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. Incredible. They are unclean for you. 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!!! He always followed Gods Law. Well Ill explain that too, later on. 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. 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). When they ask Jesus to leave, he does so without any objection; Jesus ministry will not be imposed on those unwilling to receive it. Let\'s see if you\'re really a human: * R.C. David ran after the lion that had grabbed his sheep and with just his staff, and his wits, he forced the lion to drop it. Inhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus ( Matthew 8; Mark 5; Luke 8) in which he transferred the demons Thats the exodus that Israel needs. (we dont invent stories to let people know Jesus has power over the Tooth Fairy, do we?). That is exactly what is happening here. 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. If the interpretation from one vague verse contradicts several unambiguous verses, which is wrong? 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. Plus, these additions by John connect back to other passages in interesting ways. Despite all the dangers to himself, David wouldnt allow any to be hurt. The last now appears. 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. So its a fair comparison to place Pauls actions in Ephesians side-by-side with Jesuss actions by the Lake of Galilee. Thus, we are not surprised that there was "a great herd of pigs" feeding near the tombs where the Gerasene demoniac was living (5:11). Now we see the missing puzzle piece: God had plainly prohibited pork as food, making it clear that holy people should not eat it all of you be holy for I am holy (Leviticus 11:44-45) and therefore, Gods normally merciful Messiah destroyed an entire herd in total agreement with the commandment. The gospels. 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. Such a contradiction in character! We do not find demons under every pew and under every rock. Basically, a vision told Peter three times to eat defiling animal meat (at least that was how it seemed to him) so Peter logically replied that he had never eaten anything , Once more, we have half of an unclear verse, that people use to make up a, Gods Word has to agree with Gods Word. Cute little silver goddess dolls would have sold for the same price as a full-grown boar or sow in those days. Show us the only hope of deliverance from those sins and teach us these things from this passage. Logically we understand that no person on Earth could say something in strong terms over and over, and then just one day say, Oops, can I retract that? So could or would God Almighty flip flop? WebWhy were there pigs in gerasenes? = He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. WebWho were the gerasenes in the bible? 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. There was a logic in this. Without a doubt, both men know God never came up with the line, Third Fact: Not a fickle faithless Father. But it was what they loved and they preferred it to everlasting blessing in Jesus Christ. Obviously, they were Jewish pig farmers seeing judgement for flagrant disobey Gods Word and keeping and eating pig meat. 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. HDB, II, p. 158, 159 for a detailed description.). While foretelling death and doom was often part of a prophets job description, the real task of each true prophet was to be an example to the people and to get everyone on board, or back on board, with the Law of God. II. New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Gerasa, Gerasenes. Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. They even allowed themselves to go ballistic on the Sabbath, which shows how angry they really were. Note that Jesus never touched the demon-inhabited individual: He merely spoke to him, commanding the evil to depart. Then again, who needs to imagine anything? Yes, you read that right. Because God is so steady, and doesnt reverse or repeal, He can be trusted to do what He promises; good or evil. Seven Biblical facts await you that prove Jesus was obliged to love all creatures, except that a higher command forced him to partially judge the Jews who owned the two thousand poor pigs. And he sends out his representative, a man who is known only as the Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr, the black gate. For heavens sake, why cant the good pastor try to explain the incompatibility of our loving Jesus wiping out hundreds of innocent creatures without a punch line? Thy powers bring loss to us and ours. Some of my Christian brothers and sisters see this as coded language referring to a confrontation with the political and military power of Rome. And what about trees or rocks? We ask this in Jesus' name. WebWho do you care more about, people or pigs? Only this interpretation explains the farmers restrained reaction over the slaughter of the swine, and their tremendous terror of the Messiah. 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. But there is a message in this for all of us and it is simply this we may not be possessed by demons, but if we are possessed by what we want or by what we have and if what we want or what we have is not God in the Gospel of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, then we are no less in the thrall of sin that this man. 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? And at the end of the passage, look how he is described. Gods Word has to agree with Gods Word. We are pleased to launch our new product Money Maker Software for world's best charting softwares like AmiBroker, MetaStock, Ninja Trader & MetaTrader 4. But MacArthurs logical is funny for another reason. One was, His Name Was Legion, Not Ligon. I have been confused with Legion all my life and it worries me that it's not just the sound of the name, but I want to make it clear that Legion is not in any way related to Ligon. It's just 8 or 9 verses before this passage. Pingback: The Prophet in the Hometown A Pilgrim in Augsburg. The majority admits they are clueless and throw their hands up, stating the herd was just a casualty of war. Another who admits he has no idea why the gentle Jesus jettisoned all those unclean demons unto the swine is John MacArthur. 