Jesus is the lover of our souls. The demons are aware that He is there and they are frightened. Perhaps even ask who might that future group of individuals be to whom Jesus will say, Depart, I never knew you (Matthew 7:22) because even though they called him, Lord, Lord [and had gone to seminary and made dispensational charts] they somehow were on the wrong path. Admittedly the whole event with the demon-crazed pigs is odd you dont see it every day but the writer wanted us to believe it genuinely happened. WebMany New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than. 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. 8 ) Their pork was kosher, kept out of the camp for 7 days, and circumcised. 141-144). So if you have the ears to hear, the Father and the Son both wrote the Law and gave it to 630,000 men (and women and children) at Mt. Its one thing to understand that He personally never changes. 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. Mark and Luke wrote that Jesus /gave the right to them to enter the pigs much stronger wording and more official than allow. And what about trees or rocks? Lets use his recording to the event as our jumping off point: Every Bible passage is either a historical narrative piece (such as the one we just read), a legal and/or procedural document (the majority of the Five Books of Moses), or it is a poetic passage (like Psalms, Proverbs and much of the Prophets). The jokes are a smoke screen. Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. Those people were Jews in Nazareth. When Jesus healed the possessed man, He allowed Legion to possess the nearby herd of swine. Is there actually a real reason why the Gospel accounts shouldnt be taken as factual history? The mountainside has caves and hewn tombs where, according to Mark and Luke, the demoniac had taken shelter. His wisecracks are a distraction. Heavenly Father, we thank You that the name of Jesus is sweet in the ears of believers, but we know, O Lord, that those who love this world do not know the sweetness of the sound of His name. I beg you, do not torment me. And then the demons beg not to be cast into the abyss. And Christ went sadly.He had wrought for them a signOf Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;They wantedswine.Christ stands without _your_ door and gently knocks;But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,He forces no man's holdhe will depart,And leave you to the treasures of your heart. In fact, they beg Jesus to leave. And was the Master doing the right thing sacrificing someone elses pigs. Am I forgiven by saying, I just allowed the kids to have the grenade? Excavations at the modern Jarash (by the British and American Schools of Oriental Research and Yale University) clearly show that Gerasa was a large and important city already in Jesus time. We pray in Jesus' name. WebWell pretend with him that the folks in Gerasenes were placid Gentile farmers happily raising their gentle Gentile pigs. 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). But just a theory. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. We do not say that to cast the first stone. Israel doesnt [need] a savior who can fight off a legion of Roman soldiers. 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. Coincidentally, three Gentiles showed up for lunch, and the following day, he met a Roman convert when finally Peter figured it out and declared the Lords view of Gentile believers, But God has shown me that I should not call ritually impure or defiling any man (Acts 10:28). 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). . (Jos. The nearby shepherds were sheep shepherds, not hog herders. A great deal of the Law applies only to priests (Leviticus 6:3) and to Levites (Numbers 7:9), so how could Jesus, of the tribe of Judah, keep one of those commandments? In some of your Bibles, it may say Gergesenes or Gadarenes in the parallel passages in the gospels. The action is no different than, Lets return again to when Jesus cleaned up the Temple courtyard of merchants and merchandise. Reading the Word of God is wonderful. If you have any questions, please review our Privacy Policy or email us at privacy@biblegateway.com. Dictionaries Encyclopedias Lexicons. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) Looking back over the entirety of Gods Word, we do indeed notice many plagues rained down on the wicked in other books. Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with: Gerasene. Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Gerasene. All in all, after Jesus had trashed the livelihood of so many, we have to agree that they were more than gentle to let him off the hook and just asking him to leave town asap. It goes like this: These are the people of Gerasene speaking to Jesus Rabbi be gone. Such a contradiction in character! His fellow citizens tried to restrain him in chains a horrible way to treat mental illness, by the way but he always broke free. 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!!! 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. Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged Him to let them enter these. IV. Wnsche, Neue Beitrge zur Erluterung der Evangelien aus Talmud und Midrasch, p. 119. When Jesus and his disciples landed on the other side, it was in a region known as the Gerasenes, Gentile territory. All four gospel writers repeatedly testify to Jesuss power over storm, waves and. Lots of non-Jews lived there. But they dont prove his point. At the beginning of the gospel, he wins these victories with acts of visible, recognizable power. In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. 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. But there are many reasons why Im not keen on the idea of the Gospels as non-historical. neither the four Greek words, nor any idea similar to them, are ever repeated in Scripture, whereas the destruction of the swine herd is thrice-repeated and uses a few more than four words. Well, this happens in the gospel with Jesus. 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. Scripture presents us with all we need to know. Let's pray. It may well be a picture of the reverse of what happened in the Garden of Eden. The apostle had been busy preaching in Demetriuss hometown of Ephesus and Pauls message about the one true God was catching on. What care we for his soul?What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,Since we have lost our swine? Lets dwell on that he added no new commands to his disciples. That sure does smell good! The action is no different than Revelation 14:14-15 where we see the Son of Man brandishing a sharp sickle. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. And so this man comes to Jesus, he seeks Him out, and Jesus says to him, What is your name? And the man doesn't know his name. Their dead bodies you must not touch. (, For I tell you truly, until the passing away of Heaven and the Earth, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law until everything has happened. That's even more unexpected than not being angry because in Paul's case, it was the other way around. 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. Demons, Jesus, and the Pigs The Outlaw Bible Student, http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011. She needs someone strong enough to cast a legion of demons into the sea, like Pharaoh and his hosts. Two thousand pigs dead for one person to live is not an even tradeand that is the point. That's what disciples do, they sit at their master's feet.
Most translations interpret the Hebrew to say. 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. Their line of reasoning supposes that Jesus wanted to save the man (men) but too many unclean spirits meant Jesus had to negotiate to get them to move out. }. But when the pigs need to be explained, he immediately seems lost and turns to heartless comedy. An inscr. This town is not to be confused with either Gerasa or Gadara. One Bible expositor said the pigs the demons sought refuge in were black. Living in rural Central Africa villages for ten years, I heard many stories from locals about demon spirits living in streams and trees and boulders. As soon as he saw Jesus, he shrieked and fell down in front of Him. 7). document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In fact, they are afraid of him and beg him to leave. Suddenly, Mark 5 is clear. Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Its flesh you must not eat. WebGenesis 10:5 Context. Gerasa was rebuilt in splendor and remained prosperous for several centuries. Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Ba-dum-tsss.). The pagan religions continued among the Gentile population as is evidenced by the ruins of the temple of Artemis. Its totally contrary to what we would expect. As for Matthew, he quoted Jesus as commanding the demons, and used the plural form of the verb, go. And it is reveals a great deal comparing the reactions of the Gentiles in the two towns. 2. Take the first chapter of Genesis for example; ones interpretation of it depends on whether one thinks its a historical retelling of creation, or just a poem. They had the exact same reaction to Jesus that Bertrand Russell would manifest two thousand years later. 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.. Remember, Jesus took direct, extensive action against a significant group of Gentile pig farmers he didnt just say something bad against the pigs. 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. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before Him and said with a loud voice, What have You to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? But should you also doubt, my friendly blog reader, read on. What have You to do with me, Jesus, the Son of the Most High God? 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. 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. This was a Gentile town so they had pigs. Go be a witness to Me. 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. Look at what he first says when Jesus meets him in verse 28 What do you have to do with me, Jesus? Later, Leviticus 11 explains to His Chosen People that He had chosen only ritually clean/pure animals for them to eat. Our ways are not as Thine. He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. (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.) 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. Did Jesus really sacrifice the swine for the man? 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 the Almighty said it so many times. Were in the same story. Incredible. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time.
