. Some will respond to my rhetorical question, Why on earth would Jesus come to earth, by giving me the usual pat answer. With or without graves? Flower blossoms wither. Let's pray. Jesus though he was The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-18 and John 1:21) had to play by the same laws. Many year later, Messiah went to Israel as a prophet to get the people of Israel back to, The two Johns see more than a hint of what I am talking about in the destruction of the swine and it frightens them so they avoid a serious discussion. After all, racism wasnt invented in the 21st century. II. Most translations interpret the Hebrew to say. Its not possible for either of them to change, and therefore, inconceivable that Jesus would modify one iota of what he helped write. 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. In fact, the next thing the name did was to take a steel bar, place it in his teeth, and proceed to bend it with his hands and with his teeth. Israel was to be a nation of priests, prophets, and missionaries to the world (Exodus 19:46). So whats the point because Pastor John Piper feels the pigs were less important and John LOL MacArthur just jokes about the slaughter neither reaction seems sensible. The Psalmist states that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills Because to me belong every beast of the wood, every herd on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10, and were assuming Jesus the Second Person of the triune God had equal rights to those hills and those cattle.). 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. No cumbered chamber will the Master share,But one swept bare By cleansing fires, then plenished fresh and fairWith meekness, and humility, and prayer.There will He come, yet, coming, even thereHe stands and waits, and will no entrance winUntil the latch be lifted from within. Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, [Let me just pause right there. The Feeding of the Four Thousand | Catholic Answers Sadly, GotQuestions misses the point, or they lie, saying that being distinct was all important to God. Another problem with the Catch-22 interpretation is the sheer number of other animals or places that Jesus could have negotiated for. 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. This location agrees with the description given by the ancient writers. Inhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus (Matt. 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. Demetrius had to do something with the Jew or go bust. In the 2nd cent. And the good pastor doesnt give any rationale for a slaughter that huge. But MacArthurs logical is funny for another reason. If you eat a swine/hog that has killed eaten a poisonous snake and you eat that hog, you will be poisoned and die. So why did the meek n merciful Son of Man cast countless defiling demons into two thousand piglets, sows and boars? And this identical detail was written down in three different texts to remind us of the Son of Mans normally tender nature. And then they beg to go into the herd of pigs. GERASA, GERASENES (, ). To all of you who have been liberated from the captivity of your sin by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, receive God's blessing. Marks Jesus is a warrior who conquers Gods enemies. 3. He also wrote the poem Greatheart. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. 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. Jesus was a Jew. Am I forgiven by saying, I just, The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. Paul talked about going to Spain in Rom 15:24-28, so part of this is certainly within the realm of possibilities. They even allowed themselves to go ballistic on the Sabbath, which shows how angry they really were. In other words, they believe the one who killed the pigs with the demons is equal to the Father. Therefore, hiding behind a few vague statements like the pat answer verses listed here is not sound. The best text in Matthew reads Gadarenes, in Mark and Luke it reads Gerasenes, whereas some MSS preserve Gergesenes and Gergustenes (cf. One possible reason the Son of David chose the pigs was that he had no choice. Instead they joke around and give pat answers. In the three Synoptic Gospels and, None of the verses below refute any of the. What are you doing here, man of God? And then he attempted to intimidate him. 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. 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. viii. They have therefore made important decisions about the proper treatment of animals. Gerasa, Gerasenes - Encyclopedia of The Bible - Bible Therefore, if Jesus gave no commandment (singular), what is he referring to when he talks about commandments (plural) in the following: The answer: when he says, keep my commandments he means the ones he and the Father gave Israel at Sinai. You don't have to look very far. Not by will, but because they have no choice other than to do as the Administrator of all creation commands them. He is more open with Gentiles because it fits His purpose about revelation to the Gentiles and the new inclusion in the kingdom. Still, Jesus was not in Gadarenes for judging; he was there for mercy and for judgement. Them there pigs were going to try to hog the limelightthat Jesus was famous for but ended up being lost in more ways than one! Remember the story of Jesus casting demons out of the crazy man in Luke 8? Also, wouldnt that be a type of sin and another example of how he may not have perfectly kept the Law? And in Malachi 4:4, why did God say remember the Law of Moses if God had His own law? This, by the way, is the miracle story that happens in Gentile land. So lets not laugh these verses off. were the gerasenes And that permanence of the Law matches well with the fact that the first time, and the second, He wrote the Ten Commandments in stone: Exodus 31:18 and again, Exodus 34:1. 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. (, 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. Yes, this man is extraordinary. Or, what if Paul had knocked two thousand dolls into the drink would he have written as many epistles as he did, while having to dogpaddle? But it was what they loved and they preferred it to everlasting blessing in Jesus Christ. It's not every day that you meet someone inhabited by a host of demons, but every time you meet a Christ-less soul, you meet someone who is utterly captive to sin. 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. And John nicely parallels Jesus who said, not the smallest letter nor the smallest comma will pass away from the Law (Matthew 5:18). (Only an amateur Hebraist would claim the latter, frankly.). How could they say Christians not need be concerned about the welfare of animals or that they have little value, or even laugh about the death of thousands, when such beliefs are set side-by-side with Gods Word? But this is not the full explanation or the main one. We see the power of Christ over Satan, don't we? Clearly, Luke is telling you this because he wants you to show the amazing power of Jesus Christ, even over demons. Well this is a taste of the profound arguments that you will find in that book. Be this as it may, the district was 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. He knew how bad it was going to go for the pigs. 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. get to know the Bible better! The Messiah gave every Jew there that day a glimpse of the judgement to come. Playing with the plain truths of Gods eternal Scriptures means one is playing with fire and such actions will bring unfortunate consequences. viii. Download Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1 Framework. We are pleased to launch our new product Money Maker Software for world's best charting softwares like AmiBroker, MetaStock, Ninja Trader & MetaTrader 4. It was like, And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent for He is not a man that He should relent. They sort of seek Him out. We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? I dont know of any illness that can do that. We said the last time that we were together that in Luke 8 you begin four miracle stories, all of which either happen in Galilee or in Gentile lands. He specifically banned pig in. But there is a message in this for all of us and it is simply this we may not be possessed by demons, but if we are possessed by what we want or by what we have and if what we want or what we have is not God in the Gospel of His dear Son, Jesus Christ, then we are no less in the thrall of sin that this man. Thy powersBring loss to us and ours.Our ways are not as Thine.Thou lovest men, weswine.Oh, get you hence, Omnipotence,And take this fool of Thine!His soul? The opinions expressed are solely those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of any other person, religious organization or governmental entity. (Take that, Darwin.). The two Johns see more than a hint of what I am talking about in the destruction of the swine and it frightens them so they avoid a serious discussion. 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. But the Almighty said it so many times. Now do you see how silly the Jesus-kept-the-Law-perfectly statement is?