It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. Crazy question or.? 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. 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. 16, x. November 2020 But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. 1, pp. Then people came to see what it was that had happened. You can flip a coin hoping for heads, but you know that tails is a very real probability. (4) Super-human strength. 2ff., xvv. August 2020 monetization of National Catholic Register RSS feeds is strictly prohibited. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. What were the women in Mark 16:8 afraid of? Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighbourhood. 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? Yes, I know that Easter was weeks ago in April. 2 Now a centurion had a servant 1 who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. November 2016 Series NotesScripture references are based on the King James translation. The demons in the man recognize Jesus and the man bows before him. Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight.". More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. Then the SPCA would have been up in arms over such cruelty to animals. (2) Anti-social behavior. 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). 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. September 2016 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. Author of The Gnostic Notebook series, stand-up comedian, and Gnostic. Yet, conversely, the known can be just as scaryif not more. (3) Spiritual insight. 3. Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. His animal-like shrieks must have sent chills up the spines of any who were nearby. Gadara is about six miles from the sea. When our Lord confronted the demons, they had to submit to His power and authority. F. F. Bruce adds additional helpful insight: According to the best texts, Matthew calls it the country of the Gadarenes (viii. The city of Gadara and its surrounding area are referred to as the Gadarenes. On the other hand, Gadara is only six miles from the southern tip of the lake and could easily have given its name to the district. The Truth is Jesus is a safe Person Who loves them, values them, wants their best and will never force Himself on them. They greatly desire to enter and control a physical body, whereby they may reflect their character and attributes. They became as afraid of Jesus as the demons were. The healing of the demoniacs and the repulse of the Healer by the inhabitants are historical, but the incident of the swine is a later figment. As Jesus began to get back into the boat, the delivered demoniac pleaded with Him that he might accompany Him. The commission of our Lord is considerably different from His instructions to the Israelites whom He had delivered. 115 While Mark and Luke describe only one demoniac, Matthew informs us that there were two. 118 H. Asked October 24 2014 26). Matthew 8:4; Luke 8:56). Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Fallen people reject God not because they do not know His power. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. The demoniac further evidenced demon activity by the depth of his spiritual insight. Far from this, He had stormed the gates of Hell and prevailed. Second, while the death of the pigs is clearly an economic loss for the owner, Jesus is illustrating the infinite value of human life. 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. To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. Events that are important to our Church Community, Mark 5:1-20 Jesus Heals the Gerasene Demoniac. . They were instructed to keep quiet about what Jesus had done for them (cf. "And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes round about asked him to depart from them, for they were holden with great fear: and he entered into a bo." So they refer to Gerasenes. The difference between the phonemes /p/ and /b/ in Japanese, Is there a solutiuon to add special characters from software and how to do it. March 2021 What did we miss because we allowed fear instead of faith to drive our lives? 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 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. The demoniacs were mere maniacs, whom Jesus cured by humouring their fancies; and His giving leave to imaginary demons to enter into the swine, produced the story of the disaster to the herd.All these explanations assume that the Gospel narratives are wholly or in part unhistorical. Plummer, Luke, p. 228. Such must have been the response of those with our Lord. Holy Communion From the Chalice Reintroduced in the UK: What About the US? In the third chapter of Marks Gospel, our Lords miraculous works were attributed by His opponents to the power of Satan (verse 22). Pig carcasses were washing ashore and drifting out to sea. Then they began to beg Jesus to leave their neighborhood. The before and after descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. Such was the case with this man (cf. 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. 124 Augustine: The devils were driven out and permitted to go into the swine; and Aquinas: But that the swine were driven into the sea was no work of the divine miracle, but was the work of the devils by divine permission. Quoted by Trench, Miracles, fn. That the unclean spirits were personal beings is evident from what is related about their leaving a possessed person, talking or crying out, possessing knowledge concerning Jesus, as well as other supernatural knowledgeshowing fear, and the like. It was greatly influenced by Greek culture.126. All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat October 2021 No matter where you are on life's journey. May 2017 - 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 confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. At their request, He left. Once naked, he is now clothed. Matthew 12:43-45). 116 As Lane observes this title Son of the Most High God, is not a messianic designation but a divine one. Lane, Mark, p. 133, cf. The pigs had been driven mad and rushed down a steep slope plunging into the lake and drowning. So he got into a boat and returned. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Rev. 2. He obviously attracted crowds. They have three sons and a daughter (all homeschooled) and reside in southeast Michigan. The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. Oh Hye-son recently published a Korean-language memoir on how she and her husband Thae Yong-ho, then deputy ambassador at North Korea's London embassy, defected in 2016. Jesus had been performing miracles in Gods nation - Israel. What did Jesus mean when he said only prayer can cast out this demon? As He had landed with His disciples He had been confronted with a demon-possessed man - a man that no one had been able to control. Christians are to be the answer, but often they are part of the problem. For these demons to be sent out of the country would have meant that they would then be confined along with other fallen angels (cf. 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). December 2021 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. January 2017 As indicated in the textual note, the best Greek text reads Gerasenes in Mark and Luke, Gadarenes in Matthew. 68f. 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? In Acts 8:1 we have the regions of Judaea and Samaria (KJV), and in Acts 16:6, Galatia alone. Jesus deserves the benefit of the doubt even when we don't have all the facts. 8; Mark vi. 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. It is amazing to think that people could be fearful of Jesus. (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. 123 1. The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. 113 According to the Talmud there were four characteristics of madness: walking abroad at night; spending the night on a grave; tearing ones clothes and destroying what one was given. It is very appropriate that these two incidents . What would happen to them? Copyright 2023 EWTN News, Inc. All rights reserved. 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. Rather, they attributed the power of Jesus to Satan (Mark 3:22). Christians are to be a "safe" people - an expression of that love of God so people who do not know Him can be drawn to the Truth. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. Pigs were seen as unclean animals in the eyes of the people of Israel. of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were So he got into the boat and left. Jesus had actually helped them. 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. 3 When the centurion 2 heard about Jesus, c he sent to him elders of the Jews, asking him to come and heal his . David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 991. NEW STAR WARS MERCH PAGE: https://bit.ly/3baWVZv For all sponsorship and business inquiries please contact: thestupendousscrub@gmail.com NEW CHANNEL: https:/. Lets face it, we all like to be in control. As an alternative to confinement, the demons posed the option of being permitted to enter the pigs, some 2,000 in number, feeding nearby. 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.. May 2022 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Bob was born and raised in a Christian home i More, The Net Pastors Journal, Eng. He said unexpected things and lived by a high ethical standard.