I wonder why?). Plus, when Jesus chased the sellers out of the Temple courts (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:12-19; Luke 19:45-48; John 12:13-16), there is a small, but wonderful, detail that is in complete harmony with Matthew 10:29. When they ask Jesus to leave, he does so without any objection; Jesus ministry will not be imposed on those unwilling to receive it. led to the substitute reading Gergesenes, a reading that was suggested by a study of the geography of the area. That is the exact opposite of other godly men (compare with 1 Samuel 24:24 and 1 Chronicles 21:24). The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. Its odd that dispensationalist preachers dont preach this obvious, permanent truth. Download Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. 2 The sons of Japheth; Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. The demons freak out that Jesus is there because its not time for them to be tormented by Him yet. Delivered to your inbox! While animal-abuse cases arent normally rampant among church-goers, its no thanks to this bishops official policy. WebThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. So he had to live according to the truth that had already revealed and to get everyone else in line with the program. Secondly, I want you to look at the Lord Jesus Christ Himself because His power over Satan is on display full force in this passage. It seems to happen a lot in the gospels. Add to that that recent. Sadly, the rest of the verse is not quoted in GotQuestions best article and preachers rarely preach it, though it reveals more about the true character of the Messiah. Late Latin Gerasenus, Gergesenus, from Greek Gerasnos, Gergesnos, from Gerasa, Gergesa ancient town in Palestine. Archeologists identify it with the modern Jarash. The pastors precious-people useless-swine principle was previously dreamed up by the 3rd century church father, St. Augustine of Hippo (quoted by Spalde and Strindlund), and he ran with it. Not that I believe my case has holes. 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.). 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. If Jesus had done anything less, he could not have been the Messiah. It pains them to admit that Jesus was/is a Jewish Messiah and not a Christian one. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. Worse yet, dont trust one who says Scripture evolves. Both Gerasa and Gadara were cities to the east of the Sea of Galilee and the River Jordan. why do you think there were pigs there?]. Third, I want you to see the change that results in this man after he is not only liberated from these demons, but after he clearly, because of a change of heart, becomes a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. Once there, Jesus encounters a man possessed by demons. The Jewish Messiah rid himself of two defiling groups in one blow. It was exactly due to his righteousness and his love for God that he killed two thousand pigs. Yet being part of the Godhead means Messiah cannot not flip-flop his opinions. He is utterly sovereign. And he was the one who said that the Father doesnt miss the falling of a sparrow. Oops. 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. (Sidebar: During the whole Rob Bell Love Wins craze, I had a friend who claimed to believe the Bible, but denied that demons exist. It pains them to admit that Jesus was/is a, Sixth Fact: True identity of the pig farmers. 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. No, the Gentiles are not simply non-Jews. Gentiles are loved by God and redeemed by Jesus. Mark Driscoll also generated some chuckles when he callously said the death of the pigs created a bacon famine.. 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. The demons inhabit the bodies of this herd of pigs and the pigs cast them into the Lake of Galilee. 2 Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came city in Pal. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of defiling demons out of a lost Jew and purposefully launched the legion killers into two thousand defiling swine. Unfortunately, Pastor John is not alone, joking at the expense of this tragedy. The entire herd ran straight off a cliff and drowned. Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there for mercy and for judgement. 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. Jesus came to teach a better way of life that you could have abundantly! --ED.). http://archive.ligonduncan.com/mp3/12.13.2009_Dr_J_Ligon_Duncan_The_Man_Jesus_Renamed_Luke_8_26-39.mp3. In any event, the apparent differences in the texts prob. 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. And sadly, neither of the two Johns considered Gods extreme love for His Creation when giving their interpretations. Its flesh you must not eat. Reading the Word of God is wonderful. In a recent online essay on the Gospel of Mark, Peter Leithart wrote. Also, Orthodox Jews see a clear connection between Deuteronomy 12:32, do not add, and what happened in the Garden of Eden. In Marks thinking, the mans extraordinary strength is evidence of supernatural bondage. 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. The tricky bit is finding the correct reason why gentle Jesus dumped hundreds of murderous, unclean spirits on so many swine. 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. With or without graves? Those outside of the nation of Israel were considered gentiles. God never said dont touch. She added that bit. This page from an Orthodox website partially shows how Judaism views their responsibility. Marks Jesus is a warrior who conquers Gods enemies. Why does the herd of swine go over the cliff? However, the pastors assumptions are perplexing. Pingback: The Prophet in the Hometown A Pilgrim in Augsburg. And it's very clear that theyre in Gentile territory because they find themselves in a country where there is a huge, huge herd of pigs. Am I forgiven by saying, I just allowed the kids to have the grenade? 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. 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. This passage is fundamentally about Jesus. 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. 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. 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. The book ends on that very point. 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. WebHealing of a Demoniac. They, like the demons, are afraid of Him and they beg Him to leave and He does. Post the Definition of Gerasene to Facebook, Share the Definition of Gerasene on Twitter, More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary, Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes. For one, Remember that the Law reveals to us the mind and personality of God. But MacArthurs logical is funny for another reason. Dont demons like sheep? Legion probably comes from the fact that Roman legions had four to six thousand men in them and this name, Legion, indicates that he is possessed by a host of demons. For less than $5/mo. So why did the meek n merciful Son of Man cast countless defiling demons into two thousand piglets, sows and boars? And he said that a good and virtuous man could not have allowed something like that to happen and therefore, Jesus was not the best and most virtuous of men and therefore Christianity was disproven. it depends on the text you read, but one of the four Greek words is sometimes neuter, sometimes masculine a big deal in this language and in this verse. 