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! Contrasting the self-destruction of the herd of pigs with the typical motif of an individual evil-doer being pushed over a cliff by an undifferentiated mob (cf. The NT references (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26; cf. At Luke 8:27, the gospel writer notes that the demoniac wore no clothes. (1946), The Interpretation of St. Marks Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg). The textual evidence shows that the MSS preserve three variant spellings of the name in each gospel. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. 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. xviii. The truth is that I am both drawn to you because of this and also a bit scared. Are we welcoming him into our lives? Why do you think they were unwilling to engage with him? [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. 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 motioned to Peter to ready the boat. Cindee Snider Re There is no conflict, however, for Mark and Luke have apparently focused their attention on the most striking of the two. 40, vii. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! Lucius Annius, at the instance of Vespasian, sacked and burned the city, with much slaughter (BJ, IV, ix, 1). 4, p. 180. This supposition would be further confirmed, if the evening when Jesus embarked was what the Jews were wont to call the first evening, that is, the time when the sun was declining in the heaven, but before it had actually set, the latter time being the second evening. For it seems most unlikely that multitudes would have resorted to Jesus at Capernaum after the second evening, or that either the disciples or other boats would have put to sea after nightfall. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. 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. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. And, it can not be understood properly out of this context. Jesus Heals Two Gergesene Demoniacs. - Bible Study Tools 5:2-3? Used with Permission. 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. He could think! That would be a strong message, by allowing them to be possessed and then drowned. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. (2) Pork was a food forbidden to Jews, and as such, those who raised these pigs may have done so knowingly in violation of divine injunction. Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. He could just as easily commanded them to return to the deepest, darkest pit of Hell. Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. Romans 9:19-23). People try to make Jesus king; he walks on sea; heals many. 2. density matrix. Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. Gerasa. Barnes, Albert (1949), Notes on the New Testament: Matthew and Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker). 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. They greatly desire to enter and control a physical body, whereby they may reflect their character and attributes. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one . xii. The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. Asked December 18 2016 Jesus, Demoniacs, and Public Authorities: A Socio-Historical Study. And, Gerasene was one. Its important to note that this was the first demonstration of Jesuss authority outside of Canaan. The demoniacs were mere maniacs, whom Jesus cured by humouring their fancies; and His giving leave to imaginary demons to enter into the swine, produced the story of the disaster to the herd.All these explanations assume that the Gospel narratives are wholly or in part unhistorical. Plummer, Luke, p. 228. They valued their pigs more than they valued salvation. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today. The story appears in the three Synoptic Gospels, but not the Gospel of John. First, the man is hunted, then stoned, and finally he is killed; this is why the possessed lived among the tombs. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Exorcism_of_the_Gerasene_demoniac&oldid=1143355181, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019, All articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases, Articles with specifically marked weasel-worded phrases from March 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 7 March 2023, at 07:06. Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. conquest of Syria in 65 b.c. There is no true freedom and fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of men. [11] Further possible echoes include Isaiah 65:4 with parallels to both graves and swine:[12]. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. 8:28, Mark 5:1-2, Luke 8:26-27. Youngblood, Ronald F., ed. The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. Although demon-possession after that time no longer occurs on such a devastating and noticeable scale, the absolute form of demon-possession will appear at the end of the age in the Antichrist and in his followers (2 Thess. It is almost 20 miles from Amman (Philadelphia), and 22 from Fahil (Pella). When addressed, the person was the mouthpiece of the demon (such as Legion, Mark 5:9). Clarify A contradiction occurs only when one statement makes the other impossible. The Madman. Here the slopes descend swiftly almost into the sea, and animals, once started on the downward run, could not avoid plunging into the depths. Archeology. But Jesus was sleeping. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. The pagan religions continued among the Gentile population as is evidenced by the ruins of the temple of Artemis. [5] In this version, Jesus does not ask for the demon's name, which is considered an important element of traditional exorcism practice. 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. 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. Spam, July 19 2021 It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. The Synoptic Gospels record one episode of Jesus calming a violent storm: "Then [Jesus] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. An inscr. Hence there was demon-worship, the worship not necessarily of evil spirits; but of the spirits of those who had existed in the Golden Age. G. Campbell Morgan, The Gospel According to Mark (New York: Fleming H. Revell, 1927), p. 114. It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lords disciples.125. Whatever witchcraft Jesus possessed, they wanted it far away from them. No other place on the E side of the sea fits this requirement of the story. 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. Contributors: Mark D. Roberts Published by The High Calling, March 11, 2011. This request was granted and the entire herd rushed headlong to their own destruction. 5 1-5 They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). 123 1. No, on the contrary, they begged Jesus to go away and leave them alone, for a great wave of fear swept over them (8:37). Let's open our Bibles to the 8th chapter of Luke's gospel. Thats why also Peter having realized who Christ was, was dreaded and asked Him to leave him for he said to be a sinful man (Luke 5:8). No one was strong enough to subdue him (verses 3,4). 