Amen. But when Jesus explained that the commandment was the old one from Leviticus, Love one another, they signed with relief, seeing how he was just underscoring the command that God already gave (Leviticus 19:18). Sign up now for the latest news and deals from Bible Gateway! Jesus does not go looking for this demon-possess man, the man comes to Him. In the end, the good pastors assumptions keep us rolling in the aisles. Would you not agree that theres a certain permanent feeling about a law like that? http://archive.ligonduncan.com/mp3/12.13.2009_Dr_J_Ligon_Duncan_The_Man_Jesus_Renamed_Luke_8_26-39.mp3. And this identical detail was written down in three different texts to remind us of the Son of Mans normally tender nature. In retaliation for the massacre of the Jews at Caesarea, the Jews sent several raiding parties into the Gentile cities of the Decapolis. Gods Everlasting Word is not something evolving or morphing into a strange new unusual thing, like some rose turning into a radish, or a carrot into a carnation. If there was a difference, why do they read the Law of Moses but call it the Law of God in Nehemiah 8:8? Worse yet, dont trust one who says Scripture evolves. 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. Unfortunately, Pastor John is not alone, joking at the expense of this tragedy. Besides, each of the synoptic gospels quotes the demons saying out loud that Jesus had the power to torture them all at will (Matthew 8:29, Mark 5:7 and Luke 8:28). I definitely dont want to be near that doctor on Judgement Day.). 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. 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. 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. It's interesting isn't it Jesus crosses the river, the lake, and no sooner has He set His foot on the other side but this man shows up to meet Him. One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. Those outside of the nation of Israel were considered gentiles. (, 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. Pig meat, according to Scripture, is as, Suddenly, Mark 5 is clear. Even so, the Bible never puts the worth of animals on the same level as the worth of humanity. Good Pastor John MacArthur's funny option, The real Author(s) of the Law and the Commandments. But what does Leviticus says about ham? Regrettably, what were about to study the Big Pig Splash Down isn't one of them. 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. The demons sent the pigs off the banks of the sea and into the water, where they drowned (Mark 5:1213). The miracle referred to took place, without doubt, near the town of Gergesa, the modern Kersa , close by the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and hence in the country of Gergesenes. How and why did this happen in the first place? Seven facts why Jesus cast the demons to the pigs in Mark 5, but pastors still miss the point, We usually think of Jesus as the loving, forgiving guy from Galilee, right? Look at the prophets; they also prove Scripture doesnt change. In Marks thinking, the mans extraordinary strength is evidence of supernatural bondage. The prophet Jonah is held up as the merciless messenger of God; not a great title. War III. We see the power of Christ over Satan, don't we? They have therefore made important decisions about the proper treatment of animals. 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. The apostle had been busy preaching in Demetriuss hometown of Ephesus and Pauls message about the one true God was catching on. This curse should deter makers of dispensational charts from chopping up Scripture because having my share taken from the Book of Life, or my name wiped out of the Book of Life (Revelation 3:5) doesnt sound very cool. This food is unclean and defiling for you. The real-estate on the east side of the lake of Galilee where Jesus met the demons and the swine was also part of Israel-proper. 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? (, Therefore you should understand that the LORD your God, Because God is so steady, and doesnt reverse or repeal, He can be trusted to do what He promises; good or, If the Eternal One, blessed be He, had said just, But the Almighty said it so many times. Oh, you mean THOSE pigs!! Lots of non-Jews lived there. 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. Another title that didn't make it was Demons, Pigs, and a Request to Leave. Now I think actually that beautifully outlines what happens in this passage, but for a specific reason I've wanted to zero your attention in on this man, this nameless man, who is afflicted by demons and who is liberated by Jesus Christ because there is a Gospel message for all of us. Before a shattering, a mans heart is proud (Proverbs 18:12). The stories in the gospels may or may not have happened but, regardless, they are told in a way that makes a theological point and were never intended to be understood as factual history. He was constrained to act just like the other prophets before him. The normally merciful Messiah destroyed the pigs in accordance with Gods Law about clean and unclean meat. The Spectators probably from all over the world! Add to that that recent studies claim 25% of the world today is antisemitic and ask yourself if racism was better or worse in the past? And why werent they demanding compensation for their pigs? These authors were Biblical (Peter, James, Paul, Hebrews, etc) and to a lesser extent, non-biblical (Josephus, Pliny, etc). Jesus though he was The Prophet (Deuteronomy 18:15-18 and John 1:21) had to play by the same laws. 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. The Messiah has the same nature and character was the Father, as discussed in the Fourth Fact above. 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. And at the end of the passage, look how he is described. He's liberated. 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. We have it all down on paper exactly how gentle Gentiles can get when they get annoyed by a Jew. 