And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. For less than $5/mo. The Law of God states that the Sabbath is a day of rest for all livestock (Deuteronomy 5:14). 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. At the end of the gospel, however, Jesus tactic changes. The Messiah gave every Jew there that day a glimpse of the judgement to come. Also, any every person who wants to please God is forbidden the heartless act of boiling a calf in its mothers milk (Exodus 23:19; Exodus 34:26; Deuteronomy 14:21), as well as the abominable practice of cutting and eating the leg of a live animal, only to leave the poor creature hobbling around with its three remaining legs (Deuteronomy 12:23; explanation). Jesus ministered to and did miracles for the Gentiles there. If the interpretation from one vague verse contradicts several unambiguous verses, which is wrong? So many beautiful verses and motivating passages are in Scripture. WebWhy were there pigs in gerasenes? And because they did not hear Him, they lost even what they had. Ellicotts Commentary, for one, believes the four Greek words were a latter addition. There's nothing that they can do to restrain His mighty arm. Instead of recklessly freeing the doves into the air (as erroneously shown in The Jesus Film and other Bible movies), Scripture records with precise detail that Jesus only knocked over the chairs of the pigeon owners, and/or told them to take their feathered property and leave (Matthew 21:12; Mark 11:15; John 2:16) he didnt use his whip on the birds or fling them into the air to be attacked by falcons or eagles. WebInhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus (Matt. 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. 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. And he sends out his representative, a man who is known only as the Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr, the black gate. led to the substitute reading Gergesenes, a reading that was suggested by a study of the geography of the area. And he was the one who said that the Father doesnt miss the falling of a sparrow. Oops. That is all I know. Now I want to say very quickly, my friends, that there is no power in this universe that can cause a rationale being to sin. 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 NT references (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26; cf. 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. Many year later, Messiah went to Israel as a prophet to get the people of Israel back to, The two Johns see more than a hint of what I am talking about in the destruction of the swine and it frightens them so they avoid a serious discussion. ___________________________________________________________________. The good pastor John MacArthur assumes in his video Dominating Powers, Part 2 (Mark 5:1-20), that Jesus must have been in Gentile territory because, as everyone knows, Jewish men and women dont hang around tombs even if they are demon possessed! They do not bother mentioning Scriptures emphasis on being holy before God. He stabbed in the day of his wrath the kings. 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. It pains them to admit that Jesus was/is a, Sixth Fact: True identity of the pig farmers. founders day speech by students were the gerasenes gentiles. Yet this is exactly what Christians believe; Jesus came to fulfill (but think annul) the Law and then start a whole new religion. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) Johns Entertaining LOL Interpretation shows me that he sees cracks in his theology, but is unwilling to own up to them. We use cookies to provide you with a great user experience. If Paul got himself into hot water because of a Gentile speculating about declining silver sales, how could Jesus have avoided a ton of hot water for killing hundreds of Gentile-owned swine? 10 ) It was the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, the area of the Decapolis. But just a theory. Jewish rabbis, when interpreting the Word of God, follow an important principle: no word in Gods Word is superfluous or pointless. = 1. Gerasa was rebuilt in splendor and remained prosperous for several centuries. 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. 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. Well that's the first thing we see in this passage. WebGerasene: [noun] an inhabitant of the ancient Palestinian town Gerasa. It is a logical thesis based on historic accounts (Josephus, etc) Feel free to challenge this thought or pursue it from another angle. 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). Similarly, as God incarnate, Jesus knows the future. 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!!! So did the demons surprise him? Now Jesus grants this permission. Another problem with the Catch-22 interpretation is the sheer number of other animals or places that Jesus could have negotiated for. Every creature on land, or in the water, or in the air is classified by either the Hebrew term, (tahor), meaning ritually clean/pure, or by the term, (tameh), unclean/defiling. I would, however, be a little skeptical of stories about Jesus Himself visiting Spain. A may also be a combination of two or more genres. Isnt this what hes paid for? 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. It goes like this: These are the people of Gerasene speaking to Jesus Rabbi be gone. Christians never finish reading the chapter. 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. If pigs were considered unclean then would the demons not wanted unclean to possess. And what can we take away from the second part of the commandment not to take away from Gods Word? And was the Master doing the right thing sacrificing someone elses pigs. The story of the Gerasene demoniac thereby foreshadows the mission to the Gentiles that would begin in full force with the conversion of the Apostle Paul and Peter's ministry to Cornelius (Acts 910). We come to understand that the God of the Universe is willing to wait and to stall our own behaviour so as to give mother cows and mother sheep more time together with their babies. Its kinda like the difference between a Disney movie, a TV documentary and/or an infomercial; normally each is dissimilar from the other. And did the Gospels writers believe the explanation was so obvious they didn't need to write one? Once there, Jesus encounters a man possessed by demons. