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1, pp. Jesus had simply sailed across the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes. Five squad cars converged on it. December 2014 While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. Jesus asked some crazy questions like "Why are you afraid?" They all say country of (in the sense of region, not nation). He obviously attracted crowds. Some appeared not to be oppressed by them so much as exploiting their powers (cf. This story is a little bit of an Easter story. October 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. Pigs were specifically set aside as the animal used in sacrifices to their god. And, yes, Dana did just read us something about a man possessed by a whole bunch of demons that later go and possess a bunch of hogs. This is probably the Gerasa of Mark and Luke. Anonymous, October 25 2014 This was a power far beyond anything they had seen or even imagined. What was it that caused these people to react in such a way? And, Gerasene was one. (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) In Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. But then also Christ will triumph, and finally put an end to the evil one and all his powers of darkness (Rev. Catholic Church. Does a barbarian benefit from the fast movement ability while wearing medium armor? They were content where they were. 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. And the people there were scared, they recognised this, but more, they realised the significance of this. 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. July 2015 Why did Jesus allow the legion of demons to stay in the area when they begged him? Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. Spam. Horoscopes and astrological predictions are found in most major newspapers. 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. Exercising authority in the land allocated to Abraham, for Israel, the land set aside for God and his people. At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. 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. It is very appropriate that these two incidents . 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. The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). 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 capital of the region was Gerasa, and the largest city in the region was Gadera. The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. 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). 68f. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. "Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear." (Luke 8:37a) Fear plagues us. The commission of our Lord is considerably different from His instructions to the Israelites whom He had delivered. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 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. It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. And he said to them, Where is your faith? It had nothing to do the farmers losing revenue - at all. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. In Luke 2:8 it is applied to the city of Bethlehem; in Acts 18:23 to Galatia and Phrygia. Satans most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. It is noteworthy that Jesus nowhere speaks of forgiveness of sins or of purification-sacrifices, that have to be brought after His curing of such cases (as He did in some cases of physical illness). Who was afraid of Jesus and why? 606-607. 2). Pig carcasses were washing ashore and drifting out to sea. Luke 8:26And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. ii. . 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. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. January 2015 In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. The demons freak out that Jesus is there because it's not time for them to be tormented by Him yet. Luke seems to base this fear solely upon what happened to the demoniac, not on the loss of their pigs. 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. He brought up the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them into pigs, which promptly ran over a cliff into the sea. September 2021 or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. Second, while the death of the pigs is clearly an economic loss for the owner, Jesus is illustrating the infinite value of human life. Jesus had freed the man and for a reason known only to Himself, He had granted the demons request to go into a nearby herd of pigs rather than go into the Abyss [bottomless pit]. When addressed, the person was the mouthpiece of the demon (such as Legion, Mark 5:9). In the third chapter of Marks Gospel, our Lords miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (verse 22). There probably were not many who had been told yet of the Messiah, and so were not yet believers. 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). Pastor Chrissy is a native of East Tennessee. 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? He could just as easily commanded them to return to the deepest, darkest pit of Hell. . Finally, there is in demon possession a counterpart to the filling (or control) of the Holy Spirit. Another reason could be as Dr. R.C. Bill Maher says he's scared of former President Trump "on a very personal level" and "what he would do" to the comedian if he were to win the 2024 White House race. Why is this sentence from The Great Gatsby grammatical? Why would God tell King David to take a census of the people in verses one through nine, and then cast judgment on him because he did what he told him to do? From this point on, Jesus began to speak to the crowds in parables in order to veil or conceal the gospel from those who had blasphemed the Holy Spirit (Mark 4:lff). 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. Why did Jesus have the authority to forgive sins, why did the scribes take it as a blasphemy, and was this authority also given to men in general? Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. July 2021 Since the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave in their fear, it seems that Jesus' ability to exorcise Legion was disturbing to the people. 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. 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? Where did the demons go after they went into the pigs and caused them to jump to their death. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Fear that you might do something that would embarrass you? 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. Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? Why did the demon-possessed Gadarene bow down before Jesus? Jesus deserves the benefit of the doubt even when we don't have all the facts. Crazy question or.? Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. There is no true freedom and fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of men. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, Highlights in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ. Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. If they dare to open up their lives to Jesus what will happen? 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. 122 Quoted by Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to Saint Luke, (Edinburg: T. and T. Clark, 5th ed., 1969): p. 228. How ironic, as others have noted, that the tormentor pleads not to be tormented. Embedded into both stories are people who were afraid of Jesus. 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). Even as the purpose of Roman legions was to enforce the will of the emperor, the goal of the multiple evil spirits was to carry out the devil's will of bringing pain, destruction and chaos to humans! 16, x. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. He who feared His arrival now dreaded His departure. 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. The people were more terrified of Jesus and His authority than they were of this crazed and demonized man living among the tombs. 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). That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. Nevertheless, for consideration. "I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don't think he likes me. By His power, we, too, are able to overcome Satans treacheries. That is not the choice at all. (4) Our Lord did not command the demons to enter into the pigs and bring about their destruction; He only permitted it.124. For more information, please see our 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. 0 Responses They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. Those demons were terrified of Him! Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. 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 2022 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.