Once more, we have half of an unclear verse, that people use to make up a grand doctrine, all with the hopes it will magically annihilate one hundred clear, unambiguous verses which say the Law is permanent. There is no captivity that you can be captive to that is not captive to Jesus Christ for He has ascended on high and led captivity captive and He makes a sport and a spoil of the forces of darkness which are arrayed against God and against heaven. 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. This passage is fundamentally about Jesus. The book ends on that very point. They were ..ummm ..for producing manure to fertilize crops. 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? (, David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. The excavations uncovered what is to date the best preserved Rom. Swine there because they could eat pork, just not while it is representing a clean sacrifice, which would be representing Jesus as the real sacrifice not yet available until Jesus actually came and died for all of our sins naturally. So many beautiful verses and motivating passages are in Scripture. 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. 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. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) What about cattle? Also in a side note theres a rock with what looks like a human footprint in it, it is said this is Christs footprint. Instead of Jesus turning water into wine. Therefore, even though folks from the Bishop of Hippo down to our two good California pastors have tried to persuade us that the Creator has shifted His views on pork, God did not, can not, and will not vary or alter or adjust any word spoken about any decision let alone His views on ham sandwiches. Any other conclusion, in light of the seven facts just presented, is breathtakingly irresponsible, and we should just laugh it off. That's what disciples do, they sit at their master's feet. Executive Committee of the Editorial Board. We are all responsible for our sins and so no demonic force can take control of a human life and make you sin unless you allow it. about a.d. 65. At least Im man enough to admit possible weaknesses in my arguments and to talk about the elephants in the room. From the brook beside the road he will drink and for this reason, he will lift high his head. The tricky bit is finding the correct reason why gentle Jesus dumped hundreds of murderous, unclean spirits on so many swine. The district of the Gerasenes probably included that of the Gadarenes; so that the demoniac of Gergesa belonged to the country of the Gadarenes and also to that of the Gerasenes, as the same person may, with equal truth, be said to live in the city or the state, or in the United States. Perhaps a tenth, or a quarter, or a half of the 613 commandments were fulfilled by Jesus, but not all. In the end, the good pastors assumptions keep us rolling in the aisles. Echoes of Exodus in the Land of theGerasenes, Wesleys Eschatological Optimism Explains itAll, The Prophet in the Hometown A Pilgrim in Augsburg, The Methodist Million Dollar Appeal in World WarII. In the 2nd cent. What care we for his soul?What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,Since we have lost our swine? 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. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged Him to let them enter these. Years earlier, when the ancient Israelis came to the border of the Promised Land, part of the eastern shore was controlled by the Geshurites (and the Maakathites) but Joshua told Israel to possess their land (, Last Fact: The coming Judgement Jews First, We have seen that God Almighty loves animals as much as humans, so Jesus randomly killing two thousand swine seems senseless, unless we remember God has commanded righteous people to avoid defiling food, such as pork. Swine are considered unclean and unholy in the Jewish tradition, and Jesus was Jewish.This miracle, witnessed by his disciples, also shows Jesuss wisdom in teaching the Word of God among non Jewish people. With these, Not that I believe my case has holes. Jesus victory over the devils army results in the man being dressed and in his right mind, a different kind of setting things right with the world and a foretaste of the age to come. Unsurprisingly in such a place, Jesus finds a man possessed by unclean spirits. I beg you, do not torment me. And then the demons beg not to be cast into the abyss. Luckily, they didnt find Paul anywhere, but they did haul a number of Pauls colleagues down to city hall. It's not every day that you meet someone inhabited by a host of demons, but every time you meet a Christ-less soul, you meet someone who is utterly captive to sin. Peaceable Kingdom Series. 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. However, it is anticipated that the following verses will be thrown up as excuses, as pat answers, and as proof that God has changed, the Law is fulfilled (a.k.a. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of defiling demons out of a lost Jew and purposefully launched the legion killers into two thousand defiling swine. And because they did not hear Him, they lost even what they had. This, by the way, is And so they begin crying out, Don't cast us into the abyss.. Them there pigs were trying to hog Jesus limelight! Obviously the man with the demon was Jewish or Jesus would not have gone there. Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. 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. This means that these miracles are especially meant to teach believers something. In turn, they would have a vehicle wherewith to stay in their territory. And the thing that I love the most is the utter contrast in his attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ. And the only real bargaining chip according to this interpretation was offering them the two thousand big pink chips. They were not. Demetrius wasnt afraid to stand up for his rights. Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there for mercy and for judgement. Now the big-mouth irking this Greek artisan was our good friend, the Apostle Paul. 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. Luke means it to be an extraordinary event. Look at what he first says when Jesus meets him in verse 28 What do you have to do with me, Jesus? Over the years, Ive had to prove all this to myself first, and it took soul-searching and tons of Scripture research. Them there pigs were going to try to hog the limelightthat Jesus was famous for but ended up being lost in more ways than one! He was getting everyone on board with what was started at Sinai. This is clearly an extraordinary event. And it is a shame that the good pastors dont take these relevant Scripture passage into consideration. Although He encountered and ministered to Gentiles such as the centurion who had a paralyzed servant (Matt. These demons of the Gadarene Demoniac wanted to stay in this territory where worship of Baal was predominant. Besides, each of the synoptic gospels quotes the demons saying out loud that Jesus had the power to torture them all at will (Matthew 8:29, Mark 5:7 and Luke 8:28). And guess what this week's focus is on? 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. And there's a lesson in each of these things for all of us. Two Sundays ago Take care then, how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away. They thought those pigs were theirs. None of the verses below refute any of the Seven Forgotten Facts above. If pigs were considered unclean then would the demons not wanted unclean to possess. Without a doubt, its only and exactly the Creators negative view of swine that properly spells out to us why Jesus destroyed an entire herd of swine in Mark 5. Wasnt this just a temporary fix to a bigger problem? Connect the dots. Ba-dum-tsss.). Ptolemy says Gerasa was a city in Coele-Syria, thirty-five travel m. from Pella. The prophet Jonah is held up as the merciless messenger of God; not a great title. Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? Well, Ill try and explain that before the end of the sermon, but there were several titles that didn't get included in the sermon bulletin today. The action is no different than Revelation 14:14-15 where we see the Son of Man brandishing a sharp sickle. Heavenly Father, we thank You that the name of Jesus is sweet in the ears of believers, but we know, O Lord, that those who love this world do not know the sweetness of the sound of His name. Lets bring in a certain Greek silversmith and see how calmly he handles himself. Well let's pray before we read God's Word together. Is there actually a real reason why the Gospel accounts shouldnt be taken as factual history? 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.". Josephus mentions it with Pella and Golan as being taken by storm during Alexander Jannaeus campaign E of the Jordan in about 83 b.c. 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. Am I forgiven by saying, I just, The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. * If one believes demons exists, why invent a false story to make the point that Jesus has power over demons? The church fathers treated them as literal history. 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? The Jewish Messiah rid himself of two defiling groups in one blow. Such a contradiction in character! Just like in the Garden, when God judged Adam, he didn't strike him directly, but the ground soil instead. 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. Thats the exodus that Israel needs. And wild animals are not forget because farmers in the Land of Israel are commanded in Exodus 23:11 to leave parts of their fields for food for wildlife. But just a theory. At this distance from the Sea of Galilee, Gerasa could not have been the site of the healing of Legion. It is doubtful that Jesus ever visited it. Ellicotts Commentary, for one, believes the four Greek words were a latter addition. WebWho were the gerasenes in the bible? There's a total change of nature in this man. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of Him. Search the web and you will find many opinions about why the pigs died. Jesus was upholding all the kosher laws within the Land of Israel it was part of his job description. We ask this in Jesus' name. And thirdly, they are forgetting the fate of this man with an immortal soul who was in danger not only of a continuous life of torment, but an eternal separation from God. But what does Leviticus says about, And also the pig; although it has a hoof splitting in half and it has a hoof clearly tearing in two, the pig doesn't bring back up its cud to chew. Seven Forgotten Facts clarify our interpretation, One possible reason the Son of David chose the pigs was that he had, But this view is shocking because it places Gods Son on an equal footing with the unclean spirits and thus flies in the face of the normal presentation of Jesus in the Gospels. While animal-abuse cases arent normally rampant among church-goers, its no thanks to this bishops official policy. Was it correct to destroy so many for just one (or two men). He's no longer under the domination of demons or his own sin. You don't have to look very far. (Matt 15:24). Is there a connection? She needs someone strong enough to cast a legion of demons into the sea, like Pharaoh and his hosts. And so the demons call out His name Jesus, the Son of the Most High God and it has no effect on Him. 