Much has been said and written about the world's reaction to Jesus' witness to the Kingdom that He brought into the world, just as much has been said and written about its reaction to Him Himself. And yet the brightest illustrations of this reaction are precisely the Gospel stories, despite the brevity often characteristic of them...
Much has been said and written about the world's reaction to Jesus' witness to the Kingdom that He brought into the world, just as much has been said and written about its reaction to Him Himself. And yet the brightest illustrations of this reaction are precisely the Gospel stories, despite the brevity often characteristic of them.
Such is also the story of Jesus' healing of the possessed man. In itself, from a spiritual point of view, such a healing was an outstanding event, even apart from the fate of the particular person freed from the burdensome power of the dark forces over him. But the inhabitants of those places were pagans, and in those times this meant practical irreligion. It is hard to say what they thought about the possessed man living not far from them, but in any case his healing, it appears, did not impress them very much. Something else impressed them instead: the loss of an entire, and probably rather large, herd of pigs.
Of course, the first reaction of anyone reading the Gospel to such indifference will be surprise, and perhaps indignation. But if one thinks about it, the reaction of the inhabitants of a typical pagan city was completely natural for pagans. Pagans are simply people who live by the laws of the untransformed world and know, or do not wish to know, any others. And in the untransformed world, inertia, worldview stereotypes, and behavioral patterns play an enormous role. People who live by its laws feel truly comfortable in it, and it never occurs to them that this comfort is deficient by definition.
The abnormality of the situation is emphasized by the constant presence beside the inhabitants of the city of a herd of pigs: from the point of view of the Torah, pigs are unclean animals, defiling the place where they live and the people who come into contact with them. Accordingly, the pagans in the Gospel story live in a state of uncleanness that is normal for them, just as it is generally normal for the fallen world. And all their behavior, all their reactions are "tuned" to this fallen world. The spiritual dimension in the proper sense of the word does not exist for them, while they understand very well what material loss is. And therefore the presence of Jesus frightens them.
Of course, trouble can be expected from Him, especially if the trouble is the very presence of the spiritual dimension in one's own life. And the townspeople honestly, with all the frankness characteristic of man, ask Him to leave. And He leaves: the Kingdom is not imposed by force; it can be accepted only by free will.
8
8:23 Mar 4:35; Luk 8:22.
8:24 The ship was covered - So man's extremity is God's opportunity.
8:26 Why are ye fearful - Then he rebuked the winds - First, he composed their spirits, and then the sea.
8:28 The country of the Gergesenes - Or of the Gadarenes - Gergesa and Gadara were towns near each other. Hence the country between them took its name, sometimes from the one, sometimes from the other. There met him two demoniacs - St. Mark and St.Luke mention only one, who was probably the fiercer of the two, and the person who spoke to our Lord first. But this is no way inconsistent with the account which St. Matthew gives. The tombs - Doubtless those malevolent spirits love such tokens of death and destruction. Tombs were usually in those days in desert places, at a distance from towns, and were often made in the sides of caves, in the rocks and mountains. No one could pass - Safely. Mar 5:1; Luk 8:26.
8:29 What have we to do with thee - This is a Hebrew phrase, which signifies. Why do you concern yourself about us? Mat 16:10.Before the time - The great day.
8:30 There was a herd of many swine - Which it was not lawful for the Jews to keep. Therefore our Lord both justly and mercifully permitted them to be destroyed.
8:31 He said, Go - A word of permission only, not command.
8:34 They besought him to depart out of their coasts - They loved their swine so much better than their souls! How many are of the same mind!
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9:1 His own city - Capernaum, Mat 4:13. Mar 5:18; Luk 8:37.
9:2 Seeing their faith - Both that of the paralytic, and of them that brought him. Son - A title of tenderness and condescension. Mar 2:3; Luk 5:18.
9:3 This man blasphemeth - Attributing to himself a power (that of forgiving sins) which belongs to God only.
9:5 Which is easier - Do not both of them argue a Divine power?Therefore if I can heal his disease, I can forgive his sins: especially as his disease is the consequence of his sins.Therefore these must be taken away, if that is.
9:6 On earth - Even in my state of humiliation.
9:8 So what was to the scribes an occasion of blaspheming, was to the people an incitement to praise God.