And they are no more capable of liberating themselves than this man was capable of liberating himself from this host of demons. 1. Is John really referring to just the plagues of the book of Revelation, or could his words also include other books and plagues? The conversation showed that the illness had a will, a coherent sense of past, present and future, knowledge of the supremacy and authority of Jesus Christ, and a compulsion to worship Jesus. He used another pseudonym, Julian Ross. In light of these facts, Jesus' ministry in the Gerasenes reveals the Lord's remarkable concern not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. I would have wanted a herd of swine had I been an Israelite in the desert. Swine there because they could eat pork, just not while it is representing a clean sacrifice, which would be representing Jesus as the real sacrifice not yet available until Jesus actually came and died for all of our sins naturally. Demonic forces seem to be territorial; i.e., they have assigned areas of domain. One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. That is all I know. Now I want to say very quickly, my friends, that there is no power in this universe that can cause a rationale being to sin. Obviously, they were Jewish pig farmers seeing judgement for flagrant disobey Gods Word and keeping and eating pig meat. I love irritating those charlatans who pretend the Law of God is somehow different than the Law of Moses. Gods Everlasting Word is not something evolving or morphing into a strange new unusual thing, like some rose turning into a radish, or a carrot into a carnation. Don't they know their Bibles? See more comments below.). and therefore the good pastor declares the demoniac to be a Gentile since, as everyone also knows, Gentiles are better tomb-dwellers.. He does. 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. He made a covenant with them and revealed His commandments to them, which they were to live according to. The borders are fairly clearly drawn up. * If one believes demons exists, why invent a false story to make the point that Jesus has power over demons? Their dead bodies you must not touch. Pork is the most infamous of all-things-not-Jewish and the bad press that pigs receive in Scripture, and in contemporary Western society, is another reason why I accuse both pastors of being less than honest in their explanations about Mark 5. This, by the way, is the miracle story that happens in Gentile land. Many New Testament manuscripts refer to the "Country of the Gadarenes" or "Gerasenes" rather than Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Now you understand what sitting at the Savior's feet means? Gerasa, Gerasenes - Encyclopedia of The Bible - Bible 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. He dispatched Lucius Annius with a force of cavalry and an army of foot soldiers, who took the city on the first attack, slaughtering a thousand young men, taking their families captive, plundering and burning the city and the surrounding towns (Jos. Be this as it may, the district was Oh get you hence, Omnipotence, and take this foul of Thine. Jesus to leave So He gave them permission. R.C. You must there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one thats only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary. But let me just suggest that one thing that might be happening here is a picture of Jesus future judgment on the demonic forces that are arrayed against God. And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. In, David was a good example of what Jesus meant by , Sadly, our two good pastors seem oblivious to the fact that under the Law of Moses, animals have benefits too, and this fact should have bearing on any interpretation of Mark 5. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was After all, racism wasnt invented in the 21st century. The other part of the eastern shoreline was controlled by Og, king of Bashan, but it and sixty walled cities were taken from them by Moses and given to the tribes of Israel (Deuteronomy 3:1-7, 16; compare with 1 Kings 4:13). One can only imagine the insanity the demoniac suffered at the hands of these evil forces. Over the centuries, many scribes spent an enormous amount of time, energy and resources copying them, thereby lending credibility to them. Third, I want you to see the change that results in this man after he is not only liberated from these demons, but after he clearly, because of a change of heart, becomes a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The good pastor John MacArthur assumes in his video Dominating Powers, Part 2 (Mark 5:1-20), that Jesus must have been in Gentile territory because, as everyone knows, Jewish men and women dont hang around tombs even if they are demon possessed! They cannot cast a spell on Him. 'Hiemal,' 'brumation,' & other rare wintry words. The entire herd ran straight off a cliff and drowned. 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. After stilling the storm while crossing the Sea of Galilee, Jesus lands with his disciples on the eastern shore of the lake. WebGerasene: [noun] an inhabitant of the ancient Palestinian town Gerasa. The man howled day and night and cut himself with stones. It was a region of 10 Greco-Roman cities, a Gentile region. Systems of Transliteration Citation of Proper Names. Add to that that recent studies claim 25% of the world today is antisemitic and ask yourself if racism was better or worse in the past? So why do Christians say no one can when these two did? Thy powers bring loss to us and ours. Jesus was teaching the way to live life so demons would not have a place in us to possess. All of these commandments and more are still taken literally by many Jews today. But this I do know, when people say that because those pigs died it shows that Jesus was not a good and virtuous man theyre forgetting three things. Pretty quickly the whole city was in an uproar. If pigs were considered unclean then would the demons not wanted unclean to possess. Twice he is described this way look at verse 35, the man from whom the demons had gone out and then again the man from whom the demons had gone and then in verse 38, the man from whom the demons had gone. When Jesus had asked him, What's your name? The first time he had answered, I'm the man possessed by a countless host of demons. Now, he's the man from whom those demons have gone out. Such a statement is irresponsible because the Law was not written for a single person. Furthermore, the play-by-play presents no reason to be judged as a parable or an allegory. Basically, a vision told Peter three times to eat defiling animal meat (at least that was how it seemed to him) so Peter logically replied that he had never eaten anything , Once more, we have half of an unclear verse, that people use to make up a, Gods Word has to agree with Gods Word. Worse yet, dont trust one who says Scripture evolves. The other, Deuteronomy 22:6-7, protects wild mother birds in a similar way, forbidding us from killing them along with their young at the same time. ix. (Matt 15:24). 