I agree the counter-arguments look flawless on the surface and that will be partially exposed now. (Take that, Darwin.). (Sidebar: During the whole Rob Bell Love Wins craze, I had a friend who claimed to believe the Bible, but denied that demons exist. Its not possible for either of them to change, and therefore, inconceivable that Jesus would modify one iota of what he helped write. In fact in this passage with the demons naming His name, this was often done in the ancient world, if you knew someone's name you could call out that name as a part of casting a spell on them. 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. There is no captivity that you can be captive to that is not captive to Jesus Christ for He has ascended on high and led captivity captive and He makes a sport and a spoil of the forces of darkness which are arrayed against God and against heaven. This was a Gentile town so they had pigs. I would think that it shows that demons would enter anything that could be unclean including a human being. Here is a prophesy that Christians love to quote: You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110.4) because it connects to Messiah Jesus. But there are many reasons why Im not keen on the idea of the Gospels as non-historical. 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. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (Luke 4:29). And Christ went sadly.He had wrought for them a signOf Love, and Hope, and Tenderness divine;They wantedswine.Christ stands without _your_ door and gently knocks;But if your gold, or swine, the entrance blocks,He forces no man's holdhe will depart,And leave you to the treasures of your heart. 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. 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. Swine are considered unclean and unholy in the Jewish tradition, and Jesus was Jewish.This miracle, witnessed by his disciples, also shows Jesuss wisdom in teaching the Word of God among non Jewish people. New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Gerasa, Gerasenes. So he gave them permission. He made a covenant with them and revealed His commandments to them, which they were to live according to. The Law of God states that the Sabbath is a day of rest for all livestock (Deuteronomy 5:14). In turn, they would have a vehicle wherewith to stay in their territory. Worse yet, dont trust one who says Scripture evolves. The excavations uncovered what is to date the best preserved Rom. 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. Admittedly the whole event with the demon-crazed pigs is odd you dont see it every day but the writer wanted us to believe it genuinely happened. Matthew 12:43 and Luke 11:24 mention demons going to a dry place. And what about just sending the killers into the air (Ephesians 2:2)? So many beautiful verses and motivating passages are in Scripture. ), No matter how you slice it, the Almightys negative view of ham and bacon cant suddenly switch from one day to the next. Christians never finish reading the chapter. The fact anyone dreamed up dispensationalism, They say, None, but Jesus, kept the Law perfectly. It was exactly due to his righteousness and his love for God that he killed two thousand pigs. Secondly, I want you to look at the Lord Jesus Christ Himself because His power over Satan is on display full force in this passage. 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).. But wait, realize how deep Gods affection for animals goes. But John is more precise, saying none should add or remove words. Because some confusion exists in the gospel MS evidence and perhaps in other source material, absolute certainty cannot be attained; but the following identification seems correct. (. For these reasons, the writers of the gospels gave no explanation and the Twelve asked no question about why Jesus destroyed all the swine. Our ways are not as Thine. 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? His wisecracks are a distraction. Next, what if our imaginary Jew damaged a ton of Gentile property under their very noses. They even allowed themselves to go ballistic on the Sabbath, which shows how angry they really were. 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. Wed also have to confess that the farmers were not Gentile. http://archive.ligonduncan.com/mp3/12.13.2009_Dr_J_Ligon_Duncan_The_Man_Jesus_Renamed_Luke_8_26-39.mp3. (, 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. Dr. R.C. I cannot offer you a proof-text for this observation. Indeed, some believe that Jesuss single option was to let Legion loose on the animals. (Note that Luke omits Jesus journey to Tyre and Sidon, see also Mark 7:24-37). Gerasa. Theres another interesting question in the sidelines: if Jews detested pigs, why were there pigs in the area? And opposite to normal flowers, our lovely Scripture-flower will never dry out or wither away (Isaiah 40:8). As was just so elegantly discussed, the destruction of the herd only makes sense if we remember that God never liked unclean food to begin with. IV. Another command applies to women who have given birth to a child (Leviticus 12:6), so that would be easy for Jesus to obey, not to mention the monthly ritual baptisms Jewish women do for certain reasons!!! It was like, And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent for He is not a man that He should relent. 