The Weekend Word

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5 Responses

  1. Jean says:

    My understanding is that the Gadarenes was in Decapolis, a region of 10 Greek origin city states, which constituted the Eastern frontier of the Roman Empire. Rome stationed 2 Legions there, to keep an eye on both Palestine and the Roman boarder. The swine herding may have supported Roman troops.

    MLD, do you see any evidence from the text that Jesus’ visit there and the whole encounter had any political undertones? Was this story anti-imperial?

  2. Jean,
    All that you say about the region is true – but I do not see anything ‘political’ in it. I think Jesus is making the point that he, his work and his salvation is open to all, by entering gentile country and casting out demons to show his authority to strangers of the God of Abraham.

    Now if there was any political undertones it would be for the same purpose – not to overthrow the government and especially not to encourage others to do so, but for people to see and then listen to what the spirit has to say.

  3. Michael says:

    “a Jesus who isn’t engaged in conflict with Satan isn’t the Jesus of the Gospels. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the Devil’s work…Jesus was in a battle with Satan, and if we want to follow Jesus we have to fight the battle that Jesus fought. This seems a rather obvious point, but with all the mental snipping [think Thomas Jefferson’s Bible] going on, due to our doubts and disenchantment, this point is often missed. Jesus was picking a fight. Followers of Jesus have to pick the same fight.’

    Richard Beck

  4. Martin Luther's Disciple says:

    “Jesus was in a battle with Satan, and if we want to follow Jesus we have to fight the battle that Jesus fought. ”

    I am confused and it’s probably my lack of context with Beck’s writing – first who is he?

    Is he saying that Jesus left his work incomplete? What happened to “it is finished” What happened to Jesus is my advocate? What happened to coming to Jesus for rest?

    Help me here.

  5. Michael says:

    “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
    (Ephesians 6:12 ESV)
    Beck is a theologian I’m just getting acquainted with…

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