Putting all of these factors together the term demon-possessed inplies too much. October 2018 Why as the question? 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. July 2018 Jesus asked some crazy questions like "Why are you afraid?" Ananias and Sapphira did so by allowing their greed to grip their hearts (cf. But, Im telling you. xx. The region was known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in the region. More than this, however, is the fact that the mans own identity and individuality were swallowed up by the demons with him. To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers. Earles comments are helpful: The difference in names for the destination on the east side of the take has caused considerable comment. The typical explanation for the petition of the residents that Christ leave their country is that they were motivated by materialistic considerations. He felt Jesus' reassuring hand on his shoulder. 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. 114 We are indebted to Edersheim, who reminds us that the expression demon possession never occurs in the New Testament: The term demoniacal possession occurs not in the New Testament. Create your own unique website with customizable templates. The region and polygon don't match. This was a power far beyond anything they had seen or even imagined. (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. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. How to prove that the supernatural or paranormal doesn't exist? Mark 3:14). 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. Why is that. And the people went out to see what happened; and they came to Jesus, and found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting down at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind; and they became frightened. We should be warned that fooling with these Satanic fronts is like experimenting with drugs. This is when the storm arose which threatened to destroy the ship (Mark 4:35-41). Slain Los Angeles auxiliary bishop was remembered at the Mass of Christian burial as friend of Jesus Christ and of Mary, our Blessed Mother.. Significantly, the demons are called unclean spirits (verse 2,9). 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. Mark 5:1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. Those who have witnessed demon possession tell us that each demon has its own distinct personality and that the individual possessed begins to manifest the distinct personality of the demon by which he is possessed. 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. Treasury of Scripture. And they were afraid. 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. The passage in Daniel especially suggests specific geographical boundaries within which spirit beings must abide. The people were afraid when they saw the possessed man healed. But notice, even though Jesus permitted them to enter the swine, they were unable to overcome their evil impulses and drove the swine over the cliff to their death. 5:5). The lose of the pigs meant loose of partial income in the area. 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. Fear that you might do something that would embarrass you? June 2017 The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. How Can a Person Get Rid of Evil Spirits. Lukes reading Gergesenes may represent even more accurately the ancient name of this place, as Origen knew of a Gergesa on the lake of Galilee. This story is a little bit of an Easter story. Smiths Bible Dictionary provides what I find to be a quite plausible explanation (not special pleading at all), and analogous to how we still use place names today: These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. 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. xiii. The demoniac was uncontrollable by any of the normal means of human confinement. September 2022 ii. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons. Jesus asked some pretty crazy questions like What Things Happened? Men in their unbelief suppose that the choice is either to be free (independent of God) or to be the slaves of Christ. ESV - What they were not willing to accept was the frightening power that could cure him. Just imagine, a man in a cinema, having bought popcorn and cola and watching an action movie, with a lot of violence and harsh language in it, and then he sees suddenly that a saintly bishop is sitting just next to his seat, not watching the movie, but reading silently psalms with a countenance radiating a deep contemplation; will not the first man be upset and lose all pleasure of watching the movie? 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. 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. Why is this even an issue, I wonder? Nor was it the Jewish population of Galilee. Even in our sophisticated times, there is an intense interest in the supernatural and the occult. Why did the demon-possessed Gadarene bow down before Jesus? (4) Our Lord did not command the demons to enter into the pigs and bring about their destruction; He only permitted it.124. August 2017 Now they were delivered and ready to be productive members of society. Such was the case with this man (cf. Romans 9:19-23). 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. Who do you care more about, people or pigs? The people who witnessed this are . Jesus had just performed an incredible miracleand one they desperately needed, at that! Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. 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. Perhaps they clenched their fists or picked up driftwood with which to defend themselves. He was Someone Who could control the spirit realm. You can like Jesus for two different reasons. The subject of demons and demon possession has always seemed somewhat remote and academic to sophisticated 20th century Americans. Jude 6), no longer to afflict men or resist God. seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. The conduct of this pathetic individual was obviously anti-social. Those demons were terrified of Him! Dr. Thomson discovered on the eastern shore the ruins of a village called Khersa. They had dealt with Legion (I suspect) by forcing him from their presence. I would like to invite you to return to where we left off a few weeks ago in our studies in the gospel of Mark. Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight.". November 2014. October 2022 The people were more terrified of Jesus and His authority than they were of this crazed and demonized man living among the tombs. March 2016 The spectrum ranges from those who seem to control the demonic powers to those who are utterly controlled by them. especially fn. Is there any archaeological evidence for Joshua entering Israel and conquering cities in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age? The word translated windstorm here, and storm in the KJ, is the word lailaps, which is more than just a storm. So who was afraid? They would have to trust Jesus. If Jesus had that kind of power, then He could not be controlled. They had been unable to control these two men [Luke only mentions one man, but Matthew tells us there were two]. 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? That would be a strong message, by allowing them to be possessed and then drowned. The spread of cholera was linked to the movements of . Others cited unfaithfulness, lack of seriousness, and the lack of confidence to sustain a relationship. At their request, He left. But for most of us, the world and the flesh are all that are necessary to cause us to stumble. He had only known Jesus for a few hours, but had already determined to be Jesus' disciple for life. The best human analogy might be in the area of drug abuse. It was opposite Galilee. Ouija boards are found in many American homes. Catholic Church. At first we may deceive ourselves into thinking that we are controlling them, but the ultimate likelihood is that they will master us. 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. Matt. So, they asked Him to leave. It had nothing to do the farmers losing revenue - at all. We are seeking a replacement and hope to have it in your newspaper soon. 36Those who had seen it told them how the one who had been possessed by demons had been healed. Reproduction of material from this website without written permission, or unlicensed commercial use or . 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. EIN 27-4581132 October 2015 Stack Exchange network consists of 181 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers. August 2016 Site design / logo 2023 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under CC BY-SA. 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. They were willing to post guards and chain and shackle their neighbor to keep him from hurting someone. Why was Jesus going to walk past the disciples as they were rowing on the Sea of Galilee? March 2021 June 2016 Who was afraid of Jesus and why? March 2017 Robert L. (Bob)Deffinbaugh graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary with his Th.M. She is a graduate of the Divinity School at Wake Forest University and Chicago Theological Seminary.