Amen. Incredible. The pagan religions continued among the Gentile population as is evidenced by the ruins of the temple of Artemis. 5 ) They werent real Jews They were JINOs! Ha, ha.. yeah lemme ummm.. tell ya about those pigs.., 2 ) Like any rational redneck, they smelled their Gentile neighbors having a pork BBQ and said DAAAANG, Hoss! For less than $5/mo. When He speaks, they obey. There are echoes of exodus in Marks story, and echoes of Davids battle with Goliath. : A similar remark came from Mosess lips when he described God as eternally faithful and then connected Gods faithfulness to His faithful love. He is the strong man who binds Satan and plunders his house. So why pigs? This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known. Later, Leviticus 11 explains to His Chosen People that He had chosen only ritually clean/pure animals for them to eat. And His promise to make a new promise (covenant) with Israel and with Judah in Jeremiah 31:31-32 does not repeal the first promise (the covenant that Israel broke), it strengthens it. Pigs, of course, were unclean for the Jews (Lev. His poetry includes Bees in Amber: a little book of thoughtful verse (1913) which became a bestseller. Early in the video, he is very factual and seems sure of himself. So whats the point because Pastor John Piper feels the pigs were less important and John LOL MacArthur just jokes about the slaughter neither reaction seems sensible. 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. when hes rolling around with a thousand killer-demons inside. (Matt 15:24). Can we really point the finger at him? Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged Him to let them enter these. He is a billionaire, he is about to break Jack Nicklaus record, he's married to a model, he has two beautiful children, he has everything that anybody in the world could possibly want to have. They do not bother mentioning Scriptures emphasis on being holy before God. I am but a man possessed by an innumerable host of demons. After all, racism wasnt invented in the 21st century. All four gospel writers repeatedly testify to Jesuss power over storm, waves and. The nearby shepherds were sheep shepherds, not hog herders. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) Show us the sins of our hearts that we are captive to. In fact, the next thing the name did was to take a steel bar, place it in his teeth, and proceed to bend it with his hands and with his teeth. 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. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. The miracles that are recorded here, just like the one that we saw last week, are seen by that small circle of disciples that is following Jesus around. My research shows swine kill poisonous snakes. But as for God, what reason did He give Mr. Merciless for not destroying Nineveh? Are we with a man, liberated, who trusted Jesus, who begged to be with Jesus and sought to be a disciple at His feet? 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? The textual evidence shows that the MSS preserve three variant spellings of the name in each gospel. Well, Ill try and explain that before the end of the sermon, but there were several titles that didn't get included in the sermon bulletin today. God designated the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, as His chosen people. (we dont invent stories to let people know Jesus has power over the Tooth Fairy, do we?). End of story. It's almost like the demons are inexorably drawn to Jesus. Similarly, as God incarnate, Jesus knows the future. But look at how many times God let it be known in the Law and in very certain terms eating pork was offensive. 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. On the other hand, the Masters usually thick-headed students, the Tedious Twelve, didnt question him about this! B. vii. (Cf. And they are no more capable of liberating themselves than this man was capable of liberating himself from this host of demons. While foretelling death and doom was often part of a prophets job description, the real task of each true prophet was to be an example to the people and to get everyone on board, or back on board, with the Law of God. That's even more unexpected than not being angry because in Paul's case, it was the other way around. Now I must say that that really boggles my mind because Luke's main point is so crystal clear and it's set in the context of three other stories that are crystal clear. In delivering the man from his bondage, Jesus restored creations promise. Its a weird story, but its in the Gospels a couple of times, so we have to accept it as truth. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. And opposite to normal flowers, our lovely Scripture-flower will never dry out or wither away (Isaiah 40:8). = and therefore the good pastor declares the demoniac to be a Gentile since, as everyone also knows, Gentiles are better tomb-dwellers.. 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 Jesus was wise to use what God gives us, for a teachable moment. He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. WebApparently Gerasa was rebuilt by the Romans before the revolt began, prob. It was like, And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent for He is not a man that He should relent. Rabbi, begone! [] Top ten reasons why there were pigs in Gerasenes, (Linear Concepts, 17 October 2012), http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011 []. Archeology. WATER DESTROYED HER!!!! 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. 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. Throughout the book, the author uses direct quotes, various and mostly verifiable place names and clear descriptions of mostly plausible actions. If the pig farmers were Gentile, why would non-Jewish farmers be so gentle with a Jew (who was also an outsider) who was messing around with their farm animals? Jesus does not go looking for this demon-possess man, the man comes to Him. 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. Without a question, if Jesuss pig-farmers had been Gentiles, there would have been bloodshed. The land of the Gerasenes was on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. On the other hand, it is unfortunate that the rabbis today dont see the even stronger connection between Genesis 3:3 and Revelation 22:18, because Jews dont read the New Testament all that much. They are out to steal, kill, and destroy, so we dare not trifle with evil spirits. He was constrained to act just like the other prophets before him. That is why 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). Do you remember? If pigs were considered unclean then would the demons not wanted unclean to possess. I will say that I struggled with the title to this sermon. Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. 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 inhabitants of the city. Just remember the wonderful folks in Jesuss hometown? 