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. If I still had some misgivings, Id be man enough to share them here. All these inescapable facts are so important to getting the right interpretation of Mark 5 and the other gospel records of the same event. 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. 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? Yet a number of objections immediately spring to mind. Instead, his conscious act of casting the demons into the swine resulted in the entire herds destruction. Also, Orthodox Jews see a clear connection between Deuteronomy 12:32, do not add, and what happened in the Garden of Eden. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (Luke 4:29). And did the Gospels writers believe the explanation was so obvious they didn't need to write one? So why were these pig owners on the east side of the lake afraid? 7). Most translations interpret the Hebrew to say. I am but a man possessed by an innumerable host of demons. So he gave them permission. Jesus is saying that Jesuss commandments are the same as the Fathers. That is, they appear contrary, except for one thing: Gods Law forbids righteous people from eating pork. 2 Just as Jesus was getting out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came He wrote under his own name, and also as John Oxenham for his poetry, hymn-writing, and novels. JESUS DIDNT SEND THE DEMONS INTO THE DEEP; 5 By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their Its the exodus that Jesus has come to lead, an exodus from slavery to the prince of this world. were badly damaged in major Ive heard that the apostles and Christ may have traveled to Spain. (Note that Luke omits Jesus journey to Tyre and Sidon, see also Mark 7:24-37). The Law of God. And they are no more capable of liberating themselves than this man was capable of liberating himself from this host of demons. That is how valuable human life is." And then they beg to go into the herd of pigs. First of all, I believe Mark was attempting to warn his Gentile readers of the great danger of demonic influence and activity. For less than $5/mo. For centuries, land wars are a type of a national sport among Middle Eastern nations. Its totally contrary to what we would expect. Delivered to your inbox! And then you see in this passage the change of a heart set free. The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. Incredible. The nearby shepherds were sheep shepherds, not hog herders. 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. 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. All four gospel writers repeatedly testify to Jesuss power over storm, waves and gravity (Matthew 8:22-27, Mark 4:3541 and Luke 8:2225, passages immediately before the pig-demon accounts! After a dramatic journey across the lake (Luke 8:22-25), Jesus steps for the first and last time into Gentile territory. At this distance from the Sea of Galilee, Gerasa could not have been the site of the healing of Legion. It is doubtful that Jesus ever visited it. Either way, dispensational charts ultimately commit both acts against the Word of God. Not by will, but because they have no choice other than to do as the Administrator of all creation commands them. Somewhere I read that that region actually raised pigs and worshipped them or considered them as idols so study about the region and style of worship for that region. Remember, Jesus took direct, extensive action against a significant group of Gentile pig farmers he didnt just say something bad against the pigs. What about sheep? And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 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. Scripture also makes it abundantly clear that God Almighty cannot change, and no one, not even the Lord's Anointed Messiah can change the Law which they both wrote. A Faith Embracing All Creatures: Addressing Commonly Asked Questions about Christian Care for Animals. For you Tolkien fans it reminds me of a character in the trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. led to the substitute reading Gergesenes, a reading that was suggested by a study of the geography of the area. WebThey land in the country of the Gadarenes which is on the North-east shore of the Sea of Galilee about 6 miles southeast across the sea from Capernaum. 10:31). Since all of these areas overlap, one may take the references as meaning the same place. Well Ill explain that too, later on. For one, Leviticus 22:28 forbids righteous farmers from killing a cow and its calf on the same day. 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. That's even more unexpected than not being angry because in Paul's case, it was the other way around. But thrice is no dice if we dont understand the reason or the message behind the event. Also, wouldnt that be a type of sin and another example of how he may not have perfectly kept the Law? But the height of ignorance, the most foolhardy statement is, Jesus fulfilled the whole Law so we dont have to. Only a person who knows absolutely zero about Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy would say such a thing. It's just 8 or 9 verses before this passage. Also, Demetrius only needed to speak a few choice words against the Jew (compare with Act 19:34), to get the crowd all worked up the silversmith didnt have any real evidence that Pauls preaching was going to slow sales. 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. Is there a connection? there was never a prophecy that the kosher laws would be removed, so the verse is coming completely from left field. WebHealing of a Demoniac. 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. This story is a technicolor picture of Luke 8:18, and my friends, there don't have to be demons around for us to be facing the same challenge. 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. He always followed Gods Law. After all, racism wasnt invented in the 21st century. Will the demons come back? The excavations uncovered what is to date the best preserved Rom. In course of time, as the Jews began more and more to pride themselves on their peculiar privileges, it acquired unpleasant associations, and was used as a term of contempt. This made them fit for consumption. Therefore, if Paul had taken a single silver goddess Diana doll and tossed it into the Aegean Sea, what kind of a hornets nest of trouble would the apostle have stirred up for himself? This software has many innovative features and you can trap a Bull or Bear in REAL TIME! In other words, they believe the one who killed the pigs with the demons is equal to the Father. These forces plundered Gerasa, Philadelphia, Pella, and others (Jos. Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. For being kind to birds!? Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as unclean as the demons that Jesus sent into the swine. Why explain something that is as plain as the nose on your face? Interested in joining the Ligonier team? And you know what the most frightening thing of all is? That is, they appear contrary, except for one thing: Gods Law forbids righteous people from eating pork. Every creature on land, or in the water, or in the air is classified by either the Hebrew term, (, The main reason God limits righteous people to a select group of clean/pure animals is for, Gods altar was also separate and distinct and holy. Those outside of the nation of Israel were considered gentiles. Bibliography W. A. Thomson, The Land and the Book (1882), 333-338, 353, 359; C. H. Kraeling, Gerasa, City of the Decapolis (1938); The Westminster Historical Atlas to the Bible (1946), 64, 117; M. F. Unger, Archaeology and the NT (1962), 139-141; E. Lohmeyer, Das Evangelium des Markus (1963), 93f; C. F. Pfeiffer, The Biblical World (1966), 252-254. What does it say? Be circumspect. But as Gergesa was a small village, and little known, the evangelists, who wrote for more distant readers, spoke of the event as taking place in the country of the Gadarenes, so named from its largest city, Gadara; and this country included the country of the Gergesenes as a state includes a county. 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. No one cares where he sleeps when hes busy trying to keep himself from killing himself. Gerasa is identified from various sources as a city in Arabia, Decapolis, Gilead, or Perea. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (, Now, if a Jew can be treated so badly by fellow Jews, lets put on our thinking caps and imagine what happens to a Jew walking straight into a big group of Gentiles. I listen to a pyschiatrist that said he never believed in demon possession until a exorcist ask him to work with him. There he meets a man seized with an unclean spirit (Mark) or with demons (Luke). 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. I love irritating those charlatans who pretend the Law of God is somehow different than the Law of Moses. What do you want? He's the friend of sinners. 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. I dont see anything of that sort in the story. Israels real enemy is Satan. Download Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. I beg You, do not torment me. For He (that is, Jesus) had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. Them there pigs were trying to hog Jesus limelight! Note that Jesus never touched the demon-inhabited individual: He merely spoke to him, commanding the evil to depart. This is the Just-believe-and-receive Hypothesis and the advocates thereof like to stretch Jesuss words, I came to fulfill the Law, and make it say that Jesus needed to destroy or replace the nasty Law, but hope to heaven it still sounds Biblical heres an example of stretchy talking from GotQuestions.
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