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. Last Update: Jan 03, 2023 Because of his righteousness and his love for God, Peter and Andrew and John and thousands more loved Jesus and followed him. WebGentiles [N] [T] [B] [S] (Heb., usually in plural, goyim), meaning in general all nations except the Jews. Sinai. Inhabitants of Gadara, known from an alleged miracle of Jesus ( Matthew 8; Mark 5; Luke 8) in which he transferred the demons (Jos. So now they don't even bother to read it.]. This is clearly an extraordinary event. That is how valuable human life is." With these, Jesus was a Jew. (. What do you have that youre captive to, that youre enslaved to? 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. Why does the herd of swine go over the cliff? 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. Or are we with those who love what we want and what we have more than we love the Word of life from the only One who can give life? He used another pseudonym, Julian Ross. New International Version (NIV), Encyclopedia of The Bible Gerasa, Gerasenes. But as for God, what reason did He give Mr. Merciless for not destroying Nineveh? These forces plundered Gerasa, Philadelphia, Pella, and others (Jos. What do you want? Well the first thing I want you to see is this picture of a person in the thrall of sin. 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. 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. I would have wanted a herd of swine had I been an Israelite in the desert. 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. Gerasa is mentioned next by Josephus in connection with the Jewish rebellion against the Romans in a.d. 70. Emily Langer, Washington Post, 16 June 2022 Three of the Comedian Harmonists were Jewish, three were gentile. He showed mercy to the men who were possessed and brought judgement on the pig farmers. ___________________________________________________________________. 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. In light of these facts, Jesus' ministry in the Gerasenes reveals the Lord's remarkable concern not only for the Jews but also for the Gentiles. When Eve said that she and hubby were not allowed to touch the [Good and Evil Knowledge Tree] or they would die, she was lying (Genesis 3:3 and Jewish explanation). Gods Law even has two commands that equate domestic livestock with wild animals. 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. If our faithful, unchanging Heavenly Father God made a straightforward decisive yet divisive decision and repeated it over and over and over, then why cant the good pastors connect the dots and figure out Jesuss real relationship to the pigs? Some of my Christian brothers and sisters see this as coded language referring to a confrontation with the political and military power of Rome. He wrote under his own name, and also as John Oxenham for his poetry, hymn-writing, and novels. Gadarenes, Girgesenes, Gerasenes: (These three names are used indiscriminately to designate the place where Jesus healed two demoniacs. Interestingly, if you obey the latter, and take just the babies or the eggs but release the dame, God promises you a long and successful life. Saying God reverses a verdict or compromises a promise soils His Name. Add to that that recent. This kind of inter-ethnic scenario normally spells d.i.s.a.s.t.e.r. And thirdly, they are forgetting the fate of this man with an immortal soul who was in danger not only of a continuous life of torment, but an eternal separation from God. Additionally, the encounter takes place among the tombs, an earthly realm of the dead, so to speak. When Jesus and his disciples landed on the other side, it was in a region known as the Gerasenes, Gentile territory. II. Overall, when it comes to any animal being selected for food or for sacrifice, God sees only two types. Being made in God's image, we are more important to the Lord than any animal. It was like, And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent for He is not a man that He should relent. What about sheep? The History of Rome - Brief Overview Of Roman History from Her Dawn to the First Punic War. 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. He's a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ now. In fact, they are, 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, Also, wouldnt that be a type of sin and another example of how he may not have, All in all, after Jesus had trashed the livelihood of so many, we have to agree that they were, Every place the Master went on his travels it was to minister to a Jew, just as Paul said, To the Jew first (, Answering, he said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the House of Israel. (, As well, every place the Master went on his travels was inside of the, Scripture makes it clear that Ashers tribal land-boundary ended around the coastal city of Tyre (, Besides this Biblical evidence that Jesus and the woman were within Israels inheritance, there is also a prophesy that God will settle His People in the future in Gilead (a sizeable part of todays Kingdom of Jordan) and in, The real-estate on the east side of the lake of Galilee where Jesus met the demons and the swine was also part of Israel-proper. Only this interpretation explains the farmers restrained reaction over the slaughter of the swine, and their tremendous terror of the Messiah. 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. And because they did not hear Him, they lost even what they had. Although He encountered and ministered to Gentiles such as the centurion who had a paralyzed servant (Matt. As to the second question, there is no doubt of the illegality, from a ritual point of view, of Jews keeping swine (B. And opposite to normal flowers, our lovely Scripture-flower will never dry out or wither away (Isaiah 40:8). The majority admits they are clueless and throw their hands up, stating the herd was just a , The pastors attempts to laugh off the haunting question about the meek and lowly Son of Man killing all the pigs is, Besides the jokes being in poor taste, they make his sermon seem less than professional.
