historical Study. William of Tyre calls the city Jarras, and places it 16 miles East of Jordan (Hist, xii, 16). 2). What is this brick with a round back and a stud on the side used for? 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. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Says he is "the bread of life"; many are stumbled and leave 6:22-71. 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. or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. [1] 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 themselves. Traces of ancient buildings in the vicinity show that there must have been a fairly numerous population in the district.2. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? Used with Permission. NE side Sea of Galilee; Gennesaret. 0 Responses They didn't understand! What was it that they saw? The exercising of authority over demons, in the land under another god, was a message. It hit them hard in the pocketbook. As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. (3) Spiritual insight. He actually wanted to keep his clothes on. With these, however, the Gerasenes dealt mercifully, letting such as wished go free, and escorting them to the border (BJ, II, xviii, 1, 5). john kiuta masuka, December 19 2016 Q. 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. I will not look for a reason to return to it. Matt 8:28). As always, we must begin with the principle: Interpretation is one, application is many. How Many Times Did Jesus Go To Gerasenes. The modern village Jarash is situated on the hillside above the ruins, built with stones from the ruins. We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity.
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