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 became one of the proudest cities of Syria." After stilling the storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus lands with his disciples on the eastern shore of the lake. Rabbi, begone! And the good pastor doesnt give any rationale for a slaughter that huge. The victorious Lord made life good again for one embattled soul. The first two are in the Authorized Version. Nothing we have belongs to us. That is why Be circumspect. It was like, And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent for He is not a man that He should relent. Ligon Duncan (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary; PhD, University of Edinburgh) is the Chancellor & CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, and the President of RTS Jackson. For being kind to birds!? Additionally, the encounter takes place among the tombs, an earthly realm of the dead, so to speak. But pay attention to the body count. Jesus helped a Syrophoenician woman and commended her faith ( Matthew 15:2128 ). This food is unclean and defiling for you. Yes, this man is extraordinary. The city was large and well planned. Did Jesus really sacrifice the swine for the man? But there are many reasons why Im not keen on the idea of the Gospels as non-historical. He had a new name and he had a new nature to go along with it. 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. Lots of non-Jews lived there. The apostles arent having a pig roast anywhere. 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. In light of these facts, Jesus' ministry in the Gerasenes reveals the Lord's remarkable concern not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. In a pigs eye. 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! We do not say that to cast the first stone. So He got into the boat and returned. (Take that, Darwin.). ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) The hard hearts of those who reject Jesus. What about sheep? Facts are piling up. 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). Gadarenes, Girgesenes, Gerasenes: (These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. (Jos. The entire herd ran straight off a cliff and drowned. She needs someone strong enough to cast a legion of demons into the sea, like Pharaoh and his hosts. 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?! What do you want? Can we imagine our Jew receiving a mostly positive reaction or a negative one? Wipf & Stock Publishers. The mountainside has caves and hewn tombs where, according to Mark and Luke, the demoniac had taken shelter. The NT references (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26; cf. (, David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. This leads the third observation: just as the disciples had been terrified by both the storm and Jesus calming of it on the way over to the Gerasenes, the local people here respond with fear. ), his power over blindness (John 9:32) and even over death, as in the case of a three-days dead Lazarus (John 11:1-44). What do you have that youre captive to, that youre enslaved to? WebWhy were there pigs in gerasenes? He couldnt introduce a new religion. Being made in God's image, we are more important to the Lord than any animal. Such a conclusion will annoy a lot of people, even funny, leaky dispensationalists like John MacArthur. He changed the subject. Josephus mentions it with Pella and Golan as being taken by storm during Alexander Jannaeus campaign E of the Jordan in about 83 b.c. The pagan religions continued among the Gentile population as is evidenced by the ruins of the temple of Artemis. (, But MacArthurs logical is funny for another reason. The story is about the power of Jesus and, even his name, to rid humans of demons and also to show that his power was for Gentiles as well. This kind of inter-ethnic scenario normally spells d.i.s.a.s.t.e.r. Who owned the pigs? We pray in Jesus' name. May He write its eternal truth upon all our hearts. Jesus was upholding all the kosher laws within the Land of Israel it was part of his job description. But look at how many times God let it be known in the Law and in very certain terms eating pork was offensive. So I don't know how seventeen interpretations of this particular story got circulated. Why doesn't the good pastor entertain that avenue of possibility or is he too busy making one-liners to connect any dots? What does it say? This was the authentic Messiah that the Jews were waiting for. As the Philistine dead were strewn from Gaza to Ekron, so thousands of Satans dead fell in their own territory. Because they cared more about what they had lost than what that man had gained or what they could gain in Jesus themselves. 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. But isnt it a funny coincidence that pork happens to be on Gods list of forbidden food. This is the Just-believe-and-receive Hypothesis and the advocates thereof like to stretch Jesuss words, I came to fulfill the Law, and make it say that Jesus needed to destroy or replace the nasty Law, but hope to heaven it still sounds Biblical heres an example of stretchy talking from GotQuestions. Interestingly, if you obey the latter, and take just the babies or the eggs but release the dame, God promises you a long and successful life. In Jesus first trip to that Gentile area: They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes (in Gadara). It pains them to admit that Jesus was/is a Jewish Messiah and not a Christian one. [] Top ten reasons why there were pigs in Gerasenes, (Linear Concepts, 17 October 2012), http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011 []. 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. The textual evidence shows that the MSS preserve three variant spellings of the name in each gospel. 