The apostle had been busy preaching in Demetriuss hometown of Ephesus and Pauls message about the one true God was catching on. 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. But Jesus still ministered to them: crowds from Tyre and Sidon came to see and listen to Him ( Mark 3:78 ). Problem was, not even the pigs could withstand the madness these demonic forces manifested. 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. Mark Driscoll also generated some chuckles when he callously said the death of the pigs created a bacon famine.. The thinking behind each chart is contrary to the unity and oneness of God. WebNoun. Pingback: The Prophet in the Hometown A Pilgrim in Augsburg. It was a leading city of Syria in commerce, culture, and religion. 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. The last now appears. 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. 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. She suffers a more oppressive slavery than ever before not to human rulers but to demons, who are bold enough to enter synagogues on the Sabbat. Plus, these additions by John connect back to other passages in interesting ways. If ever there was a small and weak proof-text, this is the one. As out-of-place as the pig-assisted exorcism by the Lake of Galilee was, the awful event is actually recorded in three Gospels; in Matthew 8:2834, Mark 5:120 and Luke 8:2639. Some of Jesus's reputation for being normally meek and merciful comes from statements like: From Jesus's own mouth, we are informed of Gods special love and attention for defenseless animals and we know Jesus has the same heart for the weak. Any other conclusion, in light of the seven facts just presented, is breathtakingly irresponsible, and we should just laugh it off. Jesus ministered to and did miracles for the Gentiles there. 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. Over the centuries, many scribes spent an enormous amount of time, energy and resources copying them, thereby lending credibility to them. Interested in joining the Ligonier team? Further, the conclusion seems warranted that there was confusion in some MSS of Gerasa with the more likely site for the miracle near Gergesa. It's back just a few verses, the answer is back just a few verses. In a, If Paul got himself into hot water because of a Gentile, To top it off, Jesuss farmers see Jesus and see their property floating belly up in the surf, but they dont throw him after them! Most translations interpret the Hebrew to say, Canaanite, but both are more than possible and perhaps the double meaning was intended by the prophet. Its odd that dispensationalist preachers dont preach this obvious, permanent truth. War IV. Pork is the most infamous of all-things-not-Jewish and the bad press that pigs receive in Scripture, and in contemporary Western society, is another reason why I accuse both pastors of being less than honest in their explanations about Mark 5. Now the big-mouth irking this Greek artisan was our good friend, the Apostle Paul. 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. Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Such a pat answer to such a serious question is as irritating as it is ridiculous. Was He asking us the impossible because He had nothing better to do or is He sadistic? 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. Last Update: Jan 03, 2023 What's going on here? Jerash (aka Gerasa, Gerash or Gerasha) is the capital and the largest city of the Jerash Governorate in Jordan, but in ancient times it was one of the wealthiest and most cosmopolitan cities in the ancient Near East.Settled by humans as early as the Neolithic period (c. 7500-5500 BCE) and founded as a Hellenistic city in the 2nd century BCE, Jerash is Paul himself said the doers of the Law will be made righteous (Romans 2:13), and that the Law is holy (Romans 7:12) and that the Law is spiritual (Romans 7:14). Here is a prophesy that Christians love to quote: You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110.4) because it connects to Messiah Jesus. 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. (Later, in Genesis 8:20, Noah sacrificed some of the clean animals to God as thank you offerings because their ship had come in! Pliny described it as a city of the Decapolis founded after the Rom. The first two are in the Authorized Version. Mark 5 is truly very simple: being a righteous Jew, the Law commands Jesus to abhor pigs as food. (, 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. Mark and Luke wrote that Jesus /gave the right to them to enter the pigs much stronger wording and more official than allow. Jun 21, 2021. 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. But Christians miss the joke and think he was being serious. Wipf & Stock Publishers. neither the four Greek words, nor any idea similar to them, are ever repeated in Scripture, whereas the destruction of the swine herd is thrice-repeated and uses a few more than four words. 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? We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? In his description of the boundaries of Perea, Josephus mentions Gerasa as one of the cities on the eastern boundary between Perea and Arabia, the other border cities being Philadelphia and Sebonitus (Jos. It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? 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. It's His person and His power that we're having our attention draw to and there are four things in particular that I want you to see in this passage. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of. And it is reveals a great deal comparing the reactions of the Gentiles in the two towns. (, For I tell you truly, until the passing away of Heaven and the Earth, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law until everything has happened. A Faith Embracing All Creatures: Addressing Commonly Asked Questions about Christian Care for Animals. --ED.). No other place on the E side of the sea fits this requirement of the story. At best, Malachi 4:4 should read as, Remember the Law of Moses, but mine's better. Look again at John 15:10. And because these repeated commands are at the end of the Christian Bible, but the original commands are at the beginning of the Hebrew Bible, we get the impression that no new commands are allowed in the whole of Scripture, and no more books either. Jesus was Jewish and He said He came for the lost sheep of Israelthe 10 cities of Decapolis were Roman cities but also contained some Jews who were most likely not keeping the Torah or mixing paganism with Judaism..Romans had many pagan gods and sacrifice pigs especially a certain black pig..I believe the man with the unclean spirits was a Jew.a Jew would never hang out in a tomb because that would make him unclean according to Jewish law..satan probably got a kick