Romans 9:19-23). I know that your will for me leads to the most full and fruitful life. How Many Times Did Jesus Go To Gerasenes. 1), and apparently occupied these cities with Jewish patriots. The differing geographical references to Gadara and Gerasa can be understood in light of the social, economic, and political influence each city exerted over the region. Now he knew better. It would be hard to imagine a more horrible state] c and for a long time he had worn no clothes, No men would have written in this manner but those who were acquainted with the facts (1949, p. 91). His soul was clean. 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. [2] It has been a point of contention in discussions of Christianity and animal rights. We owe it to Josephus, from whom it has passed into ecclesiastical language. xii. Archeologists identify it with the modern Jarash. iv. My ways are subtler, and for this reason perhaps even more insidious. The Gospel of Luke's version (Luke 8:2639) is shorter than Mark's, but agrees with most of its details. It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. 3). e.g., Matt. The tomb-man from Gadara looked up at Jesus again. Obviously the writer, Luke, is intending to write a history of Jesus Christ that proves that He . Published We hate SPAM and promise to keep your email address safe. 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. The three passages that describe the incident with the demoniacs in the country of the Gerasenes, also called Gadarenes, are Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, and Luke 8:26-39. Girard notes that, in the demoniac's self-mutilation, he seems to imitate the stoning that the local villagers would likely have attempted to use against him to cast him out of their society, while the villagers themselves show by their reaction to Jesus that they are not primarily concerned with the good of the man possessed by demons: Notice the mimetic character of this behavior. Many ancient tombs are to be seen in the face of the hills. 2. We dismiss it the more readily, that, in our view, it conveys a wrong impression. One problem was this man's racehe was a Gentile, whereas Jesus had been sent to the nation of Israel (cf. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. 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. Immediately, as this weary group disembarked from the ship, they were met by what appeared to be a madman. 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. Peace, like the quiet sea. 40, vii. vi. As these people began to piece together the previous events, not only of the destruction of the pigs, but also the deliverance of Legion, they began to sense that there was One far more awesome, much more to be feared, than Legion. The Synoptic Gospels record one episode of Jesus calming a violent storm: "Then [Jesus] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Traces of ancient buildings in the vicinity show that there must have been a fairly numerous population in the district.2. The demoniacs frightened the swine, and the transfer of demons from them to the swine was imagined. I will not ask him to leave. The story was interpreted by Saints Augustine of Hippo and Thomas Aquinas to mean that Christians have no duties to animals. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, XLIX(4), 567588; Burdon, Christopher. First of all, the EPA would have been investigating the pollution of Lake Galilee with decaying pigs. The precise place where the miracle occurred is not as essential to our understanding of the narrative as is the realization that Christ has control over the spiritual realm (Lenski, 1946, p. 205). Then he notes that he was clothed and in his own mind (Luke 8:35). (BJ, I, iv, 8). 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). The man jumped up and said to him, "Sir, please, may I go with you? ger'-a-sa, ger'-a-senz (Gerasa; Gerasenon): 1. The thought of returning there conjures up fears of our old demons and the people who knew us as we were back then. How Satan blinds our minds! [ a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 0 Responses 8:28, Mark 5:1-2, Luke 8:26-27. 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. Then he put his reassuring hand on the man's shoulder again and said, "Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.". They didn't understand! Can you relate to the people who sent Jesus away? He lived there among the tombs and graves. verse 5). Demons are highly organized (cf. (Jos. They are unclean spirits, (vss. We do not know why they chose to mention only one. Vote Up The Maniac Who Became a Missionary, Part 1. iii. Why was Jesus going to walk past the disciples as they were rowing on the Sea of Galilee? There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. What is this brick with a round back and a stud on the side used for? The Good Shepherd will walk with you and protect you on the darkest road (Psalm 23:4). My office mate of several years back was interrupted by a young and very zealous new Christian teacher accompanied by a student from whom she wanted my friend to cast out a demon. The story of Jesus casting out the demons from a human and into a herd of swine is well-known, but where it happened, and what it means, are more contentious questions and deserve fuller analysis and discussion. The herd, about two thousand in number, rush down the steep bank into the sea and are drowned. The lesson of this passage is that Satan is a defeated foe. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! 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 pig tenders reported it far and wide, in city and country (verse 14). 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. [3], The earliest account, assuming the theory of Marcan priority is correct, is in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 5:120). Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. 5. The next allusion to Gerasa concerns its capture during Vespasians campaign. 4. went through a storm to help one person, that is, the wild man of Gadara. Are we welcoming him into our lives? They were instructed to keep quiet about what Jesus had done for them (cf. If there are two demoniacs, there is certainly at least one; therefore, there is no contradiction. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus among them? 