Yet this is exactly what Christians believe; Jesus came to fulfill (but think annul) the Law and then start a whole new religion. e. WebWho were the gerasenes in the bible? She suffers a more oppressive slavery than ever before not to human rulers but to demons, who are bold enough to enter synagogues on the Sabbat. It is true that we discover new thoughts or extra meaning over time, but Gods Word is permanent and cannot change. Mark and Luke wrote that Jesus /gave the right to them to enter the pigs much stronger wording and more official than allow. Part of the reason for such a short list is due to the fact that Gods People are special (Exodus 19:5-6) and separate (Deuteronomy 7:6) and unique from others on the earth (1 Peter 2:9). Last week, we were crossing over with Jesus to the other side, weathering a fierce storm until he woke up and calmed the sea. This man, when Jesus says, What is your name? effectively says, I do not know my name. And so the demons call out His name Jesus, the Son of the Most High God and it has no effect on Him. Early in the video, he is very factual and seems sure of himself. They are unclean for you. And Tolkien puts it this way The Lieutenant of the Tower of Barad-dr he was, and his name is remembered in no tale for he himself had forgotten it and said only, I am the mouth of Sauron.. Playing with the plain truths of Gods eternal Scriptures means one is playing with fire and such actions will bring unfortunate consequences. This software has many innovative features and you can trap a Bull or Bear in REAL TIME! Executive Committee of the Editorial Board. Two Sundays ago Take care then, how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away. They thought those pigs were theirs. But if one cared to examine all of Gods Word, the only possible reason for Jesus to destroy the pigs in the exorcism seems to be connected to Gods opinion about ham. Who owned the pigs? Who were the gerasenes in the bible? Yet a complete interpretation of Mark 5 needs to clear up one last point: the pigs were forbidden but did they have to be destroyed? 3 And the sons of Gomer; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. But Jesus still ministered to them: crowds from Tyre and Sidon came to see and listen to Him ( Mark 3:78 ). WebGERASA, GERASENES (, ).
That was a very large farming operation, even by the modern European and North American standards of today which typically do not have such giant herds. It deeply disturbed Bertrand Russell that Jesus allowed a herd of two thousand pigs to be destroyed. 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. So did the demons surprise him? This, 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. And what does the Law say about pigs? To any Jew, Jesuss actions were crystal clear. His sermon should have given us some point, some excuse, or some logical explanation for it all. Its kinda like the difference between a Disney movie, a TV documentary and/or an infomercial; normally each is dissimilar from the other. Lets re-examine the event in the light of seven important Scriptural facts. evidence), Ye know that when ye were Gentiles ye were, &c. In this and the following verse the Apostle reminds his readers that so far from regarding the marvellous manifestations of the Spirit, such as speaking with tongues and prophesying, as the most wonderful miracles, the WebApparently Gerasa was rebuilt by the Romans before the revolt began, prob. Jesus is saying that Jesuss commandments are the same as the Fathers. Our ways are not as Thine. That sure does smell good! What have You to do with me, Jesus, the Son of the Most High God? We pray that he would find liberation in Jesus Christ and see his life and family restored, but my friends, any one of us, any one of us, can be in the same thralldom today. It was a region of 10 Greco-Roman cities, a Gentile region. WATER DESTROYED HER!!!! No, at the very best, Scripture is a dazzling lily that started out as a small flower bud, grew and expanded overtime, until finally it opened to show us all its beauty, a beauty that there inside the bud since the beginning, but not fully shown. David was a good example of what Jesus meant by the shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Compared to this, Jesuss behaviour toward the pigs appears extremely callous: giving vile demons permission to slaughter swine is not exactly compassionate. Johns words seem to apply to all of Scripture. take a dump and be cleaned.lol. 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. 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 Syrians made reprisals, and took many prisoners. Ive heard that the apostles and Christ may have traveled to Spain. 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. 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. That's why Jesus's motivation to kill the herd was more than obvious to the Tedious Twelve and the gospel writers. 8). Well let's pray before we read God's Word together. It's in Luke chapter 8, verse 18. All of these commandments and more are still taken literally by many Jews today. Compared to the accounts of the same event in Matthew and Luke also written in simple narrative prose some details vary. 7 ) The pigs werent for eating. The bottom line is, I don't know why Jesus did that and neither do you and neither does anyone else. 