out of a Jew being forced by his demons to live in one.interesting that unclean spirits went into a unclean animal according to Judaismwhat a sight to see and then told by to go and tell what happened to you and to those pigs to your fellow Jewish friends and family who may not be keeping the Torah..just my opinion. And why werent they demanding compensation for their pigs? If you have your Bibles I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 8 and this great story of the man who was possessed by demons, liberated by the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask that You would open our eyes to behold wonderful things in it and open our ears, we pray, to hear Your Word rightly. Such a conclusion will annoy a lot of people, even funny, leaky dispensationalists like John MacArthur. WebGerasene: [noun] an inhabitant of the ancient Palestinian town Gerasa. Remember that the Law reveals to us the mind and personality of God. Even so, the Bible never puts the worth of animals on the same level as the worth of human 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. 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. 3. 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. They sailed to the country of the Gerasenes which is opposite Galilee. 4. The man howled day and night and cut himself with stones. If the Eternal One, blessed be He, had said just once that pork was unclean and forbidden, that should be enough. Originally published in Tabletalk, our daily Bible study magazine. Well, this happens in the gospel with Jesus. 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. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Look at what he first says when Jesus meets him in verse 28 What do you have to do with me, Jesus? This now then is our fifth fact in a nutshell. Well this is a taste of the profound arguments that you will find in that book. 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? 15:24), but He was concerned for all peoples. Jesus helped a Syrophoenician woman and commended her faith ( Matthew 15:2128 ). Mark as quoted by Spalde, Annika; Strindlund, Pelle (2012). You don't have to look very far. In Jesus first trip to that Gentile area: They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes (in Gadara). Maybe it was because they were unclean animals. Thus, in him, God found a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and 1 Samuel 16:1). He also wrote the poem Greatheart. Its totally contrary to what we would expect. I will say that I struggled with the title to this sermon. Admittedly the whole event with the demon-crazed pigs is odd you dont see it every day but the writer wanted us to believe it genuinely happened. Now it's not a very profound book. He said, If you love me, keep my commandments (John 14:15). 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. Our ways are not as Thine. 141-144). 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? Nothing we have belongs to us. But John is more precise, saying none should add or remove words. From the start, the evil spirits wanted to bring death and destruction, and they finally got their chance. His poetry includes Bees in Amber: a little book of thoughtful verse (1913) which became a bestseller. Every place the Master went on his travels it was to minister to a Jew, just as Paul said, To the Jew first (Romans 1:16 and Romans 2:9-10; ever notice that the New Testament never mentions Christians, just Jews and Gentiles?! He also said after much work with people that was possess that most of them dealt in occult practices. After all, racism wasnt invented in the 21st century. 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. Being made in God's image, we are more important to the Lord than any animal. And lastly, because the herd was within the Land of Israel and owned by Jews (the joke about Gentiles owning them is cleared up below), the unclean swine had to go and the unclean demons did the work. Although the Almightys statement is only one sentence in Deuteronomy 12:32, Jews regard it as two different commandments no additions and no subtractions. 3). Learn how your comment data is processed. ESV - 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. Them there pigs were trying to hog Jesus limelight! So many beautiful verses and motivating passages are in Scripture. Lastly, even if Mr. Pipers explanation were true, look what its application could mean. What about sheep? 11:78). (Quite likely David would have let the lion and the bear free, if not for the fact that they came back at him: 2 Samuel 17:35). Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. Show us the only hope of deliverance from those sins and teach us these things from this passage. 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. Sinai. Take the first chapter of Genesis for example; ones interpretation of it depends on whether one thinks its a historical retelling of creation, or just a poem. 8 ) Their pork was kosher, kept out of the camp for 7 days, and circumcised. Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? Yes, this man is extraordinary. He was possessed of extraordinary strength but he was aware that there was a man of God in his presence. By Your Holy Spirit, show us our need of grace. 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).. Next, what if our imaginary Jew damaged a ton of Gentile property under their very noses. In delivering the man from his bondage, Jesus restored creations promise. 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. He should know that centuries before the prophet Isaiah spoke against Jews eating pork and hanging around in tombs. That is the exact opposite of other godly men (compare with, Lastly, even if Mr. Pipers explanation were true, look what its, 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, Are not two sparrows sold for the smallest coin, and yet one of them cannot fall to the earth apart from your Father? Am I forgiven by saying, I just, The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. 2 Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came Executive Committee of the Editorial Board. And Tolkien puts it this way The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr he was, and his name is remembered in no tale for he himself had forgotten it and said only, I am the mouth of Sauron.. Many of you have seen, maybe fewer of you have read, a book by the famous British philosopher and skeptic, Bertrand Russell. Therefore, by associating the two commandments together, and you catch some of the character of our Heavenly Father. He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. Therefore, when it came to sacrifices on it, the menu was even shorter. viii. 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? The city was large and well planned. He wouldnt have lived long enough to get to a cross to die. So He gave them permission. Connect the dots. In a pigs eye. In turn, they would have a vehicle wherewith to stay in their territory. 