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. 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. Its important to note that this was the first demonstration of Jesuss authority outside of Canaan. Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. November's featured resource is an Advent poem that John Piper delivered in 1993 at Bethlehem titled "The Gadarene." Metzger, Bruce M. (1975 corrected edition), A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (New York, NY: United Bible Societies). Jesus, be my healer. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. 2. What do I do about calling a priest father at my Catholic University? The tomb-man had beaten off much larger men in his demonic rages. 120 The request is in both cases the same; for, according to Jewish notions, certain countries being assigned to evil as well as to good spirits, whose limits they were unable to overpass, to be sent out of their own country, no other being open to them, implied being sent into the abyss, or bottomless pit, since that remains for them alone. Trench, Miracles , p. 101. He calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. Youngblood, Ronald F., ed. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. Clarify 1. 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. Luke seems to base this fear solely upon what happened to the demoniac, not on the loss of their pigs. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. His lucid mind mulled over the words, "Son of the Most High God.". Pastor John gets to the heart and offers practical suggestions for growing in evangelism. 127 The view of Greek philosophy was that these were the spirits of those who lived in the Golden Age. He could just as easily commanded them to return to the deepest, darkest pit of Hell. 26). The mountainside has caves and hewn tombs where, according to Mark and Luke, the demoniac had taken shelter. A small crowd of people was approaching, with the pig herdsmen leading the way. Rather, they attributed the power of Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:22). One problem was this man's racehe was a Gentile, whereas Jesus had been sent to the nation of Israel (cf. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More. 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. 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. Be my Lord! The fact that Matthew places the healing of Legion in the country of the Gadarenes whereas Mark and Luke place it in the country of the Gerasenes may be harmonized on the historical grounds that geographical boundaries overlapped, and on the exegetical consideration that country embraced a wide area around the cities. It was significant. This and hundreds of other resources are available free on our site due to the Lord's provision of generous financial supporters. Vector Projections/Dot Product properties. The choice is to be free by submission to Christ (cf. 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. The center of personality, the volitional and active ego, is impaired by alien powers which seek to ruin the man and sometimes drive him to self-destruction (Mk. 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). Paul tells us that our struggle is, at bottom, a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12). 3. If we put ourselves in their place, and use empathy to feel how we might have reacted if we were confronted with the loss of our next year's source of feeding our families, it will be easier to understand that they were afraid to suffer any other loss that might result if Jesus stayed in their area. The people were gentiles who had not yet any interest in the Messiah. We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . [15] In his analysis, the opposition of the entire city to the one man possessed by demons is the typical template for a scapegoat. 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. Barnes, Albert (1949), Notes on the New Testament: Matthew and Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker). It had nothing to do the farmers losing revenue - at all. He was leaving! Heal me, Lord, but let me remain the lord of at least part of my life. Thus, the story in Luke 8:26-39 challenges me to consider how open I really am to the Lord. Perhaps they clenched their fists or picked up driftwood with which to defend themselves. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. No fear. When you get a chance, please take the, New blog post from our CEO Prashanth: Community is the future of AI, Improving the copy in the close modal and post notices - 2023 edition, Does Jesus show compassion to demons in Mark 5:12-13. Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man 115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms. The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. No one could restrain himhe couldn't be chained, couldn't be tied down. Daniel 10:13; Ephesians 6:12), whose leader and prince is Satan (Matthew 12:24). 8:33-34; Mk 5:14-17; Lk 8:34-37 No one was strong enough to subdue him (verses 3,4). Significantly, the demons are called unclean spirits (verse 2,9). It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. If he was a pagan, why did Jesus cast out his demons? We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. 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. The price tag of possession was high, for those who fell victim to the demons agonized in constant torment. Are we welcoming him into our lives? Jesus, Demoniacs, and Public Authorities: A Socio-Historical Study. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. This episode plays a key role in the literary critic Ren Girard's theory of the Scapegoat. [ a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. This describes the district in which Christ met and healed the demoniac from the tombs, where also took place the destruction of the swine. Do not be afraid. In the Gospel of Mark, why does Jesus heal this blind man twice? 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. This condition is fulfilled only by the district immediately South of Wady Semak, North of Qal `at el-Chucn. I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. [9], The revealing of the demon's name has parallels with other examples in Jewish exorcism lore in the Second Temple period. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. I'll follow you anywhere! To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. CARM |P.O. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. It was the terror of the damned. They look forward to their future with great dread. The best text in Matthew reads Gadarenes, in Mark and Luke it reads Gerasenes, whereas some MSS preserve Gergesenes and Gergustenes (cf. Further, the conclusion seems warranted that there was confusion in some MSS of Gerasa with the more likely site for the miracle near Gergesa. 14:13-21. 184-185. The Synoptic Gospels record one episode of Jesus calming a violent storm: "Then [Jesus] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. It is a fascinating by Matt Slick | Apr 4, 2023 | Genesis - Deuteronomy, Bible Difficulties. More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. I beg you in the name of God never to torment me!". And the people there were scared, they recognised this, but more, they realised the significance of this. I realize that opening myself fully to you threatens my comfortable status quo. Their first question is a rather pragmatic one, namely, How can demons possess animals? To this we must confess that we know too little to understand the mechanism of demon possession but the reality is very evident. HDB, II, p. 158, 159 for a detailed description.). 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. McGarvey, J.W. by Matt Slick | Mar 5, 2009 | Bible Difficulties, Matthew - Mark, The Bible. Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. The three passages that describe the incident with the demoniacs in the country of the Gerasenes, also called Gadarenes, are Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, and Luke 8:26-39. verse 5). Used with Permission. As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. Gerasa is identified from various sources as a city in Arabia, Decapolis, Gilead, or Perea. No! But it was different this time. 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. The modern village Jarash is situated on the hillside above the ruins, built with stones from the ruins. [6], The location is also changed to the region of the "Gadarenes" (Gadara) as in most Bible translations.
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