Just as demons desire to possess persons through whom they can exhibit their personalities, so the Spirit of God indwells man, imparting new life, and progressively gaining control so that the character of God is exhibited, but not in such a way as to hinder our individuality and identity. Into the country of the Gadarenes, or rather, Gera-senes, which is now generally admitted to be the true reading, from Gerasa, Gersa, or Kersa.There was another Gerasa, situated at some distance from the sea, on the borders of Arabia Petraea. Those possessed are depicted throughout as unfortunate sufferers who by no fault of their own are dominated by evil spirits and who, when the spirits are cast out by Jesus, accept their deliverance with joy and gratitude (Mark v. 18-20, Luke viii. From this it is clear that demon-possession is a phenomenon which occurred almost exclusively, but then to be sure on an amazing scale, during Jesus appearance on earth and to a lesser extent during the activity of the apostles. French Monastery Survives War and Famine After 885 Years, the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan, and More Great Links! Immediately, as this weary group disembarked from the ship, they were met by what appeared to be a madman. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. and our 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). If Jesus had that kind of power, then He could not be controlled. Thats just westernised interpretation which simply doesnt work when interpretating a Jewish book. Demonized individuals are not to be viewed so much as a pigeon hole category, as they are a continuem. It was like being attacked by two Hulks. They probably thought of quickly getting aboard ship and pushing off. 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. Understand the meaning of Luke 8:37 using all available Bible versions and commentary. You can like Jesus for two different reasons. 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. 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? or by some form of self-emptying (such as various forms of eastern meditation) in my opinion, they are in a precarious position. The New Testament speaks of those who had a spirit, or a demon, or demons, or an unclean spirit, or the spirit of an unclean demon, but chiefly of persons who were demonised. Edersheim, Life and Times, I, p. 479.