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. (wait for it) turning the swine to the water! Since I believe the word of God is our playbook for life, what is Jesus telling us? I beg You, do not torment me. Then, if you look in verse 38, he begs Jesus that he might be with him. 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! The textual evidence shows that the MSS preserve three variant spellings of the name in each gospel. Yet being part of the Godhead means Messiah cannot not flip-flop his opinions. 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. In delivering the man from his bondage, Jesus restored creations promise. This Priceless People Interpretation comes from another sunny California pastor, John Piper. 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. The book ends on that very point. Thats really why they were sent. He's liberated. Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. In a similar way, we see that Scripture is the same; it doesnt change. Now Jesus grants this permission. 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. There he meets a man seized with an unclean spirit (Mark) or with demons (Luke). He loves our souls. In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. Obviously, they were Jewish pig farmers seeing judgement for flagrant disobey Gods Word and keeping and eating pig meat. He always followed Gods Law. 6 ) There were lots of laws they didnt keep. 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. Since all of these areas overlap, one may take the references as meaning the same place. 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. Let\'s see if you\'re really a human: * Note: Demetrius was angry only because of speculation of what Pauls preaching might do to business Paul had not physically caused any damage. (, For I tell you truly, until the passing away of Heaven and the Earth, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law until everything has happened. Can we really point the finger at him? Now it's not a very profound book. ___________________________________________________________________. Paul talked about going to Spain in Rom 15:24-28, so part of this is certainly within the realm of possibilities. Food cant affect our salvation, nor disqualify us from being saved.Pork might not be very healthy,but as long as its USDA approved and deemed good by health inspectors from feeder hogs tat eat corn to clean the mess out of them of the last few bowel movements, then you should be good to go. We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? That is how valuable human life is." (Please dont hide behind that sensational dispensational chart. The good pastor actually believes that a Jewish man can rationally decide the best sleeping quarters , In the end, the good pastors assumptions keep us, Just remember the wonderful folks in Jesuss hometown? In this immediate area, steep hills come down to the shoreline and fit the story of the swine rushing headlong into the sea. If you have your Bibles I'd invite you to turn with me to Luke chapter 8 and this great story of the man who was possessed by demons, liberated by the Lord Jesus Christ. No products in the cart. Theories of men that attack statements made by God evolution for example are sadly creeping into the minds of Christian leaders. All we know now is that the demoniac could have been either: Jew or Gentile. And John nicely parallels Jesus who said, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law (Matthew 5:18). I want you to see a person in the thrall of sin. and therefore the good pastor declares the demoniac to be a Gentile since, as everyone also knows, Gentiles are better tomb-dwellers.. Now we see the missing puzzle piece: God had plainly prohibited pork as food, making it clear that holy people should not eat it , Overall, when it comes to any animal being selected for food or for sacrifice, God sees only two types. From the brook beside the road he will drink and for this reason, he will lift high his head. 7 ) The pigs werent for eating. What do you want? And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. Thats right, adding or subtracting from Scripture, according to Scripture, is illegal. The normally merciful Messiah destroyed the pigs in accordance with Gods Law about clean and unclean meat. This is clearly an extraordinary event. He is utterly sovereign. In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. Oh get you hence, Omnipotence, and take this foul of Thine. And if I remember correctly, I think there is some tradition about other Apostles going to Spain. Mark as quoted by Spalde, Annika; Strindlund, Pelle (2012). If you watch the short clip (above) and compare it to the one hour source video Dominating Powers, Part 2 (Mark 5:1-20) you will notice how MacArthurs speaking style changes as soon as he addresses the matter of the pigs. They are unclean for you. James Gibson. The man howled day and night and cut himself with stones. Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as unclean as the demons that Jesus sent into the swine. Would you not agree that theres a certain permanent feeling about a law like that? You know that because the people tell Him to leave. Wasnt this just a temporary fix to a bigger problem? Not that I believe my case has holes. The action is no different than Revelation 14:14-15 where we see the Son of Man brandishing a sharp sickle. And Jews are forbidden by God and His eternal commands to own pigs. One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. We do not find demons under every pew and under every rock. For one, Leviticus 22:28 forbids righteous farmers from killing a cow and its calf on the same day. The pagan religions continued among the Gentile population as is evidenced by the ruins of the temple of Artemis. Its flesh you must not eat. In the Book of Acts, Chapter Nineteen, we read about Demetrius, a Greek silver-statue maker, who was connecting a few dots of his own and had reasoned that a certain big-mouthed Jew was bad for business. The lectionary reading for Trinity 1, Year C, is Luke's version of Jesus meeting and healing the demon-possessed man in the 'region of the Gerasenes' (Luke 8.2639). They had rather have their swine than their Saviour, and so, though they saw the demoniac sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, at the feet of Jesus, they in turn beseech that He should take Himself away. By Your Holy Spirit, show us our need of grace. 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. why do you think there were pigs there?]. Not that I believe my case has holes. Gerasa is identified from various sources as a city in Arabia, Decapolis, Gilead, or Perea. "Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged [Jesus], saying, 'Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.' I would, however, be a little skeptical of stories about Jesus Himself visiting Spain. He was clear that His mission was not to the Gentiles and Samaritans, but rather, to the lost tribe of Israel. The demons freak out that Jesus is there because its not time for them to be tormented by Him yet. People of the same race and same religion but they still wanted to do him some serious pain. Scripture presents us with all we need to know. This picking and choosing is completely unbiblical. Also, He is sometimes more open with outsiders/Gentiles than Jews because the negative reaction by the Jewish leaders would hinder his ministry more than rejection by Gentiles. The Son of God mercifully cast thousands of. It's entitled, Why I Am Not A Christian. (. Don't they know their Bibles? 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 Thy powers bring loss to us and ours. Connect the dots. It was part of the Greco-Roman region known as the Decapolis, or ten towns. It was Gentile territory, the land of foreign gods, a place of idolatry. All in all, after Jesus had trashed the livelihood of so many, we have to agree that they were more than gentle to let him off the hook and just asking him to leave town asap. He was getting everyone on board with what was started at Sinai. As to the second question, there is no doubt of the illegality, from a ritual point of view, of Jews keeping swine (B. The action is no different than, Lets return again to when Jesus cleaned up the Temple courtyard of merchants and merchandise. The real irritation is people saying the Law was impossible to obey, when Scripture says the opposite it true. 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. Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. Early in the video, he is very factual and seems sure of himself. He had a new name and he had a new nature to go along with it. Looking back over the entirety of Gods Word, we do indeed notice many plagues rained down on the wicked in other books. Pretty quickly the whole city was in an uproar. Compared to the accounts of the same event in Matthew and Luke also written in simple narrative prose some details vary. The demons are aware that He is there and they are frightened. Instead they joke around and give pat answers. 2. That will give us the perfect answer. Now not only did the Jewish people not eat bacon, and not only were they forbidden by Moses to eat bacon, but they were not allowed to raise bacon even to sell it to the Gentiles. Such a contradiction in character! It pains them to admit that Jesus was/is a, Sixth Fact: True identity of the pig farmers. Well that's the first thing we see in this passage. That is, they appear contrary, except for one thing: Gods Law forbids righteous people from eating pork. Matt 8:28). Many will rush for cover behind the last four Greek words of this verse, despite all of its textual, translation and interpretation problems. I think Jesus was trying to give to all the sight to see the wrong things in this world we can overcome by walking with Him and His Way of life. 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 the Almighty said it so many times. How and why did this happen in the first place? Wed obey Him. They are out to steal, kill, and destroy, so we dare not trifle with evil spirits. It's amazing Jesus comes to shore and it's obvious that He has immediately commanded the spirits to leave the man because they remonstrate with Him. Although the Almightys statement is only one sentence in Deuteronomy 12:32, Jews regard it as two different commandments no additions and no subtractions. Johns Entertaining LOL Interpretation shows me that he sees cracks in his theology, but is unwilling to own up to them. v. 37) describe Jesus healing of the demoniac Legion and the drowning of the swine in the Sea of Galilee (cf.
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