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. Many year later, Messiah went to Israel as a prophet to get the people of Israel back to his Law. ESV - 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 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. In actual fact, when you stop to think about it, If our faithful, unchanging Heavenly Father God made a straightforward decisive yet divisive decision and repeated it, Fourth Fact: Gods Enduring, Unchangeable Word, As was just so elegantly discussed, the destruction of the herd, Your word, O LORD, is everlasting; it is firmly fixed in the heavens. New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Gerasa, Gerasenes. I beg You, do not torment me. Then, if you look in verse 38, he begs Jesus that he might be with him. There's nothing that they can do to restrain His mighty arm. THE PIGS DID IT FOR HIM!! Such a conclusion will annoy a lot of people, even funny, leaky dispensationalists like John MacArthur. Christians never finish reading the chapter. Isnt this what hes paid for? But there are many reasons why Im not keen on the idea of the Gospels as non-historical. Johns words seem to apply to all of Scripture. And the thing that I love the most is the utter contrast in his attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Some will respond to my rhetorical question, Why on earth would Jesus come to earth, by giving me the usual pat answer. conquest of Syria in 65 b.c. But we should never get too smug, thinking that we have corned the market on truth. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of Him. When Jesus said that he had not came to destroy the Law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17), he was not talking to the Jews who already knew the Law was permanent, he was looking into future centuries and talking to those Christians who would try to destroy it. were badly damaged in major It's this man who doesn't even remember his name who's possessed by a host of demons. 2 Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came Diana (Artemis) of Ephesuslovely without a nose! Fear and selfishness prompted the prayer. 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. So much for sola scriptura. It pains them to admit that Jesus was/is a, Sixth Fact: True identity of the pig farmers. The heart set free from sin by Jesus. 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. The Tabernacle of Ancient Israel - Brief Overview of the Tabernacle of Moses in the Wilderness and the Ark of the Covenant. 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). 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. War II. Now it's not a very profound book. 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. The city was large and well planned. 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. WebGadarenes. Peaceable Kingdom Series. Theyre written as factual history. Unsurprisingly in such a place, Jesus finds a man possessed by unclean spirits. He is utterly sovereign. to biblical Galilee, regarded, in opposition to Judaea, as a country of Gentiles (as in Matthew 4:15) What was Jairus occupation? So he had to live according to the truth that had already revealed and to get everyone else in line with the program. Since I believe the word of God is our playbook for life, what is Jesus telling us? Instead of dead Egyptians washing up on the shore, we see dead pigs, an intentional insult to the minions of Satan. As well, every place the Master went on his travels was inside of the Land of Israel; he never went to Gentile territory. Gadara). The Law of God states that the Sabbath is a day of rest for all livestock (Deuteronomy 5:14). The following Scripture wont disprove Gods love for all animals, deny the Almightys unalterable character, declare the commandments null and void, nor claim all meats clean (kosher). It's a glorious picture of Jesus love for lost souls, even a Gentile. Will the demons come back? Marks Jesus is a warrior who conquers Gods enemies. The modern village Jarash is situated on the hillside above the ruins, built with stones from the ruins. All you need to know right now, if youre interested in that I'm happy to talk about it until the cows come home, but all you need to know is each of those places the regions of the Gergesenes, the Gadarenes, and the Gerasenes it's all on the other side of the Lake of Galilee. 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!!! WebWell pretend with him that the folks in Gerasenes were placid Gentile farmers happily raising their gentle Gentile pigs. I wonder why?). The Greeks were believers in the spirit They could, at least, admit to the possibility of what has been discussed here and about the other facts. What's going on here? War I. iv. p. 102. Look at what he first says when Jesus meets him in verse 28 What do you have to do with me, Jesus? And then God Himself repeated it five more times in the same book: Leviticus 11:45, Leviticus 19:2, Leviticus 20:2, Leviticus 20:7-8 and Leviticus 20:26! When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons. 10:31). It was exactly due to his righteousness and his love for God that he killed two thousand pigs. 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. 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 they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. Being teachable is a great avenue for learning! Ba-dum-tsss.). 