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The apostles arent having a pig roast anywhere. This man, when Jesus says, What is your name? effectively says, I do not know my name. 3). Even city officials who were Pauls friends were scared for Pauls life (Acts 19:31). It's back just a few verses, the answer is back just a few verses. Very interesting. Our ways are not as Thine. Christians never finish reading the chapter. The best text in Matthew reads Gadarenes, in Mark and Luke it reads Gerasenes, whereas some MSS preserve Gergesenes and Gergustenes (cf. WebNoun. WebThe name Gergesa has led to the supposition that the Girgashites, one of the seven Canaanitish nations, originally occupied this territory. Now not only did the Jewish people not eat bacon, and not only were they forbidden by Moses to eat bacon, but they were not allowed to raise bacon even to sell it to the Gentiles. * 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? And if I remember correctly, I think there is some tradition about other Apostles going to Spain. When Eve said that she and hubby were not allowed to touch the [Good and Evil Knowledge Tree] or they would die, she was lying (Genesis 3:3 and Jewish explanation). It's this man who doesn't even remember his name who's possessed by a host of demons. Gerasa is mentioned next by Josephus in connection with the Jewish rebellion against the Romans in a.d. 70. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of. The good pastor actually believes that a Jewish man can rationally decide the best sleeping quarters Tomb or no tomb? ___________________________________________________________________. He always followed Gods Law. For one, Leviticus 22:28 forbids righteous farmers from killing a cow and its calf on the same day. Theres another interesting question in the sidelines: if Jews detested pigs, why were there pigs in the area? Sadly, GotQuestions misses the point, or they lie, saying that being distinct was all important to God. At least Im man enough to admit possible weaknesses in my arguments and to talk about the elephants in the room. In the end, the good pastors assumptions keep us rolling in the aisles. Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. WebHealing of a Demoniac. WebWho do you care more about, people or pigs?
Those people were Jews in Nazareth. Obviously the man with the demon was Jewish or Jesus would not have gone there. Something else to ponder about the Son of God is his other title, I am the good shepherd. And if he missed one, he didnt do it perfectly. Over the centuries, many scribes spent an enormous amount of time, energy and resources copying them, thereby lending credibility to them. This location agrees with the description given by the ancient writers. why do you think there were pigs there?]. 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? Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight." Executive Committee of the Editorial Board. During the time of Christ, the ten cities of Decapolis and the surrounding region were inhabited mostly by Gentiles, not Jews, and the area had a strong Greek influence. It's all Gentile territory, so just bear that in mind. First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. So I don't know how seventeen interpretations of this particular story got circulated. But Christians miss the joke and think he was being serious.
Note: Demetrius was angry only because of speculation of what Pauls preaching might do to business Paul had not physically caused any damage. Both of our good pastors assume that the people in Gerasene (Gadarene or Gergesene) were Gentiles in Gentile territory, partially because of the pigs, partially because of the demoniacs and partially because it fits their bias. He said, If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). The victorious Lord made life good again for one embattled soul. Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. I wouldn't care to speculate how many demons possessed this man, but the man can only identify himself as a person who is possessed by an almost innumerable host of evil spirits and he doesn't even remember his own name. We should ask the good pastors if love thy neighbour as thyself has any bearing on killing your neighbours livestock. For these reasons, the writers of the gospels gave no explanation and the Twelve asked no question about why Jesus destroyed all the swine. Pingback: The Prophet in the Hometown A Pilgrim in Augsburg. Gergesa (). Thus, we are not surprised that there was "a great herd of pigs" feeding near the tombs where the Gerasene demoniac was living (5:11). Looking back over the entirety of Gods Word, we do indeed notice many plagues rained down on the wicked in other books. Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, [Let me just pause right there. In the story of the Gerasene demoniac, Jesus invades enemy territory and defeats a powerful army to deliver people from bondage. ]. His poetry includes Bees in Amber: a little book of thoughtful verse (1913) which became a bestseller. Jesus came to teach a better way of life that you could have abundantly! Jesus made him whole. And then you see in this passage the change of a heart set free. What pigs?? The thinking behind each chart is contrary to the unity and oneness of God. The miracles that are recorded here, just like the one that we saw last week, are seen by that small circle of disciples that is following Jesus around. 1), and apparently occupied these cities with Jewish patriots. We "are of more value than many sparrows" (Matt. (, David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. And you know what the most frightening thing of all is? 2023. 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. Be this as it may, the district was Playing with the plain truths of Gods eternal Scriptures means one is playing with fire and such actions will bring unfortunate consequences. Archeology. This is the Just-believe-and-receive Hypothesis and the advocates thereof like to stretch Jesuss words, I came to fulfill the Law, and make it say that Jesus needed to destroy or replace the nasty Law, but hope to heaven it still sounds Biblical heres an example of stretchy talking from GotQuestions. Was He asking us the impossible because He had nothing better to do or is He sadistic? The story is about the power of Jesus and, even his name, to rid humans of demons and also to show that his power was for Gentiles as well. That's even more unexpected than not being angry because in Paul's case, it was the other way around. That will give us the perfect answer. II. e. As to the second question, there is no doubt of the illegality, from a ritual point of view, of Jews keeping swine (B. Read it for yourself. If we agree Messiah wrote the Law of God, we should then wonder why on earth he would come to Earth to take what he authored out of circulation or to annul it? WebAll three Synoptic Gospels ( Mark 5:120; Luke 8:2639; Matthew 8:2834) mention the swine miracle, although with variations. He's the friend of sinners. Working with the Law, and not against it, Jesus is shown to be completely in character and not out of his mind. All in all, after Jesus had trashed the livelihood of so many, we have to agree that they were more than gentle to let him off the hook and just asking him to leave town asap. By using our website, you accept our use of cookies. Thy powersBring loss to us and ours.Our ways are not as Thine.Thou lovest men, weswine.Oh, get you hence, Omnipotence,And take this fool of Thine!His soul? The other, Deuteronomy 22:6-7, protects wild mother birds in a similar way, forbidding us from killing them along with their young at the same time. Luke doesn't think that it's an every day occurrence for a person to be possessed by a host of demons. Thats right, Whatever matter I am commanding you right now, it's what you must be careful to observe to do. For one, Remember that the Law reveals to us the mind and personality of God. Jesus helped a Syrophoenician woman and commended her faith ( Matthew 15:2128 ). 9 To be honest, all the bad humour honestly makes me believe the pastor is being dishonest. Reading the Word of God is wonderful. Now the big-mouth irking this Greek artisan was our good friend, the Apostle Paul. (Pastor Piper was right after all, almost!) You don't have to look very far. 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. 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. Am I forgiven by saying, I just, The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. Because in all of Holy Writ, the phrase first appears in Leviticus 11 (Leviticus 11:44) right after God talks about clean/pure meats. Neither common sense, nor the text, let Jesus off the hook. The Spectators probably from all over the world! These pastors have, Look at the prophets; they also prove Scripture doesnt change. When Jesus said that he had not came to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17), he was not talking to the Jews who already knew the Law was permanent, he was looking into future centuries and talking to those Christians who would try to destroy it. Furthermore, the play-by-play presents no reason to be judged as a parable or an allegory. For less than $5/mo. Lets bring in a certain Greek silversmith and see how calmly he handles himself. This, Also, this study shows that Jesuss actions in Mark 5 were on the surface contrary to the deep-rooted Jewish respect for domestic and/or wild animals. And it's very clear that theyre in Gentile territory because they find themselves in a country where there is a huge, huge herd of pigs. WebIt was named after the 10 ( deka) cities ( polis) which were in that area. If there was a difference, why do they read the Law of Moses but call it the Law of God in Nehemiah 8:8? War III.
