The Catholic Church's interpretation of this verse is sheer nonsense, because the weight of Scripture contradicts it, so true Reformers need to re-read their Bibles. His wisecracks are a distraction. Mr. Hippo read Mark 5 and convinced himself that Jesus did not care about swine, or any other animals, and therefore, spread a church doctrine that Christians have no genuine duty to animals. His actions now make sense in this new light. I definitely dont want to be near that doctor on Judgement Day.). The Gerasenes were the people of the district of which Gerasa was the capital. The passage appears to be straightforward historical-narrative writing, like the rest of Marks gospel. The concept of Gentiles is found in the Old Testament. It deeply disturbed Bertrand Russell that Jesus allowed a herd of two thousand pigs to be destroyed. ___________________________________________________________________. The good pastor basically believes that in Jesuss mind, one mans peace, preservation and freedom from unclean spirits is worth the sacrifice of a couple thousand pigs. The gospels. 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. New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Gerasa, Gerasenes. 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. These three verse from John really are earth-shattering. (eds.). They have therefore made important decisions about the proper treatment of animals. Jesus helped a Syrophoenician woman and commended her faith ( Matthew 15:2128 ). Compared to the accounts of the same event in Matthew and Luke also written in simple narrative prose some details vary. Is there a connection? Hello, I dont know the real answer but I have heard from others that Jesus has authority over any demonic presence and there were many in this man (other Gospel says two men), so it clearly shows Jesus Power and Authority and that is probably the main point to show the people and the demon possessed at that time that it doesnt matter how many of you there are your not staying and your leaving now because I say so and you cant do anything and because I say so you can go into them pigs because you are unclean, so it was a demonstration for all, including his Disciples who were with him, I do believe that Jesus went there for that purpose because of his Love for us, Jesus knows why He did it, maybe one day He will tell us or not ? Why doesn't the good pastor entertain that avenue of possibility or is he too busy making one-liners to connect any dots? Did Jesus really sacrifice the swine for the man? Jesus was also a prophet. R.C. Two thousand pigs dead for one person to live is not an even tradeand that is the point. One was, His Name Was Legion, Not Ligon. I have been confused with Legion all my life and it worries me that it's not just the sound of the name, but I want to make it clear that Legion is not in any way related to Ligon. Those famous four are sufficient to back up the Church's bias and with them one could pretend they say, Christ is the [dead] end of the Law [of Moses] (Luther and Calvin taught this), or maybe it means something very vague like, an end of a law is Christ. For a more advanced discussion of the vague quality of the text have a look at George Howards scholarly article. However, the pastors assumptions are perplexing. So how on earth could they dictate to the Son of God where they wished to go? So I don't know how seventeen interpretations of this particular story got circulated. Looking back over the entirety of Gods Word, we do indeed notice many plagues rained down on the wicked in other books. They even allowed themselves to go ballistic on the Sabbath, which shows how angry they really were. Search the web and you will find many opinions about why the pigs died. And because they did not hear Him, they lost even what they had. For being kind to birds!? Owning those defiling animals was illegal and having two thousand head, the farmers were more than flouting the Law that Jesus had not came to destroy but to fulfill (Matthew 5:17). Jesus was a Jew. 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. And the thing that I love the most is the utter contrast in his attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Facts are piling up. in which he transferred the demons afflicting a man to a number of swine, that thereupon rushed down a steep hill and perished. 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. In delivering the man from his bondage, Jesus restored creations promise. 10:31). And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. WebWho were the gerasenes in the bible? ITS LIKE THE WITCH ON TGE WIZARD OF OZ We "are of more value than many sparrows" (Matt. This location agrees with the description given by the ancient writers. Oh get you hence, Omnipotence, and take this foul of Thine. But what does Leviticus says about ham? 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. At best, Malachi 4:4 should read as, Remember the Law of Moses, but mine's better. To feed the spectators who came there purposely to see those crazy chain braking tomb dwelling lunatics! Who owned the pigs? 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. The action is no different than Revelation 14:14-15 where we see the Son of Man brandishing a sharp sickle. ), his power over blindness (John 9:32) and even over death, as in the case of a three-days dead Lazarus (John 11:1-44). Its true! Who owned the pigs? And this identical detail was written down in three different texts to remind us of the Son of Mans normally tender nature. It's entitled, Why I Am Not A Christian. Overall, when it comes to any animal being selected for food or for sacrifice, God sees only two types. Also, the land where the Master walked and the swine were feeding belonged to Israel. In the 2nd cent. In the story of the Gerasene demoniac, Jesus invades enemy territory and defeats a powerful army to deliver people from bondage. Without a doubt, its only and exactly the Creators negative view of swine that properly spells out to us why Jesus destroyed an entire herd of swine in Mark 5. Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as, Suddenly, Mark 5 is clear. 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! It's all Gentile territory, so just bear that in mind. In Marks thinking, the mans extraordinary strength is evidence of supernatural bondage. And do you believe for one minute that God told us to obey something that He knew full-well we couldnt obey? Lets re-examine the event in the light of seven important Scriptural facts. But Christians miss the joke and think he was being serious. That is how valuable human life is." Although He encountered and ministered to Gentiles such as the centurion who had a paralyzed servant (Matt. 2 And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, Isaiah 44:9; Isaiah 44:19 Pigs were the required sacrifice on the altar in the temples of Zeus Olympus (Greek) or Jupiter Capitolinus (Roman), the same supreme god of all Hellenic theology known as the "king of Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as unclean as the demons that Jesus sent into the swine. Dictionaries Encyclopedias Lexicons. But isnt it a funny coincidence that pork happens to be on Gods list of forbidden food. 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. (Please dont hide behind that sensational dispensational chart. 