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. One possible reason the Son of David chose the pigs was that he had no choice. If you eat a swine/hog that has killed eaten a poisonous snake and you eat that hog, you will be poisoned and die. 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. 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. Some will respond to my rhetorical question, Why on earth would Jesus come to earth, by giving me the usual pat answer, None can keep the nasty old Law, so Jesus came to fulfill it perfectly, and now I dont have to do anything, at all, whatsoever, just believe, hallelujah! The text of Mark 5 says pigs were nearby, but it doesnt say they were the only things nearby. This was the authentic Messiah that the Jews were waiting for. Explained by Sharing Culture Expert Answers: Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight." There's a total change of nature in this man. Webwere the gerasenes gentiles. The Greeks were believers in the spirit Unsurprisingly in such a place, Jesus finds a man possessed by unclean spirits. Im wondering 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. OS Supported: Windows 98SE, Windows Millenium, Windows XP (any edition), Windows Vista, Windows 7 & Windows 8 (32 & 64 Bit). 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. 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. That's what disciples do, they sit at their master's feet. (So much for those latter revelations or new religions arriving centuries later.). If I still had some misgivings, Id be man enough to share them here. Yes, this man is extraordinary. Israel doesnt [need] a savior who can fight off a legion of Roman soldiers. 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. Twice he is described this way look at verse 35, the man from whom the demons had gone out and then again the man from whom the demons had gone and then in verse 38, the man from whom the demons had gone. When Jesus had asked him, What's your name? The first time he had answered, I'm the man possessed by a countless host of demons. Now, he's the man from whom those demons have gone out. Jewish rabbis, when interpreting the Word of God, follow an important principle: no word in Gods Word is superfluous or pointless. In, David was a good example of what Jesus meant by , 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. Last week we said the focus was on the power and the person of Jesus Christ. The pastors attempts to laugh off the haunting question about the meek and lowly Son of Man killing all the pigs is pathetic. Being teachable is a great avenue for learning! We are pleased to launch our new product Money Maker Software for world's best charting softwares like AmiBroker, MetaStock, Ninja Trader & MetaTrader 4. WebThe terrified Gerasenes beseeching Jesus to leave them. The land of the Gerasenes was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Yet this is exactly what Christians believe; Jesus came to fulfill (but think annul) the Law and then start a whole new religion. This is the only sensible interpretation which remains consistent with all Scripture. 'Hiemal,' 'brumation,' & other rare wintry words. If our faithful, unchanging Heavenly Father God made a straightforward decisive yet divisive decision and repeated it over and over and over, then why cant the good pastors connect the dots and figure out Jesuss real relationship to the pigs? 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. 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? Wasnt this just a temporary fix to a bigger problem? But what does Leviticus says about ham? Luke 1:6 says, [Zachariah and Elisabeth] were both righteous before God, walking in all of the commandments and judgements of the LORD, guiltless. Sound like perfect obedience to me. 1). 9 ) They were wild Ferrel hogs feeding near the cliffs. A may also be a combination of two or more genres. Do not add upon it and do not reduce it. And then you see in this passage the change of a heart set free. Jesus ministered to and did miracles for the Gentiles there. The shortest distance between two thoughts. We are all responsible for our sins and so no demonic force can take control of a human life and make you sin unless you allow it. And Luke intends this to be a display of an extraordinary case. Here, then, Jesus faced two of Gods enemies: hostile spiritual powers and death itself. After stilling the storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus lands with his disciples on the eastern shore of the lake. This means that these miracles are especially meant to teach believers something. 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. Therefore, even though folks from the Bishop of Hippo down to our two good California pastors have tried to persuade us that the Creator has shifted His views on pork, God did not, can not, and will not vary or alter or adjust any word spoken about any decision let alone His views on ham sandwiches. He stabbed in the day of his wrath the kings. 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. The lectionary reading for Trinity 1, Year C, is Luke's version of Jesus meeting and healing the demon-possessed man in the 'region of the Gerasenes' (Luke 8.2639). 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. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced searchad free! If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. Playing with the plain truths of Gods eternal Scriptures means one is playing with fire and such actions will bring unfortunate consequences. John Oxenham1 wrote a poem about this passage. Its all a matter of being logical. In the three Synoptic Gospels and, None of the verses below refute any of the. Jesus was a Jew. Why? And was the Master doing the right thing sacrificing someone elses pigs. xviii. 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. Thus, in him, God found a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and 1 Samuel 16:1). Perhaps that is his point. 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. The action is no different than, Lets return again to when Jesus cleaned up the Temple courtyard of merchants and merchandise. But as for God, what reason did He give Mr. Merciless for not destroying Nineveh? 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). 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. He's set free. But thrice is no dice if we dont understand the reason or the message behind the event. The first two are in the Authorized Version. 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). Wnsche, Neue Beitrge zur Erluterung der Evangelien aus Talmud und Midrasch, p. 119. and therefore the good pastor declares the demoniac to be a Gentile since, as everyone also knows, Gentiles are better tomb-dwellers.. 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. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.