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). If you watch the short clip (above) and compare it to the one hour source video Dominating Powers, Part 2 (Mark 5:1-20) you will notice how MacArthurs speaking style changes as soon as he addresses the matter of the pigs. His actions now make sense in this new light. It is true that we discover new thoughts or extra meaning over time, but Gods Word is permanent and cannot change. So much for sola scriptura. Therefore, as we have seen from the Deuteronomy and Revelation, and Jesuss own words, he was not allowed to adjust the Law of God and he had no intention of doing so. 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. If I still had some misgivings, Id be man enough to share them here. It was a leading city of Syria in commerce, culture, and religion. 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. Lots of non-Jews lived there. Then again, who needs to imagine anything? What do you want? Jesus was also a prophet. The vision stumped the poor apostle; clearly, Peter forgot about the amazing four Greek words of Mark 7:19b. The distinction between the two is clear (now). The bottom line is, I don't know why Jesus did that and neither do you and neither does anyone else. And what can we take away from the second part of the commandment not to take away from Gods Word? Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with: Gerasene. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Gerasene. One was, His Name Was Legion, Not Ligon. I have been confused with Legion all my life and it worries me that it's not just the sound of the name, but I want to make it clear that Legion is not in any way related to Ligon. The real irritation is people saying the Law was impossible to obey, when Scripture says the opposite it true. Those famous four are sufficient to back up the Church's bias and with them one could pretend they say, Christ is the [dead] end of the Law [of Moses] (Luther and Calvin taught this), or maybe it means something very vague like, an end of a law is Christ. For a more advanced discussion of the vague quality of the text have a look at George Howards scholarly article. What happened to the demons when the pigs died? Those outside of the nation of Israel were considered gentiles. Well pretend with him that the folks in Gerasenes were placid Gentile farmers happily raising their gentle Gentile pigs. Jesus made him whole. Despite all the dangers to himself, David wouldnt allow any to be hurt. First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. What are you doing here, man of God? And then he attempted to intimidate him. He is the strong man who binds Satan and plunders his house. viii. Only this interpretation explains the farmers restrained reaction over the slaughter of the swine, and their tremendous terror of the Messiah. Note that Jesus never touched the demon-inhabited individual: He merely spoke to him, commanding the evil to depart. Asked by: Isidro Boehm V. Score: 4.9/5 to biblical Galilee, regarded, in opposition to Judaea, as a country of Gentiles (as in Matthew 4:15) What was Jairus occupation? The land of the Gerasenes was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as unclean as the demons that Jesus sent into the swine. Their dead bodies you must not touch. 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. 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. But Gods Spoken Word will endure for all time. And based roughly on current prices, Jesus caused hundred of thousands of dollars in damages. Its the exodus that Jesus has come to lead, an exodus from slavery to the prince of this world. WebGerasene: [noun] an inhabitant of the ancient Palestinian town Gerasa. So I figure we could speculate a little and see where this goes. Wnsche, Neue Beitrge zur Erluterung der Evangelien aus Talmud und Midrasch, p. 119. Its true! Such a statement is irresponsible because the Law was not written for a single person. [Israels] real enemy isnt Rome, which barely figures into the gospel story. 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). WebThe Gadarenes was the place where Jesus confronted a man whose possession by demons gave him a level of superhuman strength like Samson (Mark 5:3 - 5, Luke 8:27). In a pigs eye. This one verse alone, without all the extra proof from Jesuss joke, should convince us that his commandments are the 613 commandments of the Law of Moses. In the three Synoptic Gospels and John 2:15, Jesus forces all the sellers out of the Temple courts. We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? 8:513) and the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter was possessed (Mark 7:2430), the Jews received the bulk of His attention, and He spent most of His time in the predominantly Jewish regions of Galilee and Judea. What is going to happen, we are told by John the book of Revelation, is that God Himself is going to cast Satan and his demons into the lake of fire. But with all this talk about tenderness, what on Earth could have changed Jesuss tune and made him treat the swine the way he did? They had the exact same reaction to Jesus that Bertrand Russell would manifest two thousand years later. 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. There he meets a man seized with an unclean spirit (Mark) or with demons (Luke). But if one cared to examine all of Gods Word, the only possible reason for Jesus to destroy the pigs in the exorcism seems to be connected to Gods opinion about ham. One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. Archeology. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. I definitely dont want to be near that doctor on Judgement Day.). For the moment, Jesus was just being ironic. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Use tab to navigate through the menu items. He was clear that His mission was not to the Gentiles and Samaritans, but rather, to the lost tribe of Israel. 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.
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