The textual evidence shows that the MSS preserve three variant spellings of the name in each gospel. When Jesus and his disciples landed on the other side, it was in a region known as the Gerasenes, Gentile territory. Nothing we have belongs to us. 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! I agree the counter-arguments look flawless on the surface and that will be partially exposed now. Amen. As to the second question, there is no doubt of the illegality, from a ritual point of view, of Jews keeping swine (B. 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? May He write its eternal truth upon all our hearts. The district of the Gerasenes probably included that of the Gadarenes; so that the demoniac of Gergesa belonged to the country of the Gadarenes and also to that of the Gerasenes, as the same person may, with equal truth, be said to live in the city or the state, or in the United States. 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. They were people who knew him. Dedicated Online Support through Live Chat & Customer Care contact nos. We do not find demons under every pew and under every rock. He made a covenant with them and revealed His commandments to them, which they were to live according to. 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. They even allowed themselves to go ballistic on the Sabbath, which shows how angry they really were. Problem was, not even the pigs could withstand the madness these demonic forces manifested. why do you think there were pigs there?]. Therefore, when it came to sacrifices on it, the menu was even shorter. Who were the gerasenes in the bible? There are echoes of exodus in Marks story, and echoes of Davids battle with Goliath. Jesus enters enemy territory in two ways. A main street with columns on both sides leads out of the forum. Being teachable is a great avenue for learning! Therefore, hiding behind a few vague statements like the pat answer verses listed here is not sound. Instead of dead Egyptians washing up on the shore, we see dead pigs, an intentional insult to the minions of Satan. Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight." Instead they joke around and give pat answers. 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. This Priceless People Interpretation comes from another sunny California pastor, John Piper. 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. In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. 10 ) It was the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, the area of the Decapolis. Its all a matter of being logical. War II. 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. Also, Johns emphasis do not take away from the words is stronger than Mosess original statement. The other, Deuteronomy 22:6-7, protects wild mother birds in a similar way, forbidding us from killing them along with their young at the same time. However, the silversmith was a smart cookie and knew that the more people bought into Pauls line of thinking, Note: Demetrius was angry only because of, Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? The mountainside has caves and hewn tombs where, according to Mark and Luke, the demoniac had taken shelter. But the Jews were promised and re-promised their land by God throughout the Law: Genesis 15:7, Leviticus 20:24, Numbers 33:52-53, Deuteronomy 1:8 are just a few examples. Lets return again to when Jesus cleaned up the Temple courtyard of merchants and merchandise. That fact must be kept in mind in our ethical discussions. Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? The entire herd ran straight off a cliff and drowned. These forces plundered Gerasa, Philadelphia, Pella, and others (Jos. 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). Pork was a prevalent food staple and as you travel near the gates of Gibraltar the terrain matches the craggy cliffs as well as the placement of aboveground as well as natural cave tombs which show signs of living inhabitants at some point. They were not. 4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 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. Look at what he first says when Jesus meets him in verse 28 What do you have to do with me, Jesus? 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. Or are we with those who love what we want and what we have more than we love the Word of life from the only One who can give life? We pray in Jesus' name. Remember the story of Jesus casting demons out of the crazy man in Luke 8? And he was the one who said that the Father doesnt miss the , Everyone's wondering why the pigs got the raw end of the deal.
So why do Christians say no one can when these two did? Because of his righteousness and his love for God, Peter and Andrew and John and thousands more loved Jesus and followed him. His soul, what care we for his soul? Jesus ministered to and did miracles for the Gentiles there. Neither common sense, nor the text, let Jesus off the hook. Are we with a man, liberated, who trusted Jesus, who begged to be with Jesus and sought to be a disciple at His feet? They dont care about about the demon possessed men, they want their pigs back, (My opinion) Jesus was raised with sacrifice so animals were thought of for food, not so much as pets like today. All Rights Reserved. Scripture presents us with all we need to know. Matt 8:28). WebHe calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. In fact, they beg Jesus to leave. Jesus was teaching the way to live life so demons would not have a place in us to possess. Oops! Israels real enemy is Satan. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced searchad free! As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of Him. Be circumspect. 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! Doesn't Jesus Treat Animals as Property? In York, T.; Alexis-Baker, A.; Bekoff, M.; McLaren, B. Therefore, I repeat again that I believe the pastors are dishonest for not admitting this fact. And at the end of the passage, look how he is described. Seen in this light, Jesuss actions against the herd were more than appropriate and neither Matthew, Mark nor Luke bothered to explain or rationalize the Masters actions. After all, racism wasnt invented in the 21st century. The Word of God cant change any more than God can. That will give us the perfect answer. I dont know of any illness that can do that. Mr. Hippo read Mark 5 and convinced himself that Jesus did not care about swine, or any other animals, and therefore, spread a church doctrine that Christians have no genuine duty to animals. 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 was like, And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent for He is not a man that He should relent. 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). (wait for it) turning the swine to the water! WebThe name Gergesa has led to the supposition that the Girgashites, one of the seven Canaanitish nations, originally occupied this territory. WebRoman Empire Map - Large Map of the Roman Empire in the Early First Century - Click around on the Places. Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? David did the same to a bear that took a sheep. WebAll three Synoptic Gospels ( Mark 5:120; Luke 8:2639; Matthew 8:2834) mention the swine miracle, although with variations. iii. 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. Would you not agree that theres a certain permanent feeling about a law like that? Those people were Jews in Nazareth. Throughout the book, the author uses direct quotes, various and mostly verifiable place names and clear descriptions of mostly plausible actions. 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. WebThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. And if he missed one, he didnt do it perfectly. Gerasa is mentioned next by Josephus in connection with the Jewish rebellion against the Romans in a.d. 70. 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. (But that may sadly describe a good number of Christians.) 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. One possible reason the Son of David chose the pigs was that he had no choice. Then again, who needs to imagine anything? He had a new name and he had a new nature to go along with it. And because they did not hear Him, they lost even what they had. He was no longer naked and he was no longer babbling and he was no longer living amongst the tombs, but when they came, he was clothed and in his right mind and sitting at the Savior's feet. It is a logical thesis based on historic accounts (Josephus, etc) Feel free to challenge this thought or pursue it from another angle. 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. Not that I believe my case has holes. The entire herd ran straight off a cliff and drowned. 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. And God isnt going to renounce or retract that decision no matter how many dispensational charts they print. Luke is telling you here that Jesus is sovereign over everything. This kind of inter-ethnic scenario normally spells d.i.s.a.s.t.e.r. 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. 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 ritually impure or defiling (Acts 10:14). Additionally, it would have been foolish for the Apostles to claim hundreds and thousands of witnesses (1 Cor 15:1-6). You can follow him on Twitter. in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon rushed down a steep hill and perished. If Paul got himself into hot water because of a Gentile speculating about declining silver sales, how could Jesus have avoided a ton of hot water for killing hundreds of Gentile-owned swine? 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. All four gospel writers repeatedly testify to Jesuss power over storm, waves and. WebGenesis 10:5 Context. Now you understand what sitting at the Savior's feet means? --ED.). Ive heard that the apostles and Christ may have traveled to Spain. It deeply disturbed Bertrand Russell that Jesus allowed a herd of two thousand pigs to be destroyed. The man could break his earthly chains; he could not break his spiritual ones. Although the Almightys statement is only one sentence in Deuteronomy 12:32, Jews regard it as two different commandments no additions and no subtractions. (Only an amateur Hebraist would claim the latter, frankly.). Thats right, Whatever matter I am commanding you right now, it's what you must be careful to observe to do. In other words, they believe the one who killed the pigs with the demons is equal to the Father.
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