When Jesus healed the possessed man, He allowed Legion to possess the nearby herd of swine. Many of you have seen, maybe fewer of you have read, a book by the famous British philosopher and skeptic, Bertrand Russell. Two thousand pigs dead for one person to live is not an even tradeand that is the point. Obviously, they were Jewish pig farmers seeing judgement for flagrant disobey Gods Word and keeping and eating pig meat. Christians never finish reading the chapter. He wouldnt have lived long enough to get to a cross to die. WebScripture exhorts us to care for animals and not to be cruel to them. And what does the Law say about pigs? What do you have that youre captive to, that youre enslaved to? They were to teach the Gentiles about Him (Acts 13:4647). When He speaks, they obey. He made a covenant with them and revealed His commandments to them, which they were to live according to. 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. If you eat a swine/hog that has killed eaten a poisonous snake and you eat that hog, you will be poisoned and die. So how on earth could they dictate to the Son of God where they wished to go? 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. Sinai. Once there, Jesus encounters a man possessed by demons. The most plausible reason Jesus chose the pigs was because he regarded people as precious and priceless, But are these good pastors on the right track? Theories of men that attack statements made by God evolution for example are sadly creeping into the minds of Christian leaders. Gadarenes, Girgesenes, Gerasenes: (These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. For these reasons, the writers of the gospels gave no explanation and the Twelve asked no question about why Jesus destroyed all the swine. Acting as Israels Messiah, Jesus was carrying out actions that were predicted by the prophets, like when Zechariah said that no merchants in the house of the LORD (Zechariah 14:21).. Oh, you mean THOSE pigs!! 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. Christ's journey into "the country of the Gerasenes" (Mark 5:1) was somewhat unusual. The Gospels tell us that Jesus did most of His work among the Jewish people. And you can ask yourself a lot of questions Why did Jesus do that? War II. Demonic forces seem to be territorial; i.e., they have assigned areas of domain. Compared to the accounts of the same event in Matthew and Luke also written in simple narrative prose some details vary. What are you doing here, man of God? And then he attempted to intimidate him. Download Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. 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. Thats why there was a herd of two thousand Indeed, some believe that Jesuss single option was to let Legion loose on the animals. [] Top ten reasons why there were pigs in Gerasenes, (Linear Concepts, 17 October 2012), http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011 []. They are out to steal, kill, and destroy, so we dare not trifle with evil spirits. One can only imagine the insanity the demoniac suffered at the hands of these evil forces. And Christ went sadly.He had wrought for them a signOf Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;They wantedswine.Christ stands without _your_ door and gently knocks;But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,He forces no man's holdhe will depart,And leave you to the treasures of your heart. 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 text of Mark 5 says pigs were nearby, but it doesnt say they were the only things nearby. Wasnt this just a temporary fix to a bigger problem? 6 ) There were lots of laws they didnt keep. Clearly, Luke is telling you this because he wants you to show the amazing power of Jesus Christ, even over demons. 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. I'm the man who Jesus saved by casting out the demons from me.. get to know the Bible better! 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. That is the exact opposite of other godly men (compare with 1 Samuel 24:24 and 1 Chronicles 21:24). The only other commandment with this same specific promise is the command to honour thy mother and father (Exodus 20:12 and Deuteronomy 5:16; c.f., Ephesians 6:2-3 where Paul copies out the entire commandment and the promise). But they dont prove his point. It's interesting isn't it Jesus crosses the river, the lake, and no sooner has He set His foot on the other side but this man shows up to meet Him. He doesnt want to connect the dots and he doesn't want us to either. Paul talked about going to Spain in Rom 15:24-28, so part of this is certainly within the realm of possibilities. 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 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. Was it correct to destroy so many for just one (or two men). So I figure we could speculate a little and see where this goes. Food cant affect our salvation, nor disqualify us from being saved.Pork might not be very healthy,but as long as its USDA approved and deemed good by health inspectors from feeder hogs tat eat corn to clean the mess out of them of the last few bowel movements, then you should be good to go. And sadly, neither of the two Johns considered Gods extreme love for His Creation when giving their interpretations. He's converted. And so they begin crying out, Don't cast us into the abyss.. Gergesa (). 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. in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon In a recent online essay on the Gospel of Mark, Peter Leithart wrote. Thats right, adding or subtracting from Scripture, according to Scripture, is illegal. Look at the prophets; they also prove Scripture doesnt change. 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. But these differences are typical of eye-witness reports and only irritate skeptics. 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. But it struck me as interesting that Bertrand Russell had the exact same reaction to this miracle that the people of the Gerasenes had. 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. So lets have an exquisite examination of Scripture to better appreciate what happened beside the lake and why the pigs ended up in it. 