Mark presents the Iesous as the Unique One who purposefully sets out to go to the country of the Gadarenes. You might remember from the Old Testament history that the tribe of Gad did not cross over the Jordan River with the other tribes but elected to stay on the other side of the river. That ancient decision not to accompany the other tribes proved very costly to the tribe of Gad in many ways.
Over time degeneracy set in until the Gadarenes themselves became pig farmers This industry or business was illegal for the Jewish people according to the Law of Moses (Torah). Iesosu is therefore stepping into the country of those who have set aside their covenant obligation and the resulting consequences in order to rescue one who has been shattered by life.
Mark states that this man was terrifying and violent, and that as soon as he saw the Iesous he ran to him. The text states that this individual lived among the tombs. The verb 'lived' has the prefixed preposition kata whose root meaning is 'down' and thus adds the idea of permanency to the customary state of the individual. The word relates therefore to the man's settled habitation. The English equivalent to this is the term 'settled down.'
This poor man found himself in a condition that completely captured and held him down. He could not free himself from his condition. He had settled down in his condition. He was completely overthrown by his miserable estate. Alas, he found himself separated from himself. The separation that he was experiencing within himself was outwardly manifested by where he habituated (lived). It was illegal in the Law of Moses to come into contact with a dead body or bodies. So not only was this man split off from himself, but was also legally unclean according to the Law of Moses.
Furthermore, he had been bound by chains and fetters, that he subsequently broke asunder because he possessed unnatural strength. The chains and fetters were an ancient form of a strait jacket that could not hold him. He had escaped from his outward bonds, but he could not escape his inward bonds. For the man to escape his crushing inner bonds would require another type of strength.
Mark further adds that this man was given to shocking screams of despair. This alone would have sent many running away from him. His agonizing and pathetic cries gave strained vocalic expression to his deep distress. Yet the Ieosus went to meet him. This wretched one would also cut himself up, or hack away at his flesh so much so that his entire body was covered with jagged scars and lesions. His 'cutting' or self-mutilation was a memorial to his unspeakable misery. Yet, the Iesous went to meet him.
In the midst of his horrifying self-fragmentation this miserable one ran to the Iesous. What a marvelous scene we have before us. The Iesous (Saving One, the Comforter), had come to meet the radically Comfortless One. The Peace-giver has come to give peace to the one who knows no peace. The Fountain of Hope has come to give hope to the one who knows no hope.
This man did not come to the Iesous after he had cleaned himself up, nor did he wait to come to the Iesous after he had taken a few classes on self-help analysis. This man came to the Iesous as he was.
Psychologists and Christian counselors today must sometimes wait for clients to unmask themselves before the salve of therapeutic insight can be applied to their smarting wounds, and sometimes this process can take years. This one however, was ready for healing.
When he stood before the Iesous a new revelation emerged from his tortured existence. An unearthly voice spoke from his vocal cords that did not plead for healing. The presence of the demonic manifested itself through the man's personality. It is at that point that the ancient world of the Iesous and the post-modern world depart.
The post-modern world does not accept nor believe in the demonic. The post-modern world does not believe that an incorporeal spirit can inhabit, and take control of an individual's personality and orchestrate his behavior patterns.
Surely there was a neuro-chemical or neuro-anatomical problem that would cause such behavior on the part of this man. But his behavior is outside of the realm of differential diagnosis. This man has been imprisoned by a supernatural evil spirit. The Iesous approaches the man, without apology to the post-modern world, for his world-view.
Mark adds: "...no one could tame him." The behavior of the maniac is not explainable in terms of conventional wisdom.
The Iesous stepped into the inner chaos of the miserable one. The Ieosus experienced the restless world of the maniac in the first person. Iesous was there with him. There was no quick reference for Iesous to consult. He is the Great Physician. He is the Wonderful Counselor who knows the depths of human need.
The assessment of God was that the man needed to be relieved of the presence of the demonic. And that is what the Iesous does. He commands the oppressing spirit to leave the man's heart, and it does at his command.
The church has forgotten that the Iesous confronted the worse of human problems with the wisdom and power of God at his disposal. The Iesous always wins. There is no human problem or issue that he does not negotiate perfectly and successfully. He is the complete and irrefutable winner in every bewildering circumstance of life.
He healed the demonized man completely. The man was not given a masking of medication to hide his condition. The man was not scheduled for endless sessions of follow-up counseling. The Iesous restored him completely. The Iesous delivered the man from his inner destruction (apoleia) that created unrelieved misery in his life.
Beloved, do you know someone who is need of being rescued form the edge of life? Do you believe in the effectual effective prayer of the righteous? Then go before God with a clean heart and began to ask for deliverance for the one oppressed by life. The Iesous has come to seek and to save the lost (apoleia).
