how many times did jesus go to gerasenes

So Jesus had to cross the lake twice. Gerasa was rebuilt in splendor and remained prosperous for several centuries. Once a menace to society, now a messenger with words of deliverance and healing. They didn't understand! As an alternative to confinement, the demons posed the option of being permitted to enter the pigs, some 2,000 in number, feeding nearby. All accounts involve Jesus exorcising demons, identified collectively in Mark and Luke as "Legion". [15] In his analysis, the opposition of the entire city to the one man possessed by demons is the typical template for a scapegoat. Were the writers of the synoptic gospel accounts confused about where Jesus was when He healed the men? Start for FREE. 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. Apologetics Press is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to the defense of New Testament Christianity. In the 2nd cent. 21,22). Can you relate to the people who sent Jesus away? Their mitigated violence is an ineffective protest. This was a region east of the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. Proof of their awareness of their own contradiction lies in the fact that the chains are never strong enough to convince their victim of their good intentions toward him."[15]. 120 The request is in both cases the same; for, according to Jewish notions, certain countries being assigned to evil as well as to good spirits, whose limits they were unable to overpass, to be sent out of their own country, no other being open to them, implied being sent into the abyss, or bottomless pit, since that remains for them alone. Trench, Miracles , p. 101. When our Lord confronted the demons, they had to submit to His power and authority. That is why he was living in the solitude of the tombs, away from civilization. It was a hard call to return to the place where he had known demons, chains, tombs, self-mutilation, public humiliation, abuse, loneliness, and suicidal torment. Romans 9:19-23). In the King James Version it is called the country of the Gadarenes in Mark and Luke, and of the Gergesenes in Matthew. Published Paul tells us that our struggle is, at bottom, a spiritual one (Ephesians 6:12). [3], The earliest account, assuming the theory of Marcan priority is correct, is in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 5:120). Instantly he recognized the Lord Jesus to be the Son of God (verse 7).116 There was a source of spiritual insight beyond human capabilities here. The 'before' and 'after' descriptions of the demoniac reveal that he was a totally different person under demonic influence. Learn more about Stack Overflow the company, and our products. Whenever a man, woman, or child surrenders control of himself either to fleshly desires (anger, lust, passion, etc.) 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. It is clear that Matthew, Mark, and Luke did not contradict each otherin fact, they complemented each other. Jesus is conscious that He now breaks the power of the devil and his angels because He is the One in whom the dominion of God is present on behalf of humanity. W. Foerster, as quoted by Lane, Mark, fn. The city was large and well planned. Therefore, Jesus Christ for demons is God and thus even demons inadvertently reveal themselves as being better theologians than Arians and their modern day heirs - Jehovawitnesians and all different breeds of Unitarians - their name being legion! To subscribe to this RSS feed, copy and paste this URL into your RSS reader. The reference could hardly be to the better known Gerasa (Jerash) between thirty and forty miles southeast from the lake. 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. Satans most useful instrument is the outstanding, outwardly moral and upright religious man, whose good deeds are done independently of God. 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. Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. The demons beg Jesus not to send them away, but instead to send them into the pigs on a nearby hillside, which he does. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. It was Jesus they were afraid of. This location agrees with the description given by the ancient writers. Here in Mark, he purposely set out to travel into another land. One day we will see the Lord face-to-face and enjoy His presence forever. He is the author of. They were jumping to the wrong conclusions. Other textual variations include "Gadarenes" and "Gergesenes". Also, the wholesale slaughter of these pigs dramatically illustrated the destructive purposes of the demons. 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. Youngblood, Ronald F., ed. The gospels. 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. (3) Spiritual insight. Jesus had been performing miracles in Gods nation - Israel. So, Jews think that God does not want them to keep pigs. In all his tormented years, he had never felt anything like the terror that coursed through him when he saw Jesus get out of the boat. in 1971. GERASA, GERASENES (, ). What was it that they saw? Normal relationships are reversed. 