They need to face the cracks in their theologies. Look at the prophets; they also prove Scripture doesnt change. Israel was to be a nation of priests, prophets, and missionaries to the world (Exodus 19:46). But just a theory. I cannot offer you a proof-text for this observation. What good to us that Thou hast made him whole, since we have lost our swine? Is that not a picture of people that love what they have or what they want more than they love the One who loves their souls? WebThe terrified Gerasenes beseeching Jesus to leave them. get to know the Bible better! Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as, Suddenly, Mark 5 is clear. I am but a man possessed by an innumerable host of demons. This software has many innovative features and you can trap a Bull or Bear in REAL TIME! Secondly, theyre forgetting that Jesus also says that people are more important than sparrows. Lots of non-Jews lived there. Dr. R.C. The Greek clause literally says, End of law is Christ but why bother finishing the sentence? Over the years, Ive had to prove all this to myself first, and it took soul-searching and tons of Scripture research. We pray that he would find liberation in Jesus Christ and see his life and family restored, but my friends, any one of us, any one of us, can be in the same thralldom today. When people start putting a value on animal life equal to or higher than the value they put on human life, something is seriously wrong with the culture. The demons freak out that Jesus is there because its not time for them to be tormented by Him yet. If the interpretation from one vague verse contradicts several unambiguous verses, which is wrong? It was part of the Greco-Roman region known as the Decapolis, or ten towns. or ten This has been a long blog thanks for sticking with it but because Im going to ruffle feathers, Ive gone the extra mile to explain myself clearly and to plug any holes in my argument. So why were these pig owners on the east side of the lake afraid? Notice how Gods care is cleverly contrasted with mans callousness: men buy birds for next to nothing because they do not value them, yet The Almighty as large and in charge as He is still takes careful notice of frail creatures. Just remember the wonderful folks in Jesuss hometown? You must there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one thats only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. Im not saying I totally believed the stories, but I cannot believe that a single other place could not be found to send the legion. OS Supported: Windows 98SE, Windows Millenium, Windows XP (any edition), Windows Vista, Windows 7 & Windows 8 (32 & 64 Bit). The three passages that describe the incident with the demoniacs in the country of the Gerasenes, also called Gadarenes, are Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20, and Luke 8:26-39. WebScripture exhorts us to care for animals and not to be cruel to them. 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. Therefore, when it came to sacrifices on it, the menu was even shorter. WebGerasene: [noun] an inhabitant of the ancient Palestinian town Gerasa. Ptolemy says Gerasa was a city in Coele-Syria, thirty-five travel m. from Pella. It goes like this: These are the people of Gerasene speaking to Jesus Rabbi be gone. And what does the Law say about pigs? v. 37) describe Jesus healing of the demoniac Legion and the drowning of the swine in the Sea of Galilee (cf. This was a Gentile town so they had pigs. And what about commands for married people (Exodus 21:10), or the command that a man gives his wife a bill of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1)? Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. No, I've checked my facts, anticipated the arguments, remembered my own arguments from he past, and now Im ready to present my conclusions for Christians to consider. You can bet your bottom drachma there is. Next, what if our imaginary Jew damaged a ton of Gentile property under their very noses. The normally merciful Messiah destroyed the pigs in accordance with Gods Law about clean and unclean meat. absolutely anne..there are a few scenarios..nothing more exciting than digging into the Word of God!! "Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged [Jesus], saying, 'Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.' WebWhy were there pigs in gerasenes? One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. But there is a message in this for all of us and it is simply this we may not be possessed by demons, but if we are possessed by what we want or by what we have and if what we want or what we have is not God in the Gospel of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, then we are no less in the thrall of sin that this man. The man could break his earthly chains; he could not break his spiritual ones. The last now appears. When Jesus healed the possessed man, He allowed Legion to possess the nearby herd of swine. 1). Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there for mercy and for judgement. Also oral tradition in this area talks of Christ coming and preaching the gospel there but being asked to leave shortly afterwards. The good pastor basically believes that in Jesuss mind, one mans peace, preservation and freedom from unclean spirits is worth the sacrifice of a couple thousand pigs. The fascinating story behind many people's favori Can you handle the (barometric) pressure? WATER DESTROYED HER!!!! Well Ill explain that too, later on. And Jews are forbidden by God and His eternal commands to own pigs. led to the substitute reading Gergesenes, a reading that was suggested by a study of the geography of the area. Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. 