He said he had come to the house of Israel, not to the gentiles. monetization of National Catholic Register RSS feeds is strictly prohibited. The best known Gerasa was a Greek city nearly forty miles southeast of the lake (modern village of Khersa, on the east shore of the lake. The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. 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. The particular focus of this mans testimony was the Decapolis region. September 2021 In recent years the matter has been getting uncomfortably close to home. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! 7 After he had finished all his sayings in the hearing of the people, b he entered Capernaum. 114 We are indebted to Edersheim, who reminds us that the expression demon possession never occurs in the New Testament: The term demoniacal possession occurs not in the New Testament. Daniel 10:13; Ephesians 6:12), whose leader and prince is Satan (Matthew 12:24). It was significant. Here is one of the few times that a miracle drove people away, rather than to draw them to Jesus. August 2016 There is, as we know, the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Lets learn why. And when the man spoke to Jesus, it looks like the demons inside the man were the ones doing the speaking. Pastor Chrissy is a native of East Tennessee. The time of this event was before Jesus' crucifixion, and before the gentiles were grafted in to the promise (Acts 10). At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. Second, while the death of the pigs is clearly an economic loss for the owner, Jesus is illustrating the infinite value of human life. 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. 4, p. 180. In the wake of new restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass, two American bishops spoke with EWTNs Raymond Arroyo Thursday about how their dioceses have responded. Into the country of the Gadarenes, or rather, Gera-senes, which is now generally admitted to be the true reading, from Gerasa, Gersa, or Kersa.There was another Gerasa, situated at some distance from the sea, on the borders of Arabia Petraea. 68f. Although God's word does not name which cities were considered part of this region, Pliny's Natural History (c. 77 A.D.) lists these cities as Gerasa, Scythopolis, Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Philadelphia, Capitolias (Dion), Canatha, Raphana and Damascus. When the townspeople arrived on the scene, they saw the formerly demon-possessed men, clothed, in their right mind and sitting at the feet of Jesus. Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. Until we decide on a new comic, you'll likely see a gray box where "Dilbert" had appeared. I was in a dialogue with an atheist regarding what he believes is one of many so-called biblical contradictions. Odd guy that I am, I actually find this sort of thing fun. Most people confessed to having the fear of things not working out, an inability to trust and others said they . 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. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. July 2017 or school. There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. It is a violent tempest, that is, outside of the natural. Series NotesScripture references are based on the King James translation. Others are absolutely controlled (hooked) by the drug and totally dependent upon it. The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. especially fn. 1, pp. August 2015 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. Subscriber Service CenterAlready a subscriber? In Jewish thinking, spirit beings were assigned to certain geographical territories.120. Just imagine, a man in a cinema, having bought popcorn and cola and watching an action movie, with a lot of violence and harsh language in it, and then he sees suddenly that a saintly bishop is sitting just next to his seat, not watching the movie, but reading silently psalms with a countenance radiating a deep contemplation; will not the first man be upset and lose all pleasure of watching the movie? January 2018 February 2015 Ouija boards are found in many American homes. Their influence and control leads to untold agony and destruction. More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. Finally, there is in demon possession a counterpart to the filling (or control) of the Holy Spirit. The presence of holiness and, moreover, the most intense divine holiness is undesirable; I mean, unless you are an angel or a saintly recluse in his ascetic toils in a cave or a top of a pillar. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. Fear that you might do something that would embarrass you? Jesus never interacted with people as they were, but as He knew they were created to be. The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. Renew or manage your subscription here. 14). 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. How much more sinful than Peter were the Geraseneans, who because of love of money did not shun even to engage in a non-Jew business of herding swine; how much more unbearable and dreadful must have been for them the Lords presence! Then any greatest of men, like any prophet, hero or king? March 2018 to men facing fear and death. In the past several weeks, there has come to light the case of a man arrested for various crimes who has several of the symptoms of demon possession, including multiple personalities, even multiple IQs. "They sailed to the country of the Gerasenes which is opposite Galilee. 0 Responses 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. Nevertheless, for consideration. 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. December 2015 He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. The people were more terrified of Jesus and His authority than they were of this crazed and demonized man living among the tombs. (2) Anti-social behavior. 14ff. Jesus is conscious that He now breaks the power of the devil and his angels because He is the One in whom the dominion of God is present on behalf of humanity. W. Foerster, as quoted by Lane, Mark, fn. Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. That is why the inhabitants of the area are referred to variously in different Bible manuscripts as Gergasenes, Gadarenes, or Gerasenes. "I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don't think he likes me. They greatly desire to enter and control a physical body, whereby they may reflect their character and attributes. How to show that an expression of a finite type must be one of the finitely many possible values? The man looked out on the Tiberius. But about a mile further south there is a fairly steep slope within forty yards from the shore, and about two miles from there cavern tombs are found which appear to have been used for dwellings. William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974), p.181. These people from the region of the Gerasenes had undoubtedly felt the anger or disgust of Jews for making a career out of such unclean animals, but Jesus had not criticized them for their profession. They look forward to their future with great dread. September 2016 This was a power far beyond anything they had seen or even imagined. He said unexpected things and lived by a high ethical standard. These men were a danger to themselves and others. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. The region was not poor or economically depressed. 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 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). The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. The demons in the man recognize Jesus and the man bows before him. 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. This incident in the Gerasenes requires some entry understanding. The whole story is a myth. Privacy Policy. 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. For those near by the local name would be used; but in writing to a distant people, as the Greeks and Romans, the more comprehensive and general name would be given.. And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to depart from them; for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat, and returned (Luke 8:35-37). So he got into the boat and left. Why do people like Jesus a lot? It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. What would happen to them? It was not the loss of their property or investment that caused them to be afraid of Jesus. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. April 2018 Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? Verse 1. 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. And he said to them, Where is your faith? Why is this even an issue, I wonder? As we pass from this section to the next, let us not end on the note of the death of the pigs, but on the deliverance of the demoniac. 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. 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. He was Someone Who could control the spirit realm. Our Lord responded sternly by calling this accusation blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, and as such was the one unpardonable sin (verses 28-30). I have always wondered what my Christian brothers had to say to the police officers by way of explanation. The entire population of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them because they were seized with great fear. They became as afraid of Jesus as the demons were. 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. How to prove that the supernatural or paranormal doesn't exist? Was it fear that a secret sin might be exposed? When you get a chance, please take the, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. One is that he was a fascinating man. Instead, they reject Him because all they know is His power and purity. "The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. The US Congress is currently debating whether TikTok should be banned for everyone in the US, not just government officials. Why is that. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. (4) Our Lord did not command the demons to enter into the pigs and bring about their destruction; He only permitted it.124. Instantly he recognized the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God (verse 7).116 There was a source of spiritual insight beyond human capabilities here. The drowning of the swine was an accident, possibly simultaneous with the healing, and report mixed up the two incidents. Satan loves those Christians. Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than the Gergesenes. There is the so-called demon of doubt, of anger, of overindulgence, of drunkenness, laziness and so on. and our May 2018 I think the coup de grce is to look up the Greek word for country in these passages, to see what latitude of meaning it has. Mark 3:14). (it should be added that Plummer himelf does not hold to any of these views.). 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. 4, p. 102. If they dare to open up their lives to Jesus what will happen? The subject of demons and demon possession has always seemed somewhat remote and academic to sophisticated 20th century Americans. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. The expression to be with Jesus is used particularly of His disciples (cf. (2) Anti-social behavior. I would like to invite you to return to where we left off a few weeks ago in our studies in the gospel of Mark. Today, it is identified with El-Koursi or Kursi. November 2016 While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. It was opposite Galilee. We are seeking a replacement and hope to have it in your newspaper soon. Author of The Gnostic Notebook series, stand-up comedian, and Gnostic. . To date they have failed to respond in any way. 10). He brought up the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them into pigs, which promptly ran over a cliff into the sea. By clicking Accept all cookies, you agree Stack Exchange can store cookies on your device and disclose information in accordance with our Cookie Policy.