4, p. 102. This account is recorded in all three of the synoptic gospel accounts, but with two different renderings of the name of the place where the miracles occurred. This was a federation of ten cities (deka = ten, polis = city). It hit them hard in the pocketbook. He himself earnestly desired to stay with Jesus, knowing that Jesus had saved him an otherwise completely hopeless and unremediable condition. He recognized most of them. An excellent account of the ruins is given in Thomson's LB, III, 558.There is nothing above ground of older date than the 2nd and 3rd centuries of our era; but there is no reason to doubt that the Greek city of Gerasa stood on the same site. [9], The revealing of the demon's name has parallels with other examples in Jewish exorcism lore in the Second Temple period. The pagan religions continued among the Gentile population as is evidenced by the ruins of the temple of Artemis. I will not look for a reason to return to it. People had tried to tie him down but he was too strong to be bound, even with chains, for he would always break out of them; night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones. Luke 8:26-38 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (). It became the seat of a bishopric, and one of its bishops attended the Council of Chalcedon. Unbelieving men may not rave and carry on like the Gerasene demoniac, but they are nevertheless under Satans control, doing his bidding. They were not looked upon as necessarily evil in all cases. Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for professors, theologians, and those interested in exegetical analysis of biblical texts. 28); Mark the country of the Gerasenes (v. 1), and Luke, probably, the country of the Gergesenes (viii. Let's open our Bibles to the 8th chapter of Luke's gospel. He came into the region in which the two cities were situated, and one evangelist mentioned one, and the other another. History:The great and splendid city in the Decapolis is first mentioned as taken after a siege by Alexander Janneus, 85 B.C. Says he is "the bread of life"; many are stumbled and leave 6:22-71. 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. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one . The lose of the pigs meant loose of partial income in the area. But Christianity early became important in the city; several churches were built during these centuries, so that by the 5th cent., Gerasa could send a bishop to the Council of Chalcedon. The words "return to your home" must have made this man's heart sink. [1] 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 themselves. He calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. As these people began to piece together the previous events, not only of the destruction of the pigs, but also the deliverance of Legion, they began to sense that there was One far more awesome, much more to be feared, than Legion. Heal me, Lord, but let me remain the lord of at least part of my life. Thus, the story in Luke 8:26-39 challenges me to consider how open I really am to the Lord. verse 5). A spiritual battle ensued, which ended with Jesus casting a whole legion of demons out of the man and sending them into a herd of pigs. You could hear alarm in their voices. 8:28, "And when He had come to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs; they were so exceedingly violent that no one could pass by that road.". He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. The second question is an ethical one: What right had the Lord to inflict this loss on the owners of the swine?121 Put even more crassly, Huxley censored this act with these words: the wanton destruction of other peoples property is a misdemeanour of evil example.122. and 1 Kings xxii. The pleas of Legion were in response to the command of Jesus for the demons to come out of him (verse 8). There is no conflict, however, for Mark and Luke have apparently focused their attention on the most striking of the two. He was sitting at Jesus feet, fully clothed and perfectly sane (8:35), thus serving as a vivid demonstration of the saving, healing power of Jesus. 15; Mark ix. If we had a video livestream of a clock being sent to Mars, what would we see? [6], The location is also changed to the region of the "Gadarenes" (Gadara) as in most Bible translations. But dont mess with my whole life. I beg you in the name of God never to torment me!". McClintock, John and James Strong (1969 reprint), Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker). Are there things that perplex you? 5:2-3? 9:10-17. You should not suggest in any way that The High Calling or Theology of Work endorses you or your use of the work. [The natural spirit of the man seeking to throw off the dominion of the demons would cry out in agony, and the demons themselves, in their own misery, would use him as a vehicle to express their own grief. 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). Whereas he had been a slave, he was now delivered from demon possession. about a.d. 65. John imagines what the back-story of this man might have been and explores themes of redemption and reconciliation. Since all of these areas overlap, one may take the references as meaning the same place. Moreover, this story challenges us to examine our own reaction to Jesus. The Lord Jesus pointed out that "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head." This response is probably an allusion to the rejection that occurred the night before by the Scribes and Pharisees and in preparation by the Gentiles of Gadara on the next day.

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