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of any other person, religious organization or governmental entity. Marks Jesus is a warrior who conquers Gods enemies. He was totally dominated by these demonic forces. He is the strong man who binds Satan and plunders his house. 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. Dr. Ligon Duncan | December 13, 2009. [] Top ten reasons why there were pigs in Gerasenes, (Linear Concepts, 17 October 2012), http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011 []. Many of you have seen, maybe fewer of you have read, a book by the famous British philosopher and skeptic, Bertrand Russell. A discussion occurred between Professor Huxley and Mr. Gladstone in "The Nineteenth Century" for 1892 as to the morality of the act, the critical questions being whether (1) Gerasenes were Jews; and (2) if so, was it lawful for them to keep swine? Seven facts why Jesus cast the demons to the pigs in Mark 5, but pastors still miss the point, We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Flower blossoms wither. Ive not heard that theory before. A wonderful verse that reveals Him to us and probably the most heartwarming is the commandment in the Torah that mother animals are allowed to stay with their newborns for at least seven days before the offspring can be taken for food or for sacrifice (Exodus 22:30; Leviticus 22:27). And Luke intends this to be a display of an extraordinary case. Be circumspect. But when Jesus explained that the commandment was the old one from Leviticus, Love one another, they signed with relief, seeing how he was just underscoring the command that God already gave (Leviticus 19:18). Besides, it was Christmas! No one cares where he sleeps when hes busy trying to keep himself from killing himself. That fact must be kept in mind in our ethical discussions. Therefore, I repeat again that I believe the pastors are dishonest for not admitting this fact. To feed the spectators who came there purposely to see those crazy chain braking tomb dwelling lunatics! The entire herd ran straight off a cliff and drowned. The Word of God cant change any more than God can. If I still had some misgivings, Id be man enough to share them here. 2023 Christianity.com. As the Philistine dead were strewn from Gaza to Ekron, so thousands of Satans dead fell in their own territory. These are tremendously important facts that GotQuestions is ignorant of, or they prefer to spread disinformation about, this important Biblical truth that, in the mind of the Almighty, holiness is bound to what we eat. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today. 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. The normally merciful Messiah destroyed the pigs in accordance with Gods Law about clean and unclean meat. His sermon should have given us some point, some excuse, or some logical explanation for it all. 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. How and why did this happen in the first place? 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. Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Perhaps a tenth, or a quarter, or a half of the 613 commandments were fulfilled by Jesus, but not all. 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. Thy powers bring loss to us and ours. That is, they appear contrary, except for one thing: Gods Law forbids righteous people from eating pork. Explained by Sharing Culture Expert Answers: Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight." He wrote under his own name, and also as John Oxenham for his poetry, hymn-writing, and novels. However, the silversmith was a smart cookie and knew that the more people bought into Pauls line of thinking, the less theyd be buying his souvenir Diana statues. GotQuestions has three articles alone on the subject: here is their best. 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? Add to that that recent studies claim 25% of the world today is antisemitic and ask yourself if racism was better or worse in the past? 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. 3. 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. You can follow him on Twitter. 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. II. So why did the meek n merciful Son of Man cast countless defiling demons into two thousand piglets, sows and boars? 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. Can we really point the finger at him? 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. Does he really believe Mark 5 is Biblical material just for laughs? 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. All these inescapable facts are so important to getting the right interpretation of Mark 5 and the other gospel records of the same event. Just as God defeated Pharaohs army at the Red Sea, so Jesus defeats Satans army in the land of the Gerasenes. Web(2) Ye know that ye were Gentiles.--Better (according to the weight of MSS. There was a logic in this. War II. 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. In a recent online essay on the Gospel of Mark, Peter Leithart wrote. The last point to tidy up Jesus allowed the demons to kill the pigs or Jesus did it? The Gemara on the passage gives a historical foundation for the practise in the times of Aristobulus. Lets bring in a certain Greek silversmith and see how calmly he handles himself. 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. 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. To be honest, all the bad humour honestly makes me believe the pastor is being dishonest. 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. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons. This kind of inter-ethnic scenario normally spells d.i.s.a.s.t.e.r. When they ask Jesus to leave, he does so without any objection; Jesus ministry will not be imposed on those unwilling to receive it. Plus, these additions by John connect back to other passages in interesting ways. Did you know that one of the 7 ingredients in underwater concrete was animal blood? viii. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Thus, in him, God found a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and 1 Samuel 16:1). 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. It's almost like the demons are inexorably drawn to Jesus. The demons are aware that He is there and they are frightened.

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