From the readings of the best texts and from the unsuitability of the locality around Gadara it appears that the proper reading should be "Gerasenes" and the place located at Karsa, on the left bank of the Wadi Samak, near the sea of Galilee. Top Ten Reasons Why There Were Pigs in Gerasenes (Lk 8 ) 10 ) It was the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, the area of the Decapolis. The Catholic Church's interpretation of this verse is sheer nonsense, because the weight of Scripture contradicts it, so true Reformers need to re-read their Bibles. Or are we with those who love what we want and what we have more than we love the Word of life from the only One who can give life? And John nicely parallels Jesus who said, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law (Matthew 5:18). Mark as quoted by Spalde, Annika; Strindlund, Pelle (2012). Its a weird story, but its in the Gospels a couple of times, so we have to accept it as truth. One unambiguous (but hotly debated) verse that supports this doctrine is, If we agree Messiah wrote the Law of God, we should then wonder, (Please dont hide behind that sensational dispensational chart. Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? Israels real enemy is Satan. Remember, Jesus took direct, extensive action against a significant group of Gentile pig farmers he didnt just say something bad against the pigs. Besides Johns cute play on words dont add or God will add consider what plagues he might be talking about and what book he might be talking about. [Israels] real enemy isnt Rome, which barely figures into the gospel story. (Later, in Genesis 8:20, Noah sacrificed some of the clean animals to God as thank you offerings because their ship had come in! And opposite to normal flowers, our lovely Scripture-flower will never dry out or wither away (Isaiah 40:8). A wonderful verse that reveals Him to us and probably the most heartwarming is the commandment in the Torah that mother animals are allowed to stay with their newborns for at least seven days before the offspring can be taken for food or for sacrifice (Exodus 22:30; Leviticus 22:27). And did the Gospels writers believe the explanation was so obvious they didn't need to write one? A great deal of the Law applies only to priests (Leviticus 6:3) and to Levites (Numbers 7:9), so how could Jesus, of the tribe of Judah, keep one of those commandments? in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon why do you think there were pigs there?]. I think Jesus was trying to give to all the sight to see the wrong things in this world we can overcome by walking with Him and His Way of life. Gods altar was also separate and distinct and holy. Pingback: The Prophet in the Hometown A Pilgrim in Augsburg. Christ's journey into "the country of the Gerasenes" (Mark 5:1) was somewhat unusual. The forum, with a semicircle of columns still standing, was paved with large cut stones. when hes rolling around with a thousand killer-demons inside. Not that I believe my case has holes. A may also be a combination of two or more genres. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) Something else to ponder about the Son of God is his other title, The Good Shepherd: David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. Theres another interesting question in the sidelines: if Jews detested pigs, why were there pigs in the area? Explained by Sharing Culture Expert Answers: Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight." Ive not heard that theory before. Also, He is sometimes more open with outsiders/Gentiles than Jews because the negative reaction by the Jewish leaders would hinder his ministry more than rejection by Gentiles. For being kind to birds!? But what are its implications? This, by the way, is Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. In either case, the theological point is not helped by a fictitious story. Living in rural Central Africa villages for ten years, I heard many stories from locals about demon spirits living in streams and trees and boulders. *sigh*). WebGenesis 10:5 Context. (Cf. You know, a month ago, a month ago, if you had said to anyone, You know, Tiger Woods is in slavery. They would have looked at you and said, You've got to be out of your mind. We do not say that to cast the first stone. It was exactly due to his righteousness and his love for God that he killed two thousand pigs. The story of the Gerasene demoniac thereby foreshadows the mission to the Gentiles that would begin in full force with the conversion of the Apostle Paul and Peter's ministry to Cornelius (Acts 910). ), No matter how you slice it, the Almightys negative view of ham and bacon cant suddenly switch from one day to the next. Christ's primary focus was on "the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. It's in Luke chapter 8, verse 18. The land of the Gerasenes was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Can we imagine our Jew receiving a mostly positive reaction or a negative one? (, But MacArthurs logical is funny for another reason. No, at the very best, Scripture is a dazzling