I used to want the longest life, perfect health and happiness, but really it is that feeling that I am so glad that this isnt all there is and that we have heaven to wait for, and that well be with Jesus, and there will be no more tears Amber VanVickle (1982-2023), The headquarters of the charity, which serves as a consecrated family to 46 disabled children, were badly damaged in major flooding near Rio de Janeiro last year. (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. 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. of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were So he got into the boat and left. 4. 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. May 2015 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? The whole story is a myth. In recent years the matter has been getting uncomfortably close to home. February 2016 2). 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). Jesus asked some crazy questions like "Why are you afraid?" Jesus had simply sailed across the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes. Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30), or to be the pawns of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2). Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). You will receive a monthly newsletter with Scriptural teaching plus notifications of any new articles, courses or books. Until we decide on a new comic, you'll likely see a gray box where "Dilbert" had appeared. May 2022 Like it or not, demons and demonic activity are likely to become much more of a concern to you in days to come. No! Jesus showed to the local population the inferiority of pagan life. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Does a barbarian benefit from the fast movement ability while wearing medium armor? 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! xvii. The choice is to be free by submission to Christ (cf. 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. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. And the people there were scared, they recognised this, but more, they realised the significance of this. The people (nations) were divided up, and boundaries allocated' and the sons of god were put over these nations. Lane believes the modern Kersa is the most likely place: The point of arrival is indicated in a general way as the district of the Gerasenes, most probably in reference to a town whose name is preserved in the modern Kersa or Koursi. Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. Textual variations have compounded the problem. Those possessed are depicted throughout as unfortunate sufferers who by no fault of their own are dominated by evil spirits and who, when the spirits are cast out by Jesus, accept their deliverance with joy and gratitude (Mark v. 18-20, Luke viii. Privacy Policy. We see the first reaction to this in the storm MARK 4:7 And a great windstorm arose [snip]. SubscribeStart your Register subscription today. Crazy question or.? The confrontation between the powers of heaven and hell are nowhere seen in better perspective than in Marks account of the encounter of the Gerasene demoniac with our Lord Jesus Christ. Many times people - Non-Christians and Christians - push Jesus away because they do not want to change. Was it fear that a secret sin might be exposed? July 2020 Why would the Gerasene people beg Jesus to leave their region after He cast the demons into the pigs? In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? Pope Francis Inexhaustible Font of Words: 10 Gems From the Heart Over 10 Years, Pope Francis, Biden Commend Peacemaker Bishop OConnell as Memorial Services Begin. However, the point was clearly made; Jesus, the Son of God, has power over all things, including the powers of darkness. What they were not willing to accept was the frightening power that could cure him. Where did the demons go after they went into the pigs and caused them to jump to their death. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. So, they asked Him to leave. We dismiss it the more readily, that, in our view, it conveys a wrong impression. Acts 19:16). They likely were Gentiles and had been under the influence of the demonic principality of the region their whole life. December 2016 Second, while the death of the pigs is clearly an economic loss for the owner, Jesus is illustrating the infinite value of human life. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. They valued their pigs more than they valued salvation. 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. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). December 2022 Jesus had actually helped them. July 2015 Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. To understand this event, you need consider the incident at Babel, and Deuteronomy. Matthew is habitually more oriented to a Jewish readership, and so he refers to Gadarenes because Gadara was the most important Jewish city in the area. 13ff.). There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. The before and after descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. This name (Strong's #G3003) is a reference to a Roman military regiment that varied in soldier strength from 4,000 to 6,000. 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. March 2017 The commission of our Lord is considerably different from His instructions to the Israelites whom He had delivered. 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. The demonically possessed man who came to Jesus cried out his name was Legion. Luke 8:26And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. For more information, please see our In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. Confusion, fear in moments after crash "There were many big pieces of steel," said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. This was surely not so in every case, and perhaps in none. Christians are to be the answer, but often they are part of the problem. 22ff. Jesus did say to count the cost [Luke 14:28-33]. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. The pig shepherds had gone and spread the news of what had happened all around. 17, pp. Smiths Bible Dictionary provides what I find to be a quite plausible explanation (not special pleading at all), and analogous to how we still use place names today: These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. Well, it is because atheists, in their zealous rush to make fun of Christians, Christianity, and the Bible, start to lose their logical rigor and rationality, leading them to contend for implausible things: as presently. 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, b he entered Capernaum. