why were the gerasenes afraidharris county salary scale
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. At the conclusion of this day of teaching by parables, the Lord had instructed His disciples to cross over the Sea of Galilee to the other side. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). In the form of tongues as of fire, the Holy Spirit rests on the disciples on the morning of Pentecost and fills them with himself. (CCC 696). Once a menace to society, now a messenger with words of deliverance and healing. Neither is it only a kind of physical disease, although spiritual and physical disease often accompany it (e.g. 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. 2. John 8:32; Matthew 11:28-30), or to be the pawns of Satan (Ephesians 2:1-2). April 2016 Winthrop Congregational Church, UCC No matter who you are. At the side of Kersa the shore is level, and there are no tombs. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known. May 2016 Another reason they may have been afraid of Jesus was the realization that if they accepted Him, it would mean a radical change of lifestyle. (2) Anti-social behavior. And Jesus, being a Gentleman, was not about to force Himself on them. When Jesus asked the demoniac his name, it was not without significance for He was, I believe, asking the demons to reveal their identity. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. The story shows Jesus exorcising a demon or demons out of a man and into a herd of swine, causing the swine to run down a hill into a lake and drown . 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. Does a barbarian benefit from the fast movement ability while wearing medium armor? March 2018 That is why the inhabitants of the area are referred to variously in different Bible manuscripts as Gergasenes, Gadarenes, or Gerasenes. 23, 24, viii. 128 In most of the stories of possession what is at issue is not merely sickness but a destruction and distortion of the divine likeness of man according to creation. They were instructed to keep quiet about what Jesus had done for them (cf. I have always wondered what my Christian brothers had to say to the police officers by way of explanation. iv. Jesus had simply sailed across the Lake of Galilee to the region of the Gerasenes. The drowning of the swine was an accident, possibly simultaneous with the healing, and report mixed up the two incidents. 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. Like children convinced there are monsters under our beds, the unknown scares us. 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.. March 2016 What scared them was a power so fierce it could free a man. The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. The demonically possessed man who came to Jesus cried out his name was Legion. 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. Wikipedia states about it: In the second half of the 1st century AD, the city of Jerash achieved great prosperity.. In Jewish thinking, spirit beings were assigned to certain geographical territories.120. When you get a chance, please take the, We've added a "Necessary cookies only" option to the cookie consent popup. . 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? Jesus asked some crazy questions like "Why are you afraid?" To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. - 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. While he was once wild and uncontrollable, he was sitting quietly at the feet of Jesus. To date they have failed to respond in any way. It didnt take long for the word to spread quickly. 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. Those who had seen it told them how the man who had been demon-possessed had been healed. Evil is self-defeating in the end. Note: 'had the legion', i.e., the many unclean spirits inhabiting him. The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. Flavius Josephus and Steve Mason, Flavius Josephus: Life of Josephus (Boston; Leiden: Brill, 2003), 47. 68f. Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience. When addressed, the person was the mouthpiece of the demon (such as Legion, Mark 5:9). 5. 40, vii. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them; for they were seized with great fear. 21,22). In any event, I love defending the Bible and Christianity. 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. Now they were delivered and ready to be productive members of society. He felt Jesus' reassuring hand on his shoulder. Why is that. October 2020 The occult and every front for demonic influence and activity should be avoided like the plague. Swine were unclean animals according to the Torah. 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). It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. The confrontation of Jesus and the Gerasene demoniac made it clear that Jesus was no servant of Satan. 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. But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. 22ff. When Jesus asked his name the man answered, Legion, for we are many (Mark 5:9). At their request, He left. 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. 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. Jesus asked some pretty crazy questions like What Things Happened? We see people in other places where he worked miracles, endeavoring to make him their king (Jn 6:15) . 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. 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. Thus an economic lose of revenue was involved. I am wondering if the demoniac was pagan or an Israelite. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Small sins lead to big sins, and big sins bring about a terrible spiritual darkness. They came face-to-face with the Son of God, the Being with the power to change their world forever, and they said, "Please leave." Why? David Noel Freedman, The Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992), 991. 