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. The exercising of authority over demons, in the land under another god, was a message. [8] The city of Gerasa had been a major urban center since its founding and during the Roman period it was the more widely known among the ten-city league known as the Decapolis. The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. What happened to the evil spirits Jesus cast out of the man named "Legion" after the swine drowned? In this light, Matthew identified the exorcism with the local center of power, Gadara, located about ten kilometres southeast of Sea of Galilee, whereas Mark identified the event with the regional center of power, Gerasa, located further inland. War I. iv. It was a region of 10 Greco-Roman cities, a Gentile region. The tomb-man had beaten off much larger men in his demonic rages. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. Coffman, James Burton (1975), Commentary on Mark (Abilene, TX: ACU Press). Jesus has lead me away from my old life. 118 H. Even the demons confessed that He was the Son of the Most High (Mark 5:7). The subject of demons and demon possession has always seemed somewhat remote and academic to sophisticated 20th century Americans. The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. 116 As Lane observes this title Son of the Most High God, is not a messianic designation but a divine one. Lane, Mark, p. 133, cf. tar command with and without --absolute-names option. Moreover, this story challenges us to examine our own reaction to Jesus. As to the candidate for the location of the Gospel event, the most common consensus[weaselwords] is that the miracle took place near the town of Gergesa, the modern Kursi, close by the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and therefore in the country of Gergesenes. The Response of the People - Mt. Clarify All Scripture agrees with this, that the judgment of the angels is yet to come (1 Cor. A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. All accounts involve Jesus exorcising demons, identified collectively in Mark and Luke as "Legion". Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. However, the point was clearly made; Jesus, the Son of God, has power over all things, including the powers of darkness. 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. The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. Ptolemy says Gerasa was a city in Coele-Syria, thirty-five travel m. from Pella. 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. 68f. He came into the region in which the two cities were situated, and one evangelist mentioned one, and the other another. Home for him was not a warm place of sentimental memories. It appears that is because the CARM is a nonprofit, non-denominational, multi-staffed Christian Apologetics Ministry that supports evangelism, radio outreach, and provides full-time support for several foreign missionaries. He recognized most of them. When the pigs were sent into the sea, the people of Gadara lost money. 14:13-21. Vote Up That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. War II. That would be a strong message, by allowing them to be possessed and then drowned. 2 And as soon as He got out of the boat, there met Him out of the tombs a man [under the power] of an unclean spirit. 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. He himself earnestly desired to stay with Jesus, knowing that Jesus had saved him an otherwise completely hopeless and unremediable condition. 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? Some were already hurrying back toward the city. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. Unfortunately, like anyone who feels wrongfully yet feasibly accused, the Gerasenes protest violently, they protest their good faith with violence, thereby reinforcing the terror of the possessed. Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. Everyone strained for a look at the tomb-man. It became the seat of a bishopric, and one of its bishops attended the Council of Chalcedon. Why was God angry with Balaam for going with the Moabites. It is ironic that while the demons didnt want to leave the country, the dwellers of that land didnt want the Messiah to stay. Browse other questions tagged, Start here for a quick overview of the site, Detailed answers to any questions you might have, Discuss the workings and policies of this site. Gergesa, Gerasa, or Gadara? 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). Pastor John gets to the heart and offers practical suggestions for growing in evangelism. Perhaps they clenched their fists or picked up driftwood with which to defend themselves. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. Sometime after the Lord Jesus miraculously calmed the storm, the ship landed, perhaps late in the evening,111 on the other side of the lake in the country of the Gerasenes.112 If, indeed, it was late at night, the scene must have been an eerie one, with the nerves of the disciples already worn thin by the terrifying experience of the storm. This is just five miles from Capernaum, where Jesus had previously been, so it makes sense. Where Did Jesus Miracle Occur? In a cemetery on the eastern shore of the lake, He and the twelve meet a wild, dangerous man controlled by a ''legion'' of demons. 606-607. 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. Did they open their hearts to hear the good news of the kingdom of God? I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. 123 1. They were jumping to the wrong conclusions. 115 While Mark and Luke describe only one demoniac, Matthew informs us that there were two. And the people went out to see what happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. In both the accounts of Mark and Luke, the primary motivation is described as that of fear. None of the accounts indicate why Jesus allowed the demons to go into the swine, but certainly it was better that they go into the pigs than into people. There is no conflict, however, for Mark and Luke have apparently focused their attention on the most striking of the two. Jesus' visits to the Decapolis can help us understand some aspects of his ministry that would not be as clear if they had occurred in Jerusalem, Capernaum, or some other "orthodox" Jewish site.
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