I love irritating those charlatans who pretend the Law of God is somehow different than the Law of Moses. A main street with columns on both sides leads out of the forum. 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. Mark Driscoll also generated some chuckles when he callously said the death of the pigs created a bacon famine.. He's set free. 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. Jesus heals the Gerasene demoniac in Luke 8 | Psephizo But these differences are typical of eye-witness reports and only irritate skeptics. He's converted. 5 So they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes. Why doesn't the good pastor entertain that avenue of possibility or is he too busy making one-liners to connect any dots? And then finally, and very, very sadly, I want you to see in contrast to him, the reaction of the majority of the people in his city and country to what Jesus has done. (eds.). It goes like this: These are the people of Gerasene speaking to Jesus Rabbi be gone. Mark as quoted by Spalde, Annika; Strindlund, Pelle (2012). (, Therefore you should understand that the LORD your God, Because God is so steady, and doesnt reverse or repeal, He can be trusted to do what He promises; good or, If the Eternal One, blessed be He, had said just, But the Almighty said it so many times. The apostle had been busy preaching in Demetriuss hometown of Ephesus and Pauls message about the one true God was catching on. Instead of a sling and a stone, Jesus needs only his voice; Jesus commands and the enemy falls. The Gadarenes Rejection | Reformed Bible Studies & Devotionals They were not. Top Ten Reasons Why There Were Pigs in Gerasenes (Lk 8 ) 10 ) It was the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee, the area of the Decapolis. And what about trees or rocks? Sproul writes in his commentary Mark that the compassion of Jesus "drove Him to destroy the pigs for the sake of one human life. The most plausible reason Jesus chose the pigs was because he regarded people as precious and priceless, but not swine. We do not say that to cast the first stone. Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as, Suddenly, Mark 5 is clear. Good Pastor John MacArthur's funny option, The real Author(s) of the Law and the Commandments. 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. The passage appears to be straightforward historical-narrative writing, like the rest of Marks gospel. Being made in God's image, we are more important to the Lord than any animal. That is, they appear contrary, except for one thing: Gods Law forbids righteous people from eating pork. The last point to tidy up Jesus allowed the demons to kill the pigs or Jesus did it? 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. Its totally contrary to what we would expect. He made a covenant with them and revealed His commandments to them, which they were to live according to. Lets dwell on that he added no new commands to his disciples. Notice how Gods care is cleverly contrasted with mans callousness: men buy birds for next to nothing because they do not value them, yet The Almighty as large and in charge as He is still takes careful notice of frail creatures. Its totally contrary to what we would expect. His wisecracks are a distraction. Kursi - The Gerasene Site of Jesus' Miracle on the East Side of Lake That is the exact opposite of other godly men (compare with, Lastly, even if Mr. Pipers explanation were true, look what its, The hard-hearted views of the Bishop of Hippo are not biblical because righteous people are obliged by God to be considerate to all animals, even, Are not two sparrows sold for the smallest coin, and yet one of them cannot fall to the earth apart from your Father? ]. Here, then, Jesus faced two of Gods enemies: hostile spiritual powers and death itself. Pigs, of course, were unclean for the Jews (Lev. The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. Even city officials who were Pauls friends were scared for Pauls life (Acts 19:31). He was clear that His mission was not to the Gentiles and Samaritans, but rather, to the lost tribe of Israel. Thus, in him, God found a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and 1 Samuel 16:1). And there's a lesson in each of these things for all of us. When Jesus healed the possessed man, He allowed Legion to possess the nearby herd of swine. WebMany New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than. He is the dividing line here. For a long time he had been homeless and naked, living in a cemetery outside the town. They need to face the cracks in their theologies. Ive not heard that theory before. It was part of the Greco-Roman region known as the Decapolis, or ten towns. or ten 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. 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. So instead of working or hammering away at the embarrassing elephant in the room, the good pastors spoon out interpretations to us that are not biblical, or dish up corny one-liners, all in the hope that well swallow them or be too busy laughing to connect the dots ourselves. He wouldnt have lived long enough to get to a cross to die. With such a track record, what difference would Legions size or strength make? Now the big-mouth irking this Greek artisan was our good friend, the Apostle Paul. 'Hiemal,' 'brumation,' & other rare wintry words. Its odd that dispensationalist preachers dont preach this obvious, permanent truth. (Please dont hide behind that sensational dispensational chart. It's His person and His power that we're having our attention draw to and there are four things in particular that I want you to see in this passage. 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. But what are its implications? What does it say? No products in the cart. Therefore they should be taken as such. The victorious Lord made life good again for one embattled soul. The best text in Matthew reads Gadarenes, in Mark and Luke it reads Gerasenes, whereas some MSS preserve Gergesenes and Gergustenes (cf. Or, what if Paul had knocked two thousand dolls into the drink would he have written as many epistles as he did, while having to dogpaddle? Sinai. Jesus made him whole. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. Compared to the accounts of the same event in Matthew and Luke also written in simple narrative prose some details vary. That sure does smell good! But thrice is no dice if we dont understand the reason or the message behind the event. We pray that he would find liberation in Jesus Christ and see his life and family restored, but my friends, any one of us, any one of us, can be in the same thralldom today. It pains them to admit that Jesus was/is a, Sixth Fact: True identity of the pig farmers. Jesus was a Jew. Pretty quickly the whole city was in an uproar. You understand that Legion is not his name. 