Jesus is equating his commandments which can only be the ones in the Law of Moses, because he gave no commandments in the Gospels with his Fathers commandments in the Five Books of Moses. 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. Its true! Additionally, the encounter takes place among the tombs, an earthly realm of the dead, so to speak. Demons, Jesus, and the Pigs The Outlaw Bible Student, http://www.linearconcepts.com/archives/2011. 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. Doesn't Jesus Treat Animals as Property? In York, T.; Alexis-Baker, A.; Bekoff, M.; McLaren, B. ESV - 1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes. 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, 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. So why were these pig owners on the east side of the lake afraid? Does he really believe Mark 5 is Biblical material, To be honest, all the bad humour honestly makes me believe the pastor is 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. And holiness means salvation, as Paul wrote in two different letter, without holiness no man [or woman] shall see God (Hebrews 12:14 and Romans 6:22). Jesus' action also shows the importance of human beings relative to animals. His poetry includes Bees in Amber: a little book of thoughtful verse (1913) which became a bestseller. And not only that, he's about to be a witnessing disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known. 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. 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. This man, when Jesus says, What is your name? effectively says, I do not know my name. If Jesus had done anything less, he could not have been the Messiah. An inscr. I would think that it shows that demons would enter anything that could be unclean including a human being. We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? 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 (Joshua 13:11-13). viii. In the three Synoptic Gospels and, None of the verses below refute any of the. Mark and Luke wrote that Jesus /gave the right to them to enter the pigs much stronger wording and more official than allow. Also in a side note theres a rock with what looks like a human footprint in it, it is said this is Christs footprint. Its totally contrary to what we would expect. Archeologists identify it with the modern Jarash. 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? Dr. R.C. Jesus does not go looking for this demon-possess man, the man comes to Him. Executive Committee of the Editorial Board. 1). He's liberated. In turn, they would have a vehicle wherewith to stay in their territory. Therefore, hiding behind a few vague statements like the pat answer verses listed here is not sound. His sermon should have given us some point, some excuse, or some logical explanation for it all. Dont demons like sheep? 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. They forget that all scripture is inspired of God and all of it is established in the heavens and none of it can change. Coincidentally, three Gentiles showed up for lunch, and the following day, he met a Roman convert when finally Peter figured it out and declared the Lords view of Gentile believers, But God has shown me that I should not call ritually impure or defiling any man (Acts 10:28). Many will rush for cover behind the last four Greek words of this verse, despite all of its textual, translation and interpretation problems. 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. And as Palmer approached him at the fireside, the man identified Palmer before he got there. I want you to see a person in the thrall of sin. All four gospel writers repeatedly testify to Jesuss power over storm, waves and. Wasnt this just a temporary fix to a bigger problem? So you not only see the power of Christ over Satan in this passage in the miracle that He performs in casting these demons out of this man, but you also see Jesus compassion towards sinners. And it's the glorious picture of the value that He puts on an immortal soul. Inhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus ( Matthew 8; Mark 5; Luke 8) in which he transferred the demons And he sends out his representative, a man who is known only as the Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr, the black gate. The Land of Israel is/was no place for two thousand pigs. We should ask the good pastors if love thy neighbour as thyself has any bearing on killing your neighbours livestock. They were to teach the Gentiles about Him (Acts 13:4647). And what about commands for married people (Exodus 21:10), or the command that a man gives his wife a bill of divorce (Deuteronomy 24:1)? Its all so reminiscent of John MacArthur joking and John Piper giving pat answers because n body wants to be honest with the Word of God and face facts and Jesus killing pigs is one of those uncomfortable contradictions.). .hide-if-no-js { 6 ) There were lots of laws they didnt keep. Accessed 4 Mar. But they dont prove his point. Well pretend with him that the folks in Gerasenes were placid Gentile farmers happily raising their gentle Gentile pigs. 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. Before the war it was a Gentile settlement. Without a doubt, both men know God never came up with the line, Put pork on your fork. 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? They do not bother mentioning Scriptures emphasis on being holy before God. (, 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. IV. A wonderful verse that reveals Him to us and probably the most heartwarming is the commandment in the Torah that mother animals are allowed to stay with their newborns for at least seven days before the offspring can be taken for food or for sacrifice (Exodus 22:30; Leviticus 22:27). That is exactly what is happening here. One can only imagine the insanity the demoniac suffered at the hands of these evil forces. Those people were Jews in Nazareth. Obviously, they were Jewish pig farmers seeing judgement for flagrant disobey Gods Word and keeping and eating pig meat. But now this is an extraordinary case. And if I remember correctly, I think there is some tradition about other Apostles going to Spain. 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. 11:78). This mother-baby law actually takes priority over another command which requires all first-born calves and lambs to be offered up to God on His altar (Numbers 18:17; Deuteronomy 15:19.) In a, If Paul got himself into hot water because of a Gentile, To top it off, Jesuss farmers see Jesus and see their property floating belly up in the surf, but they dont throw him after them! Fear and selfishness prompted the prayer. THE PIGS DID IT FOR HIM!! In other words, the Roman Catholic Church took four Greek words torn out of mid-sentence and declared them to mean, the end (read, death) of the law [of Moses], although numerous verses declare the fixed, eternal character of Gods Perfect Law. He was Jewish and tragically lost. Unfortunately, Pastor John is not alone, joking at the expense of this tragedy. Both of our good pastors assume that the people in Gerasene (Gadarene or Gergesene) were Gentiles in Gentile territory, partially because of the pigs, partially because of the demoniacs and partially because it fits their bias. These three verse from John really are earth-shattering. When Jesus said, A new commandment I give unto you (John 13:34), he instantly had the undivided attention of the Tedious Twelve disciples because they knew changing the Law was forbidden. 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. They ask Him if they can enter some nearby pigs, and He lets them. Add to that that recent. It was part of the Greco-Roman region known as the Decapolis, or ten towns. or ten From Jesus's own mouth, we are informed of Gods special love and attention for defenseless animals and we know Jesus has the same heart for the weak. Were in the same story, my friends. Learn how your comment data is processed. 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. The pagan religions continued among the Gentile population as is evidenced by the ruins of the temple of Artemis. 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. But what does Leviticus says about, And also the pig; although it has a hoof splitting in half and it has a hoof clearly tearing in two, the pig doesn't bring back up its cud to chew. He is more open with Gentiles because it fits His purpose about revelation to the Gentiles and the new inclusion in the kingdom. Did Jesus really sacrifice the swine for the man? 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. Anyway, it was the demons that would have decided where, and if, he slept. Christians never finish reading the chapter. John 13:34 was the one single, solitary time that the Master told his disciples, I give you a new commandment. However, the commandment wasnt a new commandment. As I hear, I judge and My judgment is righteous because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me. Instead they joke around and give pat answers. Heavenly Father this is Your Word. But should you also doubt, my friendly blog reader, read on. ; Mark v.; Luke viii.) 5 So they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes. Despite all the dangers to himself, David wouldnt allow any to be hurt. The demons inhabit the bodies of this herd of pigs and the pigs cast them into the Lake of Galilee. I cannot offer you a proof-text for this observation. 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. 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. It's entitled, Why I Am Not A Christian. 10:31). Thats right, adding or subtracting from Scripture, according to Scripture, is illegal. 5 ) They werent real Jews They were JINOs! Being teachable is a great avenue for learning! It is a wonderful fact, but unlike you and I, Gods character is constant and consistent I AM that I AM and understanding His unchanging nature is at the center of forming the right interpretation of Mark 5.
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