lily that started out as a small flower bud, grew and expanded overtime, until finally it opened to show us all its beauty, a beauty that there inside the bud since the beginning, but not fully shown. But as Gergesa was a small village, and little known, the evangelists, who wrote for more distant readers, spoke of the event as taking place in the country of the Gadarenes, so named from its largest city, Gadara; and this country included the country of the Gergesenes as a state includes a county. Thats right, adding or subtracting from Scripture, according to Scripture, is illegal. In other words, they believe the one who killed the pigs with the demons is equal to the Father. They dont care about about the demon possessed men, they want their pigs back, (My opinion) Jesus was raised with sacrifice so animals were thought of for food, not so much as pets like today. The miracle referred to took place, without doubt, near the town of Gergesa, the modern Kersa , close by the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and hence in the country of Gergesenes. Sadly, Luther and other Reformed theologians repeat the same theological rubbish, despite Jesus saying he did not come to destroy the Law. This picking and choosing is completely unbiblical. It was a region of 10 Greco-Roman cities, a Gentile region. Can we really point the finger at him? Well, this happens in the gospel with Jesus. For you Tolkien fans it reminds me of a character in the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. And so this man comes to Jesus, he seeks Him out, and Jesus says to him, What is your name? And the man doesn't know his name. It's this man who doesn't even remember his name who's possessed by a host of demons. That is all I know. Now I want to say very quickly, my friends, that there is no power in this universe that can cause a rationale being to sin. Yet being part of the Godhead means Messiah cannot not flip-flop his opinions. It was part of the Greco-Roman region known as the Decapolis, or ten towns. It was Gentile territory, the land of foreign gods, a place of idolatry. To any Jew, Jesuss actions were crystal clear. Seven Biblical facts await you that prove Jesus was obliged to love all creatures, except that a higher command forced him to partially judge the Jews who owned the two thousand poor pigs. Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, [Let me just pause right there. He was no longer naked and he was no longer babbling and he was no longer living amongst the tombs, but when they came, he was clothed and in his right mind and sitting at the Savior's feet. And lastly, because the herd was within the Land of Israel and owned by Jews (the joke about Gentiles owning them is cleared up below), the unclean swine had to go and the unclean demons did the work. The Law of God states that the Sabbath is a day of rest for all livestock (Deuteronomy 5:14). It's His person and His power that we're having our attention draw to and there are four things in particular that I want you to see in this passage. The real irritation is people saying the Law was impossible to obey, when Scripture says the opposite it true. However, the silversmith was a smart cookie and knew that the more people bought into Pauls line of thinking, Note: Demetrius was angry only because of, Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? Wasnt this just a temporary fix to a bigger problem? The conversation showed that the illness had a will, a coherent sense of past, present and future, knowledge of the supremacy and authority of Jesus Christ, and a compulsion to worship Jesus. That is exactly what is happening here. There's a total change of nature in this man. WebGERASA, GERASENES (, ). He also makes excursions into Gentile territory, such as when he exorcizes the Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). xviii. Be this as it may, the district was being the eternal Son of God. So if you have the ears to hear, the Father and the Son both wrote the Law and gave it to 630,000 men (and women and children) at Mt. What do you want? Also in a side note theres a rock with what looks like a human footprint in it, it is said this is Christs footprint. Dedicated Online Support through Live Chat & Customer Care contact nos. Why do I say that book? What do you love? Jesus made him whole. 11:78). Note that Jesus never touched the demon-inhabited individual: He merely spoke to him, commanding the evil to depart. WebScripture exhorts us to care for animals and not to be cruel to them. Luke is telling you here that Jesus is sovereign over everything. The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. But they dont prove his point. ITS LIKE THE WITCH ON TGE WIZARD OF OZ WebGerasene: [noun] an inhabitant of the ancient Palestinian town Gerasa. And Jews are forbidden by God and His eternal commands to own pigs. Israel doesnt [need] a savior who can fight off a legion of Roman soldiers. As to the second question, there is no doubt of the illegality, from a ritual point of view, of Jews keeping swine (B. Thats right, Whatever matter I am commanding