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LESSON XII.—SABBATH, JUNE 17, 1899

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Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, Cal. · May 31, 1899

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 25, No. 22.

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LESSON XII.—SABBATH, JUNE 17, 1899

THE DEMONIACS, AND OTHER MIRACLES OF HEALING.

1 "And they came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. And when He was come out of the boat, straightway there met Him out of the tombs a man with 3 an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling in the tombs; and no 4 man could any more bind him, no, not with a chain; because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been rent asunder by him, and the fetters broken 5 in pieces; and no man had strength to tame him. And always, night and day, in the tombs and in the mountains, he was cry-6 ing out, and cutting himself with stones. And when he saw 7 Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him; and crying out with a loud voice, he saith, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the Most High God? I adjure Thee by 8 God, torment me not. For He said unto him, Come out of9 thou unclean spirit, out of the man. And He asked him, What 10 is thy name? And he saith unto Him, My name is Legion; 11 for we are many. And he besought Him much that He would 12 not send them away out of the country. Now there was there 13 on the mountain side a great herd of swine feeding. And they 14 besought Him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may 15 enter into them. And He gave them leave. And the unclean spirits came out, and entered into the swine; and the herd 16 rushed down the steep into the sea, in number about two 17 thousand; and they were choked in the sea. And they that 18 fed them fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And 19 they came to see what it was that had come to pass. And 20 they came to Jesus, and behold him that was possessed with 21 devils sitting, clothed and in his right mind, even him that had 22 the legion, and they were afraid. And they that saw it declared 23 unto them how it befell him that was possessed with devils, 24 and concerning the swine. And they began to beseech Him 25 to depart from their borders. And as He was entering into 26 the boat, he that had been possessed with devils besought Him 27 that he might be with Him. And He suffered him not, but 28 saith unto him, Go to thy house unto thy friends, and tell them 29 how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and how He had 30 mercy on thee. And he went his way, and began to pub-31 lish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him; 32 and all men did marvel."
37 "And He suffered no man to follow with Him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James."
40 "And they laughed Him to scorn. But He, having put them 41 all forth, taketh the father of the child and her mother and 42 them that were with Him, and goeth in where the child was. 43 And taking the child by the hand, He saith unto her, Talitha 44 cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, 45 Arise. And straightway the damsel rose up, and walked; 46 for she was twelve years old. And they were amazed straight-47 way with a great amazement. And He charged them much 48 that no man should know this; and He commanded that 49 something should be given her to eat."
34 "And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him, they besought Him that He would depart from their borders."
23 "And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute-players, and the crowd making a tumult."
40 "And as Jesus returned, the multitude welcomed Him; for 41 they were all waiting for Him. And behold, there came a man 42 named Jairus, and he was a ruler of the synagogue; and he fell 43 down at Jesus' feet, and besought Him to come into his house; 44 for he had an only daughter, about twelve years of age, and 45 she lay a dying. But as He went the multitudes thronged 46 Him. 47 "And a woman having an issue of blood twelve years, which 48 had spent all her living upon physicians, and could not be 49 healed of any, came behind Him, and touched the border 50 of His garment; and immediately the issue of her blood 51 staunched. And Jesus said, Who is it that touched Me? And 52 when all denied, Peter said, and they that were with him, 53 Master, the multitudes press Thee and crush Thee. But Jesus 54 said, Some one did touch Me; for I perceived that power had 55 gone forth from Me. And when the woman saw that she was 56 not hid, she came trembling, and falling down before Him 57 declared in the presence of all the people for what cause she 58 touched Him, and how she was healed immediately. And 59 He said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; 60 go in peace. 61 "While He yet spake, there cometh one from the ruler of the 62 synagogue's house, saying, Thy daughter is dead; trouble not 63 the Master. But Jesus hearing it, answered him, Fear not; 64 only believe, and she shall be made whole."

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

NOTE.—The texts inclosed in marks of parentheses, while not essential to the lesson study, will be found to throw much light upon the lesson, and are suggested for those who wish to study further.
  1. Christ having stilled the tempest, where did He and His disciples soon land? Mark 5:1. Note 1. (Luke 8: 26.)
  2. Upon landing from the boat, who met the Saviour? Verses 2-5. Note 2. (Matt. 8: 28.)
  3. How did he approach Jesus? Verses 6, 7. (Matt. 8: 29.)
  4. Why did the demoniac thus address Christ? Verse 8. (Luke 8: 28.)
  5. When asked his name, what reply did the suffering man make? Verse 9.
  6. What request was then asked in behalf of the demons? Verse 10. (Luke 8: 31.)
  7. Where did the demons desire to go? Verses 11, 12.
  8. What was the result of their being permitted to enter the swine? Verses 13, 14.
  9. In consequence of the extended report by the swine-herders, how many came to meet Jesus? Matt. 8: 34. (Luke 8: 37.)
  10. When the people saw what was done, how were they affected? Mark 5: 15-17.
  11. As Jesus was complying with the people's request, what earnest plea was made by the restored man? With what result? Verses 18-20. Note 3.
  12. Upon returning to the other side of the lake, how did the people there receive Jesus? Luke 8: 40. (Mark 5: 21.)
  13. Just then who came to Jesus? With what request? Verses 41, 42. (Mark 5: 22, 23, Matt. 9: 18.)
  14. Tell the story of the woman who touched the garment of Christ while He was on His way to the ruler's house. Verses 43-48. (Mark 5: 26-28.)
  15. During this circumstance, what message was brought to Jesus from the ruler's house? Verse 49.
  16. Upon hearing this, what comforting words did Jesus address to the ruler? Verse 50. (Mark 5: 36.)
  17. Arriving at the house, what did Jesus find? Matt. 9: 23. Note 4. (Mark 5: 38, 39.)
  18. Having put out the noisy throng, what did the Lord then do? Mark 5: 40, 41, 37.
  19. What followed the Lord's words? How were the child's parents touched? Verse 42. (Luke 8: 56.)
  20. What charge was then given them? Verse 43.
Side Lights.—"Desire of Ages," pp. 337-342; "Spirit of Prophecy," vol. 2, pp. 311-324.

NOTES.

  1. Gadara was the fortified capital of Perea, the "country of the Gadarenes" or Gergesenes. It was about eight miles southeast from Tiberias. The present ruins of the city are about two miles in circumference. The tombs were in the sides of the cliffs, round about the city, some of which are still preserved, and used by Arabs for dwellings.
  2. The demoniacs.—Mark and Luke speak of but one demoniac coming to Christ, while Matthew introduces two. The lesson here given follows the two former accounts, simply because they are more complete in detail. While two demoniacs were present, probably one of them made the prominent demonstrations, which would explain why only one is mentioned by the two evangelists.
  3. JESUS readily complied with the selfish request of the Gergesenes to leave their coasts, even tho He was deprived of the needed rest He had sought in crossing the lake; for He knew that, altho He was to be absent in person, the restored demoniac would proclaim the truth instead. The record states that he "began to publish in Decapolis" (meaning ten cities) the things Jesus had done for him. Pliny says that this district reached from Damascus on the north to Philadelphia on the south, and from Scythopolis on the west to Canatha on the east. Six other cities than those here mentioned were included: Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Gerasa, Dion, and Raphana. All of these cities except Scythopolis were on the east side of the Jordan.
  4. THESE "minstrels" were hired mourners, who kept up continual discord on wind instruments, accompanied with wild howls of lamentation. The number of these mourners was in proportion to the wealth of the afflicted family.