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. To suggest God retracts or repeals laws tarnishes His Dignity. None of the verses below refute any of the Seven Forgotten Facts above. Scripture makes it clear that Ashers tribal land-boundary ended around the coastal city of Tyre (Joshua 19:29). ix. I beg You, do not torment me. Then, if you look in verse 38, he begs Jesus that he might be with him. Should we accept Mark 5 as literal history? Add to that that recent. The list in the first chapter of Leviticus contains only bovine, sheep, goats and pigeons; all typified later, in Leviticus 11, as clean/pure animals. 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. Show us the sins of our hearts that we are captive to. However, the pastors assumptions are perplexing. (photo by Jean Pierre, Pexels), Reading the Word of God is wonderful. 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! He also makes excursions into Gentile territory, such as when he exorcizes the Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). Its true! Notice how Gods, Plus, when Jesus chased the sellers out of the Temple courts (. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. This mother-baby law actually takes priority over another command which requires all first-born calves and lambs to be offered up to God on His altar (Numbers 18:17; Deuteronomy 15:19.) Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? Remember the story of Jesus casting demons out of the crazy man in Luke 8? Thats right, Whatever matter I am commanding you right now, it's what you must be careful to observe to do. He will judge the Gentiles, filling places with bodies. So he had to live according to the truth that had already revealed and to get everyone else in line with the program. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town. (Matt 15:24). Them there pigs were trying to hog Jesus limelight! In actual fact, when you stop to think about it, because God denounced pork in Leviticus, and then Jesus destroyed two thousand, and that event is thrice repeated by Matthew, by Mark, by Luke it all adds up to a big confirmation of the fact that God doesn't change. So He gave them permission. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of. It is true that we discover new thoughts or extra meaning over time, but Gods Word is permanent and cannot change. He wouldnt have lived long enough to get to a cross to die. The Psalmist states that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills Because to me belong every beast of the wood, every herd on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10, and were assuming Jesus the Second Person of the triune God had equal rights to those hills and those cattle.). And repeatedly, these miracles will focus us in on Who is Jesus? and What do His deeds tell us about what He has come to do and the power that He has? And so this passage helps us in this way. This is a noteworthy fact because not every event in Jesuss ministry was thrice written down. At the end of the gospel, however, Jesus tactic changes. And it is a shame that the good pastors dont take these relevant Scripture passage into consideration. This picking and choosing is completely unbiblical. But once the door is open, well, we see in this story what can happen when you give in, what can happen when the demonic takes over. Even so, the Bible never puts the worth of animals on the same level as the worth of humanity. Why do I say that book? To run Money Maker Software properly, Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 or higher version is required. And low and behold, two gospels specify that Jesus didnt go into Tyre (part of modern Lebanon), but that he was only in the vicinity of the city (Matthew 15:21; Mark 7:24 and Mark 7:31). Ha, ha.. yeah lemme ummm.. tell ya about those pigs.., 2 ) Like any rational redneck, they smelled their Gentile neighbors having a pork BBQ and said DAAAANG, Hoss! WebGerasa, Gadara or Gergesa (Luke 8;26, 37) As Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man who was possessed by demons came out to meet Him. Now do you see how silly the Jesus-kept-the-Law-perfectly statement is? 2. Jesus though he was The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-18 and John 1:21) had to play by the same laws. At the very end of his book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John repeats them. 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. e. 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. The final battle requires a different strategy, one that involves a cross. Gerasa was a city situated near the Jabbok River about eighteen m. E of the Jordan, about twenty m. SE of Pella, and twenty m. N of Philadelphia. He also said after much work with people that was possess that most of them dealt in occult practices. 10 ) It was the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, the area of the Decapolis. God designated the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, as His chosen people. (eds.). Do you see how Jesuss Gentiles dont act like Gentiles! The real irritation is people saying the Law was impossible to obey, when Scripture says the opposite it true. In the end, the good pastors assumptions keep us rolling in the aisles. He is a billionaire, he is about to break Jack Nicklaus record, he's married to a model, he has two beautiful children, he has everything that anybody in the world could possibly want to have. I am but a man possessed by an innumerable host of demons. If pigs were considered unclean then would the demons not wanted unclean to possess. I dont see anything of that sort in the story. To all of you who have been liberated from the captivity of your sin by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, receive God's blessing. Inhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus (Matt. He seen himself demon possessed people that had extrodinary powers. They do not bother mentioning Scriptures emphasis on being holy before God. *sigh*). They cannot cast a spell on Him. Ill take Mark at his word; hes thinking of an army of demons, not an army of human soldiers. Three witnesses! Isnt this what hes paid for? 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.
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