What's going on here? Tyre and Sidon were Gentile cities north of Israel, and Jesus had been sent to the Jews ( Matthew 15:24 ). But Christianity early became important in the city; several churches were built during these centuries, so that by the 5th cent., Gerasa could send a bishop to the Council of Chalcedon. An inscr. Im not saying I totally believed the stories, but I cannot believe that a single other place could not be found to send the legion. Now that's interesting isn't it? Show us the only hope of deliverance from those sins and teach us these things from this passage. Its a weird story, but its in the Gospels a couple of times, so we have to accept it as truth. But thrice is no dice if we dont understand the reason or the message behind the event. Sproul also agrees with this preference of people over pigs when he writes, a man is worth more than 2,000 pigs.. Luckily, they didnt find Paul anywhere, but they did haul a number of Pauls colleagues down to city hall. Try Bible Gateway Plus free today. Wnsche, Neue Beitrge zur Erluterung der Evangelien aus Talmud und Midrasch, p. 119. Jesus is equating his commandments which can only be the ones in the Law of Moses, because he gave no commandments in the Gospels with his Fathers commandments in the Five Books of Moses. (So much for those latter revelations or new religions arriving centuries later.). Sinai. It's a picture of His great commission outreach, not just to Jews but to Gentiles also. Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there for mercy and for judgement. The power and the person of Jesus Christ. The entire herd ran straight off a cliff and drowned. Unsurprisingly in such a place, Jesus finds a man possessed by unclean spirits. Why doesn't the good pastor entertain that avenue of possibility or is he too busy making one-liners to connect any dots? (Only an amateur Hebraist would claim the latter, frankly.). Because God is so steady, and doesnt reverse or repeal, He can be trusted to do what He promises; good or evil. His sermon should have given us some point, some excuse, or some logical explanation for it all. God never said dont touch. She added that bit. The first two are in the Authorized Version. Go be a witness to Me as My disciple.. I'm the man who Jesus saved by casting out the demons from me.. While foretelling death and doom was often, Fifth Fact: The True Author(s) of Scripture. Where He goes, they show up and they say things to Him. 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. Does he really believe Mark 5 is Biblical material just for laughs? 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. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. Were in the same story, my friends. And not only that, he's about to be a witnessing disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. And John nicely parallels Jesus who said, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law (Matthew 5:18). Demons, Jesus, and the Pigs The Outlaw Bible Student, http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011. Gerasenes | Biblical Training These authors were Biblical (Peter, James, Paul, Hebrews, etc) and to a lesser extent, non-biblical (Josephus, Pliny, etc). WebHe calls the inhabitants Syrians, when, at the beginning of the Jewish revolt, the district round Gerasa was laid waste. 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 frightened of the Jewish rabbi. Luke doesn't think that it's an every day occurrence for a person to be possessed by a host of demons. Lots of non-Jews lived there. Jesus made him whole. He's the friend of sinners. The fact that Matthew places the healing of Legion in the country of the Gadarenes whereas Mark and Luke place it in the country of the Gerasenes may be harmonized on the historical grounds that geographical boundaries overlapped, and on the exegetical consideration that country embraced a wide area around the cities. 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. Demetrius had to do something with the Jew or go bust. WebGentiles [N] [T] [B] [S] (Heb., usually in plural, goyim), meaning in general all nations except the Jews. It's this man who is in bondage to these demons. (, Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there, Not contrary, but consistent with Christs Character, Here is a prophesy that Christians love to quote: , The LORD has sworn it and He will not change his mind: You are a priest forever, after the nature of Melchizedek. The LORD is upon your right hand. Out of the three, Marks gospel presents the most information about the herd. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of. And were you aware that the New Testament repeats the same two commands from Deuteronomy? The most plausible reason Jesus chose the pigs was because he regarded people as precious and priceless, but not swine. were the gerasenes So I figure we could speculate a little and see where this goes. were the gerasenes The good pastor actually believes that a Jewish man can rationally decide the best sleeping quarters Tomb or no tomb? As the Philistine dead were strewn from Gaza to Ekron, so thousands of Satans dead fell in their own territory. 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. 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. Yet there was no fury. Add to that that recent. 5 ) They werent real Jews They were JINOs! 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. Amen, and thus ends this reading of God's holy, inspired, and inerrant Word. It was situated some 30 miles southeast of Gadara, on the borders of Peraea and a little north of the river Jabbok. Clearly, Luke is telling you this because he wants you to show the amazing power of Jesus Christ, even over demons. God designated the descendants of Abraham, the Israelites, as His chosen people. So why did the meek n merciful Son of Man cast countless defiling demons into two thousand piglets, sows and boars? The final battle requires a different strategy, one that involves a cross. Jesus was also a prophet. three 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. 2023 Christianity.com. And was the Master doing the right thing sacrificing someone elses pigs. Remember the story of Jesus casting demons out of the crazy man in Luke 8? For being kind to birds!? That amazing phrase, all of you be holy for I am holy did not start with Peter (1 Peter 1:16), because the apostle is quoting Leviticus. No products in the cart. David was a good example of what Jesus meant by the shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Compared to this, Jesuss behaviour toward the pigs appears extremely callous: giving vile demons permission to slaughter swine is not exactly compassionate. 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. The vision stumped the poor apostle; clearly, Peter forgot about the amazing four Greek words of Mark 7:19b. Knowing the correct genre of what you are studying is a major step toward getting a correct message or interpretation. Don't they know their Bibles? http://archive.ligonduncan.com/mp3/12.13.2009_Dr_J_Ligon_Duncan_The_Man_Jesus_Renamed_Luke_8_26-39.mp3. (, David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. But here's the second thing. When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met Him a man from the city who had demons. Why did these people respond to Jesus this way? (, 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. What good to us that Thou hast made him whole, since we have lost our swine? Is that not a picture of people that love what they have or what they want more than they love the One who loves their souls? For one, Remember that the Law reveals to us the mind and personality of God. 3. 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. So He gave them permission. [] Top ten reasons why there were pigs in Gerasenes, (Linear Concepts, 17 October 2012), http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011 []. I beg You, do not torment me. For He (that is, Jesus) had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. In Jesus first trip to that Gentile area: They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes (in Gadara). 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.
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