The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). Modern Jerash lies on both banks of Wady Jerash, about 6 miles from its confluence with Wady ez-Zerqa (the Jabbok). 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. What is the 'age of accountability' and is it Biblical. 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. But let us return to the gist of the matter: if Christ showed them His Divinity through the reason given above, is it easy to be in the presence of God? You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. 40, vii. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. Cindee Snider Re get to know the Bible better! But Jesus had other plans. 4, p. 102. This describes the district in which Christ met and healed the demoniac from the tombs, where also took place the destruction of the swine. But the distance is so short that, even making allowance for the delay by the tempest, the passage could scarcely have occupied the whole night. The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. He seemed to view Jesus approach as the launching of a direct attack on the demonic forces. These forces plundered Gerasa, Philadelphia, Pella, and others (Jos. He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. The gospels. The story of the Gerasene demoniac is surely one of the strangest in the Gospels. Other demoniacs described in Scripture were bent on self-destruction as well (cf. The man is grateful. QUESTIONS FOR FURTHER REFLECTION: How do you respond to this story in Luke? No matter what men attempted to bind him with, he broke loose. Albert Barnes explained the difference between Gadara and Gerasa: Gadara was a city not far from the Lake Gennesareth, one of the ten cities that were called Decapolis. 4.1K views, 50 likes, 28 loves, 154 comments, 48 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from 7th District AME Church: Thursday Morning Opening Session 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. But from all of the Gospel accounts, I get the distinct impression that this mans eyes were riveted on Jesus. The simple fact is that Matthew mentions two of the demoniacs while Mark and Luke only mention one. One day we will see the Lord face-to-face and enjoy His presence forever. PRAYER: Dear Lord, first of all, I want to thank you for your healing, restoring power. (6) Tendency towards self-destruction. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore . Men and women (as well as children) were demonized in that they fell under the influence of these unclean spirits. Here is one of the few times that a miracle drove people away, rather than to draw them to Jesus. It appears that is because the CARM is a nonprofit, non-denominational, multi-staffed Christian Apologetics Ministry that supports evangelism, radio outreach, and provides full-time support for several foreign missionaries. Some were already hurrying back toward the city. Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. Gerasa is mentioned next by Josephus in connection with the Jewish rebellion against the Romans in a.d. 70. That is not the choice at all. He dispatched Lucius Annius with a force of cavalry and an army of foot soldiers, who took the city on the first attack, slaughtering a thousand young men, taking their families captive, plundering and burning the city and the surrounding towns (Jos. about a.d. 65. [10], It has been widely accepted by scholars that several motifs throughout the account refer to the Roman legion. There was no such danger in Perea, and thus the mercy of the Lord was to be heralded. This town is not to be confused with either Gerasa or Gadara. Contrasting the self-destruction of the herd of pigs with the typical motif of an individual evil-doer being pushed over a cliff by an undifferentiated mob (cf. 2ff., xvv. The mountainside has caves and hewn tombs where, according to Mark and Luke, the demoniac had taken shelter. Then any greatest of men, like any prophet, hero or king? In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. GERASA, GERASENES ( , ). by Matt Slick | Mar 5, 2009 | Bible Difficulties, Matthew - Mark, The Bible. xvi. ', referring to the nuclear power plant in Ignalina, mean? But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. At this distance from the Sea of Galilee, Gerasa could not have been the site of the healing of Legion. It is doubtful that Jesus ever visited it. Bible-believing Christians have always accepted the fact of demons and their activity in New Testament times, but most of us are inclined to relegate demonic activity in these days to pagan lands and missionary experiences. e.g., Matt. (5) What our Lord could have given the people of this territory was much greater than what He took away. The Roman city Gerasa was a famous city that would have been familiar to a Gentile audience, but Gadara, as the capital city of the Roman province of Perea, was the chief of the ten cities in Decapolis (Lenski, 1946, p. 205; Coffman, 1975, p. 85; Youngblood, 1995, p. 468), so even those who lived in Gerasa could have been called Gadarenes. Were the writers of the synoptic gospel accounts confused about where Jesus was when He healed the men? (no date), The Fourfold Gospel (Cincinnati, OH: Standard). I have never actually begged Jesus to go away and leave me alone. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. [a] There, a man "possessed by a demon" comes from the caves to meet him. 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. What is this brick with a round back and a stud on the side used for? God has commisioned us to work and create, to develop the resources he has given us and share with those in need. At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. ii. People try to make Jesus king; he walks on sea; heals many. At Luke 8:27, the gospel writer notes that the demoniac wore no clothes. (3) Our Lord was moved with compassion by the torment of Legion and the loss of these pigs should in no way dim our view of the deliverance of the demoniac. