February 2015 In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). He obviously attracted crowds. He also maintains a popular Facebook page. "They sailed to the country of the Gerasenes which is opposite Galilee. They are unclean spirits, (vss. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. 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. There is the so-called demon of doubt, of anger, of overindulgence, of drunkenness, laziness and so on. NET Bible Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized with great fear. April 2016 The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. July 2021 and our As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. Preisker, TWNT IV (1942), pp. That the unclean spirits were personal beings is evident from what is related about their leaving a possessed person, talking or crying out, possessing knowledge concerning Jesus, as well as other supernatural knowledgeshowing fear, and the like. EWTN News, Inc. is the worlds largest Catholic news organization, comprised of television, radio, So who was afraid? What purposes did Mark intend to achieve by the inclusion of this event? NEW STAR WARS MERCH PAGE: https://bit.ly/3baWVZv For all sponsorship and business inquiries please contact: thestupendousscrub@gmail.com NEW CHANNEL: https:/. Clarify Another reason they may have been afraid of Jesus was the realization that if they accepted Him, it would mean a radical change of lifestyle. In the third chapter of Marks Gospel, our Lords miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (verse 22). Anonymous, October 25 2014 The fear of the unknown, the uncontrollableof change. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. COMMENTARY: Atheism is generally the expression of a moral attitude more than a real intellectual conviction based on evidence thought through. The Man Jesus Renamed | Reformed Theological Seminary "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. 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. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. Thats just westernised interpretation which simply doesnt work when interpretating a Jewish book. Gergesenes is also in some manuscripts (Khersa or Gersa was a town actually on the shore of the sea). She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary. Many times people - Non-Christians and Christians - push Jesus away because they do not want to change. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. 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! July 2017 January 2016 But, Im telling you. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. Although Gadarenes and Gergesenes are derived from a different Greek word, they are essentially referring to the same area. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.110. I have always wondered what my Christian brothers had to say to the police officers by way of explanation. Only 30 of 175 dioceses ordained an average number of priests at or above replacement level over the five years from 2016 to 2021, according to the report. The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. Will they be condemned like unclean animals? October 2018 ESV - December 2022 The ego is so impaired that the spirits speak through him. The lesson of this passage is that Satan is a defeated foe. There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. With a little knowledge of the geography of the region, this apparent contradiction can be resolved. Who do you care more about, people or pigs? The people (nations) were divided up, and boundaries allocated' and the sons of god were put over these nations. September 2016 She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. (it should be added that Plummer himelf does not hold to any of these views.). Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. July 2018 The nearby townspeople, upon hearing of the great miracle (and not wanting to suffer further economic loss), begged Christ to leave the Gadarenes and never come back! 9. The Gerasene Demoniac (Mark 5:1-20) | Bible.org EIN 27-4581132 Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Jesus asked a sick man if he wanted to get well. January 2021 Train crash in Greece: 43 dead, stationmaster arrested. Live updates. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? And, lastly, this would allow sufficient time for those miracles which took place on that second day in Capernaum after His return thither. For more information about Glenn Davis see our About Glenn page and/or his Author's Page. Jesus has lead me away from my old life. . 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 both the accounts of Mark and Luke, the primary motivation is described as that of fear. It was significant. It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. In fact the region was known as the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. As the servant of Elisha was told, Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them (2 Kings 6:16). Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. 26). This suggests that whoever was the customer for the swineherder in the "region of the Gerasenes", it was not the Roman army to any significant extent. Rev. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. Mark 5:1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? It is ironic that while the demons didnt want to leave the country, the dwellers of that land didnt want the Messiah to stay. Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. In Jewish thinking, spirit beings were assigned to certain geographical territories.120. Some today have given demons far more than their due by blaming demons for every malady of mankind. A Summary and Analysis of Jesus and the Gadarene Swine 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. Why is that. Luke 8:25 "Where is your faith?" He asked. Frightened and amazed, they The people were more terrified of Jesus and His authority than they were of this crazed and demonized man living among the tombs. Others cited unfaithfulness, lack of seriousness, and the lack of confidence to sustain a relationship. 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. 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. The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight.". But the city of Gadara owned some territory round about Khersa, so that the district and the pigs could properly also be called Gadarene. F. F. Bruce, Are the New Testament Documents Reliable? By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. September 2020 Author of The Gnostic Notebook series, stand-up comedian, and Gnostic. First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. They had heard what had happened to the pigs and knew the Jews considered Gentiles unclean, too. 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. People who have no appr "I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don't think he likes me. and thank you for your contribution. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. March 2021 Also, the wholesale slaughter of these pigs dramatically illustrated the destructive purposes of the demons. His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby. Why did the demons ask to be cast into the herd of pigs, and why did the pigs then run into the water to be drowned? So he got into the boat and left., Luke 8:37, NIV, great fear [KJV] thoroughly frightened [Phillips]gripped with great fear [NASB]. When Jesus and his disciples come to the mostly-Gentile region of the Gerasenes, they are met by a man whose life has been destroyed by demonic infestation. Jesus had just performed an incredible miracleand one they desperately needed, at that! No matter where you are on life's journey. The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. 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. Another reason could be as Dr. R.C. The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. xx. Why are you Afraid? | Mark 4:35 - 5:20 | RayStedman.org Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. The whole story is a myth. If they dare to open up their lives to Jesus what will happen? Luke 8 Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant. 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. Satan loves those Christians. So they refer to Gerasenes. The expression to be with Jesus is used particularly of His disciples (cf. Why would Jesus ask, "Who touched Me?" This would also give time afterwards for the dispersion, not only into the city, but into the country of them who had fed the swine. But, the context is not going to be comfortable (accepted by) to some traditional understandings. They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. So, they asked Him to leave. Like it or not, demons and demonic activity are likely to become much more of a concern to you in days to come. 122 Quoted by Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to Saint Luke, (Edinburg: T. and T. Clark, 5th ed., 1969): p. 228. You can like Jesus for two different reasons. 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. The subject of demons and demon possession has always seemed somewhat remote and academic to sophisticated 20th century Americans. Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. What did Jesus do? . The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave. Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. The pigs had been driven mad and rushed down a steep slope plunging into the lake and drowning. And, it can not be understood properly out of this context. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. Known as the Judas Iscariot of Gnosticism for revealing that which is not to be revealed. 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. April 2018 So much pain, so much sin. 34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country.