He loves our souls. Here, then, Jesus faced two of Gods enemies: hostile spiritual powers and death itself. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. We are pleased to launch our new product Money Maker Software for world's best charting softwares like AmiBroker, MetaStock, Ninja Trader & MetaTrader 4. Such a statement is irresponsible because the Law was not written for a single person. Therefore he had every right to judge the Jews and how they used land. 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. Why should this surprise us? Similarly, as God incarnate, Jesus knows the future. From the start, the evil spirits wanted to bring death and destruction, and they finally got their chance. He was completely in the thrall of sin. WebMany New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than. They, like the demons, are afraid of Him and they beg Him to leave and He does. Therefore they should be taken as such. Regrettably, what were about to study the, And he answers him, saying, My name is Legion because there are many of us. Also he begs Jesus many times that he'd not send them away, out of the. Inhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus (Matt. Johns Entertaining LOL Interpretation shows me that he sees cracks in his theology, but is unwilling to own up to them. It was part of the Greco-Roman region known as the Decapolis, or ten towns. It was Gentile territory, the land of foreign gods, a place of idolatry. 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. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you. And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.. We should ask the good pastors if love thy neighbour as thyself has any bearing on killing your neighbours livestock. And John nicely parallels Jesus who said, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law (Matthew 5:18). No, the Gentiles are not simply non-Jews. Gentiles are loved by God and redeemed by Jesus. There's nothing that they can do to restrain His mighty arm. Add to that that recent. This made them fit for consumption. Search the web and you will find many opinions about why the pigs died. John 13:34 was the one single, solitary time that the Master told his disciples, I give you a new commandment. However, the commandment wasnt a new commandment. The ruins also show evidence of a dozen churches, dating in the Byzantine period (4th-7th centuries) indicating that this once was a large Christian community. If you eat a swine/hog that has killed eaten a poisonous snake and you eat that hog, you will be poisoned and die. James Gibson. All four gospel writers repeatedly testify to Jesuss power over storm, waves and gravity (Matthew 8:22-27, Mark 4:3541 and Luke 8:2225, passages immediately before the pig-demon accounts! In the Book of Acts, Chapter Nineteen, we read about Demetrius, a Greek silver-statue maker, who was connecting a few dots of his own and had reasoned that a certain big-mouthed Jew was bad for business. Can we really point the finger at him? WebThey came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 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. 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?! Of course not. As for Matthew, he quoted Jesus as commanding the demons, and used the plural form of the verb, go. Perhaps a tenth, or a quarter, or a half of the 613 commandments were fulfilled by Jesus, but not all. The bottom line is, I don't know why Jesus did that and neither do you and neither does anyone else. God never said dont touch. She added that bit. Do you remember at the end of the book, in the sixth book, when the King of Gondor and his captains and the host of Gondor have arrived at the black gates of Sauron Sauron is the evil figure in the book and if you know Tolkien's cosmology, he was actually an apprentice to the Satan figure of Tolkien's writings. 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. three Notice how Gods, Plus, when Jesus chased the sellers out of the Temple courts (. Lastly, even if Mr. Pipers explanation were true, look what its application could mean. 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! Since demons are by most accounts fallen angels to begin with, they already know to Whom they are ultimately accountable. 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 WebWho do you care more about, people or pigs? Money Maker Software enables you to conduct more efficient analysis in Stock, Commodity, Forex & Comex Markets. Somewhere I read that that region actually raised pigs and worshipped them or considered them as idols so study about the region and style of worship for that region. Now Jesus grants this permission. Anyway, it was the demons that would have decided where, and if, he slept. As a result, our biggest take-away lesson is to never take away from the Word of the Almighty.But dispensational-flavoured pastors ignore this and teach us that Moses and David and even Jesus lived by different rules. 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. 4. Now, if a Jew can be treated so badly by fellow Jews, lets put on our thinking caps and imagine what happens to a Jew walking straight into a big group of Gentiles. (So much for those latter revelations or new religions arriving centuries later.). He's liberated. I will say that I struggled with the title to this sermon. 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. Neither common sense, nor the text, let Jesus off the hook. It is a logical thesis based on historic accounts (Josephus, etc) Feel free to challenge this thought or pursue it from another angle. Actually, killing the pigs was also out of his mercy because instead of judging the farmers directly, the Messiah threw his anger against the pigs. That is exactly what is happening here. Does he really believe Mark 5 is Biblical material just for laughs? and therefore the good pastor declares the demoniac to be a Gentile since, as everyone also knows, Gentiles are better tomb-dwellers.. Facts are piling up. Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. Is there actually a real reason why the Gospel accounts shouldnt be taken as factual history? 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. Last Update: Jan 03, 2023 He was getting everyone on board with what was started at Sinai. Why did these people respond to Jesus this way? He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (Luke 4:29). Them there pigs were trying to hog Jesus limelight! Rabbi, begone! Oh, you mean THOSE pigs!! It isnt a long list. Thus, in him, God found a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and 1 Samuel 16:1). The pagan religions continued among the Gentile population as is evidenced by the ruins of the temple of Artemis. He specifically banned pig in. he has the power and the authority to ameliorate both. In other words, to paraphrase what Gertrude told Hamlet, Methinks the good pastor doth protest too much. Don't be surprised if none of them want the spotl One goose, two geese. And he is sent out to negotiate with Aragorn and Gandalf, and the others. 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. (photo by Jean Pierre, Pexels), Reading the Word of God is wonderful. ), 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). Therefore we know that when Jesus helped the Syrophoenician woman (not a Jewess, but she came to him), he and the woman were both in Israeli territory. 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. Also, the land where the Master walked and the swine were feeding belonged to Israel. (we dont invent stories to let people know Jesus has power over the Tooth Fairy, do we?). 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. This man, when Jesus says, What is your name? effectively says, I do not know my name. 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. Jesus enters enemy territory in two ways. 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.". He doesnt want to connect the dots and he doesn't want us to either. They were wise enough to figure out if Jesus in His authority over them would allow them to exit of their choosing, they would select the black pigs often used in sacrifice to Baal. (wait for it) turning the swine to the water! Over the years, Ive had to prove all this to myself first, and it took soul-searching and tons of Scripture research. It's entitled, Why I Am Not A Christian. 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? It may well be a picture of the reverse of what happened in the Garden of Eden. One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. get to know the Bible better! Amen. Its a weird story, but its in the Gospels a couple of times, so we have to accept it as truth. The demons sent the pigs off the banks of the sea and into the water, where they drowned (Mark 5:1213). WebThe Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. Would you not agree that theres a certain permanent feeling about a law like that? The land of the Gerasenes was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. 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. He always followed Gods Law. Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as unclean as the demons that Jesus sent into the swine. The action is no different than Revelation 14:14-15 where we see the Son of Man brandishing a sharp sickle. The good pastor basically believes that in Jesuss mind, one mans peace, preservation and freedom from unclean spirits is worth the sacrifice of a couple thousand pigs. 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. Lord God, even as we sing this hymn, cause those who do not know Him to love Him and cause those who love Him to love Him more than anything else in this world. I dont see anything of that sort in the story. Why? It's amazing Jesus comes to shore and it's obvious that He has immediately commanded the spirits to leave the man because they remonstrate with Him. In Marks thinking, the mans extraordinary strength is evidence of supernatural bondage. about a.d. 65. If pigs were considered unclean then would the demons not wanted unclean to possess. 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.
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