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 8:28-29 but only one is Mk. Some illicitly use drugs, supposing that they have them completely under their control. Luke 8:26-38 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (). If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. Vote Up Now' as to the pigs (an unclean animal, so you know Jesus wasnt in Israel! Thank you for all of the ways you have delivered meand still are delivering me. This topical nine-session Bible study contains tips and encouragement to live a life of generosity and fruitfulness, helping us to redeem our use of resources by nurturing biblical attitudes. They look forward to their future with great dread. As you heal me, as you empower me, as you use me for your purposes, my life will never be the same. (1995), New Illustrated Bible Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Nelson). Why were the people of Gerasene afraid of the presence of Jesus among them? For those who are shaken like leaves in the wind at the mention of demons, let us remember from this story that demons cannot even possess pigs without prior permission from our Lord. Theology of Work Project Online Materials by The High Calling are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Ruins of the temple of Artemis, some columns still standing, are on another hillside above the ruins. The Madman. It is almost 20 miles from Amman (Philadelphia), and 22 from Fahil (Pella). Traces of ancient buildings in the vicinity show that there must have been a fairly numerous population in the district.2. The textual evidence shows that the MSS preserve three variant spellings of the name in each gospel. Satans most effective tool is not the demoniac wandering about the desolate places. As if he is trying to avoid being expelled and stoned in reality, the possessed brings about his own expulsion and stoning; he provides a spectacular mime of all the stages of punishment that Middle Eastern societies inflict on criminals whom they consider completely defiled and irredeemable. And now, with the demons gone, nothing he had ever experienced came close to the safety and peace he felt simply being near Jesus. Now appreciate the reaction - another God was messing with their god - and demonstrating authority! But what does that look like practically? For years the tomb-man, this one-man barracks of a thousand devils, had terrorized them. Many ancient tombs are to be seen in the face of the hills. They greatly desire to enter and control a physical body, whereby they may reflect their character and attributes. 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. If you are able tosupport usthis month we will invest your gift in making the hope of the gospel freely available to others who are wandering in the tombs of despair. November's featured resource is an Advent poem that John Piper delivered in 1993 at Bethlehem titled "The Gadarene." Gerasa. The people (nations) were divided up, and boundaries allocated' and the sons of god were put over these nations. Be my helper. No! Everyone strained for a look at the tomb-man. Although the Gospels give us little information as to how individuals become targets of Satanic control, I would suggest for your consideration that they sometimes do so by leaving themselves open to Satanic influence. But dont mess with my whole life. The ruins also show evidence of a dozen churches, dating in the Byzantine period (4th-7th centuries) indicating that this once was a large Christian community. For the first time in a long time he was in full control of his mind. In a cemetery on the eastern shore of the lake, He and the twelve meet a wild, dangerous man controlled by a ''legion'' of demons. A Jewish exorcist with such authority in the region, risked to damage the beliefs and reputation of the local pagan inhabitants. My ways are subtler, and for this reason perhaps even more insidious. Horoscopes and astrological predictions are found in most major newspapers. It would be hard to imagine a more horrible state] c and for a long time he had worn no clothes, If an Israelite, why was he in Gerasene in the first place and why was he living so near a large herd of swine? Declare how much God has done for you. 14ff. The herdsmen who witnessed this event spread the news to the people living in that area. Modern Jerash lies on both banks of Wady Jerash, about 6 miles from its confluence with Wady ez-Zerqa (the Jabbok). Jesus goes across the sea into the "region of the Gerasenes". 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. [15] In his analysis, the opposition of the entire city to the one man possessed by demons is the typical template for a scapegoat. This condition is fulfilled only by the district immediately South of Wady Semak, North of Qal `at el-Chucn. Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. Josephus names it as marking the eastern limit of Peraea (BJ, III, iii, 3). Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. No! He was used to seeing fear in their eyes. Until then, we have been commissioned to preach the gospel and declare God's saving gr His soul was clean. The precise place where the miracle occurred is not as essential to our understanding of the narrative as is the realization that Christ has control over the spiritual realm (Lenski, 1946, p. 205). 4, p. 180. The thought of returning there conjures up fears of our old demons and the people who knew us as we were back then. 4. (London: InterVarsity Fellowship, 1950), fn. Fellowship is an irreplaceable means of grace in the Christian life and offers us two priceless joys: receiving Gods grace through the helping words of others and giving his grace to others through our own. Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. 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). Jesus was potently kind. Let me say as graciously as I can, Satan does not need to work on us in those areas as we are doing very well without his exploitation. Another indication of demonic control is the fact that this man was continually doing harm to himself by gashing himself with stones (verse 5). Vector Projections/Dot Product properties. 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. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 5:5). How do I stop the Flickering on Mode 13h? 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. John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30), or to be the pawns of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2). A city in Transjordania, situated about thirty-five m. SE of the S end of the Sea of Galilee, one of the cities of the Decapolis; the inhabitants of the city. Ewing. Finally, there is in demon possession a counterpart to the filling (or control) of the Holy Spirit. 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. There is no conflict, however, for Mark and Luke have apparently focused their attention on the most striking of the two.
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