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). For less than $5/mo. Derek Thomas was reminding me this morning that Ridderbos, in his famous book, The Coming of the Kingdom, records seventeen different interpretations that he had found of this particular parable. And so they begin crying out, Don't cast us into the abyss.. On the other hand, the Masters usually thick-headed students, the Tedious Twelve, didnt question him about this! Many of the events are corroborated by other authors. In the three Synoptic Gospels and John 2:15, Jesus forces all the sellers out of the Temple courts. Reading the whole account in Acts 19:23 to 41, we see that it was not hard for the sore silversmith to drum up anti-Jewish anger in the crowd that day. Who owned the pigs? Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Most scholars today would agree with Origen that near Gergesa was the precise site for the healing of Legion. It was a small village about midway along the E shore of the Sea of Galilee. Also, the land where the Master walked and the swine were feeding belonged to Israel. What about sheep? And was the Master doing the right thing sacrificing someone elses pigs. 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. 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. But Christianity early became important in the city; several churches were built during these centuries, so that by the 5th cent., Gerasa could send a bishop to the Council of Chalcedon. We said the last time that we were together that in Luke 8 you begin four miracle stories, all of which either happen in Galilee or in Gentile lands. 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). All these inescapable facts are so important to getting the right interpretation of Mark 5 and the other gospel records of the same event. Gods Law has a law that you cannot change Gods Law. Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. (wait for it) turning the swine to the water! When He speaks, they obey. Similarly, as God incarnate, Jesus knows the future. This location agrees with the description given by the ancient writers. 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 action is no different than Revelation 14:14-15 where we see the Son of Man brandishing a sharp sickle. get to know the Bible better! As the Philistine dead were strewn from Gaza to Ekron, so thousands of Satans dead fell in their own territory. And do you believe for one minute that God told us to obey something that He knew full-well we couldnt obey? 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. Yet there was no fury. The fact anyone dreamed up dispensationalism in the first place shows how some attentive folk saw contradictions within traditional interpretations of Scripture, but were unwilling to admit to them directly, but instead they desperately concocted those nonsense charts. Amen, and thus ends this reading of God's holy, inspired, and inerrant Word. That is why (Matthew 8:28; Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26) In Gerasenes in place of Gadarenes. It was interesting that Palmer had gone out without any announcement but this man knew who he was and he was obviously disturbed that he was there and he began to make threats. 5 ) They werent real Jews They were JINOs! Why should this surprise us? They even allowed themselves to go ballistic on the Sabbath, which shows how angry they really were. He specifically banned pig in. 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.. 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? Apparently Gerasa was rebuilt by the Romans before the revolt began, prob. Inhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus ( Matthew 8; Mark 5; Luke 8) in which he transferred the demons When Jesus healed the possessed man, He allowed Legion to possess the nearby herd of swine. 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. At the very end of his book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John repeats them. 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. Why? The Spectators probably from all over the world! In the end, the good pastors assumptions keep us rolling in the aisles. Its all so reminiscent of John MacArthur joking and John Piper giving pat answers because n body wants to be honest with the Word of God and face facts and Jesus killing pigs is one of those uncomfortable contradictions.). It seems to happen a lot in the gospels. Mark and Luke wrote that Jesus /gave the right to them to enter the pigs much stronger wording and more official than allow. Who owned the pigs? 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. Is there a connection? There's a total change of nature in this man. 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? I would, however, be a little skeptical of stories about Jesus Himself visiting Spain. 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. (This sad fact may have something to do with Christians telling Jews to junk the Law which they love and to just believe and receive.) WebHe calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. People of the same race and same religion but they still wanted to do him some serious pain. 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. It deeply disturbed Bertrand Russell that Jesus allowed a herd of two thousand pigs to be destroyed. And you can ask yourself a lot of questions Why did Jesus do that? Also oral tradition in this area talks of Christ coming and preaching the gospel there but being asked to leave shortly afterwards. We "are of more value than many sparrows" (Matt. when hes rolling around with a thousand killer-demons inside. You understand that Legion is not his name. Yes, you read that right. 