Text:
28 And when he came to the other side, into the country of the Gergesites, there met him two demon-possessed men coming out of the tombs, exceedingly agitated, so that no man was able He passes that way. 29 And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with you, Jesus, Son of God? Did you come here before the time to torment us? 30 And far away from them was a herd of many swine feeding. 31 Then the demons begged him, saying, “If you will cast us out, allow us to go into the herd of swine.” 32 Then he said to them, “Go.” So they went out and went to the herd of swine, and behold, the whole herd of swine ran down the cliff into the sea, and died in the waters. 33 But the shepherds fled and went into the city, and they told everything about the matter with the demoniacs. 34 And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. When they saw him, they asked him to leave their borders.
Explanation of my parish bulletin:
تقع كورة الجرجسيين جنوبي شرقي بحيرة طبرية في الجليل. كان سكانها من غير اليهود كما يتضح من النص إذ كانوا يربّون الخنازير. الشريعة اليهودية حرّمت تربية الخنازير إذ اعتبرتها حيوانات نجسة.
“مجنونان خارجان من القبور شرسان جداً”. الأصل اليوناني يقول ” ممسوسان” وليس” مجنونان” اي انسانان واقعان تحت سلطة الأرواح الشريرة. القبور عبارة عن كهوف إما طبيعية او محفورة في الصخر. كانت الخرافات الشعبية تعتبر القبور نجسة لذلك جعلتها الملجأ المناسب للممسوسي يخبرنا كل من الإنجيليين مرقس ولوقا أن تقييد الممسوسين بالسلاسل لم ينجح بضبطهما اذ كانوا يكسرونها ويتحررون منها ( مرقس 5: 3-4 ولوقا 8: 29 ).
” ما لنا ولك يا يسوع ابن الله ” هذا كلام وضعه الإنجيل على لسان الشياطين ليظهر التصادم الكلي بين سلطان المسيح وسلطان والأرواح الشريرة.
” قبل الزمان” او ” قبل الأوان” اي قبل اليوم الأخير موعد الدينونة. لم يتوقع الشياطين حضور يسوع الشخصي بين البشر وفي البشَرة لذلك تعجبوا من مجيء يسوع قبل الآوان الذي لا يبقى فيه غير السلطان الالهي. طلب الشياطين ليسوع ان يخرجهم الى الخنازير يعني عند متى ان أنجس الحيوانات بنظر اليهود هو المكان اللائق بالشيطان.
” فقال لهم اذهبوا “. يسوع يتفوه بكلمة واحدة فقط. مجرد الامر البسيط كافٍ ليغيّر الأمور وهذا دليل على سلطان يسوع المطلق. يردد الإنجيلي متى هذه الفكرة في اكثر من موضع اذ يذكر ان يسوع ” أخرج الأرواح بكلمة وشفى جميع المرضى” ( متى 8: 16). لا بد ان هذا التصرف يظهر البعد الشاسع بين سلطان يسوع وسلطان السحرة والمشعوذين الذين كانوا يستعملون العقاقير والتعاويذ والرقى لطرد الارواح الشريرة.
As soon as the demons went to the pigs, the herd jumped and died in the water. No one regretted this, because no one should own a pig.
هرب الرعاة من الخوف وليس واضحا بالنص مما خافوا, ربما ظنوا ان يسوع ” برئيس الشياطين يخرج الشياطين” ( متى 9: 34) كما اتهمه الفريسيون. خوف الرعاة امتد الى سامعيهم من اهل المدينة لذلك طلبوا من يسوع ان يغادر ارضهم. لا شك ان هذا عائد الى الاعتقاد الشعبي بأن الشيطان الاقوى يتغلب على من هو أضعف منه.
We note that this text includes elements of popular imagination dating back to that period, such as talk about spirits residing in graves and wildernesses and attributing insanity to evil spirits.
The ancient Jewish and pagan world attributed mental possession to Satan. Based on this popular belief, possession in the Bible is attributed to an evil spirit. Is this spirit possessing all the possessed people whom Jesus healed, or is this a popular expression used by the Gospel to speak the language of the people at that time? What the Gospel wanted in all these incidents was that Christ liberated humanity from the fear of spirits and from the control of spirits over minds. The power now belongs to Jesus.
My parish bulletin
Sunday, July 11, 1993
Issue 28
Explanation of the bulletin of the Diocese of Latakia
Questions about the Gospel passage
- The Evangelist Matthew mentions that they were crazy, while the Evangelists Mark and Luke mention one person. Why?
Some believe that the two evangelists were satisfied with mentioning the famous person, for whom the region was in pain, while Saint John Chrysostom believes that they mentioned one person who suffers more than the other, and that whoever heals one person also heals another. Some believe that the two evangelists were satisfied with the person who established the dialogue with the Lord. Their goal is not to tell the story as a historical event, but rather to announce the possibility of healing. - Who is this crazy person?
