Gergesa, also Gergasa ( in Byzantine greek) or the Country of the Gergesenes, is a place on the eastern ( Golan Heights) side of the Sea of Galilee located at some distance to the ancient Decapolis cities of Gadara and Gerasa. 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. Such was the case with this man (cf. (4) Our Lord did not command the demons to enter into the pigs and bring about their destruction; He only permitted it.124. 4, p. 180. April 2016 And those who had seen it reported to them how the man who was demon-possessed had been made well. 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. Luke 8 He brought up the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them into pigs, which promptly ran over a cliff into the sea. Evil is self-defeating in the end. September 2022 There is no true freedom and fulfillment apart from Jesus Christ, the Creator and Redeemer of men. Reproduction of material from this website without written permission, or unlicensed commercial use or They liked Him and wanted to be with Him. The Lord granted the only request of these residents, which was for Him to leave. Ed, Issue 46, Winter 2023, Highlights in the Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ. It is amazing to think that people could be fearful of Jesus. The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). I have always wondered what my Christian brothers had to say to the police officers by way of explanation. According to another theory, the Chapati movement of 1857 was an attempt to prevent a cholera outbreak in central India. He obviously attracted crowds. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? 13ff.). They all say country of (in the sense of region, not nation). And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). iv. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). He shivered at the disturbing memory. You can like Jesus for two different reasons. Ananias and Sapphira did so by allowing their greed to grip their hearts (cf. 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. Like it or not, demons and demonic activity are likely to become much more of a concern to you in days to come. Jewish theology, at least on this point, seems consistent with biblical revelation. And they were afraid. They have three sons and a daughter (all homeschooled) and reside in southeast Michigan. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? For example, He didnt condemn a prostitute for her actions, He saw a daughter of God who was valuable beyond measure and only needed genuine love and forgiveness. Holy Communion From the Chalice Reintroduced in the UK: What About the US? They became as afraid of Jesus as the demons were. Why were the Romans afraid of the Christians? Jesus asked some crazy questions like "Why are you afraid?" Some today have given demons far more than their due by blaming demons for every malady of mankind. In that case, of course, it would be in the early morning that the Gerasenes afterwards resorted to Jesus and that He again returned to Capernaum. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1991. No! People who have no appr Others cited unfaithfulness, lack of seriousness, and the lack of confidence to sustain a relationship. His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby. Known as the Judas Iscariot of Gnosticism for revealing that which is not to be revealed. Jesus did say to count the cost [Luke 14:28-33]. January 2016 Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. HELPING CHRISTIANS BUILD POSITIVE, GODLY FAMILIES, CHURCHES, AND NATIONS, Follow us on social media for daily Scripture comments and more at. 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. February 2018 March 2016 December 2020 The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. The US Congress is currently debating whether TikTok should be banned for everyone in the US, not just government officials. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. October 2017 The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. Lets face it, we all like to be in control. November 2021 It is very appropriate that these two incidents . Luke 8:37Then the whole multitude of the country of the Gadarenes round about besought him to depart from them: for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again. March 2017 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. They found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus' feet, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 7. 16ff., xix. 184-185. verse 5). Here is one of the few times that a miracle drove people away, rather than to draw them to Jesus. The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. The people of Gerasenes were willing to live with the devils they knew - quite literally. That would be a strong message, by allowing them to be possessed and then drowned. Second (and primarily), Mark employs this event to authenticate the claims of Jesus to be the Son of God and Israels Messiah. What sort of strategies would a medieval military use against a fantasy giant? That is not the choice at all. 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? This was a region east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. I asked why people are afraid of commitment and relationships and some said they are afraid because they fear being hurt again. David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 991. Winthrop Congregational Church, UCC No matter who you are. Luke 8:26-39 Mark 5:1-20 ESV - 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. . (3) Spiritual insight. 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. Then they sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, across the lake from Galilee. Another approach is to note the different intentions of the Gospel writers. Gadara is about six miles from the sea. Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1951), p. 174. vi. Such an entreaty can be addressed by them to only God. January 2023 and 1 Kings xxii. At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. 2ff., xvv. Understand the meaning of Luke 8:37 using all available Bible versions and commentary. 15; Mark ix. (1) Severe personality change. It was like being attacked by two Hulks. They probably thought of quickly getting aboard ship and pushing off. Who was afraid of Jesus and why? Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus? August 2020 They were content where they were. In both the accounts of Mark and Luke, the primary motivation is described as that of fear. March 2020 - 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. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. (3) Spiritual insight. They are happy in their sin and the consequences seem far away. This name (Strong's #G3003) is a reference to a Roman military regiment that varied in soldier strength from 4,000 to 6,000. 