#60
Gadarene Demoniacs
Please first read:
Matthew 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39
President J. Reuben Clark Jr.:
“Crossing to the southerly coast of
the Sea of Galilee, Jesus comes to the country of the Gadarenes; as he goes
forth he meets two possessed with devils, who hail him as Jesus, Son of God and
ask why he torments them before their time, and beseech him not to command them
to go out into the deep but let them enter a nearby herd of some two thousand
swine; Jesus permits this and the swine rush down into the sea and perish; the
herders tell the people of the city who come out to see him, and seeing what
has happened, they beseech Jesus to leave their country.”
Edersheim:
As Jesus comes to the shore the violence is vivid in
the extreme. The absence of self-control; a homicidal/suicidal frenzy; a
terrifying manifestation of demoniac power and influence. One so demonized
seems to be irresistibly drawn to Jesus. It is obvious the demons [know Jesus.]
A characteristic of the demonized was they were
incapable of separating their own consciousness and ideas from the influence of
the demon. Their identity was merged and lost into that of their tormentors. There
is the presence of superior power of evil taking temporary mental and moral
control of the individual. Control seems to be absolute.
For those witnessing these events “there could be no
doubt in their minds that one possessing supreme and unlimited power was in
their midst.” They were a people living under the influence of superstitious
fears and wariness. News of this would be spread around and much discussed.
At this time it was a common Jewish idea that under
certain circumstances “hurtful spirits” were on the watch for men in order to
acquire their bodies.
At the conclusion of the day’s events we find the
individual involved now peacefully “sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning of
him, and in his right mind.” Contrary to what was commonly the case, when the
evil spirits came out of the demonized, there was no paroxysm or physical
distress.
Geikie:
There was no medical knowledge or facilities or ways
to deal with and help anyone who became “possessed.” When fear and danger of
being injured [arose] from one in this condition they were publicly banished
from contact with society and forced to live where they could – hence outside
the cities in tombs, caves, and uninhabited places. One such location is at
Gadara, where this took place.
“Madness
in every form has, in all ages, been treated by the rude therapeutics of the
East, as a supernatural visitation, with which it is unsafe to interfere more
than is needed, and hence, even at this day, furious and dangerous maniacs may,
from time to time, be seen in the towns absolutely naked. They often betake
themselves to the mountains and sleep in tombs and caves. In their paroxysms
they become terribly dangerous, for their mental excitement gives them
prodigious strength, and one is sometimes a terror to a whole neighborhood.”
Apostle Bruce R. McConkie:
Demons can control the very words spoken by the one
possessed. Devils remember Jesus from the preexistence, and recognize and know
who he is, the Redeemer. They know that one opposing him is in open rebellion
against deity. Devils now suffer eternal torment because they know they can
never gain bodies.
There is a set time appointed when devils shall have
no more power over mortal men and when they shall be cast out into that eternal
hell prepared for them. This fact is known to them, in consequence of which
they labor with inordinate zeal to overthrow the work of God during the “short
time” allotted to them. (Revelations 12:12)
At final judgement “the devil and his angels shall go
away into everlasting fire.”
(2 Nephi 9:16)
If the swine were owned by Jews it was a violation of
their religion. If by gentiles it was illegal under local customs and laws.
Apostle James E. Talmage:
“The demoniac was in a pitiful
plight. His frenzy had become so violent and the physical strength incident to
his mania so great that all attempts to hold him in captivity had failed. He had
been bound in chains and fetters, but these he had broken asunder by the aid of
demon power; and he had fled to the mountains, to caverns that served as tombs,
and there he had lived more like a wild beast than a man. Night and day his
weird, terrifying shrieks had been heard, and through dread of meeting him
people traveled by other ways rather than pass near his haunts. He wandered
about naked, and in his madness often gashed his flesh with sharp stones.”
“The man who had been rid of the
demons feared not; in his heart love and gratitude superseded all other
feelings; and as Jesus returned to the boat he prayed that he might go also.
But Jesus forbade, saying, “Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great
things the Lord hath done for thee and hath had compassion on thee.” The man
became a missionary, not alone in his home town but throughout Decapolis, the
region of the ten cities; wherever he went he told of the marvelous change
Jesus had wrought on him.”
Farrar:
As Jesus disembarked from the ship “there burst into
his presence a man troubled with the most exaggerated form of that raging
madness which was universally attributed to demoniasal possession. Amid all the
boasted civilization of antiquity, there existed no hospitals, no
penitentiaries, no asylums; and unfortunates of this class, being too dangerous
and desperate for human intercourse, could only be driven forth from among
their fellow men, and restrained from mischief by methods at once inadequate
and cruel.”
Public belief at that time was that to recall a
maniacs attention to his name, to awake his memory, to touch his sympathies by
part association often produced a lucid interval. Jesus attempts to engage the
man in this way, “What is thy name?” But that only results in wild antics.
The people were afraid, “more afraid of that Holy
Presence than that of the previous fury of the possessed. The man indeed was
saved, but what of that, considering that some of their two thousand unclean
beasts had perished.”
Howick:
The demoniac had had devils a long time, was exceeding
fierce, lived in the tombs, could not be bound, lived naked as a wild man, was
in the public, injured himself with stones, recognized Jesus, fell down before
him, worshipped him, conversed with him, pleaded with him.
The terms “deep,” “abyss,” “bottomless pit,” refer to
“outer darkness” reserved for evil sprits at the time of final judgment.
Demons would prefer control over any body rather than
none.
The witnessing Galileans were a superstitious people
to begin with and were afraid. No wonder they wanted Jesus to leave.
The three synoptic gospels report this miracle. John
does not.
The Prophet Joseph Smith:
The great principle of happiness consists in having a
body. The devil has no body, and herein is his punishment. He is pleased when
he can obtain the tabernacle of man, and when cast out by the Savior he asked
to go into a herd of swine, showing that he would prefer a swine’s body to
having none.
Evil spirits have more knowledge and consequently more
power than many men who are on the earth.
Anchor Bible – Mark – C.S. Mann:
The common ancient belief was that demons were
associated with particular places/localities. The abyss was their place of
final judgment and punishment.
Anchor Bible – Luke – Joseph Fitzmyer:
The story has all the features of a typical exorcism.
Pagan tombs would be a source of uncleanness for a Jew and they would not go
therein. It was easy to associate demons with the realm of death.
Is Jesus not being shown as cruel to the animals? Also
he is causing the owners of the pigs a severe financial loss. Obviously such
questions miss the point of the gospel story itself being recounted for a
symbolic and religious purpose.
Pertinent Thoughts from
Other Christian Scholars
The word ‘deep’ may mean ‘empty:’ do not cast out into
the empty, or into the nothing.
“What is thy name?” In the JST Jesus commands him to
“Declare thy name.” (Mark 5:9)
A first century general belief was that by using the
true name of an entity this would give a person power over it.
Glenn R. McGettigan
April 2019
References
“Our Lord of the Gospels.” Clark
“The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah.” Edersheim. 1883
“The
Life and Words of Christ.” Geikie. 1844
“Doctrinal New Testament Commentary.” Volume 1. McConkie
“Jesus the Christ.” Talmage
“The Life of Christ.” Farrar. 1874
“Life of Jesus the
Messiah.” Howick
“Teachings of Prophet Joseph
Smith.” Smith
“The Anchor Bible,
Mark.” Mann
“The
Anchor Bible, Luke.” Fitzmyer
“The
Life and Teachings of Jesus Christ.” Volume 1. Holzaphel
