Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. The shortest distance between two thoughts. And were you aware that the New Testament repeats the same two commands from Deuteronomy? WebThe Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. Neither common sense, nor the text, let Jesus off the hook. Them there pigs were trying to hog Jesus limelight! Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as unclean as the demons that Jesus sent into the swine. Jesus ministered to and did miracles for the Gentiles there. Not by will, but because they have no choice other than to do as the Administrator of all creation commands them. His soul, what care we for his soul? 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. So I don't know how seventeen interpretations of this particular story got circulated. Yet there was no fury. three And if he missed one, he didnt do it perfectly. Years earlier, when the ancient Israelis came to the border of the Promised Land, part of the eastern shore was controlled by the Geshurites (and the Maakathites) but Joshua told Israel to possess their land (, Last Fact: The coming Judgement Jews First, We have seen that God Almighty loves animals as much as humans, so Jesus randomly killing two thousand swine seems senseless, unless we remember God has commanded righteous people to avoid defiling food, such as pork. It was part of the Greco-Roman region known as the Decapolis, or ten towns. or ten Here, it may well be that a herd of unclean animals has been used to take thousands of demons to their doom in the lake in anticipation of the final judgment. In other words, the Roman Catholic Church took four Greek words torn out of mid-sentence and declared them to mean, the end (read, death) of the law [of Moses], although numerous verses declare the fixed, eternal character of Gods Perfect Law. Indeed, some believe that Jesuss single option was to let Legion loose on the animals. This passage is fundamentally about Jesus. What does it say? Here, then, Jesus faced two of Gods enemies: hostile spiritual powers and death itself. viii. 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. Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. Demons do not care about the person they possess hence all the cutting and harm the man did to himself. WebGadarenes. WebThe terrified Gerasenes beseeching Jesus to leave them. 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. Because the writer of the story wanted to make sure that everyone would know that the Garasenes were not Jewish. 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? Pastor MacArthur would do well to learn from his Jewish counterparts. 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. Connect the dots. Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he said, Legion, for many demons had entered him. For these reasons, the writers of the gospels gave no explanation and the Twelve asked no question about why Jesus destroyed all the swine. 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. Not that I believe my case has holes. Being teachable is a great avenue for learning! And John nicely parallels Jesus who said, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law (Matthew 5:18). about a.d. 65. But wait, realize how deep Gods affection for animals goes. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) This solution is as old as Origen (Commentary on John, VI, 24) who, faced with the textual problem, suggested that the precise site of the healing of Legion was Gergesa, the small town in the territory of Gadara, but hardly in the more remote territory of Gerasa. And as Palmer approached him at the fireside, the man identified Palmer before he got there. Now the big-mouth irking this Greek artisan was our good friend, the Apostle Paul. 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 is saying that Jesuss commandments are the same as the Fathers. Do you remember? First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.". But if one cared to examine all of Gods Word, the only possible reason for Jesus to destroy the pigs in the exorcism seems to be connected to Gods opinion about ham. 10:31). 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 it fits their bias. 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. The distinction between the two is clear (now). With these, 9 ) They were wild Ferrel hogs feeding near the cliffs. Fourthly, Jesus specifically went to the land of the Gentile Gadarenes or Gerasenes, east of the Sea of Galilee, to minister to them. Well pretend with him that the folks in Gerasenes were placid Gentile farmers happily raising their gentle Gentile pigs. Lastly, based on culture, human-nature and most importantly, on specific Scripture passages, we know the demoniac could not have been a Gentile but was most assuredly, Yet a complete interpretation of Mark 5 needs to clear up one last point: the pigs were forbidden but did they, Christ kept kosher and cleaned up the town, I can of Myself do nothing. Note: Demetrius was angry only because of speculation of what Pauls preaching might do to business Paul had not physically caused any damage. These three verse from John really are earth-shattering. And was the Master doing the right thing sacrificing someone elses pigs. 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. 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. 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. Download Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. And at the end of the passage, look how he is described. The textual evidence shows that the MSS preserve three variant spellings of the name in each gospel. No Jewish farmer would keep swine, and no Jewish region would tolerate the presence of pigs, let alone two thousand of them (Mark 5:13). The site is identified today with the town of Kersa, or Gersa, just below Wadi es-Samak. Without a doubt, both men know God never came up with the line, Put pork on your fork. Of course not. (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.) His poetry includes Bees in Amber: a little book of thoughtful verse (1913) which became a bestseller. David did the same to a bear that took a sheep. 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 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. 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. There's nothing that they can do to restrain His mighty arm. He was Jewish and tragically lost. The Gerasenes, however, was located in the territory of the Decapolis, a group of ten cities with a majority population of Gentiles. He also makes excursions into Gentile territory, such as when he exorcizes the Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). Now do you see how silly the Jesus-kept-the-Law-perfectly statement is? They were to teach the Gentiles about Him (Acts 13:4647). Peaceable Kingdom Series. 