Life of Jesus

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• Life of Jesus
• Dr. Samuel Lamerson
• March 11, 2007- Jesus and Evil Beings

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Chapter 828-34
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• Matthew 828-31 28 And when He had come to the
  other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two
  men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were
  coming out of the tombs they were so exceedingly
  violent that no one could pass by that road. 29
  And behold, they cried out, saying, "What do we
  have to do with You, Son of God? Have You come
  here to torment us before the time?" 30 Now
  there was at a distance from them a herd of many
  swine feeding. 31 And the demons began to
  entreat Him, saying, "If You are going to cast us
  out, send us into the herd of swine."

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• Matthew 832-34 32 And He said to them,
  "Begone!" And they came out, and went into the
  swine, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the
  steep bank into the sea and perished in the
  waters. 33 And the herdsmen ran away, and went
  to the city, and reported everything, including
  the incident of the demoniacs. 34 And behold,
  the whole city came out to meet Jesus and when
  they saw Him, they entreated Him to depart from
  their region.

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• Why Study This Topic?
• 1. The books and movies are everywhere
• Exorcism of Emily Rose
• June 15, 2006-Death of a nun as an Orthodox
  Priest attempted an exorcism
• Andrea Yates- in 2001 drowned her children in an
  attempt to release the devil from them
• 2. The topic is central to the life of Jesus

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• Hermeneutical Issues
• What does it mean to be demonized (a much
  better word than the term demon possessed)? This
  term occurs 13 times only in the Gospels
• Are the Gospels/Acts normative for the rest of
  time?
• How much power do these entities have?

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• General Observations
• Noun demon occurs over 50 times in the Gospels
  and Acts and only 9 times in the rest of the NT
• Other expressions are unclean spirit sometimes
  in or having an unclean
• Many times the demonized are connected with those
  who are sick. The person is never blamed
• They know who Jesus was.
• No props are used.
• The exorcism is not protracted.

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• Gadarenes Demoniac
• The most extensive narrative about the demonized
  in the Gospels. (Mt. 8, Mk. 5, Lk 8)
• Follows the stilling of the storm in all three
  Gospels, thus showing Christs power over the
  natural and supernatural.
• The men lived in the tombs, commonly associated
  with evil
• They had unusual strength
• They mutilated themselves
• They know that Christ is superior

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• Gadarenes Demoniac
• Only here does Jesus inquire about the name and
  does not use the name in the exorcism.
• All of the entities are expelled together.
• The event causes fear and unease on the part of
  many so that they ask Jesus to leave the area.

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• IMPORTANT LESSONS
• 1. Those who are without Christ are hopeless.
• 2. Those who meet Christ are healed.
• 3. Those who reject Christ are hateful. They do
  not care about these men, they care about the
  pigs.