Apoleia is the Greek word for 'lost.' It means that which is destroyed. God knows how to re-create that which has been ruined by sin and the ravages of the demonic.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.
Mark states that this man was terrifying and violent, and that as soon as he saw the Iesous he ran to him. The text states that this individual lived among the tombs. The verb 'lived' has the prefixed preposition kata whose root meaning is 'down' and thus adds the idea of permanency to the customary state of the individual. The word relates therefore to the man's settled habitation. The English equivalent to this is the term 'settled down.'
This poor man found himself in a condition that completely captured and held him down. He could not free himself from his condition. He had settled down in his condition. He was completely overthrown by his miserable estate. Alas, he found himself separated from himself. The separation that he was experiencing within himself was outwardly manifested by where he habituated (lived). It was illegal in the Law of Moses to come into contact with a dead body or bodies. So not only was this man split off from himself, but was also legally unclean according to the Law of Moses.
Furthermore, he had been bound by chains and fetters, that he subsequently broke asunder because he possessed unnatural strength. The chains and fetters were an ancient form of a strait jacket that could not hold him. He had escaped from his outward bonds, but he could not escape his inward bonds. For the man to escape his crushing inner bonds would require another type of strength.
Mark further adds that this man was given to shocking screams of despair. This alone would have sent many running away from him. His agonizing and pathetic cries gave strained vocalic expression to his deep distress. Yet the Ieosus went to meet him. This wretched one would also cut himself up, or hack away at his flesh so much so that his entire body was covered with jagged scars and lesions. His 'cutting' or self-mutilation was a memorial to his unspeakable misery. Yet, the Iesous went to meet him.
In the midst of his horrifying self-fragmentation this miserable one ran to the Iesous. What a marvelous scene we have before us. The Iesous (Saving One, the Comforter), had come to meet the radically Comfortless One. The Peace-giver has come to give peace to the one who knows no peace. The Fountain of Hope has come to give hope to the one who knows no hope.
This man did not come to the Iesous after he had cleaned himself up, nor did he wait to come to the Iesous after he had taken a few classes on self-help analysis. This man came to the Iesous as he was.
Psychologists and Christian counselors today must sometimes wait for clients to unmask themselves before the salve of therapeutic insight can be applied to their smarting wounds, and sometimes this process can take years. This one however, was ready for healing.
When he stood before the Iesous a new revelation emerged from his tortured existence. An unearthly voice spoke from his vocal cords that did not plead for healing. The presence of the demonic manifested itself through the man's personality. It is at that point that the ancient world of the Iesous and the post-modern world depart.
The post-modern world does not accept nor believe in the demonic. The post-modern world does not believe that an incorporeal spirit can inhabit, and take control of an individual's personality and orchestrate his behavior patterns.
Surely there was a neuro-chemical or neuro-anatomical problem that would cause such behavior on the part of this man. But his behavior is outside of the realm of differential diagnosis. This man has been imprisoned by a supernatural evil spirit. The Iesous approaches the man, without apology to the post-modern world, for his world-view.
Mark adds: "...no one could tame him." The behavior of the maniac is not explainable in terms of conventional wisdom.
The Iesous stepped into the inner chaos of the miserable one. The Ieosus experienced the restless world of the maniac in the first person. Iesous was there with him. There was no quick reference for Iesous to consult. He is the Great Physician. He is the Wonderful Counselor who knows the depths of human need.
The assessment of God was that the man needed to be relieved of the presence of the demonic. And that is what the Iesous does. He commands the oppressing spirit to leave the man's heart, and it does at his command.
The church has forgotten that the Iesous confronted the worse of human problems with the wisdom and power of God at his disposal. The Iesous always wins. There is no human problem or issue that he does not negotiate perfectly and successfully. He is the complete and irrefutable winner in every bewildering circumstance of life.
He healed the demonized man completely. The man was not given a masking of medication to hide his condition. The man was not scheduled for endless sessions of follow-up counseling. The Iesous restored him completely. The Iesous delivered the man from his inner destruction (apoleia) that created unrelieved misery in his life.
Beloved, do you know someone who is need of being rescued form the edge of life? Do you believe in the effectual effective prayer of the righteous? Then go before God with a clean heart and began to ask for deliverance for the one oppressed by life. The Iesous has come to seek and to save the lost (apoleia).
Apoleia is the Greek word for 'lost.' It means that which is destroyed. God knows how to re-create that which has been ruined by sin and the ravages of the demonic.
For more information about Dr. Rich and his teaching ministry, please follow this blog and visit his website.
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