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).. This city was better known than Gadara or Gergesa; indeed in the Roman age no city of Palestine was better known. Do you remember? . One unambiguous (but hotly debated) verse that supports this doctrine is, If we agree Messiah wrote the Law of God, we should then wonder, (Please dont hide behind that sensational dispensational chart. One day the prophet Samuel angrily told his king that God would not go back on His decision. No other place on the E side of the sea fits this requirement of the story. I've ended up, and Ill explain it later, giving the title The Man Jesus Renamed. Now that may peak your interest because in the passage no name is ever given for the man, either before or after his conversion, so you may be wondering why I've named it that. Thats right, Whatever matter I am commanding you right now, it's what you must be careful to observe to do. Some will respond to my rhetorical question, Why on earth would Jesus come to earth, by giving me the usual pat answer. Was it correct to destroy so many for just one (or two men). This now then is our fifth fact in a nutshell. 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. 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 book ends on that very point. He changed the subject. The city was large and well planned. Israel doesnt [need] a savior who can fight off a legion of Roman soldiers. 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. It may well be a picture of the reverse of what happened in the Garden of Eden. (Quite likely David would have let the lion and the bear free, if not for the fact that they came back at him: 2 Samuel 17:35). about a.d. 65. Thy powers bring loss to us and ours. His actions now make sense in this new light. And he was the one who said that the Father doesnt miss the falling of a sparrow. Oops. Lots of non-Jews lived there. Yet they tried to throw one of their own off a cliff (Luke 4:29). Don't they know their Bibles? He couldnt introduce a new religion. He was no longer naked and he was no longer babbling and he was no longer living amongst the tombs, but when they came, he was clothed and in his right mind and sitting at the Savior's feet. The next allusion to Gerasa concerns its capture during Vespasians campaign. Gergasa (modern name Kersa) was a small village nearby, and Gadara was the larger region of which the village was a part, with Gerasa as the regional capital. But thrice is no dice if we dont understand the reason or the message behind the event. And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 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. Were in the same story. Therefore we know that when Jesus helped the Syrophoenician woman (not a Jewess, but she came to him), he and the woman were both in Israeli territory. 'Hiemal,' 'brumation,' & other rare wintry words. The Bible doesnt say. I wonder why?). 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. He's been set free by Jesus. Are we with a man, liberated, who trusted Jesus, who begged to be with Jesus and sought to be a disciple at His feet? And they are no more capable of liberating themselves than this man was capable of liberating himself from this host of demons. He also makes excursions into Gentile territory, such as when he exorcizes the Gerasene/Gadarene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20). And wild animals are not forget because farmers in the Land of Israel are commanded in Exodus 23:11 to leave parts of their fields for food for wildlife. I beg You, do not torment me. Then, if you look in verse 38, he begs Jesus that he might be with him. And her addition to Gods commandment led to her disobedience and to Adams, and then God added some amazing plagues to mankind, just as John says (Revelation 22:18) will happen to those who add to His Word (and not just the book of Revelation). If Jesus had done anything less, he could not have been the Messiah. Jesus is going to tell him, You can't come with Me, but I do want you to go back and tell them what great things God has done for you. We ask that You would open our eyes to behold wonderful things in it and open our ears, we pray, to hear Your Word rightly. He is more open with Gentiles because it fits His purpose about revelation to the Gentiles and the new inclusion in the kingdom. You can follow him on Twitter. 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? To feed the spectators who came there purposely to see those crazy chain braking tomb dwelling lunatics! No, the Gentiles are not simply non-Jews. Gentiles are loved by God and redeemed by Jesus. Well Ill explain that too, later on. One possible reason the Son of David chose the pigs was that he had no choice. It seems to happen a lot in the gospels. The Greek clause literally says, End of law is Christ but why bother finishing the sentence? when hes rolling around with a thousand killer-demons inside. Oops! It's this man who doesn't even remember his name who's possessed by a host of demons. WebNoun. In the story of the Gerasene demoniac, Jesus invades enemy territory and defeats a powerful army to deliver people from bondage. Plus, these additions by John connect back to other passages in interesting ways. Its the exodus that Jesus has come to lead, an exodus from slavery to the prince of this world. 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! WebWhy were there pigs in gerasenes? This location agrees with the description given by the ancient writers. It is now called Jerash and is a deserted ruin. Those people were Jews in Nazareth. 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. Why? 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. Jesus then asked him, What is your name? And he said, Legion, for many demons had entered him. three
Its inconceivable that the pigs were owned by Gentiles. And Jews are forbidden by God and His eternal commands to own pigs.
. Besides, it was Christmas! 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. 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.
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