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war between Jesus and Satan has been raging since the beginning of time.
Satan, filled with pride, desired to be like God (Isa. 14:14) but failed
in his attempt to establish himself as the ruler of the universe. As
a result he and one-third of the angels of heaven were thrown out of
heaven (Isa. 14:12 Rev. 12:4) and denied the right to live there. However,
Satan has continued causing trouble. Now he encourages people to disobey,
doubt, and deny God. Jesus encountered Satan many times during His earthly
ministry, starting with His initial temptation (Matt. 4:1-11). Satan
lost every battle while Jesus was here on earth. Even the last battle
- Jesus’ death on the cross - was actually a victory for God (Heb.
2:14; 1 Cor. 15:54-57). During Jesus’ ministry many demons were
cast out. On one occasion Jesus expelled a demon and the people started
wondering if He was the promised Messiah promised by the prophets (Matt.
12:23). The religious leaders could not explain away Jesus’ miraculous
exorcism, and so they claimed that He was demon possessed (Mark 3:22).
Jesus responded by warning the people and the wicked leaders that His
ministry was divine in nature and not demonic. The events that followed
and those that we will examine in this study are further proof that He
spoke the truth.Background. In our last study, we saw that
Jesus and the disciples had escaped the crowd by a boat only to encounter
a horrible storm later in the dark of the evening that probably made
the disciples wish they were back on land. These fearful, struggling
disciples finally asked Jesus to rescue them from the raging sea storm
only to become more afraid - afraid of the One who stopped the storm.
The disciples had not yet understood who Jesus truly was.
When we come to this study (Matt. 8:28-34; Mark 5:1-20;
Luke 8:26-39), Jesus and the disciples have arrived at the other side
of the Sea of Galilee.
When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes . . . (NASB) Matt. 8:28a
The gospel of Luke tells us that the country of the Gadarenes was also
called the country of the Gerasenes. In fact the region was known as
the Gadarenes-Gerasenes region. It was opposite Galilee. The region was
known also as the Decopolis because ten Greek cities were located in
the region. The capital of the region was Gerasa, and the largest city
in the region was Gadera. The region was not poor or economically depressed.
From the ruins that are left, it is obvious that the inhabitants were
at least middle-class. They were not poor that is for sure.
Gadara is identified today as Muqeis, or Umm Qeis, overlooking the southern valley of the Yarmuk river. The ruins are extensive, including remnants of two amphitheaters, a basilica, a temple, colonnades, large residence, and an aqueduct, all showing the size, beauty, and importance of the city.[1] When Jesus and the disciples arrived at the other side of the Sea of
Galilee and stepped out of the boat onto the shore, it must have been
in the early morning as the sun just glinted over the horizon. As they
did, two demon possessed men met Jesus and the disciples as they were
passing by some tombs.
. . . two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. (NASB) Matt. 8:28b Most likely they landed near the ancient town of Gergesa which now appears
to be called Kursi. Today, visitors can view a number of limestone caves
along the seashore. Gergesa should not be confused with Gerasa or Gadera.
Gadera is about 6 miles (9.6 km) southeast of the Sea of Galilee and
Gerasa is another 35 miles (56 km) southeast. Gergesa is midway along
the eastern coast of the Sea of Galilee.
Possessed Men. The two demon possessed
men who came out of the tombs apparently attacked anyone who came near
them. They were extremely violent.
They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way. (NASB) Matt. 8:28c The gospels of Mark and Luke only refer to one man, the leader, who
was naked.
And when He came out onto the land, He was met by a man from the city who was possessed with demons; and who had not put on any clothing for a long time, and was not living in a house, but in the tombs. (NASB) Luke 8:27
Reference:
 1. Merrill C. Tenny, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Zondervan. 1977. vol. 2. p. 623. |
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