"gerasene men/man" problem

[bluemarkus]

hello sons and daughters of the most high
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i have a question:

does it bother you that in mathew god speaks to us about 2 demon-possessed men, whereas in luke and mark the story is about only one man ?
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Mat 8:28 And2532 when he846 was come2064 to1519 the3588 other side4008 into1519 the3588 country5561 of the3588 Gergesenes,1086 there met5221 him846 two1417 possessed with devils,1139 coming1831 out1537 of the3588 tombs,3419 exceeding3029 fierce,5467 so that5620 no3361 man5100 might2480 pass3928 by1223 that1565 way.3598

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Luk 8:26 And2532 they arrived2668 at1519 the3588 country5561 of the3588 Gadarenes,1046 which3748 is2076 over against495 Galilee.1056
Luk 8:27 And1161 when he846 went forth1831 to1909 land,1093 there met5221 him846 out of1537 the3588 city4172 a certain5100 man,435 which3739 had2192 devils1140, (1537) long time,2425, 5550 and2532 wore1737 no3756 clothes,2440 neither2532, 3756 abode3306 in1722 any house,3614 but235 in1722 the3588 tombs.341
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Mar 5:1 And2532 they came over2064 unto1519 the3588 other side4008 of the3588 sea,2281 into1519 the3588 country5561 of the3588 Gadarenes.1046 Mar 5:2 And2532 when he846 was come1831 out of1537 the3588 ship,4143 immediately2112 there met528 him846 out of1537 the3588 tombs3419 a man444 with1722 an unclean169 spirit,4151 Mar 5:3 Who3739 had2192 his dwelling2731 among1722 the3588 tombs;3419 and2532 no man3762 could1410 bind1210 him,846 no, not3777 with chains:254


it bothers me ! (as to perfection of scripture etc. )

can you just swallow such things ? do you not see a major problem ? for me, it bothers me...

can anyone recommend a book on "bible problems" ?

be greeted

Markus

 

[St. Worm2]

From www.carm.org:

A contradiction occurs only when one statement makes the other impossible. If Mark or Luke said that only one demoniac came to Jesus while Matthew says that two came out, then that would be a contradiction. But, if there are two demoniacs, then there is certainly at least one. Therefore, there is no contradiction.

The simple fact is that Matthew mentions two of the demoniacs while Mark and Luke only mention one. We do not know why they chose to mention only one.

This is in accord with much of St. Augustine's thoughts on the matter, but I will take a further look when I have access to my commentaries later today. Certainly this entire passage (though repeated in three of the four Gospels) is one of the more difficult to understand, isn't it!

Yours in Christ,
David

 

[St. Worm2]

Hey Blue, I looked through about a dozen commentaries and all agree on the general thought above, that while two demoniacs were present, Mark and Luke focused only on the one (who was apparently the more remarkable or prominent .. and/or violent .. of the two). D. A. Carson feels that the best explanation is that Matthew himself "had independent knowledge of the second man", and that, as well, it is "not uncommon for the Gospels (in a case like this) to mention only that one".

Hope that helps!

Post Tenebras Lux,
David

 

[bluemarkus]

hey david

thank you for all your research work....
the good thing is that this is exactly what also came to my mind while i
thought on the issue.

whenever problems occur, we have to follow the premise that the bible has to be true, then it is just a question of time/guidance/grace/prayer til we bring clarity to the case...

oh yes, and commentaries can really be helpful !


be blessed brother

MB