Gerasene demoniac and Secret Mark: what in a request

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
Post Reply
Giuseppe
Posts: 13732
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:37 am
Location: Italy

Gerasene demoniac and Secret Mark: what in a request

Post by Giuseppe »

Reading again Secret Mark, I note a curious parallelism with the Gerasene episode:

And they went to Bethany and there was a woman whose brother had died. And coming up to him, she prostrated herself before Jesus and said to him, 'Son of David, have mercy on me.' But the disciples rebuked her. And becoming angry, Jesus went with her to the garden where the tomb was. And immediately a great sound was heard from the tomb, and Jesus, going toward it rolled away the stone from the entrance to the tomb. And going in immediately where the young man was, he stretched out a hand and raised him up, holding
his hand. Then, the man looked at him and loved him and he began to call him to his side, that he might be with him. And going from the tomb, they went to the house of the young man. For he was rich. And after six days, Jesus instructed him. And when it was late, the young man went to him. He had put a linen around his naked body, and he remained with him through that night. For Jesus taught him the mystery of the kingdom of God. After he got up from there, he turned to the region of the Jordan."

In Mark 5:1-17 also there is the Gerasene who wants to remain with Jesus, gaining a negative answer by Jesus (differently from the young rich of Secret Mark):


5 They came to the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gerasenes. 2 When He got out of the boat, immediately a man from the tombs with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 and he had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Constantly, night and day, he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones. 6 Seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and shouting with a loud voice, he *said, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he began to implore Him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now there was a large herd of swine feeding nearby on the mountain. 12 The demons implored Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 13 Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.

14 Their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the country. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 They *came to Jesus and *observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened. 16 Those who had seen it described to them how it had happened to the demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. 17 And they began to implore Him to leave their region.

18 As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged to go with him. 19 Jesus did not let him, but said, “Go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 So the man went away and began to tell in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And all the people were amazed.

Note the difference: Jesus doesn't remain secretly with the gerasene, but he remains with the young rich and he even instructs him.

Someone argued that the Gerasene episode is a Judaizing parody of Paul. Jesus sent him to preach to gentiles after his conversion. In this case, differently from Paul, the young rich would be a Judaizing icon of Israel, exalted by Jesus via esoteric meeting in opposition to the gentilizer named Paul.

But someone (myself?) argued also that the gerasene, being the Cyclops Polyphemus, is an allegory of the blind demiurge defeated and converted by Jesus, but left, as punition, in his ignorance about the true identity of Jesus: after all, he has only an eye to know. And not even that!

The young rich would be then a symbol of someone who is in opposition to demiurge. Being he buried in the matter, then he is the male equivalent of the fallen Sophia, entrapped in evil matter. And now rejoint with Jesus.
Nihil enim in speciem fallacius est quam prava religio. -Liv. xxxix. 16.
Giuseppe
Posts: 13732
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2015 5:37 am
Location: Italy

Re: Gerasene demoniac and Secret Mark: what in a request

Post by Giuseppe »

Really, the two interpretations are not in conflict among them.

The Judaizers believed that the Gerasene episode was a parody of Paul persecutor , converted by Jesus but punished by being sent to preach to Gentiles. But the legend of a Paul persecutor was invented by the same Judaizers to denigrate the gentilizer Paul of Marcion. In particular, Paul the Persecutor is a Judaizing fiction when Paul calls himself as THE ektroma, the "abort", so the miracle happened that just the Apostle of the Heretics insulted himself by exactly the accusation addressed by the Gnostics against the bastard demiurge, the fallen "abort" generated by Sophia.

Hence :
  • In the intention of the Judaizers, the Gerasene Demoniac is a parody of Paul Persecutor of the Judaizers,
  • But the Paul Persecutor was already reduced to be an allegory of the "Abort" Demiurge
  • Therefore: in the intention of the original author of the Gerasene episode, the Gerasene Demoniac was an allegory of the evil demiurge.
But prof McDonald is correct to claim that the Gerasene episode is a midrash based on Polyphemous episode in Odissea.

The Gerasene Demoniac is allegory of the Cyclops Polyphemous.

What prof McDonald doesn't know is that, being Mark based on Marcion's Evangelion, it is influenced by marcionism. Hence Polyphemous was chosen as allegory of the demiurge, the god who has a limited knowledge, just as the Cyclops has only an eye to see.
  • Odysseus "heals" Polyphemous from his ignorance by revealing to the Cyclops the true identity of mr. "Nothing": his name is Ulysses. But Odysseus punishes Polyphemous by abandoning him blinded on the island.
  • Jesus "heals" the Gerasene Demoniac by exorcizing Legion, but Jesus punishes the Gerasene by not allowing him to follow Jesus, despite of his request.
Hence, all this serves to explain who is the young rich of Secret Mark. Jesus allows him the knowledge of the true identity of Jesus, differently from the Gerasene Demoniac (=the demiurge).

Jesus is angry when the sister of the young rich hails Jesus as "Son of David", because Jesus is NOT davidic. He is NOT the Son of YHWH, since YHWH is the evil demiurge.

Jesus reveals himself before the young rich only when the young is naked.

Also Adam was naked the first time he knew the Serpent.

When the Serpent gave him the knowledge.

In greek: γνῶσις

Jesus revealed that he was the Serpent.
Nihil enim in speciem fallacius est quam prava religio. -Liv. xxxix. 16.
Post Reply