3 We know that two thousand pigs go over the cliff. I could have come up with better arguments against Christianity than Bertrand Russell, but in the course of this book in one of the chapters, he says it is this story that led him to the conclusion that Jesus was neither the best nor the most virtuous of men. The pastors precious-people useless-swine principle was previously dreamed up by the 3rd century church father, St. Augustine of Hippo (quoted by Spalde and Strindlund), and he ran with it. However, the silversmith was a smart cookie and knew that the more people bought into Pauls line of thinking, Note: Demetrius was angry only because of, Therefore, were those cool-headed pig-farmers really Gentiles? 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. This has been a long blog thanks for sticking with it but because Im going to ruffle feathers, Ive gone the extra mile to explain myself clearly and to plug any holes in my argument. One possible reason the Son of David chose the pigs was that he had no choice. But pay attention to the body count. What is going to happen, we are told by John the book of Revelation, is that God Himself is going to cast Satan and his demons into the lake of fire. 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. Gerasa. They know that Jesus can cast them into the abyss, into the lake of fire, into the bowels of hell, and theyre frightened. It's a glorious picture of Jesus love for lost souls, even a Gentile. 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. Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Sadly, GotQuestions misses the point, or they lie, saying that being distinct was all important to God. 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. Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Besides Johns cute play on words dont add or God will add consider what plagues he might be talking about and what book he might be talking about. Without a question, if Jesuss pig-farmers had been Gentiles, there would have been bloodshed. Legion probably comes from the fact that Roman legions had four to six thousand men in them and this name, Legion, indicates that he is possessed by a host of demons. 141-144). If you eat a swine/hog that has killed eaten a poisonous snake and you eat that hog, you will be poisoned and die. 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. Be this as it may, the district was If a bunch of little children want a ball to play with and I toss them a grenade, am I off the hook if a kid pulls out the pin? 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. If the interpretation from one vague verse contradicts several unambiguous verses, which is wrong? HDB, II, p. 158, 159 for a detailed description.). We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? If ever there was a small and weak proof-text, this is the one. Years earlier, when the ancient Israelis came to the border of the Promised Land, part of the eastern shore was controlled by the Geshurites (and the Maakathites) but Joshua told Israel to possess their land (, Last Fact: The coming Judgement Jews First, 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. 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. The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with Him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you. And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.. At the very end of his book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Apostle John repeats them. With such a track record, what difference would Legions size or strength make? Theres another interesting question in the sidelines: if Jews detested pigs, why were there pigs in the area? All we know now is that the demoniac could have been either: Jew or Gentile. Jesus is the lover of our souls. 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. Jesus' action also shows the importance of human beings relative to animals. Am I forgiven by saying, I just, The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. For these reasons, the writers of the gospels gave no explanation and the Twelve asked no question about why Jesus destroyed all the swine. Thou lovest men, we love swine. Once there, Jesus encounters a man possessed by demons. 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. Besides, it was Christmas! Don't be surprised if none of them want the spotl One goose, two geese. For the sake of the argument, lets start by assuming that the pastors assumption is right and he is a Gentile (though we know he could have been Jewish). 'Hiemal,' 'brumation,' & other rare wintry words. Instead of a sling and a stone, Jesus needs only his voice; Jesus commands and the enemy falls. The victorious Lord made life good again for one embattled soul. In a recent online essay on the Gospel of Mark, Peter Leithart wrote. v. 37) describe Jesus healing of the demoniac Legion and the drowning of the swine in the Sea of Galilee (cf. They were ..ummm ..for producing manure to fertilize crops. He's not only a person extraordinarily under bondage to demonic activity, but he's actually a picture of everyone who is in the thrall of sin. IV. 3). The list in the first chapter of Leviticus contains only bovine, sheep, goats and pigeons; all typified later, in Leviticus 11, as clean/pure animals. 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. He used another pseudonym, Julian Ross. Lord God, even as we sing this hymn, cause those who do not know Him to love Him and cause those who love Him to love Him more than anything else in this world. How and why did this happen in the first place? Note that Jesus never touched the demon-inhabited individual: He merely spoke to him, commanding the evil to depart. You know, a month ago, a month ago, if you had said to anyone, You know, Tiger Woods is in slavery. They would have looked at you and said, You've got to be out of your mind. All of these commandments and more are still taken literally by many Jews today. GERASA, GERASENES (, ). He was clear that His mission was not to the Gentiles and Samaritans, but rather, to the lost tribe of Israel. Can we really point the finger at him? Wed also have to confess that the farmers were not Gentile. I would, however, be a little skeptical of stories about Jesus Himself visiting Spain. Explained by Sharing Culture Expert Answers: Gergesenes means "those who come from pilgrimage or fight." Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. And because he said it one single, solitary time, and he didnt actually present anything new, we have clear proof that he didnt add anything to the Law and his joke underscores the fact that he didnt add (or delete) from the Law! The Garasenes were not Jewish but the country was close to Galilee and Jesus had been to that side of the sea before. Paul talked about going to Spain in Rom 15:24-28, so part of this is certainly within the realm of possibilities. and therefore the good pastor declares the demoniac to be a Gentile since, as everyone also knows, Gentiles are better tomb-dwellers.. I beg You, do not torment me. For He (that is, Jesus) had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. And it is a shame that the good pastors dont take these relevant Scripture passage into consideration. All you need to know right now, if youre interested in that I'm happy to talk about it until the cows come home, but all you need to know is each of those places the regions of the Gergesenes, the Gadarenes, and the Gerasenes it's all on the other side of the Lake of Galilee.