you right now, it's what you must be careful to observe to do. Was it correct to destroy so many for just one (or two men). Add to that that recent studies claim 25% of the world today is antisemitic and ask yourself if racism was better or worse in the past? So why did the meek n merciful Son of Man cast countless defiling demons into two thousand piglets, sows and boars? He is the dividing line here. Every place the Master went on his travels it was to minister to a Jew, just as Paul said, To the Jew first (Romans 1:16 and Romans 2:9-10; ever notice that the New Testament never mentions Christians, just Jews and Gentiles?! When Jesus said, A new commandment I give unto you (John 13:34), he instantly had the undivided attention of the Tedious Twelve disciples because they knew changing the Law was forbidden. Most translations interpret the Hebrew to say, Canaanite, but both are more than possible and perhaps the double meaning was intended by the prophet. Being teachable is a great avenue for learning! Again, these classifications come from God, not man, and show up in Scripture as early as Genesis 7:1-9. To suggest God retracts or repeals laws tarnishes His Dignity. Jewish rabbis, when interpreting the Word of God, follow an important principle: no word in Gods Word is superfluous or pointless. Lastly, even if Mr. Pipers explanation were true, look what its application could mean. (Quite likely David would have let the lion and the bear free, if not for the fact that they came back at him: 2 Samuel 17:35). 2023 Christianity.com. Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? Lots of non-Jews lived there. (, David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. So lets have an exquisite examination of Scripture to better appreciate what happened beside the lake and why the pigs ended up in it. One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he said, Legion, for many demons had entered him. Are we with a man, liberated, who trusted Jesus, who begged to be with Jesus and sought to be a disciple at His feet? And they are no more capable of liberating themselves than this man was capable of liberating himself from this host of demons. THE PIGS DID IT FOR HIM!! III. Peaceable Kingdom Series. (Matt 15:24). Third, I want you to see the change that results in this man after he is not only liberated from these demons, but after he clearly, because of a change of heart, becomes a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this identical detail was written down in three different texts to remind us of the Son of Mans normally tender nature. In any event, the apparent differences in the texts prob. In some of your Bibles, it may say Gergesenes or Gadarenes in the parallel passages in the gospels. I remember my boyhood pastor, Gordon Reed, preaching through a sermon series on the gospel on Mark coming to a passage about demon possession saying, I don't know much about demon possession, but I've read a lot of books about people on demon possession and they don't know much about demon possession either. Well, before you give counsel to Jesus about what He has done in this passage you may want to take stock about how much you know about demon possession. Overall, when it comes to any animal being selected for food or for sacrifice, God sees only two types. Jun 21, 2021. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (, Now, if a Jew can be treated so badly by fellow Jews, lets put on our thinking caps and imagine what happens to a Jew walking straight into a big group of Gentiles. So instead of working or hammering away at the embarrassing elephant in the room, the good pastors spoon out interpretations to us that are not biblical, or dish up corny one-liners, all in the hope that well swallow them or be too busy laughing to connect the dots ourselves. OS Supported: Windows 98SE, Windows Millenium, Windows XP (any edition), Windows Vista, Windows 7 & Windows 8 (32 & 64 Bit). Wed obey Him. In a similar way, we see that Scripture is the same; it doesnt change. We are pleased to launch our new product Money Maker Software for world's best charting softwares like AmiBroker, MetaStock, Ninja Trader & MetaTrader 4. And from what I have heard, preferrably pig blood. It's a picture of His great commission outreach, not just to Jews but to Gentiles also. Pastor MacArthur would do well to learn from his Jewish counterparts. It goes like this: These are the people of Gerasene speaking to Jesus Rabbi be gone. You know that because the people tell Him to leave. Do not add upon it and do not reduce it. Wed also have to confess that the farmers were not Gentile. Demons do not care about the person they possess hence all the cutting and harm the man did to himself. They had rather have their swine than their Saviour, and so, though they saw the demoniac sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, at the feet of Jesus, they in turn beseech that He should take Himself away. You received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it! (Acts 7:53). He also said after much work with people that was possess that most of them dealt in occult practices. The most plausible reason Jesus chose the pigs was because he regarded people as precious and priceless, but not swine. Furthermore, how upset must God get seeing a doctor reach into the womb of a mother and murder her unborn child? Bibliography W. A. Thomson, The Land and the Book (1882), 333-338, 353, 359; C. H. Kraeling, Gerasa, City of the Decapolis (1938); The Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1946), 64, 117; M. F. Unger, Archaeology and the NT (1962), 139-141; E. Lohmeyer, Das Evangelium des Markus (1963), 93f; C. F. Pfeiffer, The Biblical World (1966), 252-254. 