They were sacrificed by being thrown off a cliff. Clarify That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. Now they were delivered and ready to be productive members of society. Some today have given demons far more than their due by blaming demons for every malady of mankind. Was it fear that a secret sin might be exposed? 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. Small sins lead to big sins, and big sins bring about a terrible spiritual darkness. ii. The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. Like children convinced there are monsters under our beds, the unknown scares us. 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. 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. 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). 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. Why is this even an issue, I wonder? 2). To date they have failed to respond in any way. They are unclean spirits, (vss. Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. So he got into a boat and returned. November 2016 2ff., xvv. This was surely not so in every case, and perhaps in none. They all say country of (in the sense of region, not nation). Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? (3) Spiritual insight. It is something like the behavior and personality change in a man who is totally intoxicated. 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?" . . (5) Torment. 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. September 2018 The region is located east of the Jordan River and southeast of the Sea of Galilee. March 2018 No one was strong enough to subdue him (verses 3,4). September 2020 Textual variations have compounded the problem. Rev. December 2017 (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. 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. 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. (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. 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. June 2021 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. Why would God tell King David to take a census of the people in verses one through nine, and then cast judgment on him because he did what he told him to do? e.g., Matt. In any event, they were not Israelites, as indicated by the fact that a herd of swine was being kept nearby, which would have been forbidden by the Mosaic Law, since swine were unclean animals (Leviticus 11:7-8). Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. monetization of National Catholic Register RSS feeds is strictly prohibited. January 2022 Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. Swine were unclean animals according to the Torah. His website/blog, Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, has been online since March 1997. "The name "Gerasenes" is to be associated with the modern city of Jerash, located in Transjordan, 22 miles N of Amman." John McRay, "Gerasenes," ed. Jesus had simply sailed across the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes. In all three instances the word is chra (Strongs word #5561). The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. 5:5). Mark 9:17-29). The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. If it is a feminine spirit, the voice will be a feminine one, if masculine then very manly. Why is that. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). The people were gentiles who had not yet any interest in the Messiah. Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac - Wikipedia No matter where you are on life's journey. No matter what men attempted to bind him with, he broke loose. It was not the loss of their property or investment that caused them to be afraid of Jesus. 21,22). 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). A friend of mine told me later that two students were attempting to cast a demon out of a fellow. Its important to note that this was the first demonstration of Jesuss authority outside of Canaan. 31. The Demonized Man of the Garasenes (Luke 8:26-39) - JesusWalk 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. When once he was an instrument of Satanic opposition against the Messiah, now he is a witness to His power. What did we miss because we allowed fear instead of faith to drive our lives? For example, He didnt condemn a prostitute for her actions, He saw a daughter of God who was valuable beyond measure and only needed genuine love and forgiveness. Demon-possession is, therefore, not merely a mental state in which someone suffers from a delusion or is subjected to some subjective disturbance of the world of ideas. Matt. May 2015 05 /5 Another theory. November 2020 In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). July 2020 Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. November 2021 February 2015 When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. 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. This was a region east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. If an Israelite, why was he in Gerasene in the first place and why was he living so near a large herd of swine? For those who are shaken like leaves in the wind at the mention of demons, let us remember from this story that demons cannot even possess pigs without prior permission from our Lord. 5. December 2021 Why would the Gerasene people beg Jesus to leave their region - EBible Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? Some appeared not to be oppressed by them so much as exploiting their powers (cf. It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. Bible-believing Christians have always accepted the fact of demons and their activity in New Testament times, but most of us are inclined to relegate demonic activity in these days to pagan lands and missionary experiences. But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. COMMENTARY: Atheism is generally the expression of a moral attitude more than a real intellectual conviction based on evidence thought through. The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. 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? Why ChatGPT should be considered a malevolent AI - and be destroyed The first two are in the Authorized Version. The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. Holy Communion From the Chalice Reintroduced in the UK: What About the US? 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. Romans 9:19-23). Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, Highlights in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ. 16, x. (3) Our Lord was moved with compassion by the torment of Legion and the loss of these pigs should in no way dim our view of the deliverance of the demoniac. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. . Why Darth Sidious Was AFRAID of General Grievous - YouTube No! Jesus had been performing miracles in Gods nation - Israel. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). The commission of our Lord is considerably different from His instructions to the Israelites whom He had delivered. Jesus asked a sick man if he wanted to get well. For many Christians today, the horrifying experience of Legion should be sufficient testimony of the reality of the Satanic underworld. xiii. SubscribeStart your Register subscription today. Jesus showed to the local population the inferiority of pagan life. August 2018 Oh Hye-son recently published a Korean-language memoir on how she and her husband Thae Yong-ho, then deputy ambassador at North Korea's London embassy, defected in 2016. "I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don't think he likes me. And, Gerasene was one. Acts 19:16). Have you even been in a service where the Spirit of God was moving and felt fear? 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. Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than the Gergesenes. On the other hand, it may be correct to understand that although there were many demons, they had combined as one force to possess this man.119 While Mark records Legions request as one of not being sent out of the country (verse 10), Luke adds a significant explanation by interpreting the meaning behind this request: And they were entreating Him not to command them to depart into the abyss (Luke 8:31). Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave. October 2020 Gergesa, also Gergasa ( in Byzantine greek) or the Country of the Gergesenes, is a place on the eastern ( Golan Heights) side of the Sea of Galilee located at some distance to the ancient Decapolis cities of Gadara and Gerasa. April 2015 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. Why did the demon-possessed Gadarene bow down before Jesus? Significantly, the demons are called unclean spirits (verse 2,9). They were among North Korea's elite, but they fled anyway. Here's why in 1971. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. . 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. In Acts 8:1 we have the regions of Judaea and Samaria (KJV), and in Acts 16:6, Galatia alone. 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. 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.
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