He represents humanity that has been enslaved to the enemy of good for a long time, bound by the chains of sin and the shackles of evil. She became outside the city, outside the paradise that was established for her, without a home, as she deprived herself of dwelling with God, stripped of the garment of divine grace, harmed herself, and fled toward the wilderness because she could not bear the life of love and fellowship with God and people! - ماذا يعني قول المجنون للسيد “أجئت إلى هنا قبل الوقت لتعذبنا؟”
A phrase that explains that all people looked at Christ as a human being, but the demons preached him as a god. A clear acknowledgment by the demons of the power and divinity of Christ. The Bible tells us that at the end of the world, Satan and his angels will be cast into the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41 and Revelation 20:14). By saying this, they proved that they knew their final fate and that the presence of Christ opened hell before them, so they feared that the hour of punishment had arrived. - Why did Christ respond to the devils' request and allow them to enter the herd of pigs? What is the fault of this creation? What is the fault of their owners?
He did not do this in response to their benefit, but through his work he wants to teach us many things:
أولاً – He wanted to teach those liberated from evil tyrants the greatness of the devastation caused by the devils that afflict people.
ثانياً – So that everyone knows that demons do not dare to enter even pigs if the Lord does not allow them to do so.
ثالثاً – The devils can cause these people worse evils than what happened to pigs if they do not preserve their souls.
A great degree in the midst of their misery with God's care. Because it is clear to everyone that demons hate us more than non-speaking animals. Therefore, those who did not have mercy on the pigs, but in a moment threw them into the abyss, how much more would they do to the people themselves who are under their authority, leading them to the wilderness, if God’s providence does not intervene to put an end to them and stop their subsequent attacks.
رابعاً – By this action, God declared His evaluation of the human soul. He was willing to let the herd of pigs perish in order to save two people. - What is the spiritual conclusion from this marvel?
Every person who is not deterred by anything and carried away by the strong inclination of his passion for every evil deed is no different from a man possessed by a demon, who walks around naked like that, wearing clothes but not wearing the real garment, naked of all the glory that befits him, not cutting his body with stones, but with his sins, which cut off more than many stones. .
من يستطيع إذاً ان يقيّد مثل هذا الانسان؟ من يستطيع أن يضع حداً لشرّه ولازدرائه الذي لا يسمح له أن يؤّنب ذاته بل هو موجود دائماً في القبور؟ لأنه هكذا تكون مصف الزواني التي هي مملوءة من كل رائحة كريهة ومن كل وسخ…
“لماذا جئت قبل الأوان، لتعذبنا؟”
Many Christians consider Satan a pious invention of believers who want to identify evil, or justify their human desires thereby.
لكن الشيطان بحسب التعليم الكتابيّ شخص حيّ وموجود . في النصّ الذي سمعناه نراه يتكّلم مع المسيح مباشرًة ويخاطبه…
Satan was an angel, but his pride and his attempt to build a kingdom for himself without God pushed him from the rank of the brightest angel to the darkest. It reduced him from an angel of light to a malicious, evil spirit.
God allowed Satan to work before the final judgment on him in the general judgment, because it benefits the spiritual perfection of man. The conflict between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan is ongoing, even if its end is known.
الشيطان يعرف أنّه مغلوب في النهاية ولكنّه “يجول كالأسد يريد أن يبتلع فريسة له ما دام بعدُ زمان “. لذلك قال ليسوع بعد أن طرده من اﻟﻤﺠنونين : “لماذا جئتَ قبل الآوان، لتعذبنا “. إنَّ تجسد المسيح، وعمله، وعجائبه، وتأسيسه للكنيسة وأسرارها، وفيضَ نعمة الروح القدس فيها، يشكّلون بالنسبة للشيطان انكساراً قبل الدينونة الأخيرة، أي تعذيباً له قبل الآوان.
“فأخذت الشياطين تطلب إليه قائلة: إن كنت تخرجنا فأذن لنا أن نذهب إلى قطيع الخنازير”.
يقول القديس يوحنا الذهبي الفم : “إن الرب سمح للشياطين أن تدخل في الخنازير ليظهر للناس كم تُسبب لهم شروراً أرهب مما حدث للخنازير إن لم يصونوا نفوسهم بعناية الله . فإذا كانت الشياطين قد فعلت ذلك بالحيوانات غير الناطقة فكم بالحري يفعلون بالناس الذين دخلوا تحت سلطتهم”.
Christ came to bring his kingdom on earth. Satan tried from the beginning of Jesus' message, in the temptation on the mountain, to make an agreement with him, when he promised him to give him all those kingdoms if Jesus contributed to spreading the kingdom of Satan as well and bowed down to him. But God forbid that he should become a second devil. Rejecting Christ, in that temptation, means that He began a kingdom whose ways differ from the snares of Satan and whose paths differ from the ways of this evil one.
Jesus chose the paths of his kingdom planted with crosses, and placed on the shoulders of his allies and disciples sacrifice instead of interest, sacrifice instead of exploitation, honesty instead of deception, in other words, the narrow path that leads to life, instead of that deception that leads to destruction.
Lattakia Archbishopric Bulletin
8 / 7 / 2001
Number: 23