Sometimes to follow Jesus means being sent back to a place where we once knew desolation and indescribable pain. Spam, July 19 2021 Generic Doubly-Linked-Lists C implementation, Understanding the probability of measurement w.r.t. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). The Good Shepherd will walk with you and protect you on the darkest road (Psalm 23:4). This is probably the Gerasa of Mark and Luke. 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. This fact probably accounts for the presence of a large herd of swine near Gadara when Jesus visited that region to heal the demon-possessed men (Matthew 8:30-33; Mark 5:1-17). How Satan blinds our minds! 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. It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. Matt. It was besieged by Baldwin II, in 1121 A.D. Matt 8:28). While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. First let us see what the Sacred Texts says: The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. Clarify 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 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. It was like being attacked by two Hulks. They probably thought of quickly getting aboard ship and pushing off. They asked Jesus to leave that place. New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Gerasa, Gerasenes. But the most strangely wonderful thing of all was his sense of cleanness. Its architecture was of the Corinthian order, quite lavish and imposing, with columns from three to four ft. in diameter and about thirty ft. high. The tomb-man felt confusion and grief. [6], The location is also changed to the region of the "Gadarenes" (Gadara) as in most Bible translations. The Roman city Gerasa was a famous city that would have been familiar to a Gentile audience, but Gadara, as the capital city of the Roman province of Perea, was the chief of the ten cities in Decapolis (Lenski, 1946, p. 205; Coffman, 1975, p. 85; Youngblood, 1995, p. 468), so even those who lived in Gerasa could have been called Gadarenes. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). The words "return to your home" must have made this man's heart sink. In this immediate area, steep hills come down to the shoreline and fit the story of the swine rushing headlong into the sea. With your gift of any size, youll enable us to continue equipping Christians with high-quality biblically-based content. This condition is fulfilled only by the district immediately South of Wady Semak, North of Qal `at el-Chucn. Pigs were specifically set aside as the animal used in sacrifices to their god. 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. But sometimes, like the man in Luke 8:26-39, the more difficult call is to go back home. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. 1 Response 2,8) who can possess men and animals. Gadara). city in Pal. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. It was, in fact, his demons that had recognized Jesus. 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. 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. The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. The entrance of the term into colloquial speech indicates that the Roman occupation was a heavy burden. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus among them? "[15], The story is the origin of the English proverbial adjective Gadarene, meaning "involving or engaged in a headlong or potentially disastrous rush to do something".[16]. 4, p. 180. 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. 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, Demoniacs, and Public Authorities: A Socio-Historical Study. 3). Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. The Cross And Our Response to Trials (1 Peter 4:12-19), 8. What does it mean that the name of the demon was Legion? Our children would probably understand best if I said that his appearance must have been somewhat like that of the television creation, The Incredible Hulk. We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) is there such a thing as "right to be heard"? in 1971. We don't want any more trouble here!" The Gospel of Luke's version (Luke 8:2639) is shorter than Mark's, but agrees with most of its details. Textual variations have compounded the problem. Then any greatest of men, like any prophet, hero or king? 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. To the Other Side: Construction of Evil and Fear of Liberation in Mark 5.120., 164165. 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. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. 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. Youngblood, Ronald F., ed. For less than $5/mo. This agrees with the general description of the site (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26). Are we welcoming him into our lives? The ruins are wide and imposing and are better preserved than any others on the East of Jordan. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one . 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. 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. The longest and nearly detailed account of Jesus and the Gadarene swine is plant in the . These ruins date from the 2nd to the 7th centuries and show that the city flourished during this period as a center for religion, culture, and commerce. 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 exercising of authority over demons, in the land under another god, was a message. It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lords disciples.125. It only takes a minute to sign up. A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. Now he knew better. If they would just listen to what he had to say. There is the so-called demon of doubt, of anger, of overindulgence, of drunkenness, laziness and so on. 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. The triumphal arch to the South of the city is almost entire. Jesus' power was clean, holy. The forum, with a semicircle of columns still standing, was paved with large cut stones. The Greek word commonly accepted in Mark 5:1 and Luke 8:26 as the basis for the name of the people who inhabited the place where Jesus and the disciples went is rendered Gerasenes in English (Metzger, 1975, pp. Says he is "the bread of life"; many are stumbled and leave 6:22-71. Their mitigated violence is an ineffective protest. 5 1-5 They arrived on the other side of the sea in the country of the Gerasenes. As soon as Jesus disembarked from the boat that carried him here, a man possessed by demons approached, shrieking and falling before him. Because some confusion exists in the gospel MS evidence and perhaps in other source material, absolute certainty cannot be attained; but the following identification seems correct. Start for FREE. 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). A land that was essentially under another god (lower case g). These, however, are not the problem raised by Bible students. The disciples went and woke him, saying, 'Lord, save us! As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. 36 Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. (2) Anti-social behavior. Did the scribes realize that God gave Jesus the authority in Mark 11:33? Did they open their hearts to hear the good news of the kingdom of God? Therefore, Jesus Christ for demons is God and thus even demons inadvertently reveal themselves as being better theologians than Arians and their modern day heirs - Jehovawitnesians and all different breeds of Unitarians - their name being legion! The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. 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. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.126.
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