26). If it is a feminine spirit, the voice will be a feminine one, if masculine then very manly. The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). The capital of the region was Gerasa, and the largest city in the region was Gadera. Luke seems to base this fear solely upon what happened to the demoniac, not on the loss of their pigs. Bulk update symbol size units from mm to map units in rule-based symbology. Known as the Judas Iscariot of Gnosticism for revealing that which is not to be revealed. How to prove that the supernatural or paranormal doesn't exist? June 2021 The man looked out on the Tiberius. May 2017 The particular focus of this mans testimony was the Decapolis region. It only takes a minute to sign up. Was there some sort of unwritten rule that Darrow (or any non-Bellona) was supposed to throw the fight? The man, who was naked when he saw Jesus, had the added ability of enduring both freezing and sweltering temperatures as well as pain he inflicted upon himself! The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. Confusion, fear in moments after crash "There were many big pieces of steel," said Vassilis Polyzos, a local resident who said he was one of the first people on the scene. May 2018 print and digital media outlets, dedicated to reporting the truth in light of the Gospel and the Now' as to the pigs (an unclean animal, so you know Jesus wasnt in Israel! It's a curious passage with many unanswered questions. We will examine two incidents -- the stilling of the storm on the sea of Galilee, and that which follows immediately, the healing of the demoniac. June 2022 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. Romans 9:19-23). It was opposite Galilee. How do I connect these two faces together? The city of Gadara and its surrounding area are referred to as the Gadarenes. Reproduction of material from this website without written permission, or unlicensed commercial use or November 2021 Some appeared not to be oppressed by them so much as exploiting their powers (cf. And, lastly, this would allow sufficient time for those miracles which took place on that second day in Capernaum after His return thither. in a crowd in a crowd where many people were bumping into Him? December 2016 Then all the people of the Gerasenes and the surrounding region asked Jesus to leave them alone, for they were seized . All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat The expression to be with Jesus is used particularly of His disciples (cf. I will not ask him to leave. Instead of opening themselves up to Jesus and receiving His love and forgiveness, they allowed fear to drive a wedge between them. They are happy in their sin and the consequences seem far away. The pig shepherds had gone and spread the news of what had happened all around. His website/blog, Biblical Evidence for Catholicism, has been online since March 1997. First let us see what the Sacred Texts says: The swineherds ran off and told it in the city and in the country. The people were more terrified of Jesus and His authority than they were of this crazed and demonized man living among the tombs. In this context, however, he insists that legion has nothing of its usual Roman military overtones, but is the designation of numerous powers which oppose themselves to Jesus as the embodiment of the power of God. Lane, Mark, fn. 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. Why did Jesus allow the legion of demons to stay in the area when they begged him? The house that is left swept and clean is a likely target for Satanic influence (cf. 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. January 2022 The Truth is Jesus is a safe Person Who loves them, values them, wants their best and will never force Himself on them. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. Cookie Notice And all the people of the country of the Gerasenes and the surrounding district asked Him to depart from them; for they were gripped with great fear; and He got into a boat, and returned (Luke 8:35-37). Another approach is to note the different intentions of the Gospel writers. Jesus deserves the benefit of the doubt even when we don't have all the facts. November 2022 Why are trials on "Law & Order" in the New York Supreme Court? Those who had seen what had happened to the demoniac and to the swine reported it. This supposition would be further confirmed, if the evening when Jesus embarked was what the Jews were wont to call the first evening, that is, the time when the sun was declining in the heaven, but before it had actually set, the latter time being the second evening. For it seems most unlikely that multitudes would have resorted to Jesus at Capernaum after the second evening, or that either the disciples or other boats would have put to sea after nightfall. xii. 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. While the Jews had not denied the works of Jesus were supernatural, they had declined to admit they established His deity. October 2022 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. The scene which Mark presents is deliberately dark. When once he was an instrument of Satanic opposition against the Messiah, now he is a witness to His power. You might be thinking back to Easter and not recall very many hogs showing up except for at Easter supper. And when the man spoke to Jesus, it looks like the demons inside the man were the ones doing the speaking. Holiness hurts! Jesus Heals a Centurion's Servant. April 2021 when He was the only One Who truly knew what had happened. Do roots of these polynomials approach the negative of the Euler-Mascheroni constant? The swine then immediately killed themselves by rushing off a cliff. The exercising of authority over demons, in the land under another god, was a message. Demonic influence further destroys mans reflection of God as originally designed.128 Demons have great spiritual insight and reluctantly submit to Jesus as Lord of all. 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.
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