why were the gerasenes afraid

How Can a Person Get Rid of Evil Spirits. March 2021 Region of the Gerasenes - Fire and Light vi. 9. February 2021 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. Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. What purposes did Mark intend to achieve by the inclusion of this event? April 2017 He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. April 2018 Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). One is that he was a fascinating man. Why did Jesus allow the demons to enter the herd of pigs? There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. Some of the proposed answers to this question are totally unacceptable to an orthodox, evangelical Christian.123 By way of explanation, there are several factors which should be given serious consideration. It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. 1, pp. This man demonstrated all four characteristics. Lane, Mark, p. 182, fn. The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. In Jewish thinking, spirit beings were assigned to certain geographical territories.120. Although the manifestations of demonization vary widely, this man115 evidenced several of the classic symptoms. PDF A Legion of Fears As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. It became one of the proudest cities of Syria. It was situated some 30 miles southeast of Gadara, on the borders of Peraea and a little north of the river Jabbok. Matt. That would be a strong message, by allowing them to be possessed and then drowned. 2ff., xvv. and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. Commentator R. C. H. Lenski states: The distance of these cities from the lake is immaterial for the narrative since this deals with the region that is near the lake and not with the vicinity of either of the cities to the lake.. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. 16ff., xix. July 2022 Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized . December 2021 And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another . The Gadarenes was the place where Jesus confronted a man whose possession by demons gave him a level of superhuman strength like Samson (Mark 5:3 - 5, Luke 8:27). More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. The people were gentiles who had not yet any interest in the Messiah. Gospel Parallels: The Gerasene Demoniac - READ-SCRIPTURE.COM (5) Torment. They found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. Top Ten Reasons Why There Were Pigs In Gerasenes Remember the story of Jesus casting demons out of the crazy man in Luke 8? The lesson of this passage is that Satan is a defeated foe. Does a barbarian benefit from the fast movement ability while wearing medium armor? 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? The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. They all say country of (in the sense of region, not nation). Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. Having been properly warned of the demonic underworld, let us not fall into the opposite error of absolute paranoia. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. Pastor Chrissy is a native of East Tennessee. Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. Well, it is because atheists, in their zealous rush to make fun of Christians, Christianity, and the Bible, start to lose their logical rigor and rationality, leading them to contend for implausible things: as presently. They were afraid and astonished, saying to one another, "Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?" . 61-62. He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. Daniel 10:13; Ephesians 6:12), whose leader and prince is Satan (Matthew 12:24). Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). Satan loves those Christians. They look forward to their future with great dread. Thayers Greek Lexicon defines it as the space lying between two places or limits region or country. The Sea of Galilee was clearly one of the limits. August 2018 September 2018 It should also be observed that nowhere in the Old Testament (except in I Sam. So they refer to Gerasenes. For many Christians today, the horrifying experience of Legion should be sufficient testimony of the reality of the Satanic underworld. And the people there were scared, they recognised this, but more, they realised the significance of this. Should TikTok be banned? Your guide to understanding why the platform Privacy Policy. As always, we must begin with the principle: Interpretation is one, application is many. Mark 5:1 On the other side of the sea, they arrived in the region of 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. For more information about Glenn Davis see our About Glenn page and/or his Author's Page. To understand this event, you need consider the incident at Babel, and Deuteronomy. A crowd had come to see what had happened for themselves. xx. Jesus never interacted with people as they were, but as He knew they were created to be. How to prove that the supernatural or paranormal doesn't exist? The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. Wasn't the answer obvious? Second (and primarily), Mark employs this event to authenticate the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God and Israels Messiah. They became as afraid of Jesus as the demons were. Instead of opening themselves up to Jesus and receiving His love and forgiveness, they allowed fear to drive a wedge between them. 128 In most of the stories of possession what is at issue is not merely sickness but a destruction and distortion of the divine likeness of man according to creation. 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. The people (nations) were divided up, and boundaries allocated' and the sons of god were put over these nations. The man, who was naked when he saw Jesus, had the added ability of enduring both freezing and sweltering temperatures as well as pain he inflicted upon himself! As He had landed with His disciples He had been confronted with a demon-possessed man - a man that no one had been able to control. (1) As Lord of all, God has the right to make use of His creation any way that He deems best, and this includes not only pigs, but people (cf. And they were afraid. They were among North Korea's elite, but they fled anyway. Here's why Fear that you might do something that would embarrass you? 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. November 2020 This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). 2,8) who can possess men and animals. F. F. Bruce adds additional helpful insight: According to the best texts, Matthew calls it the country of the Gadarenes (viii. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. How many demons possessed the man in Mark 5:6? (3) Spiritual insight. 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). Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. February 2018 The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave. The healing of the demoniacs and the repulse of the Healer by the inhabitants are historical, but the incident of the swine is a later figment. May 2016 and 1 Kings xxii. Once naked, he is now clothed. The before and after descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. monetization of National Catholic Register RSS feeds is strictly prohibited. Immediately, as this weary group disembarked from the ship, they were met by what appeared to be a madman. 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). June 2015 Instead, they reject Him because all they know is His power and purity. 40, vii. The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby. HELPING CHRISTIANS BUILD POSITIVE, GODLY FAMILIES, CHURCHES, AND NATIONS, Follow us on social media for daily Scripture comments and more at. Follow Up: struct sockaddr storage initialization by network format-string, How do you get out of a corner when plotting yourself into a corner, Movie with vikings/warriors fighting an alien that looks like a wolf with tentacles. 9. The Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-20) | Bible.org Nevertheless, for consideration. Like it or not, demons and demonic activity are likely to become much more of a concern to you in days to come. Matthew 8:28 - 29, 31, 34And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 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. Why is that. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. The particular focus of this mans testimony was the Decapolis region. 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. How to show that an expression of a finite type must be one of the finitely many possible values? Jesus asked a sick man if he wanted to get well. I think the coup de grce is to look up the Greek word for country in these passages, to see what latitude of meaning it has. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? If anything, that would have made them angry. Textual variations have compounded the problem. Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than the Gergesenes. Spam. Non-Christians can often experience this fear of Jesus as well. Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. Verse 1. I felt somewhat guilty, particularly fearing that I may have created an unintentional hardship for some classmate. John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30), or to be the pawns of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2). How much more sinful than Peter were the Geraseneans, who because of love of money did not shun even to engage in a non-Jew business of herding swine; how much more unbearable and dreadful must have been for them the Lords presence! Since the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave in their fear, it seems that Jesus' ability to exorcise Legion was disturbing to the people. Reproduction of material from this website without written permission, or unlicensed commercial use or For more information, please see our Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. Preisker, TWNT IV (1942), pp. Its important to note that this was the first demonstration of Jesuss authority outside of Canaan. This makes sense, I couldn't believe they asked Jesus to leave. At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known. 31. The Demonized Man of the Garasenes (Luke 8:26-39) - JesusWalk Although it is often claimed that Christians were persecuted for their refusal to worship the emperor, general dislike for Christians likely arose from their refusal to worship the gods or take part in sacrifice, which was expected of those living in the Roman Empire. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. The Gadarenes was the place where Jesus confronted a man whose possession by demons gave him a level of superhuman strength like Samson (Mark 5:3 - 5, Luke 8:27). July 2017 Sermon for July 26, 2020: Why Were They So Afraid: Mark 5:1-20 While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. September 2015 The region and polygon don't match. 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. Thus, all the circumstances lead us to regard the healing of the demonized at Gerasa as a night scene, immediately on Christs arrival from Capernaum, and after the calming of the storm at sea. Alford Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), I, pp. They greatly desire to enter and control a physical body, whereby they may reflect their character and attributes. Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. rev2023.3.3.43278. 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. When Jesus asked his name the man answered, Legion, for we are many (Mark 5:9). and thank you for your contribution. 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). Jesus asked some pretty crazy questions like What Things Happened? Jesus deserves the benefit of the doubt even when we don't have all the facts. Afraid of Jesus? | Sermons | College Park Church 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. I was in a dialogue with an atheist regarding what he believes is one of many so-called biblical contradictions. Odd guy that I am, I actually find this sort of thing fun. April 2020 Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. Catholic Church. 14ff. Gerasenes could have had a sense of reference to the entire region (as well as to a city: just as New Yorker can refer to the state or city), and Gadarenes likely was a reference to the most prominent city of the region at the time. The drowning of these pigs has caused a great deal of discussion amongst Bible students, for as a friend of mine once observed, Thats a lot of pork chops! Had our Lord achieved such a miracle today He would have been in deep trouble. 8ff.). (it should be added that Plummer himelf does not hold to any of these views.). https://www.ncregister.com/blog/gerasene-or-gadarene-swine, What Archaeology Tells Us About Joshuas Conquest, 50 Verses to Help You Prepare for Pentecost, St. Polycarp, Who Learned the Faith From an Apostle, Did Not Believe in Faith Alone, The Three Kinds of Atheists, and How to Respond to Them, We Know That Hes in Heaven: Thousands Gather for Funeral of Bishop David OConnell in Los Angeles, Archbishop Naumann and Bishop Paprocki Speak Out in Support of Traditional Latin Massgoers in Their Dioceses, Survey: Decline in Vocations to the Priesthood Is Worse Where Priests Serve Larger Flocks, God Really Intervened: How a Catholic Priest Escaped From His Kidnappers in Haiti, Amber and Dave VanVickle on Finding God in the Midst of Suffering. Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. especially fn. As has been said before, look for Satans man behind the pulpit. Anonymous, October 25 2014 When the Gadarenes saw what Christ was capable of, they panicked. In fact the region was known as the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. May 2017 A land that was essentially under another god (lower case g). 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. Mark 9:17-29). First let us see what the Sacred Texts says: The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 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. This was a power far beyond anything they had seen or even imagined. November 2014. And, it can not be understood properly out of this context. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 115 While Mark and Luke describe only one demoniac, Matthew informs us that there were two. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? It only takes a minute to sign up. art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 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. As an alternative to confinement, the demons posed the option of being permitted to enter the pigs, some 2,000 in number, feeding nearby. Paul tells us that our struggle is, at bottom, a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12). Will they be rejected? 606-607. He brought up the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them into pigs, which promptly ran over a cliff into the sea. Who was afraid of Jesus and why? Many times people - Non-Christians and Christians - push Jesus away because they do not want to change. 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. 28); Mark the country of the Gerasenes (v. 1), and Luke, probably, the country of the Gergesenes (viii. The demoniacs frightened the swine, and the transfer of demons from them to the swine was imagined. 114 We are indebted to Edersheim, who reminds us that the expression demon possession never occurs in the New Testament: The term demoniacal possession occurs not in the New Testament. Matthew 9:2-8 Why was "This man is blaspheming" considered an evil thought without knowing Jesus' identity? man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 'Return home and tell how much God has done for you.' So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus (Luke 8:26-39, NIV) 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. Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. 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. Is it a bug? No matter where you are on life's journey you are welcome here! November 2022 0 Responses Perhaps they clenched their fists or picked up driftwood with which to defend themselves. Renew or manage your subscription here. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. One is to disbelieve in their existence. 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. 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. June 2017 COMMENTARY: Atheism is generally the expression of a moral attitude more than a real intellectual conviction based on evidence thought through. 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. Small sins lead to big sins, and big sins bring about a terrible spiritual darkness. August 2021 Brazilian Charity Caring for Children Who Survived Abortions Issues Urgent Appeal, Memento Mori: Remember You Are Going to Die, The Meat of the Matter: St. Patricks Day and the Lenten Fast. Lets face it, we all like to be in control. Ananias and Sapphira did so by allowing their greed to grip their hearts (cf. Why is Darrow's victory in the Passage taken so personally? Five squad cars converged on it. The difference between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ in Japanese, Is there a solutiuon to add special characters from software and how to do it. Your comment will be posted after it is approved. The Lord, in an act of great mercy, freed the Gadarenes' man by casting the demons out of him and allowing them to enter a nearby herd of pigs. It was opposite Galilee. Jesus asked Mary why she was crying at the grave site. And, yes, Dana did just read us something about a man possessed by a whole bunch of demons that later go and possess a bunch of hogs. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? 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. Smiths Bible Dictionary provides what I find to be a quite plausible explanation (not special pleading at all), and analogous to how we still use place names today: These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. This request was granted and the entire herd rushed headlong to their own destruction. Sproul says in his commentary on Mark, When the Holy One is manifest in the midst of unholy people, the only appropriate human response is dread.. The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Jesus had freed the man and for a reason known only to Himself, He had granted the demons request to go into a nearby herd of pigs rather than go into the Abyss [bottomless pit]. Why are you Afraid? | Mark 4:35 - 5:20 | RayStedman.org 2). How do I connect these two faces together? 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. 16, x. 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. Although it is likely that the larger towns of Galilee were predominantly Gentile, as was the Decapolis, the first-century civilian diet did not . For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 8; Mark vi. August 2017 Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight.". Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). There is no true freedom and fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of men. The Gadarenes' Rejection | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals at 113 According to the Talmud there were four characteristics of madness: walking abroad at night; spending the night on a grave; tearing ones clothes and destroying what one was given. August 2016 The exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac (Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20; Luke 8.26-39), frequently known as the Miracle of the (Gadarene) Swine and the exorcism of Legion, is one of the miracles performed by Jesus according to the New Testament. Thanks for contributing an answer to Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange! Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. We see the first reaction to this in the storm MARK 4:7 And a great windstorm arose [snip]. 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. (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) In Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, b he entered Capernaum. For some people, the cost is too high. Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. Paul says of the former life of the Christian, And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience (Ephesians 1:1-2). It is amazing to think that people could be fearful of Jesus. January 2016 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. And he said to them, Where is your faith? A Lesson From the Gadarenes - Sabbath Thoughts The pigs had been driven mad and rushed down a steep slope plunging into the lake and drowning. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. Mark 3:14). Who do you care more about, people or pigs? 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. It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. The people who witnessed this are . March 2018 Luke 8:26And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. But, the context is not going to be comfortable (accepted by) to some traditional understandings. July 2020 Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. 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. Why did Jesus allow the legion of demons to stay in the area when they begged him? Jesus has lead me away from my old life. (5) What our Lord could have given the people of this territory was much greater than what He took away.

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