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. Regrettably, what were about to study the Big Pig Splash Down isn't one of them. The power of the Lord Jesus Christ over Satan. 2 Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came WebApparently Gerasa was rebuilt by the Romans before the revolt began, prob. 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 Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? Nevertheless, the interconnections within Scripture, from the beginning, to the middle, and to the very end, are wonderful to see, just like a beautiful flower. So many beautiful verses and motivating passages are in Scripture. 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). 5 ) They werent real Jews They were JINOs! 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? WebThe meaning of GENTILE is a person of a non-Jewish nation or of non-Jewish faith; especially : a Christian as distinguished from a Jew. The account occurs in all three Synoptic gospels; in Mark (the shortest gospel) the story is in the longest and most detailed version; Matthew 8.2834 is the shortest, It's entitled, Why I Am Not A Christian. I wouldn't care to speculate how many demons possessed this man, but the man can only identify himself as a person who is possessed by an almost innumerable host of evil spirits and he doesn't even remember his own name. It seems to happen a lot in the gospels. noted the official establishment of Christianity and discontinuance of pagan worship in the 5th cent. Gentile But the sad thing I want you to see at the end is the reaction of the majority of his countrymen, because unlike him, they do not beg to be with Jesus. I beg you, do not torment me. And then the demons beg not to be cast into the abyss. 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. There's nothing that they can do to restrain His mighty arm. However, it is anticipated that the following verses will be thrown up as excuses, as pat answers, and as proof that God has changed, the Law is fulfilled (a.k.a. Last week, we were crossing over with Jesus to the other side, weathering a fierce storm until he woke up and calmed the sea. They had the exact same reaction to Jesus that Bertrand Russell would manifest two thousand years later. And why werent they demanding compensation for their pigs? 1). Jesus was upholding all the kosher laws within the Land of Israel it was part of his job description. These demons of the Gadarene Demoniac wanted to stay in this territory where worship of Baal was predominant. That's why Jesus's motivation to kill the herd was more than obvious to the Tedious Twelve and the gospel writers. No, at the very best, Scripture is a dazzling lily that started out as a small flower bud, grew and expanded overtime, until finally it opened to show us all its beauty, a beauty that there inside the bud since the beginning, but not fully shown. 1. Maybe it was because they were unclean animals. about a.d. 65. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) 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. For our Creator, one lost person saved is worth the death of many animals. 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. But what does Leviticus says about ham? Another problem with the Catch-22 interpretation is the sheer number of other animals or places that Jesus could have negotiated for. And so the fact that youre in a country with a herd of pigs lets you know that youre in Gentile territory and that's part of the point of the story. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of. 5 So they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes. 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. But wait, realize how deep Gods affection for animals goes. Please note how John repeats the commands, adding a zinger curse to both. 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? We know that two thousand pigs go over the cliff. Reading the Word of God is wonderful. But thrice is no dice if we dont understand the reason or the message behind the event. It deeply disturbed Bertrand Russell that Jesus allowed a herd of two thousand pigs to be destroyed. 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. But as for God, what reason did He give Mr. Merciless for not destroying Nineveh? For one, Remember that the Law reveals to us the mind and personality of God. They are unclean for you. He always followed Gods Law. Does he really believe Mark 5 is Biblical material, To be honest, all the bad humour honestly makes me believe the pastor is being. Looking back over the entirety of Gods Word, we do indeed notice many plagues rained down on the wicked in other books. Plus, these additions by John connect back to other passages in interesting ways. e. a Gentile and What Does the Bible Say about The prophet Jonah is held up as the merciless messenger of God; not a great title. founders day speech by students were the gerasenes gentiles. (Pastor Piper was right after all, almost!) Well the first thing I want you to see is this picture of a person in the thrall of sin. Yet this is exactly what Christians believe; Jesus came to fulfill (but think annul) the Law and then start a whole new religion. 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. The stories in the gospels may or may not have happened but, regardless, they are told in a way that makes a theological point and were never intended to be understood as factual history. (, David, the son of Jesse, was another selfless, compassionate shepherd. WebAll three Synoptic Gospels ( Mark 5:120; Luke 8:2639; Matthew 8:2834) mention the swine miracle, although with variations. 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. So he's drawing our attention to an extraordinary event, but the reason he's drawing our attention to that extraordinary event is because there are actually truths which transfer across the last 2,000 years, right to where we are today, that we are to learn out of this passage. Although the Almightys statement is only one sentence in Deuteronomy 12:32, Jews regard it as two different commandments no additions and no subtractions. 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.

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