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? I cannot offer you a proof-text for this observation. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (Luke 4:29). Looking back over the entirety of Gods Word, we do indeed notice many plagues rained down on the wicked in other books. What does it say? He didnt give any new commandment. That sure does smell good! Being teachable is a great avenue for learning! In fact, they are afraid of him and beg him to leave. The Gemara on the passage gives a historical foundation for the practise in the times of Aristobulus. All we know now is that the demoniac could have been either: Jew or Gentile. But thrice is no dice if we dont understand the reason or the message behind the event. Something else to ponder about the Son of God is his other title, The Good Shepherd: David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. 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. Instead, his conscious act of casting the demons into the swine resulted in the entire herds destruction. It seems to happen a lot in the gospels. I dont know of any illness that can do that. Two thousand pigs together is quiet unimaginable. Ptolemy says Gerasa was a city in Coele-Syria, thirty-five travel m. from Pella. Scripture makes it clear that Ashers tribal land-boundary ended around the coastal city of Tyre (Joshua 19:29). You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. 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. Download Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. In 2 Samuel 17 we read of the young boy who would be king risking everything for one lamb. And do you believe for one minute that God told us to obey something that He knew full-well we couldnt obey? I could have come up with better arguments against Christianity than Bertrand Russell, but in the course of this book in one of the chapters, he says it is this story that led him to the conclusion that Jesus was neither the best nor the most virtuous of men. The Greek clause literally says, End of law is Christ but why bother finishing the sentence? ___________________________________________________________________. They could, at least, admit to the possibility of what has been discussed here and about the other facts. Issues are listed below: we are using four Greek words to eliminate entire chapters of Scripture. 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. Just as God defeated Pharaohs army at the Red Sea, so Jesus defeats Satans army in the land of the Gerasenes. three Matthew tells us there were two demoniacs, while Mark and Luke only This is the only sensible interpretation which remains consistent with all Scripture. So instead of working or hammering away at the embarrassing elephant in the room, the good pastors spoon out interpretations to us that are not biblical, or dish up corny one-liners, all in the hope that well swallow them or be too busy laughing to connect the dots ourselves. What happened to the demons when the pigs died? When they ask Jesus to leave, he does so without any objection; Jesus ministry will not be imposed on those unwilling to receive it. And they are no more capable of liberating themselves than this man was capable of liberating himself from this host of demons. [] Top ten reasons why there were pigs in Gerasenes, (Linear Concepts, 17 October 2012), http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011 []. There's nothing that they can do to restrain His mighty arm. Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as unclean as the demons that Jesus sent into the swine. 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 Lebanon too (Zechariah 10:9-10). 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. The ruins also show evidence of a dozen churches, dating in the Byzantine period (4th-7th centuries) indicating that this once was a large Christian community. The most plausible reason Jesus chose the pigs was because he regarded people as precious and priceless, but not swine. Notice how Gods, Plus, when Jesus chased the sellers out of the Temple courts (. But the Almighty said it so many times. It was like, Read my lips, Saul! Did you know that one of the 7 ingredients in underwater concrete was animal blood? But wait, realize how deep Gods affection for animals goes. Gerasa is mentioned next by Josephus in connection with the Jewish rebellion against the Romans in a.d. 70. And from what I have heard, preferrably pig blood. Obviously, they were Jewish pig farmers seeing judgement for flagrant disobey Gods Word and keeping and eating pig meat. Heavenly Father this is Your Word. 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. Marks Jesus is a warrior who conquers Gods enemies. 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. (eds.). He also makes excursions into Gentile territory, such as when he exorcizes the Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). Do you see how Jesuss Gentiles dont act like Gentiles! Without a doubt, both men know God never came up with the line, Third Fact: Not a fickle faithless Father. Amen. Fourthly, Jesus specifically went to the land of the Gentile Gadarenes or Gerasenes, east of the Sea of Galilee, to minister to them. Over the years, Ive had to prove all this to myself first, and it took soul-searching and tons of Scripture research. The Jewish Messiah rid himself of two defiling groups in one blow. in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon Its the exodus that Jesus has come to lead, an exodus from slavery to the prince of this world. Archeologists identify it with the modern Jarash. Scripture exhorts us to care for animals and not to be cruel to them. 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). Jesus was a Jew. iii. So I don't know how seventeen interpretations of this particular story got circulated. They were people who knew him. Therefore, I repeat again that I believe the pastors are dishonest for not admitting this fact. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.) When Jesus and his disciples landed on the other side, it was in a region known as the Gerasenes, Gentile territory. Show us the sins of our hearts that we are captive to. there was never a prophecy that the kosher laws would be removed, so the verse is coming completely from left field. (, Field hay dries. In a similar way, we see that Scripture is the same; it doesnt change. 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. Does he really believe Mark 5 is Biblical material, To be honest, all the bad humour honestly makes me believe the pastor is being. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was He was getting everyone on board with what was started at Sinai. 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