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 apostle had been busy preaching in Demetriuss hometown of Ephesus and Pauls message about the one true God was catching on. Also, wouldnt that be a type of sin and another example of how he may not have perfectly kept the Law? 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? 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? Nevertheless, the interconnections within Scripture, from the beginning, to the middle, and to the very end, are wonderful to see, just like a beautiful flower. 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. In fact, the next thing the name did was to take a steel bar, place it in his teeth, and proceed to bend it with his hands and with his teeth. absolutely anne..there are a few scenarios..nothing more exciting than digging into the Word of God!! Mark as quoted by Spalde, Annika; Strindlund, Pelle (2012). 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 because he said it one single, solitary time, and he didnt actually present anything new, we have clear proof that he didnt add anything to the Law and his joke underscores the fact that he didnt add (or delete) from the Law! The pastors attempts to laugh off the haunting question about the meek and lowly Son of Man killing all the pigs is pathetic. Them there pigs were going to try to hog the limelightthat Jesus was famous for but ended up being lost in more ways than one! Secondly, theyre forgetting that Jesus also says that people are more important than sparrows. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today. 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. Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. 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. Before a shattering, a mans heart is proud (Proverbs 18:12). Not that I believe my case has holes. 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? Scripture presents us with all we need to know. And he sends out his representative, a man who is known only as the Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr, the black gate. And what about trees or rocks? Both of our good pastors assume that the people in Gerasene (Gadarene or Gergesene) were Gentiles in Gentile territory, partially because of the pigs, partially because of the demoniacs and partially because, The good pastor John MacArthur assumes in his video, [I stretch my hand out to the Jews] who sit by the graves and lodge over night in the tombs, who eat the flesh of pigs and the broth of corrupted meat from their pots. Jesus is saying that Jesuss commandments are the same as the Fathers. The normally merciful Messiah destroyed the pigs in accordance with Gods Law about clean and unclean meat. In delivering the man from his bondage, Jesus restored creations promise. 4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. We see the power of Christ over Satan, don't we? Jesus ministered to and did miracles for the Gentiles there. What care we for his soul?What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,Since we have lost our swine? Why do I say that book? The final battle requires a different strategy, one that involves a cross. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. This is clearly an extraordinary event. Thats right, Whatever matter I am commanding you right now, it's what you must be careful to observe to do. As regards the first question, it would appear that that section of the country was chiefly inhabited by pagans in the first century, and Gerasa is at any rate included by Schrer among the Hellenistic cities ("Geschichte," ii. The hard hearts of those who reject Jesus. For those near by the local name would be used; but in writing to a distant people, as the Greeks and Romans, the more comprehensive and general name would be given. Scripture makes it clear that Ashers tribal land-boundary ended around the coastal city of Tyre (Joshua 19:29). Johns Entertaining LOL Interpretation shows me that he sees cracks in his theology, but is unwilling to own up to them. * And if one doesnt believe demons exist ..same question: why invent a false story to make the point that Jesus has power over demonic creatures that dont exist? Demons do not care about the person they possess hence all the cutting and harm the man did to himself. The forum, with a semicircle of columns still standing, was paved with large cut stones. III. This verse alone puts an interesting twist on the oft-quoted man was not made for the Sabbath but the Sabbath was made for man because originally Scripture makes the point that the Sabbath is for man and mans animals. With or without graves? We know that two thousand pigs go over the cliff. All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat The victorious Lord made life good again for one embattled soul. This town is not to be confused with either Gerasa or Gadara. Ill take Mark at his word; hes thinking of an army of demons, not an army of human soldiers. Paul talked about going to Spain in Rom 15:24-28, so part of this is certainly within the realm of possibilities. What about cattle? Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (Luke 4:29). The demons are aware that He is there and they are frightened. Sproul also agrees with this preference of people over pigs when he writes, a man is worth more than 2,000 pigs.. 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?! Delivered to your inbox! 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
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