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. I think so. From the brook beside the road he will drink and for this reason, he will lift high his head. Apparently Gerasa was rebuilt by the Romans before the revolt began, prob. Logically we understand that no person on Earth could say something in strong terms over and over, and then just one day say, Oops, can I retract that? So could or would God Almighty flip flop? In fact, the next thing the name did was to take a steel bar, place it in his teeth, and proceed to bend it with his hands and with his teeth. That fact must be kept in mind in our ethical discussions. Yes, this man is extraordinary. In Jesus first trip to that Gentile area: They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes (in Gadara). Why does the herd of swine go over the cliff? As regards the first question, it would appear that that section of the country was chiefly inhabited by pagans in the first century, and Gerasa is at any rate included by Schrer among the Hellenistic cities ("Geschichte," ii. In a similar way, we see that Scripture is the same; it doesnt change. With these, Let\'s see if you\'re really a human: *
Early in the video, he is very factual and seems sure of himself. For the moment, Jesus was just being ironic. One unambiguous (but hotly debated) verse that supports this doctrine is, 1 John 5:7: For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. So if we agree Messiah is part of the Godhead, then logically we agree Messiah also co-authored, with the Father, the Law of God. Since demons are by most accounts fallen angels to begin with, they already know to Whom they are ultimately accountable. They have therefore made important decisions about the proper treatment of animals. Search the web and you will find many opinions about why the pigs died. In a recent online essay on the Gospel of Mark, Peter Leithart wrote. One Bible expositor said the pigs the demons sought refuge in were black. So these four miracles show Jesus reaching out to Gentiles, either in Galilee or even in even more Gentile territory across the river. In course of time, as the Jews began more and more to pride themselves on their peculiar privileges, it acquired unpleasant associations, and was used as a term of contempt. Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities north of Israel, and Jesus had been sent to the Jews ( Matthew 15:24 ). Do you remember when a serpent, an animal, came and exercised authority over God's man and woman, Adam and Eve, who had been made in His image so that instead of them ruling over the animals, the animals ruled over them? Who owned the pigs? Jesus was upholding all the kosher laws within the Land of Israel it was part of his job description. 1. being the eternal Son of God. Lets dwell on that he added no new commands to his disciples. Excavations at the modern Jarash (by the British and American Schools of Oriental Research and Yale University) clearly show that Gerasa was a large and important city already in Jesus time. My question is: In fact, they are, Yet the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke actually report that the towns people many would have been the owners or friends of the pig owners or people who were connected to the trade in the swine were, Also, wouldnt that be a type of sin and another example of how he may not have, All in all, after Jesus had trashed the livelihood of so many, we have to agree that they were, Every place the Master went on his travels it was to minister to a Jew, just as Paul said, To the Jew first (, Answering, he said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. (, As well, every place the Master went on his travels was inside of the, Scripture makes it clear that Ashers tribal land-boundary ended around the coastal city of Tyre (, Besides this Biblical evidence that Jesus and the woman were within Israels inheritance, there is also a prophesy that God will settle His People in the future in Gilead (a sizeable part of todays Kingdom of Jordan) and in, The real-estate on the east side of the lake of Galilee where Jesus met the demons and the swine was also part of Israel-proper. He is utterly sovereign. The majority admits they are clueless and throw their hands up, stating the herd was just a , The pastors attempts to laugh off the haunting question about the meek and lowly Son of Man killing all the pigs is, Besides the jokes being in poor taste, they make his sermon seem less than professional. This page from an Orthodox website partially shows how Judaism views their responsibility. In fact, they are afraid of him and beg him to leave. He was totally dominated by these demonic forces. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced searchad free! It's entitled, Why I Am Not A Christian. in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon I say that Christians have turned Jews off because church-goers claim Jesus destroyed the Law and that Jews are blind for following the Law of Moses still. (, Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there, Not contrary, but consistent with Christs Character, Here is a prophesy that Christians love to quote: , The LORD has sworn it and He will not change his mind: You are a priest forever, after the nature of Melchizedek. The LORD is upon your right hand. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. 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 (, All of these commandments and more are still taken literally by many Jews today. Not that I believe my case has holes. God never said dont touch. She added that bit. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.". 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. He's set free. He will judge the Gentiles, filling places with bodies. And he sends out his representative, a man who is known only as the Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr, the black gate.