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. Why is that. 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. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. If anything, that would have made them angry. My office mate of several years back was interrupted by a young and very zealous new Christian teacher accompanied by a student from whom she wanted my friend to cast out a demon. There is the so-called demon of doubt, of anger, of overindulgence, of drunkenness, laziness and so on. No matter where you are on life's journey. It is a violent tempest, that is, outside of the natural. and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. 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. 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). 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. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. 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. It is even possible that his request was to become one of our Lords disciples.125. This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). It is mentioned in some ancient manuscripts of the . 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. He seemed to view Jesus approach as the launching of a direct attack on the demonic forces. Pigs were specifically set aside as the animal used in sacrifices to their god. When Jesus asked the demoniac his name, it was not without significance for He was, I believe, asking the demons to reveal their identity. 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). (4) Super-human strength. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. February 2017 This makes sense, I couldn't believe they asked Jesus to leave. How many demons possessed the man in Mark 5:6? This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known. This suggests that whoever was the customer for the swineherder in the "region of the Gerasenes", it was not the Roman army to any significant extent. Holiness hurts! Nevertheless, for consideration. 2 Now a centurion had a servant 1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. Vote Up 5. In this account we, by inference, learn much about the demonic spirits. Romans 9:19-23). No matter who you are. Matthew 8:28 - 29, 31, 34And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. The country of the Gadarenes (Gergesenes) is one of the few areas Jesus visited where Gentiles (non-Jews) composed the majority of the population. 10). The drowning of the swine was an accident, possibly simultaneous with the healing, and report mixed up the two incidents. Now' as to the pigs (an unclean animal, so you know Jesus wasnt in Israel! The people who witnessed this are . The spread of cholera was linked to the movements of . Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? 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. 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. Is there a single-word adjective for "having exceptionally strong moral principles"? Its ruins include two amphitheaters, a basilica, temple, a hippodrome, aqueducts and colonnades, showing its importance and stature. August 2015 Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than the Gergesenes. 125 This is the position of Lane, Mark, p. 187. Instead, they reject Him because all they know is His power and purity. 1, pp. A friend of mine told me later that two students were attempting to cast a demon out of a fellow. The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. June 2020 There seems to be no excuse here for the charge of contradiction. 36 Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. Matt. Such seems to be a similar case with Judas (John 13:1-2). 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. In addition, Matthew includes the comment, Have You come here to torment us before the time? (Matthew 8:29). August 2021 October 2022 As indicated in the textual note, the best Greek text reads Gerasenes in Mark and Luke, Gadarenes in Matthew. And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another . This man demonstrated all four characteristics. Lane, Mark, p. 182, fn. They were willing to post guards and chain and shackle their neighbor to keep him from hurting someone. (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) In Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. Sproul says in his commentary on Mark, When the Holy One is manifest in the midst of unholy people, the only appropriate human response is dread.. August 2022 Unfortunately, Christians [or those using the name] can be harsh, condemning and critical driving people further into sin and away from God. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. It is Geldenhuys who gives us the most concise description of demon-possession: in the New Testament demon-possession means that a person is dominated by the spirit of a demon and tormented by him. Why would the Gerasene people beg Jesus to leave their region after He cast the demons into the pigs? The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. "I am afraid of Trump on a very personal level because I don't think he likes me. 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. No one was strong enough to subdue him (verses 3,4). Mark 5:1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. You will receive a monthly newsletter with Scriptural teaching plus notifications of any new articles, courses or books. They had dealt with Legion (I suspect) by forcing him from their presence. These people did not want to change. Why did Jesus allow the legion of demons to stay in the area when they begged him? 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. Also, frequently associated with demon possession was a super-human strength (cf. Yes, I know that Easter was weeks ago in April. As an alternative to confinement, the demons posed the option of being permitted to enter the pigs, some 2,000 in number, feeding nearby. January 2018 September 2021 There is no conflict, however, for Mark and Luke have apparently focused their attention on the most striking of the two. You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. They had been unable to control these two men [Luke only mentions one man, but Matthew tells us there were two]. Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. If we put ourselves in their place, and use empathy to feel how we might have reacted if we were confronted with the loss of our next year's source of feeding our families, it will be easier to understand that they were afraid to suffer any other loss that might result if Jesus stayed in their area. Similar to the storm we see in the book of Job that killed Jobs sons - and Satan was the instigator of that as well. July 2017 It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. Ridiculous? If he was a pagan, why did Jesus cast out his demons? Based on all the evidence we have seen over the past four months with regards to ChatGPT and how it can be manipulated or even how it will lie . March 2018 A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. If they dare to open up their lives to Jesus what will happen? How Can a Person Get Rid of Evil Spirits. Only 30 of 175 dioceses ordained an average number of priests at or above replacement level over the five years from 2016 to 2021, according to the report. For the Christian, there are two extremes which must be avoided with reference to Satanic activity. Although his symptoms would have appeared to be those of an insane man,113 the Gospel writers inform us that he was demon-possessed.114. In Galilee and Judea there were Messianic hopes which would have been quickly fanned into flames if the miracles of Jesus were too widely publicized. Also, the wholesale slaughter of these pigs dramatically illustrated the destructive purposes of the demons. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. Demon possession, such as that of the Gerasene demoniac is the crudest and cruelest form of Satanic control, but by and large also one of the less common manifestations of Satans work in the world today. With a little knowledge of the geography of the region, this apparent contradiction can be resolved. However, the point was clearly made; Jesus, the Son of God, has power over all things, including the powers of darkness. The Lord refused this request and commissioned this delivered man to return to his own people and declare to them what God had done for him. April 2021 For the reason why this is so we refer the reader to the introduction preceding the exposition of verses 33-7. 4, p. 102. 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. . Those demons were terrified of Him! Hence it would be called the land of the Gadarenes.. But then also Christ will triumph, and finally put an end to the evil one and all his powers of darkness (Rev. 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. Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. 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). 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. 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. It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. December 2022 But, the context is not going to be comfortable (accepted by) to some traditional understandings. 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. What did Jesus do? 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?" . xii. Flavius Josephus and Steve Mason, Flavius Josephus: Life of Josephus (Boston; Leiden: Brill, 2003), 47. Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. If Jesus had that kind of power, then He could not be controlled. The exercising of authority over demons, in the land under another god, was a message. It is something like the behavior and personality change in a man who is totally intoxicated. Then any greatest of men, like any prophet, hero or king? Lets learn why. What did Jesus mean when he said only prayer can cast out this demon? Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. In recent years the matter has been getting uncomfortably close to home. May 2020 Thats just westernised interpretation which simply doesnt work when interpretating a Jewish book. 2. We see the first reaction to this in the storm MARK 4:7 And a great windstorm arose [snip]. SubscribeStart your Register subscription today. 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. Mark 9:17-29). The whole story is a myth. April 2015 They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. 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. 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? June 2021 The drowning of these pigs has caused a great deal of discussion amongst Bible students, for as a friend of mine once observed, Thats a lot of pork chops! Had our Lord achieved such a miracle today He would have been in deep trouble. Like children convinced there are monsters under our beds, the unknown scares us. January 2017 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? They had heard what had happened to the pigs and knew the Jews considered Gentiles unclean, too. Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight.". Give a Gift SubscriptionBless friends, family or clergy with a gift of the Register. December 2016 So he got into the boat and left., Luke 8:37, NIV, great fear [KJV] thoroughly frightened [Phillips]gripped with great fear [NASB]. He said unexpected things and lived by a high ethical standard. The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. When the Gadarenes saw what Christ was capable of, they panicked. 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.. Or they are too afraid of what the change might bring. The swine then immediately killed themselves by rushing off a cliff. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known.. Gadara, though not directly named in Scripture, was part of the Decapolis. Jesus was saying, (demonstrating) that He had all authority, in any land. I will not look for a reason to return to it. Sign up for 6 Free IssuesTry us out with a free trial subscription. But, the pigs were a part of their economic wealth. ESV - xx. All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat Spam. For many Christians today, the horrifying experience of Legion should be sufficient testimony of the reality of the Satanic underworld. 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). On several occasions, when Jesus forgave someone, He specifically said, Go and sin no more. That only works for people who are sick of their sin and want to change. The reply Legion118 may be some kind of evasion, a reluctance on the part of the demons to individually identify themselves. Accordingly this was not merely an ordinary form of mental disease as some writers have alleged, but a special phenomenon which was particularly frequent during Jesus earthly sojourn and thus was directly connected with His coming to destroy the power of darkness. The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. September 2018 July 2021 He was a totally safe Person. Why is this even an issue, I wonder? and our Now they would deal with this One greater than he by doing likewise. A crowd had come to see what had happened for themselves. 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. In Acts 8:1 we have the regions of Judaea and Samaria (KJV), and in Acts 16:6, Galatia alone. Until we decide on a new comic, you'll likely see a gray box where "Dilbert" had appeared. 122 Quoted by Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to Saint Luke, (Edinburg: T. and T. Clark, 5th ed., 1969): p. 228. Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment.