Also, the land where the Master walked and the swine were feeding belonged to Israel. There was a logic in this. These authors were Biblical (Peter, James, Paul, Hebrews, etc) and to a lesser extent, non-biblical (Josephus, Pliny, etc). 1. Theres got to be a a good one about. Overall, when it comes to any animal being selected for food or for sacrifice, God sees only two types. They, like the demons, are afraid of Him and they beg Him to leave and He does. What happened to the demons when the pigs died? were All of these commandments and more are still taken literally by many Jews today. Answer: the impurity of the swine. Now you understand what sitting at the Savior's feet means? For our Creator, one lost person saved is worth the death of many animals. 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. Anyway, it was the demons that would have decided where, and if, he slept. Despite all the dangers to himself, David wouldnt allow any to be hurt. Jesus to leave We should ask the good pastors if love thy neighbour as thyself has any bearing on killing your neighbours livestock. Jun 21, 2021. Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? Of course this kosher interpretation is just as obvious painfully obvious to John MacArthur and Piper, yet I've never seen either refute the issue or deal honestly with their doubts. 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. Go be a witness to Me as My disciple.. Deuteronomy 4 and 12 only state that none should add or remove what Moses was commanding, which sounds a little nebulous. Something else to ponder about the Son of God is his other title, I am the good shepherd. These pastors have added to Scripture that the God of the Old Testament is different in the New and taken away from it Mosess 613 commandments are now reduced to 2. 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. Look again at John 15:10. 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. The demons sent the pigs off the banks of the sea and into the water, where they drowned (Mark 5:1213). Therefore we know that when Jesus helped the Syrophoenician woman (not a Jewess, but she came to him), he and the woman were both in Israeli territory. Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and were drowned. Instead they joke around and give pat answers. WebWho do you care more about, people or pigs? 2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. were the gerasenes * If one believes demons exists, why invent a false story to make the point that Jesus has power over demons? Sinai. War IV. (, Therefore you should understand that the LORD your God, Because God is so steady, and doesnt reverse or repeal, He can be trusted to do what He promises; good or, If the Eternal One, blessed be He, had said just, But the Almighty said it so many times. The Gospels tell us that Jesus did most of His work among the Jewish people. 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. They know that Jesus can cast them into the abyss, into the lake of fire, into the bowels of hell, and theyre frightened. Demetrius wasnt afraid to stand up for his rights. 3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And while its not true God pairs animals with people every where in Scripture, He does in this statement. There's a total change of nature in this man. Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. Last week, we were crossing over with Jesus to the other side, weathering a fierce storm until he woke up and calmed the sea. Remember, Jesus took direct, extensive action against a significant group of Gentile pig farmers he didnt just say something bad against the pigs. The prophet Jonah is held up as the merciless messenger of God; not a great title. Gentile They need to face the cracks in their theologies. To suggest God retracts or repeals laws tarnishes His Dignity. On the other hand, the Masters usually thick-headed students, the Tedious Twelve, didnt question him about this! Try Bible Gateway Plus free today. If our faithful, unchanging Heavenly Father God made a straightforward decisive yet divisive decision and repeated it over and over and over, then why cant the good pastors connect the dots and figure out Jesuss real relationship to the pigs? Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there for mercy and for judgement. WebThe name Gergesa has led to the supposition that the Girgashites, one of the seven Canaanitish nations, originally occupied this territory. Cant we be candid in our search to know God? 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. OS Supported: Windows 98SE, Windows Millenium, Windows XP (any edition), Windows Vista, Windows 7 & Windows 8 (32 & 64 Bit). God designated the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, as His chosen people. If I still had some misgivings, Id be man enough to share them here. 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 frightened of the Jewish rabbi. Most translations interpret the Hebrew to say, Canaanite, but both are more than possible and perhaps the double meaning was intended by the prophet. Since these events were supposedly witnessed by hundreds (and even thousands of people), it would have been very easy for 1st century critics to debunk it as non-historical. Please note how John repeats the commands, adding a zinger curse to both. For centuries, land wars are a type of a national sport among Middle Eastern nations. Gergesa is located, with relative certainty, midway along the E bank of the Sea of Galilee; Gadara is six m. SE from the S end of the Sea of Galilee; and Gerasa is some thirty-five m. SE. 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. evidence), Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were, &c. In this and the following verse the Apostle reminds his readers that so far from regarding the marvellous manifestations of the Spirit, such as speaking with tongues and prophesying, as the most wonderful miracles, the Gentiles 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. Jesus is going to tell him, You can't come with Me, but I do want you to go back and tell them what great things God has done for you. Lots of non-Jews lived there. Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as unclean as the demons that Jesus sent into the swine. "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.' And what about trees or rocks? He had a new name and he had a new nature to go along with it. What need have we of further witnesses? Not that I believe my case has holes. 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 it's the glorious picture of the value that He puts on an immortal soul. Here, it may well be that a herd of unclean animals has been used to take thousands of demons to their doom in the lake in anticipation of the final judgment. How Many Places Did Jesus Visit Gadarenes - The 1901 Jewish Encyclopedia - StudyLight.org They sort of seek Him out. Instead of a sling and a stone, Jesus needs only his voice; Jesus commands and the enemy falls. 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. The first two are in the Authorized Version. 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. Jesus was wise to use what God gives us, for a teachable moment. The Law of God. Regrettably, what were about to study the, And he answers him, saying, My name is Legion because there are many of us. Also he begs Jesus many times that he'd not send them away, out of the. 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. We pray in Jesus' name. The good pastor actually believes that a Jewish man can rationally decide the best sleeping quarters Tomb or no tomb? The man could break his earthly chains; he could not break his spiritual ones. It's this man who doesn't even remember his name who's possessed by a host of demons. 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). 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. And it is reveals a great deal comparing the reactions of the Gentiles in the two towns. there was never a prophecy that the kosher laws would be removed, so the verse is coming completely from left field. GADARENES - JewishEncyclopedia.com He was completely in the thrall of sin. They even allowed themselves to go ballistic on the Sabbath, which shows how angry they really were. I've ended up, and Ill explain it later, giving the title The Man Jesus Renamed. Now that may peak your interest because in the passage no name is ever given for the man, either before or after his conversion, so you may be wondering why I've named it that. Did Jesus really sacrifice the swine for the man? When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him and said with a loud voice, What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon rushed down a steep hill and perished. 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? So whats the point because Pastor John Piper feels the pigs were less important and John LOL MacArthur just jokes about the slaughter neither reaction seems sensible. Amen. 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. And holiness means salvation, as Paul wrote in two different letter, without holiness no man [or woman] shall see God (Hebrews 12:14 and Romans 6:22). The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. Some will respond to my rhetorical question, Why on earth would Jesus come to earth, by giving me the usual pat answer. Sinai. Gentile It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. You may simultaneously update Amibroker, Metastock, Ninja Trader & MetaTrader 4 with MoneyMaker Software. This story is a technicolor picture of Luke 8:18, and my friends, there don't have to be demons around for us to be facing the same challenge. We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. In other words, they believe the one who killed the pigs with the demons is equal to the Father. He's been set free by Jesus. Who owned the pigs? Jesus though he was The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-18 and John 1:21) had to play by the same laws. 2 Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came The distinction between the two is clear (now). Therefore he had every right to judge the Jews and how they used land. In fact, they are afraid of him and beg him to leave. Now I must say that that really boggles my mind because Luke's main point is so crystal clear and it's set in the context of three other stories that are crystal clear. People of the same race and same religion but they still wanted to do him some serious pain. To run Money Maker Software properly, Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 or higher version is required. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. He says that the demon expulsions are just unenlightened men of the first century trying to explain illnesses being healed. and what Jesus showed here was a love and a grace towards a man in captivity to sin who didn't deserve to be freed and didn't deserve to be forgiven, but Jesus did it anyway. And her addition to Gods commandment led to her disobedience and to Adams, and then God added some amazing plagues to mankind, just as John says (Revelation 22:18) will happen to those who add to His Word (and not just the book of Revelation). No cumbered chamber will the Master share,But one swept bare By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fairWith meekness, and humility, and prayer.There will He come, yet, coming, even thereHe stands and waits, and will no entrance winUntil the latch be lifted from within. The victorious Lord made life good again for one embattled soul. absolutely anne..there are a few scenarios..nothing more exciting than digging into the Word of God!! War III. And they are no more capable of liberating themselves than this man was capable of liberating himself from this host of demons. Any other conclusion, in light of the seven facts just presented, is breathtakingly irresponsible, and we should just laugh it off. Was it correct to destroy so many for just one (or two men). Now we see the missing puzzle piece: God had plainly prohibited pork as food, making it clear that holy people should not eat it , Overall, when it comes to any animal being selected for food or for sacrifice, God sees only two types. But these differences are typical of eye-witness reports and only irritate skeptics. After stilling the storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus lands with his disciples on the eastern shore of the lake. Well let's pray before we read God's Word together. 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. It was a leading city of Syria in commerce, culture, and religion. David did the same to a bear that took a sheep. facts why Jesus cast the demons May God grant us the liberation through Jesus Christ to become what that nameless man became. 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. That was a very large farming operation, even by the modern European and North American standards of today which typically do not have such giant herds. And there's a lesson in each of these things for all of us. 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. They were ..ummm ..for producing manure to fertilize crops. What are you doing here, man of God? And then he attempted to intimidate him. Did you know that one of the 7 ingredients in underwater concrete was animal blood? Accessed 4 Mar. Its architecture was of the Corinthian order, quite lavish and imposing, with columns from three to four ft. in diameter and about thirty ft. high. 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. Compared to the accounts of the same event in Matthew and Luke also written in simple narrative prose some details vary. In turn, they would have a vehicle wherewith to stay in their territory. Jesus came to teach a better way of life that you could have abundantly! Mark as quoted by Spalde, Annika; Strindlund, Pelle (2012). As a result, our biggest take-away lesson is to never take away from the Word of the Almighty.But dispensational-flavoured pastors ignore this and teach us that Moses and David and even Jesus lived by different rules. Over the years, Ive had to prove all this to myself first, and it took soul-searching and tons of Scripture research. Jesus enters enemy territory in two ways. 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. The Gadarenes Rejection | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals 3 He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and Why are there two demon-possessed men in the Gerasene tombs in WebHealing of a Demoniac. God told Jonah that it was not just all the people, but also so much livestock (Jonah 4:11). Without a doubt, both men know God never came up with the line, Third Fact: Not a fickle faithless Father. Every creature on land, or in the water, or in the air is classified by either the Hebrew term, (, The main reason God limits righteous people to a select group of clean/pure animals is for, Gods altar was also separate and distinct and holy. And because they did not hear Him, they lost even what they had. (wait for it) turning the swine to the water! As for Matthew, he quoted Jesus as commanding the demons, and used the plural form of the verb, go. Be circumspect. If they did, they would not see the chapter attacking the research in this blog post, theyd see a defense for it! The vision had nothing to do with shrimp rings or BLTS. It's amazing Jesus comes to shore and it's obvious that He has immediately commanded the spirits to leave the man because they remonstrate with Him. Besides, it was Christmas! 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. Gods Law has a law that you cannot change Gods Law. Kursi - The Gerasene Site of Jesus' Miracle on the East Side of Lake Where He goes, they show up and they say things to Him. 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 hard hearts of those who reject Jesus. Since all of these areas overlap, one may take the references as meaning the same place. Instead, his conscious act of casting the demons into the swine resulted in the entire herds destruction. The real irritation is people saying the Law was impossible to obey, when Scripture says the opposite it true. In, David was a good example of what Jesus meant by , Sadly, our two good pastors seem oblivious to the fact that under the Law of Moses, animals have benefits too, and this fact should have bearing on any interpretation of Mark 5. Last week we said the focus was on the power and the person of Jesus Christ. The entire herd ran straight off a cliff and drowned. [Israels] real enemy isnt Rome, which barely figures into the gospel story. WebThe meaning of GENTILE is a person of a non-Jewish nation or of non-Jewish faith; especially : a Christian as distinguished from a Jew. He's set free. Unsurprisingly in such a place, Jesus finds a man possessed by unclean spirits. After a dramatic journey across the lake (Luke 8:22-25), Jesus steps for the first and last time into Gentile territory. Regrettably, what were about to study the Big Pig Splash Down isn't one of them. 2023. 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. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) Almost there. And in Malachi 4:4, why did God say remember the Law of Moses if God had His own law? Gerasenes | Biblical Training And were you aware that the New Testament repeats the same two commands from Deuteronomy? Are we with a man, liberated, who trusted Jesus, who begged to be with Jesus and sought to be a disciple at His feet? As was just so elegantly discussed, the destruction of the herd only makes sense if we remember that God never liked unclean food to begin with. noted the official establishment of Christianity and discontinuance of pagan worship in the 5th cent. Its not clear exactly who is doing more killings, the LORD or Melchizedek, but the picture overall fits the image of Son of God cleaning the land of swine. And did the Gospels writers believe the explanation was so obvious they didn't need to write one? That fact must be kept in mind in our ethical discussions. Because they cared more about what they had lost than what that man had gained or what they could gain in Jesus themselves. Also oral tradition in this area talks of Christ coming and preaching the gospel there but being asked to leave shortly afterwards. Scripture makes it clear that Ashers tribal land-boundary ended around the coastal city of Tyre (Joshua 19:29). 3. Amen. He is the strong man who binds Satan and plunders his house. One Bible expositor said the pigs the demons sought refuge in were black. Marks Jesus is a warrior who conquers Gods enemies. Scripture also makes it abundantly clear that God Almighty cannot change, and no one, not even the Lord's Anointed Messiah can change the Law which they both wrote. If the pig farmers were Gentile, why would non-Jewish farmers be so gentle with a Jew (who was also an outsider) who was messing around with their farm animals? Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. The most plausible reason Jesus chose the pigs was because he regarded people as precious and priceless, but not swine. WebThey land in the country of the Gadarenes which is on the North-east shore of the Sea of Galilee about 6 miles southeast across the sea from Capernaum. Mr. Hippo read Mark 5 and convinced himself that Jesus did not care about swine, or any other animals, and therefore, spread a church doctrine that Christians have no genuine duty to animals. The most likely answer is to the country of the Gerasenes: i.e., Gerasa, a Greek town thought to be the same as the similarly-named Kersa on the east shore of Lake Tiberias. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, Isaiah 44:9; Isaiah 44:19 Pigs were the required sacrifice on the altar in the temples of Zeus Olympus (Greek) or Jupiter Capitolinus (Roman), the same supreme god of all Hellenic theology known as the "king of The last now appears. ), No matter how you slice it, the Almightys negative view of ham and bacon cant suddenly switch from one day to the next. Thou lovest men, we love swine. The action is no different than Revelation 14:14-15 where we see the Son of Man brandishing a sharp sickle. 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. 141-144). It isnt a long list. 11:78). Next, what if our imaginary Jew damaged a ton of Gentile property under their very noses. (Pastor Piper was right after all, almost!) In Jesus first trip to that Gentile area: They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes (in Gadara). What do you have that youre captive to, that youre enslaved to? But the height of ignorance, the most foolhardy statement is, Jesus fulfilled the whole Law so we dont have to. Only a person who knows absolutely zero about Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy would say such a thing.