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. This Priceless People Interpretation comes from another sunny California pastor, John Piper. The Gemara on the passage gives a historical foundation for the practise in the times of Aristobulus. He's the friend of sinners. 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! 3 He lived among the tombs; and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain; 4 for he had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but the chains he wrenched apart, and Who were the gerasenes in the bible? So he gave them permission. (, Field hay dries. Deuteronomy 4 and 12 only state that none should add or remove what Moses was commanding, which sounds a little nebulous. Gergasa (modern name Kersa) was a small village nearby, and Gadara was the larger region of which the village was a part, with Gerasa as the regional capital. He is utterly sovereign. I beg you, do not torment me. And then the demons beg not to be cast into the abyss. This, by the way, is the miracle story that happens in Gentile land. Jewish rabbis, when interpreting the Word of God, follow an important principle: no word in Gods Word is superfluous or pointless. 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. But as Gergesa was a small village, and little known, the evangelists, who wrote for more distant readers, spoke of the event as taking place in the country of the Gadarenes, so named from its largest city, Gadara; and this country included the country of the Gergesenes as a state includes a county. The land of the Gerasenes was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. (, 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. Jesus though he was The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-18 and John 1:21) had to play by the same laws. Thats why there was a herd of two thousand This agrees with the general description of the site (Mark 5:1; Luke 8:26). 4 ) As R. Sol Urbin Ohel Moed teaches us, Technically, the greek word for swine is choiros, which many people think means swine, but in the Akkadian, and so with the Syriac, it really refers to an indigenous type of little lamb owned by sea-faring peasants, suitable for pets, grazing, shishkabob and MLT (Mutton, Lettuce and Tomato) sandwiches., 3 ) Pigs?? 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. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Amen. Pingback: The Prophet in the Hometown A Pilgrim in Augsburg. You received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it! (Acts 7:53). We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. Now we see the missing puzzle piece: God had plainly prohibited pork as food, making it clear that holy people should not eat it , Overall, when it comes to any animal being selected for food or for sacrifice, God sees only two types. On the other hand, the Masters usually thick-headed students, the Tedious Twelve, didnt question him about this! 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). And because they did not hear Him, they lost even what they had. WebHe calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. Mark as quoted by Spalde, Annika; Strindlund, Pelle (2012). The man could break his earthly chains; he could not break his spiritual ones. Cant we be candid in our search to know God? Some of my Christian brothers and sisters see this as coded language referring to a confrontation with the political and military power of Rome. He was clear that His mission was not to the Gentiles and Samaritans, but rather, to the lost tribe of Israel. Look at the prophets; they also prove Scripture doesnt change. Again, these classifications come from God, not man, and show up in Scripture as early as Genesis 7:1-9. WebScripture exhorts us to care for animals and not to be cruel to them. Interested in joining the Ligonier team? 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 always followed Gods Law. ESV - 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 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. All four gospel writers repeatedly testify to Jesuss power over storm, waves and. 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. As was just so elegantly discussed, the destruction of the herd only makes sense if we remember that God never liked unclean food to begin with. v. 37) describe Jesus healing of the demoniac Legion and the drowning of the swine in the Sea of Galilee (cf. 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. Bibliography W. A. Thomson, The Land and the Book (1882), 333-338, 353, 359; C. H. Kraeling, Gerasa, City of the Decapolis (1938); The Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1946), 64, 117; M. F. Unger, Archaeology and the NT (1962), 139-141; E. Lohmeyer, Das Evangelium des Markus (1963), 93f; C. F. Pfeiffer, The Biblical World (1966), 252-254. Yes, you read that right. People of the same race and same religion but they still wanted to do him some serious pain. But we should never get too smug, thinking that we have corned the market on truth. To run Money Maker Software properly, Microsoft .Net Framework 3.5 SP1 or higher version is required. The real irritation is people saying the Law was impossible to obey, when Scripture says the opposite it true. He's a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ now. Its one thing to understand that He personally never changes. 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. You know, a month ago, a month ago, if you had said to anyone, You know, Tiger Woods is in slavery. They would have looked at you and said, You've got to be out of your mind. Originally published in Tabletalk, our daily Bible study magazine. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 6 ) There were lots of laws they didnt keep. 4 And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim. 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. Wed also have to confess that the farmers were not Gentile. The good pastor John MacArthur assumes in his video Dominating Powers, Part 2 (Mark 5:1-20), that Jesus must have been in Gentile territory because, as everyone knows, Jewish men and women dont hang around tombs even if they are demon possessed! Incredible. Either way, dispensational charts ultimately commit both acts against the Word of God. Thou lovest men, we love swine.