. I say that Christians have turned Jews off because church-goers claim Jesus destroyed the Law and that Jews are blind for following the Law of Moses still. But what are its implications? Gadarenes, Girgesenes, Gerasenes: (These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. They cannot cast a spell on Him. 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. The bottom line is, I don't know why Jesus did that and neither do you and neither does anyone else. Theyre written as factual history. Johns Entertaining LOL Interpretation shows me that he sees cracks in his theology, but is unwilling to own up to them. Secondly, the text is written to show Jesus dunnit. 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. 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. Jewish rabbis, when interpreting the Word of God, follow an important principle: no word in Gods Word is superfluous or pointless. 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. (Only an amateur Hebraist would claim the latter, frankly.). (Take that, Darwin.). WebRoman Empire Map - Large Map of the Roman Empire in the Early First Century - Click around on the Places. For you Tolkien fans it reminds me of a character in the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. My question is: Therefore, if Jesus gave no commandment (singular), what is he referring to when he talks about commandments (plural) in the following: The answer: when he says, keep my commandments he means the ones he and the Father gave Israel at Sinai. Yes, this man is extraordinary. Those people were Jews in Nazareth.
Add to that that recent. Maybe it was because they were unclean animals. Sadly, GotQuestions misses the point, or they lie, saying that being distinct was all important to God. A city in Transjordania, situated about thirty-five m. SE of the S end of the [[Sea of Galilee]], one of the cities of the Decapolis; the Search the web and you will find many opinions about why the pigs died. And what does the Law say about pigs? Now Jesus grants this permission. And her addition to Gods commandment led to her disobedience and to Adams, and then God added some amazing plagues to mankind, just as John says (Revelation 22:18) will happen to those who add to His Word (and not just the book of Revelation). ___________________________________________________________________. Its totally contrary to what we would expect. The real irritation is people saying the Law was impossible to obey, when Scripture says the opposite it true. Some will respond to my rhetorical question, Why on earth would Jesus come to earth, by giving me the usual pat answer. But MacArthurs logical is funny for another reason. When this passage begins, we have a man who is possessed by demons who had gone about naked, who had lived in the tombs, who was out of his mind, and who did not even know his name. Issues are listed below: we are using four Greek words to eliminate entire chapters of Scripture. three
I would have wanted a herd of swine had I been an Israelite in the desert. The land of the Gerasenes was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Will the demons come back? WebNoun. Money Maker Software enables you to conduct more efficient analysis in Stock, Commodity, Forex & Comex Markets. What need have we of further witnesses? The last point to tidy up Jesus allowed the demons to kill the pigs or Jesus did it? Now the big-mouth irking this Greek artisan was our good friend, the Apostle Paul. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced searchad free! Jesus was wise to use what God gives us, for a teachable moment. WebScripture exhorts us to care for animals and not to be cruel to them. WebGentiles [N] [T] [B] [S] (Heb., usually in plural, goyim), meaning in general all nations except the Jews. Oh, you mean THOSE pigs!! It's in Luke chapter 8, verse 18. And John nicely parallels Jesus who said, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law (Matthew 5:18). Sinai. First of all theyre forgetting that Jesus Himself has already said that His Heavenly Father cares even about the sparrows that fall from their nests. Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. 8). Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. GERASA, GERASENES (, ). 1. Jesus ministered to and did miracles for the Gentiles there. HDB, II, p. 158, 159 for a detailed description.). And there's a lesson in each of these things for all of us. In 2 Samuel 17 we read of the young boy who would be king risking everything for one lamb. The city was large and well planned. It was a leading city of Syria in commerce, culture, and religion. Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. The final battle requires a different strategy, one that involves a cross. This, 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. Good Pastor John MacArthur's funny option, The real Author(s) of the Law and the Commandments. He wouldnt have lived long enough to get to a cross to die. After this long, careful study, it should be crystal clear that the heartless Bishop of Hippo was mistaken, as were our two good pastors. And he is sent out to negotiate with Aragorn and Gandalf, and the others. And sadly, neither of the two Johns considered Gods extreme love for His Creation when giving their interpretations. Some of Jesus's reputation for being normally meek and merciful comes from statements like: From Jesus's own mouth, we are informed of Gods special love and attention for defenseless animals and we know Jesus has the same heart for the weak.