Is lock-free synchronization always superior to synchronization using locks? Early Christians like St. Polycarp clearly held the Catholic view on salvation. Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. Those demons were terrified of Him! And they were afraid. rev2023.3.3.43278. There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. 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. Why is this sentence from The Great Gatsby grammatical? First of all, the EPA would have been investigating the pollution of Lake Galilee with decaying pigs. 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. What was it that caused these people to react in such a way? And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? This name (Strong's #G3003) is a reference to a Roman military regiment that varied in soldier strength from 4,000 to 6,000. Commentator R. C. H. Lenski states: The distance of these cities from the lake is immaterial for the narrative since this deals with the region that is near the lake and not with the vicinity of either of the cities to the lake.. And, lastly, this would allow sufficient time for those miracles which took place on that second day in Capernaum after His return thither. Luke 8:26And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. When addressed, the person was the mouthpiece of the demon (such as Legion, Mark 5:9). 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 demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. I will not ask him to leave. April 2015 T. H. Huxley, in his Essays upon some Controverted Questions (1892), made merry over the escapade of the Gadarene swine, running the seven miles between Gadar and the lake of Galilee, crossing the deep river Yarmuk en route. Note: 'had the legion', i.e., the many unclean spirits inhabiting him. May the Spirit of God be so evident in us that men may see God in our lives. 2). 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. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. 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. January 2022 Mark 5:16 says the thoughts of the people were on the swine. December 2016 Until we decide on a new comic, you'll likely see a gray box where "Dilbert" had appeared. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. Series NotesScripture references are based on the King James translation. Welcome to Biblical Hermeneutics! These people did not want to change. 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. Satans most effective tool is not the demoniac wandering about the desolate places. Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). April 2022 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. January 2018 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). Jesus asked a sick man if he wanted to get well. 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). Small sins lead to big sins, and big sins bring about a terrible spiritual darkness. 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. Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. Lukes reading Gergesenes may represent even more accurately the ancient name of this place, as Origen knew of a Gergesa on the lake of Galilee. 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. Mark 3:14). However, the point was clearly made; Jesus, the Son of God, has power over all things, including the powers of darkness. 8; Mark vi. July 2022 especially fn. 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. Pigs were specifically set aside as the animal used in sacrifices to their god. Dave Armstrong Dave Armstrong is a full-time Catholic author and apologist, who has been actively proclaiming and defending Christianity since 1981. when He was the only One Who truly knew what had happened. 2. 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. In both the accounts of Mark and Luke, the primary motivation is described as that of fear. in 1971. Clarify "They sailed to the country of the Gerasenes which is opposite Galilee. So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine . 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). This makes sense, I couldn't believe they asked Jesus to leave. March 2021 In fact the region was known as the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. If Jesus had that kind of power, then He could not be controlled. "I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don't think he likes me. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. 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. I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. Wasn't the answer obvious? The region was not poor or economically depressed. . The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) In Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. When our Lord confronted the demons, they had to submit to His power and authority. Jesus had been performing miracles in Gods nation - Israel. The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. 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. September 2022 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. Jesus had actually helped them. The Politics of Luke 8:26-39. He also maintains a popular Facebook page. A crowd had come to see what had happened for themselves. The commission of our Lord is considerably different from His instructions to the Israelites whom He had delivered. The drowning of the swine was an accident, possibly simultaneous with the healing, and report mixed up the two incidents. August 2020 It became one of the proudest cities of Syria. It was situated some 30 miles southeast of Gadara, on the borders of Peraea and a little north of the river Jabbok. We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . As C. S. Lewis aptly put it: There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. September 2021 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. By His power, we, too, are able to overcome Satans treacheries. First of all the Scriptures do not say that the local Pagans were afraid of Jesus, but that they merely begged him to leave their neighbourhood. Spam. 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. Jesus asked some pretty crazy questions like What Things Happened? Wikipedia states about it: In the second half of the 1st century AD, the city of Jerash achieved great prosperity.. (London: InterVarsity Fellowship, 1950), fn. Acts 5:1-6). How Satan blinds our minds! He said unexpected things and lived by a high ethical standard. 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. The city of Gadara and its surrounding area are referred to as the Gadarenes. Lets face it, we all like to be in control. Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951), p. 174. or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. The miracle referred to took place, without doubt, near the town of Gergesa, the modern Kersa, close by the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and hence in the country of Gergesenes. Lets learn why. May 2021 Why were the Romans afraid of the Christians? Now appreciate the reaction - another God was messing with their god - and demonstrating authority! This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known.. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. 606-607. Satans most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. 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. 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. 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. Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. What would happen to them? 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. How do I connect these two faces together? 2,8) who can possess men and animals. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? August 2015 The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. Jewish theology, at least on this point, seems consistent with biblical revelation. I understand why," the HBO "Real Time" host told Jake Tapper on Tuesday as part . This request was granted and the entire herd rushed headlong to their own destruction. Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. to men facing fear and death. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. 184-185. Flavius Josephus and Steve Mason, Flavius Josephus: Life of Josephus (Boston; Leiden: Brill, 2003), 47. 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. June 2017 (2) Anti-social behavior. He pleaded with Jesus not to be tormented. It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. 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? Women, children and defenceless people all admired Him and felt comfortable in His presence. To the evildoer, anonymity is always preferable to identification. It is in no way certain, however, that the pig raisers were Jews. With a little knowledge of the geography of the region, this apparent contradiction can be resolved. - And they came to the other side of the sea.The other side of the sea would be the south-east side of the sea. Another approach is to note the different intentions of the Gospel writers. Instead of opening themselves up to Jesus and receiving His love and forgiveness, they allowed fear to drive a wedge between them. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. Hence it would be called the land of the Gadarenes.. This was a region east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. 7. Can devils entreat in such a manner any highest of angels, be he Michael, Gabriel or Raphael, or any greatest cherub or seraph? Preisker, TWNT IV (1942), pp. On the other hand, the scene gains in grandeurhas, so to speak, a fitting backgroundif we suppose the Saviour and His disciples to have landed on the other side late in the evening, when perhaps the silvery moon was shedding her pale light on the weird scene, and laying her halo around the shadows cast upon the sea by the steep cliff down which the herd of swine hurried and fell.

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