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. (, But MacArthurs logical is funny for another reason. Well this is a taste of the profound arguments that you will find in that book. So now they don't even bother to read it.]. This kind of inter-ethnic scenario normally spells d.i.s.a.s.t.e.r. The Gemara on the passage gives a historical foundation for the practise in the times of Aristobulus. . Regrettably, what were about to study the Big Pig Splash Down isn't one of them. He loves our souls. Jesus helped a Syrophoenician woman and commended her faith ( Matthew 15:2128 ). After stilling the storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus lands with his disciples on the eastern shore of the lake. 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. He will judge the Gentiles, filling places with bodies. 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. If ever there was a small and weak proof-text, this is the one. IV. 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. 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? Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? The Syrians made reprisals, and took many prisoners. David was a good example of what Jesus meant by the shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Compared to this, Jesuss behaviour toward the pigs appears extremely callous: giving vile demons permission to slaughter swine is not exactly compassionate. 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. This picking and choosing is completely unbiblical. For centuries, land wars are a type of a national sport among Middle Eastern nations. 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. 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? What about cattle? Dr. R.C. The best text in Matthew reads Gadarenes, in Mark and Luke it reads Gerasenes, whereas some MSS preserve Gergesenes and Gergustenes (cf. Does he really believe Mark 5 is Biblical material, To be honest, all the bad humour honestly makes me believe the pastor is being. All Rights Reserved. Because some confusion exists in the gospel MS evidence and perhaps in other source material, absolute certainty cannot be attained; but the following identification seems correct. So He gave them permission. It's back just a few verses, the answer is back just a few verses. 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. And that permanence of the Law matches well with the fact that the first time, and the second, He wrote the Ten Commandments in stone: Exodus 31:18 and again, Exodus 34:1. 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. For the moment, Jesus was just being ironic. And so the fact that youre in a country with a herd of pigs lets you know that youre in Gentile territory and that's part of the point of the story. In the three Synoptic Gospels and John 2:15, Jesus forces all the sellers out of the Temple courts. Don Crowe and Nicholas Gentile direct the Oswego Players Scenes of Crime; Section X: Canton downs Heuvelton for repeat Overall Section 10 title; Section X: Lady Wildcats edge Hammond for Section Overall title; PROPERTY SALES; Local pro hockey: Former Wolves player Liarakos paces Mississippi past visiting Watertown Demetrius had to do something with the Jew or go bust. But we should never get too smug, thinking that we have corned the market on truth. (, Although the Almightys statement is only one sentence in, For I myself witness truthfully to everyone hearing the words of the prophecy of this book, , Besides Johns cute play on words dont, Also, Orthodox Jews see a clear connection between, This curse should deter makers of dispensational charts from chopping up Scripture because having my share taken from the Book of Life, or my name , Also, Johns emphasis do not take away from , 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. And the thing that I love the most is the utter contrast in his attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ. (. 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. 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. Fear and selfishness prompted the prayer. But wait, realize how deep Gods affection for animals goes. Perhaps even ask who might that future group of individuals be to whom Jesus will say, Depart, I never knew you (Matthew 7:22) because even though they called him, Lord, Lord [and had gone to seminary and made dispensational charts] they somehow were on the wrong path. She needs someone strong enough to cast a legion of demons into the sea, like Pharaoh and his hosts. Accessed 4 Mar. And so the demons call out His name Jesus, the Son of the Most High God and it has no effect on Him. One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. WebInhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus (Matt. (But that may sadly describe a good number of Christians.) And in Malachi 4:4, why did God say remember the Law of Moses if God had His own law? 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. He stabbed in the day of his wrath the kings. Add to that that recent. Overall, when it comes to any animal being selected for food or for sacrifice, God sees only two types. The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. How could they say Christians not need be concerned about the welfare of animals or that they have little value, or even laugh about the death of thousands, when such beliefs are set side-by-side with Gods Word? How and why did this happen in the first place? 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. Its inconceivable that the pigs were owned by Gentiles. Do you remember at the end of the book, in the sixth book, when the King of Gondor and his captains and the host of Gondor have arrived at the black gates of Sauron Sauron is the evil figure in the book and if you know Tolkien's cosmology, he was actually an apprentice to the Satan figure of Tolkien's writings. Theres got to be a a good one about. If the interpretation from, 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? With such a track record, what difference would Legions size or strength make? Can we really point the finger at him? 