15:24), but He was concerned for all peoples. For these reasons, the writers of the gospels gave no explanation and the Twelve asked no question about why Jesus destroyed all the swine. And then they beg to go into the herd of pigs. Over the centuries, many scribes spent an enormous amount of time, energy and resources copying them, thereby lending credibility to them. He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of Him. That is, they appear contrary, except for one thing: Gods Law forbids righteous people from eating pork. He wouldnt have lived long enough to get to a cross to die. Surely He could have demonstrated real power over real demons, right? Demetrius had to do something with the Jew or go bust. So you not only see the power of Christ over Satan in this passage in the miracle that He performs in casting these demons out of this man, but you also see Jesus compassion towards sinners. The demons, who in this man have terrified the whole countryside to the point that they had tried to retrain this man with chains they were so frightened of Him, those demons are now afraid of Jesus because they know who Jesus is and they know where Jesus can cast them. 7). Look again at John 15:10. The first two are in the Authorized Version. SO Jesu said later in the NT, that meats going in the mouth does not defile because we excrete it out in the draught, solid and liquids, so physically our body cleans itself if there were toxins, and It is whatever comes out of the mind, is what taints a person, whatever he or she thinks. Jesus is equating his commandments which can only be the ones in the Law of Moses, because he gave no commandments in the Gospels with his Fathers commandments in the Five Books of Moses. viii. (Only an amateur Hebraist would claim the latter, frankly.). Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way. The city was large and well planned. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, Demetrius only needed to speak a few choice words against the Jew (compare with Act 19:34), to get the crowd all worked up the silversmith didnt have any real evidence that Pauls preaching was going to slow sales. But are these good pastors on the right track? We "are of more value than many sparrows" (Matt. Amen. Such a contradiction in character! These pastors have, Look at the prophets; they also prove Scripture doesnt change. Now we see the missing puzzle piece: God had plainly prohibited pork as food, making it clear that holy people should not eat it all of you be holy for I am holy (Leviticus 11:44-45) and therefore, Gods normally merciful Messiah destroyed an entire herd in total agreement with the commandment. That's why Jesus's motivation to kill the herd was more than obvious to the Tedious Twelve and the gospel writers. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons. He is the freest man in the world. But today, if you said to anybody, Tiger Woods is a slave to his desires, they would recognize it. destroyed) and every perplexing dispensational chart is legit. : A similar remark came from Mosess lips when he described God as eternally faithful and then connected Gods faithfulness to His faithful love. WebInhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus (Matt. The excavations uncovered what is to date the best preserved Rom. Basically, a vision told Peter three times to eat defiling animal meat (at least that was how it seemed to him) so Peter logically replied that he had never eaten anything ritually impure or defiling (Acts 10:14). He will judge the Gentiles, filling places with bodies. As the Philistine dead were strewn from Gaza to Ekron, so thousands of Satans dead fell in their own territory. We gotta git us some!, 1 ) [your turn. So why do Christians say no one can when these two did? He said, If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). Ligon Duncan (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary; PhD, University of Edinburgh) is the Chancellor & CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, and the President of RTS Jackson. Thats really why they were sent. Will the demons come back? Money Maker Software may be used on two systems alternately on 3 months, 6 months, 1 year or more subscriptions. Many year later, Messiah went to Israel as a prophet to get the people of Israel back to, The two Johns see more than a hint of what I am talking about in the destruction of the swine and it frightens them so they avoid a serious discussion. Pork is the most infamous of all-things-not-Jewish and the bad press that pigs receive in Scripture, and in contemporary Western society, is another reason why I accuse both pastors of being less than honest in their explanations about Mark 5. View our current career opportunities. Christians never finish reading the chapter. Gergesa (). Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. They were to teach the Gentiles about Him (Acts 13:4647). But pay attention to the body count. And so the demons call out His name Jesus, the Son of the Most High God and it has no effect on Him. The two Johns see more than a hint of what I am talking about in the destruction of the swine and it frightens them so they avoid a serious discussion. Their line of reasoning supposes that Jesus wanted to save the man (men) but too many unclean spirits meant Jesus had to negotiate to get them to move out. Well pretend with him that the folks in Gerasenes were placid Gentile farmers happily raising their gentle Gentile pigs. Show us the sins of our hearts that we are captive to. I'm the man who Jesus saved by casting out the demons from me.. WebBlog Uncategorized were the gerasenes gentiles Uncategorized were the gerasenes gentiles Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there for mercy and for judgement. * And if one doesnt believe demons exist ..same question: why invent a false story to make the point that Jesus has power over demonic creatures that dont exist? After stilling the storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus lands with his disciples on the eastern shore of the lake. (This sad fact may have something to do with Christians telling Jews to junk the Law which they love and to just believe and receive.) WebThe terrified Gerasenes beseeching Jesus to leave them. The hard hearts of those who reject Jesus. They were wise enough to figure out if Jesus in His authority over them would allow them to exit of their choosing, they would select the black pigs often used in sacrifice to Baal. The demons inhabit the bodies of this herd of pigs and the pigs cast them into the Lake of Galilee. Additionally, it would have been foolish for the Apostles to claim hundreds and thousands of witnesses (1 Cor 15:1-6). Demonic forces seem to be territorial; i.e., they have assigned areas of domain. 4 ) As R. Sol Urbin Ohel Moed teaches us, Technically, the greek word for swine is choiros, which many people think means swine, but in the Akkadian, and so with the Syriac, it really refers to an indigenous type of little lamb owned by sea-faring peasants, suitable for pets, grazing, shishkabob and MLT (Mutton, Lettuce and Tomato) sandwiches., 3 ) Pigs?? To top it off, Jesuss farmers see Jesus and see their property floating belly up in the surf, but they dont throw him after them! The account occurs in all three Synoptic gospels; in Mark (the shortest gospel) the story is in the longest and most detailed version; Matthew 8.2834 is the shortest, Let's pray. Somewhere I read that that region actually raised pigs and worshipped them or considered them as idols so study about the region and style of worship for that region. Saying God reverses a verdict or compromises a promise soils His Name. three Youll notice at the beginning of the passage that they go across the lake to the east side and that puts them outside the bounds of Galilee and outside the bounds of Israel and over into Gentile territory on the other side. And low and behold, two gospels specify that Jesus didnt go into Tyre (part of modern Lebanon), but that he was only in the vicinity of the city (Matthew 15:21; Mark 7:24 and Mark 7:31). (So much for those latter revelations or new religions arriving centuries later.). War II. 6 ) There were lots of laws they didnt keep. The vision had nothing to do with shrimp rings or BLTS. It was interesting that Palmer had gone out without any announcement but this man knew who he was and he was obviously disturbed that he was there and he began to make threats. For our Creator, one lost person saved is worth the death of many animals. Admittedly the whole event with the demon-crazed pigs is odd you dont see it every day but the writer wanted us to believe it genuinely happened. These ruins date from the 2nd to the 7th centuries and show that the city flourished during this period as a center for religion, culture, and commerce. His fellow citizens tried to restrain him in chains a horrible way to treat mental illness, by the way but he always broke free. The heart set free from sin by Jesus. In other words, the Roman Catholic Church took four Greek words torn out of mid-sentence and declared them to mean, the end (read, death) of the law [of Moses], although numerous verses declare the fixed, eternal character of Gods Perfect Law. If a bunch of little children want a ball to play with and I toss them a grenade, am I off the hook if a kid pulls out the pin? But this is not the full explanation or the main one. Dr. Ligon Duncan | December 13, 2009. Lots of non-Jews lived there. Why should this surprise us?
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