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? So I figure we could speculate a little and see where this goes. Its one thing to understand that He personally never changes. Did Jesus really sacrifice the swine for the man? I definitely dont want to be near that doctor on Judgement Day.). 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. Looking back over the entirety of Gods Word, we do indeed notice many plagues rained down on the wicked in other books. Knowing the correct genre of what you are studying is a major step toward getting a correct message or interpretation. Thats really why they were sent. You may unsubscribe from Bible Gateways emails at any time. His fellow citizens tried to restrain him in chains a horrible way to treat mental illness, by the way but he always broke free. I listen to a pyschiatrist that said he never believed in demon possession until a exorcist ask him to work with him. Jesus made him whole. These three verse from John really are earth-shattering. 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. I've ended up, and Ill explain it later, giving the title The Man Jesus Renamed. Now that may peak your interest because in the passage no name is ever given for the man, either before or after his conversion, so you may be wondering why I've named it that. The distinction between the two is clear (now). 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? Throughout Scripture itself, its a perpetual theme: Never believe anyone who says the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever (1 Peter 1:23; KJV) changeth! Last week, we were crossing over with Jesus to the other side, weathering a fierce storm until he woke up and calmed the sea. But Gods Spoken Word will endure for all time. In a recent online essay on the Gospel of Mark, Peter Leithart wrote. What do you have that youre captive to, that youre enslaved to? Just like in the Garden, when God judged Adam, he didn't strike him directly, but the ground soil instead. 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. 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?! Again, these classifications come from God, not man, and show up in Scripture as early as Genesis 7:1-9. Secondly, the text is written to show Jesus dunnit. (Pastor Piper was right after all, almost!) Oh get you hence, Omnipotence, and take this foul of Thine. All of us may be so concerned with our own livelihoods that we fail to serve other people and help those in desperat Will the demons come back? The victorious Lord made life good again for one embattled soul. 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. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (Luke 4:29). 15:24), but He was concerned for all peoples. Matthew tells us there were two demoniacs, while Mark and Luke only May He write its eternal truth upon all our hearts. He is the dividing line here. 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. Derek Thomas was reminding me this morning that Ridderbos, in his famous book, The Coming of the Kingdom, records seventeen different interpretations that he had found of this particular parable. This mother-baby law actually takes priority over another command which requires all first-born calves and lambs to be offered up to God on His altar (Numbers 18:17; Deuteronomy 15:19.) No, I've checked my facts, anticipated the arguments, remembered my own arguments from he past, and now Im ready to present my conclusions for Christians to consider. 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 two Johns see more than a hint of what I am talking about in the destruction of the swine and it frightens them so they avoid a serious discussion. 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. Either way, dispensational charts ultimately commit both acts against the Word of God. Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, [Let me just pause right there. Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! At the very end of his book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John repeats them. Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. And there's a lesson in each of these things for all of us. 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. Was it correct to destroy so many for just one (or two men). At least Im man enough to admit possible weaknesses in my arguments and to talk about the elephants in the room. And he sends out his representative, a man who is known only as the Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr, the black gate. Now what happens in this passage? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The Messiah gave every Jew there that day a glimpse of the judgement to come. Download Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. (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.) Unsurprisingly in such a place, Jesus finds a man possessed by unclean spirits. GotQuestions has three articles alone on the subject: here is their best. John Oxenham1 wrote a poem about this passage. He was getting everyone on board with what was started at Sinai. It seems Jesus allowed the demons to destroy the pigs so that the people could see just what demons are up to when they assault people. Over the centuries, many scribes spent an enormous amount of time, energy and resources copying them, thereby lending credibility to them. He also makes excursions into Gentile territory, such as when he exorcizes the Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). Of course not. Jews don't get the joke either because they don't read the New Testament much given the fact Christians have turned them off of Jesus. When Jesus asked the mans name always a good way to start a conversation the demons replied, We are Legion, for we are many. A legion is a Roman military unit consisting of four to six thousand soldiers. 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. Yes, this man is extraordinary. But pay attention to the body count. For one, Remember that the Law reveals to us the mind and personality of God. Jesus is going to tell him, You can't come with Me, but I do want you to go back and tell them what great things God has done for you. Very interesting. Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. 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? The Word of God cant change any more than God can. Acting as Israels Messiah, Jesus was carrying out actions that were predicted by the prophets, like when Zechariah said that no merchants in the house of the LORD (Zechariah 14:21).. I would have wanted a herd of swine had I been an Israelite in the desert. In the 2nd cent. Why does the herd of swine go over the cliff? This software has many innovative features and you can trap a Bull or Bear in REAL TIME! Thus, in him, God found a man after His own heart (1 Samuel 13:14 and 1 Samuel 16:1). He's set free. By using our website, you accept our use of cookies. Nothing we have belongs to us. Well that's the first thing we see in this passage. ix. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to see a person in the thrall of sin. 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. 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. 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.