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. Show us the sins of our hearts that we are captive to. Both Johns could conveniently connect the dots between the Law of God which outlaws the swine and the destructive action which Jesus took against the herd, but it would be too inconvenient for their religious views. 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. 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. 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. The power of the Lord Jesus Christ over Satan. Ba-dum-tsss.). ix. That is why destroyed) and every perplexing dispensational chart is legit. This is the only sensible interpretation which remains consistent with all Scripture. ITS LIKE THE WITCH ON TGE WIZARD OF OZ There he meets a man seized with an unclean spirit (Mark) or with demons (Luke). 2023. 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 (Joshua 13:11-13). So these four miracles show Jesus reaching out to Gentiles, either in Galilee or even in even more Gentile territory across the river. But the Almighty said it so many times. In fact, they beg Jesus to leave. In Luke 4 and 5, great multitudes are following Jesus Christ when He does His miracles. A main street with columns on both sides leads out of the forum. The last point to tidy up Jesus allowed the demons to kill the pigs or Jesus did it? Yet a complete interpretation of Mark 5 needs to clear up one last point: the pigs were forbidden but did they have to be destroyed? 7 ) The pigs werent for eating. Pretty quickly the whole city was in an uproar. As for Matthew, he quoted Jesus as commanding the demons, and used the plural form of the verb, go. Surely He could have demonstrated real power over real demons, right? Why did these people respond to Jesus this way? Gerasa was rebuilt in splendor and remained prosperous for several centuries. 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. Because God is so steady, and doesnt reverse or repeal, He can be trusted to do what He promises; good or evil. James Gibson. No products in the cart. And the good pastor doesnt give any rationale for a slaughter that huge. I trust the Lord Jesus to know what to do with demons and what ought to be done. But the sad thing I want you to see at the end is the reaction of the majority of his countrymen, because unlike him, they do not beg to be with Jesus. Who owned the pigs? Dr. Ligon Duncan | December 13, 2009. about a.d. 65. This man, when Jesus says, What is your name? effectively says, I do not know my name. 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. And while its not true God pairs animals with people every where in Scripture, He does in this statement. Wed obey Him. 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. * If one believes demons exists, why invent a false story to make the point that Jesus has power over demons? Therefore, when it came to sacrifices on it, the menu was even shorter. He always followed Gods Law. Jesus was upholding all the kosher laws within the Land of Israel it was part of his job description. 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? Such a contradiction in character! Wed also have to confess that the farmers were not Gentile. *sigh*). Answer: the impurity of the swine. For one, Leviticus 22:28 forbids righteous farmers from killing a cow and its calf on the same day. Deuteronomy 4 and 12 only state that none should add or remove what Moses was commanding, which sounds a little nebulous. The real irritation is people saying the Law was impossible to obey, when Scripture says the opposite it true. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. He was completely in the thrall of sin. (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) In Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. That sure does smell good! Theyre written as factual history. Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Delivered to your inbox! Perhaps a tenth, or a quarter, or a half of the 613 commandments were fulfilled by Jesus, but not all. And was the Master doing the right thing sacrificing someone elses pigs. 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. So why pigs? But what are its implications? 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. 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. It was like, And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent for He is not a man that He should relent. Them there pigs were trying to hog Jesus limelight! To that end, may I present. WebWhy were there pigs in gerasenes? Why? Our ways are not as Thine. An inscr. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 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. 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. None of the verses below refute any of the Seven Forgotten Facts above. (Sidebar: During the whole Rob Bell Love Wins craze, I had a friend who claimed to believe the Bible, but denied that demons exist. What need have we of further witnesses? 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. GotQuestions has three articles alone on the subject: here is their best. 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. Lets dwell on that he added no new commands to his disciples. Just as God defeated Pharaohs army at the Red Sea, so Jesus defeats Satans army in the land of the Gerasenes. Another command applies to women who have given birth to a child (Leviticus 12:6), so that would be easy for Jesus to obey, not to mention the monthly ritual baptisms Jewish women do for certain reasons!!! Such alternative readings include arguments that the swine were meant to represent the Roman army or "unclean and unfaithful" people; that pigs were considered "unclean", so destroying them might be consistent with care for other animals; and that Jesus did not actually "send" the devils into the pigs. The hard-hearted views of the Bishop of Hippo are not biblical because righteous people are obliged by God to be considerate to all animals, even wild animals, as discussed below. Oops! What do you want? It seems to happen a lot in the gospels. A Faith Embracing All Creatures: Addressing Commonly Asked Questions about Christian Care for Animals. Gergasa (modern name Kersa) was a small village nearby, and Gadara was the larger region of which the village was a part, with Gerasa as the regional capital.

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