Satan loves those Christians. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 5. Crazy question or.? May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. 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. 9. 14). April 2018 Even the demons confessed that He was the Son of the Most High (Mark 5:7). There is, as we know, the world, the flesh, and the Devil. ESV - June 2016 117 so that, by their own confession, a time is coming when there shall be an entire victory of the kingdom of light over that of darkness (Rev. Then the Livestock Association and consumer groups would have been greatly distressed over the sudden decrease in the pig population and the resulting impact on pork prices. He shivered at the disturbing memory. He brought up the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them into pigs, which promptly ran over a cliff into the sea. Understand the meaning of Luke 8:37 using all available Bible versions and commentary. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. Satans most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. iv. 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. To date they have failed to respond in any way. I will not look for a reason to return to it. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . ), you also need to understand the significance of this - to the people in Gerasene. 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. Life with him would be heaven on earth. 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. April 2016 Have we stepped back, in effect asking Jesus to leave us alone, only to discover, as a Gentleman, He did? in 1971. 35Then people came out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. It is something like the behavior and personality change in a man who is totally intoxicated. Known as the Judas Iscariot of Gnosticism for revealing that which is not to be revealed. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? Until we decide on a new comic, you'll likely see a gray box where "Dilbert" had appeared. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. The whole story is a myth. November 2020 A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. Where it falls apart for me is why the Bellonas, knowing that only one person is allowed to survive each duel, take the defeat so personally. The sons of god ended up becoming the gods of these nations. March 2015 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. (1) Severe personality change. (2) Anti-social behavior. She and her wife moved to Maine from Illinois. The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. We will examine two incidents -- the stilling of the storm on the sea of Galilee, and that which follows immediately, the healing of the demoniac. 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. Wasn't the answer obvious? 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. It was not the loss of their property or investment that caused them to be afraid of Jesus. October 2017 Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. 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. Although demon-possession after that time no longer occurs on such a devastating and noticeable scale, the absolute form of demon-possession will appear at the end of the age in the Antichrist and in his followers (2 Thess. Paul tells us that our struggle is, at bottom, a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12). We are seeking a replacement and hope to have it in your newspaper soon. Lets learn why. 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! Although it is often claimed that Christians were persecuted for their refusal to worship the emperor, general dislike for Christians likely arose from their refusal to worship the gods or take part in sacrifice, which was expected of those living in the Roman Empire. But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. Thus an economic lose of revenue was involved. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. 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. May 2018 When the Gadarenes saw what Christ was capable of, they panicked. Pig carcasses were washing ashore and drifting out to sea. Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus among them? It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. And Jesus, being a Gentleman, was not about to force Himself on them. 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. 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. 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). Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? What did Jesus do? Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. For the Christian, there are two extremes which must be avoided with reference to Satanic activity. 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). 112 Skeptics and liberals have made much of the differences between the Gospel writers as to the place Jesus landed with His disciples. Thats why also Peter having realized who Christ was, was dreaded and asked Him to leave him for he said to be a sinful man (Luke 5:8). Top Ten Reasons Why There Were Pigs In Gerasenes Remember the story of Jesus casting demons out of the crazy man in Luke 8? Satans most effective tool is not the demoniac wandering about the desolate places. Holy Communion From the Chalice Reintroduced in the UK: What About the US? So who was afraid? 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. He said unexpected things and lived by a high ethical standard. It had nothing to do the farmers losing revenue - at all. Such was the case with this man (cf. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. The fear of the unknown, the uncontrollableof change. The people who witnessed this are . 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). As I have been studying this account through the week, it has seemed to me a rather bizarre and remote situation, the liberation of this Gerasene demoniac. If they dare to open up their lives to Jesus what will happen? He was Someone Who could control the spirit realm. June 2021 Privacy Policy. They had heard what had happened to the pigs and knew the Jews considered Gentiles unclean, too. Once naked, he is now clothed. . The region was not poor or economically depressed. Small sins lead to big sins, and big sins bring about a terrible spiritual darkness. The destructive desires of the demons were dramatically carried out in the drowning of the swine. Acts 16:16), while others were the virtual pawns of these spirits, losing their own identity and autonomy. 23, 24, viii. August 2016 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). 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. You might be thinking back to Easter and not recall very many hogs showing up except for at Easter supper. Other demoniacs described in Scripture were bent on self-destruction as well (cf. In other words, Jesus had caused a loss to them of 2,000 swine already; what else would His presence cost? It was significant. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! (5) Torment. In this story, we have a demon-possessed Gadarene who saw Jesus from a distance, and immediately he appeared to have felt a strong compulsion to run up to Jesus and bow down before him. 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. Many times people - Non-Christians and Christians - push Jesus away because they do not want to change. July 2015 He seemed to view Jesus approach as the launching of a direct attack on the demonic forces. The Gospels use different names for the place where this occurred: This is supposedly a contradiction. Gerasa is (as we know) some 30-35 miles southeast of the Sea of Galilee, but may have also been the name of the larger region. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. As indicated in the textual note, the best Greek text reads Gerasenes in Mark and Luke, Gadarenes in Matthew. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. December 2022 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. 40, vii. 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. It was scary. For more information, please see our These men were a danger to themselves and others. Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. 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). In Acts 8:1 we have the regions of Judaea and Samaria (KJV), and in Acts 16:6, Galatia alone. 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. We should know from other Scriptures that our present spiritual experience is one of spiritual warfare. And, Gerasene was one. He who feared His arrival now dreaded His departure. The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. According to another theory, the Chapati movement of 1857 was an attempt to prevent a cholera outbreak in central India. For more information about Glenn Davis see our About Glenn page and/or his Author's Page. September 2015 The best answers are voted up and rise to the top, Not the answer you're looking for? Subscriber Service CenterAlready a subscriber? 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. You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. May 2022 Ananias and Sapphira did so by allowing their greed to grip their hearts (cf. January 2018 When our Lord confronted the demons, they had to submit to His power and authority. Cookie Notice Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. But then also Christ will triumph, and finally put an end to the evil one and all his powers of darkness (Rev. xvi. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. especially fn. Though Legion bowed before Jesus (verse 6), it was no act of worship (as the King James Version would seem to indicate). 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? 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 ego is so impaired that the spirits speak through him. Author of The Gnostic Notebook series, stand-up comedian, and Gnostic. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. The story shows Jesus exorcising a demon or demons out of a man and into a herd of swine, causing the swine to run down a hill into a lake and drown . Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. Some today have given demons far more than their due by blaming demons for every malady of mankind. In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. People who have no appr Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. You are welcome here. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. 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. 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 drowning of the swine was an accident, possibly simultaneous with the healing, and report mixed up the two incidents. September 2016 rev2023.3.3.43278. No matter where you are on life's journey. The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. 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). I have always wondered what my Christian brothers had to say to the police officers by way of explanation.