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. June 2021 All of this sure seems perfectly consistent with calling the same area the country (chra) of either the Gerasenes or the Gadarenes, after the two major cities. The people were gentiles who had not yet any interest in the Messiah. August 2017 Brazilian Charity Caring for Children Who Survived Abortions Issues Urgent Appeal, Memento Mori: Remember You Are Going to Die, The Meat of the Matter: St. Patricks Day and the Lenten Fast. "I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don't think he likes me. A word of clarification is in order here for we must recognize that in this account the dark side of Satan is exposed, but this is perhaps the more unusual side of Satan. Thus, it is not always used of one specific country (nation), but rather, usually to regions or areas of either small (Bethlehem) or large (Judaea and Samaria) size, including regions surrounding large cities. If an Israelite, why was he in Gerasene in the first place and why was he living so near a large herd of swine? Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized . in 1971. But then also Christ will triumph, and finally put an end to the evil one and all his powers of darkness (Rev. Have you even been in a service where the Spirit of God was moving and felt fear? It might be better to hide behind masks than risk being hurt again After all, if God rejects youwhere else can you go? 120 The request is in both cases the same; for, according to Jewish notions, certain countries being assigned to evil as well as to good spirits, whose limits they were unable to overpass, to be sent out of their own country, no other being open to them, implied being sent into the abyss, or bottomless pit, since that remains for them alone. Trench, Miracles , p. 101. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. 34When the swineherds saw what had happened, they ran off and told it in the city and in the country. 1) He Exposes Evil (v 28-30) . Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. Renew or manage your subscription here. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. Pastor Chrissy is a native of East Tennessee. They came face-to-face with the Son of God, the Being with the power to change their world forever, and they said, "Please leave." Why? When our Lord confronted the demons, they had to submit to His power and authority. Not long after that, while I was still a student in seminary, there was a car parked by the seminary in a somewhat suspicious manner and I called the police to check it out. The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. There is the so-called demon of doubt, of anger, of overindulgence, of drunkenness, laziness and so on. Other demoniacs described in Scripture were bent on self-destruction as well (cf. Why would Jesus ask, "Who touched Me?" The second question is an ethical one: What right had the Lord to inflict this loss on the owners of the swine?121 Put even more crassly, Huxley censored this act with these words: the wanton destruction of other peoples property is a misdemeanour of evil example.122. 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). 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. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. 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. The religious rulers hated Jesus for exposing their hypocrisy and feared the consequences His actions might have with Rome, but they were not afraid of Jesus as a Person. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear (Luke 8:35-37). We owe it to Josephus, from whom it has passed into ecclesiastical language. 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?" . February 2015 If he was a pagan, why did Jesus cast out his demons? In the form of tongues as of fire, the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself. (CCC 696). The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. September 2020 Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. e.g., Matt. 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. especially fn. December 2015 March 2020 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. or school. The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. April 2017 These people did not want to change. It is not difficult to imagine what was going through the minds of the disciples as their ship landed and as these two demon possessed men rushed to them. The city of Gadara and its surrounding area are referred to as the Gadarenes. Why do people like Jesus a lot? . If it is a feminine spirit, the voice will be a feminine one, if masculine then very manly. Known as the Judas Iscariot of Gnosticism for revealing that which is not to be revealed. Will they be condemned like unclean animals? 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. January 2018 ), you also need to understand the significance of this - to the people in Gerasene. Demons are highly organized (cf. French Monastery Survives War and Famine After 885 Years, the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan, and More Great Links! The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. The Gadarenes was the place where Jesus confronted a man whose possession by demons gave him a level of superhuman strength like Samson (Mark 5:3 - 5, Luke 8:27). Create your own unique website with customizable templates. Why was Jesus going to walk past the disciples as they were rowing on the Sea of Galilee? 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. 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. Five squad cars converged on it. Yet, conversely, the known can be just as scaryif not more. Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant. I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. Note: 'had the legion', i.e., the many unclean spirits inhabiting him. He said unexpected things and lived by a high ethical standard. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. 10). That would be a strong message, by allowing them to be possessed and then drowned. Horoscopes and astrological predictions are found in most major newspapers. As always, we must begin with the principle: Interpretation is one, application is many. rev2023.3.3.43278. Gerasenes could have had a sense of reference to the entire region (as well as to a city: just as New Yorker can refer to the state or city), and Gadarenes likely was a reference to the most prominent city of the region at the time. Although Gadarenes and Gergesenes are derived from a different Greek word, they are essentially referring to the same area. iv. 124 Augustine: The devils were driven out and permitted to go into the swine; and Aquinas: But that the swine were driven into the sea was no work of the divine miracle, but was the work of the devils by divine permission. Quoted by Trench, Miracles, fn. First of all, the EPA would have been investigating the pollution of Lake Galilee with decaying pigs.