28); Mark the country of the Gerasenes (v. 1), and Luke, probably, the country of the Gergesenes (viii. 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. 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. What is this brick with a round back and a stud on the side used for? 8; Mark vi. Jerash, ancient Gerasa For the Christian, there are two extremes which must be avoided with reference to Satanic activity. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. You could hear alarm in their voices. He wasn't very big. 16, x. The modern village Jarash is situated on the hillside above the ruins, built with stones from the ruins. 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. You should not suggest in any way that The High Calling or Theology of Work endorses you or your use of the work. 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. 1), and apparently occupied these cities with Jewish patriots. 1. Learn more about these miraculous stories found in the Bible. Thank you for setting the demoniac free. 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. In this immediate area, steep hills come down to the shoreline and fit the story of the swine rushing headlong into the sea. 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. It was a leading city of Syria in commerce, culture, and religion. Country of the Gerasenes:The town itself is not named in Scripture, and is referred to only in the expression, "country of the Gerasenes" (Mark 5:1 Luke 8:26, 37; see Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in Greek, Appendix, 11). [3] However, other commentators have attempted to make the story consistent with a Jesus who shows "care and concern for animals," as John Austin Baker wrote. 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? In contrast, the people of Gerasene are asking him to leave their place. Swine were unclean animals according to the Torah. Rev. 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. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. War IV. went through a storm to help one person, that is, the wild man of Gadara. v. 37) describe Jesus' healing of the demoniac "Legion" and . The lesson of this passage is that Satan is a defeated foe. The crowd's murmuring crescendoed into anxious pleas: "Please leave! The best text in Matthew reads Gadarenes, in Mark and Luke it reads Gerasenes, whereas some MSS preserve Gergesenes and Gergustenes (cf. McClintock, John and James Strong (1969 reprint), Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker). This was surely not so in every case, and perhaps in none. Even the demons confessed that He was the Son of the Most High (Mark 5:7). 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. He himself earnestly desired to stay with Jesus, knowing that Jesus had saved him an otherwise completely hopeless and unremediable condition. Their answer is: 'No, we do not want to stone you because we want to keep you near us. 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. As has been said before, look for Satans man behind the pulpit. Now he knew better. 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. With these, however, the Gerasenes dealt mercifully, letting such as wished go free, and escorting them to the border (BJ, II, xviii, 1, 5). Other demoniacs described in Scripture were bent on self-destruction as well (cf. These, however, are not the problem raised by Bible students. e.g., Matt. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. The entrance of the term into colloquial speech indicates that the Roman occupation was a heavy burden. 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. 2,8) who can possess men and animals. 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. A main street with columns on both sides leads out of the forum. 5. The ruins are wide and imposing and are better preserved than any others on the East of Jordan. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. 4. Jesus at the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum (Chart and Map - English 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. The possessed pigs plunged down a hillside into the lake, where they drowned. Be my Lord! War I. iv. Jesus is conscious that He now breaks the power of the devil and his angels because He is the One in whom the dominion of God is present on behalf of humanity. W. Foerster, as quoted by Lane, Mark, fn. HDB, II, p. 158, 159 for a detailed description.). In this instance, each writer intended to draw attention to an area close to the Sea of Galilee. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. It is a violent tempest, that is, outside of the natural. Are there things that perplex you? William of Tyre calls the city Jarras, and places it 16 miles East of Jordan (Hist, xii, 16). The Gerasenes must have had some understanding of why they are reproached or they would not respond as they do. They are unclean spirits, (vss. Will a professing Christian go to hell if he never shares the gospel? 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). It shows that the writers had not agreed to impose on the world; for if they had, they would have mentioned the same city; and it shows, also, they were familiar with the country. [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. GERASA, GERASENES (, ). Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. At this distance from the Sea of Galilee, Gerasa could not have been the site of the healing of Legion. It is doubtful that Jesus ever visited it. Nevertheless, for consideration. Where Did Jesus Miracle Occur? Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! Matt 10:5-6; 15:24). The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. The triumphal arch to the South of the city is almost entire. From this it is clear that demon-possession is a phenomenon which occurred almost exclusively, but then to be sure on an amazing scale, during Jesus appearance on earth and to a lesser extent during the activity of the apostles. The Greeks were believers in the spirit world, but not necessarily convinced that demons were evil.127 As a result, Marks readers needed to be instructed as to the essential nature of demons and demon possession. In the King James Version it is called the country of the Gadarenes in Mark and Luke, and of the Gergesenes in Matthew. But it was there that the grace of God in his life would shine the brightest. What scares you away from being fully sold-out as a disciple of Jesus? Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. Pliny described it as a city of the Decapolis founded after the Rom. 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. Excavations at the modern Jarash (by the British and American Schools of Oriental Research and Yale University) clearly show that Gerasa was a large and important city already in Jesus time.
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