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. Another title that didn't make it was Demons, Pigs, and a Request to Leave. Now I think actually that beautifully outlines what happens in this passage, but for a specific reason I've wanted to zero your attention in on this man, this nameless man, who is afflicted by demons and who is liberated by Jesus Christ because there is a Gospel message for all of us. 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. However, the silversmith was a smart cookie and knew that the more people bought into Pauls line of thinking, the less theyd be buying his souvenir Diana statues. Please note how John repeats the commands, adding a zinger curse to both. My research shows swine kill poisonous snakes. Lets return again to when Jesus cleaned up the Temple courtyard of merchants and merchandise. If we agree Messiah wrote the Law of God, we should then wonder why on earth he would come to Earth to take what he authored out of circulation or to annul it? Im wondering From the readings of the best texts and from the unsuitability of the locality around Gadara it appears that the proper reading should be "Gerasenes" and the place located at Karsa, on the left bank of the Wadi Samak, near the sea of Galilee. What care we for his soul?What good to us that Thou hast made him whole,Since we have lost our swine? Suddenly, Mark 5 is clear. Show us the only hope of deliverance from those sins and teach us these things from this passage. None of the verses below refute any of the Seven Forgotten Facts above. Such a conclusion will annoy a lot of people, even funny, leaky dispensationalists like John MacArthur. get to know the Bible better! Mark 5 is truly very simple: being a righteous Jew, the Law commands Jesus to abhor pigs as food. Is there actually a real reason why the Gospel accounts shouldnt be taken as factual history? Any other conclusion, in light of the seven facts just presented, is breathtakingly irresponsible, and we should just laugh it off. 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?! Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? And then they beg to go into the herd of pigs. The most plausible reason Jesus chose the pigs was because he regarded people as precious and priceless, But are these good pastors on the right track? Jesus was also a prophet. All these inescapable facts are so important to getting the right interpretation of Mark 5 and the other gospel records of the same event. Two thousand pigs dead for one person to live is not an even tradeand that is the point. He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. Fourthly, Jesus specifically went to the land of the Gentile Gadarenes or Gerasenes, east of the Sea of Galilee, to minister to them. Am I forgiven by saying, I just, The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. What do you want? 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. The land of the Gerasenes was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Gadara 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 (Joshua 13:11-13). 8 ) Their pork was kosher, kept out of the camp for 7 days, and circumcised. Yet a complete interpretation of Mark 5 needs to clear up one last point: the pigs were forbidden but did they have to be destroyed? Also oral tradition in this area talks of Christ coming and preaching the gospel there but being asked to leave shortly afterwards. In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. B. vii. Without a doubt, both men know God never came up with the line, Third Fact: Not a fickle faithless Father. 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. Seven Biblical facts await you that prove Jesus was obliged to love all creatures, except that a higher command forced him to partially judge the Jews who owned the two thousand poor pigs. Mark 5:1 Commentaries: They came to the other side of the sea, Last week, we were crossing over with Jesus to the other side, weathering a fierce storm until he woke up and calmed the sea. He was totally dominated by these demonic forces. It's this man who doesn't even remember his name who's possessed by a host of demons. Those people were Jews in Nazareth. When people start putting a value on animal life equal to or higher than the value they put on human life, something is seriously wrong with the culture. California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. End of story. For less than $5/mo. He doesnt want to connect the dots and he doesn't want us to either. --ED.). Israel was to be a nation of priests, prophets, and missionaries to the world (Exodus 19:46). The forum, with a semicircle of columns still standing, was paved with large cut stones. 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 holiness means salvation, as Paul wrote in two different letter, without holiness no man [or woman] shall see God (Hebrews 12:14 and Romans 6:22). 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. Many of you have seen, maybe fewer of you have read, a book by the famous British philosopher and skeptic, Bertrand Russell. Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? A discussion occurred between Professor Huxley and Mr. Gladstone in "The Nineteenth Century" for 1892 as to the morality of the act, the critical questions being whether (1) Gerasenes were Jews; and (2) if so, was it lawful for them to keep swine? It deeply disturbed Bertrand Russell that Jesus allowed a herd of two thousand pigs to be destroyed. To any Jew, Jesuss actions were crystal clear. The last now appears. He says that the demon expulsions are just unenlightened men of the first century trying to explain illnesses being healed. Out of the three, Marks gospel presents the most information about the herd. 10:31). e. His sermon should have given us some point, some excuse, or some logical explanation for it all. about a.d. 65. 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? The bottom line is, I don't know why Jesus did that and neither do you and neither does anyone else. 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. The modern village Jarash is situated on the hillside above the ruins, built with stones from the ruins.

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