Kingdom of Heaven: Part 4

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu- Adonai echad
ve' ahavta et Adonai eloeikah,
b' khol levavkah, uve' khol naphsheka, uve' khol m' odeka.
ve' ahavta l' re' acha comocha. Amen.

So Galilee was chosen by Jesus for several reasons. Community was one, the intense commitment of the people there to the text was another. Yet another was their close proximity to the pagan world. The main road of the time ran right through the areas in which Jesus taught, so there was constant contact with the outside world. Galilee itself was located just across the sea from the Decapolis, which was considered one of the most pagan cities in the world by the Jews of that time. False gods, idolatry, sexual perversion and the likes ran rampant among its people. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus said "Enter through the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and spacious and broad is the way that leads away to destruction, and many are those who are entering through it." This is most likely a reference to the Decapolis and the temple. The actual road leading to the Decapolis was huge, even, very well paved while the road to the temple was extremely narrow, rocky and difficult.

Jesus himself visited the Decapolis three times. Devout Jews would never travel there. One of Jesus' most well known miracles, the feeding of the multitudes, took place at the Decapolis. It is possible that the reason for the leftovers from that miracle are because the disciples, being devout Jews, would not eat food from the child who was from the Decapolis for fear that it was unclean.

In Matthew 4:35-5:20 we see Jesus going to the Decapolis. It's important to pay close attention to the text here...so I will put the passage in this blog and go through it verse by verse with my own words in italics.

35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” (referencing the Decapolis)

36 Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. (the term "as He was" implies that perhaps there was hesitation on the part of the disiciples and he insisted they leave RIGHT NOW)

37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. 38 But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?”
39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”[a] 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
(The Hebrew says that he stills the storm to a whisper...and whisper is the same word used to describe what Elijah hears on the mountain)

(Please note in this next section that I will bold words you need to pay attention to!)

1 Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes.[b] 2 And when He had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him,[c] not even with chains, 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him. 5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. (So He gets out of the boat and the first man he encounters is the bottom of the barrel. This man is filthy, terrifying, naked and demon possessed)

6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.” 8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” (James 2:19-You believe that God is one; you do well. So do the demons believe and shudder [in terror and horror such as [a]make a man's hair stand on end and contract the surface of his skin]!)

10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. 11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus[d] gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea.
(remember that the sea was a place closely correlated with hell in the Jewish mind)

14 So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. 15 Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. (note that the man is now calm, clothed, sitting with Jesus long after the miracle has happened. the people had time to go and tell friends and come back and Jesus was still there...He stuck around.)

16 And those who saw it told them how it happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. 17 Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region. 18 And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. (those who realize what a horrible state they have been in realize how much they have been saved and long to follow Him.)

19 However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, “Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.” 20 And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.

Now...as you can see there's a lot to learn from this passage, but perhaps one of the most overlooked and yet most profound is what you learn by reading the words that I put in bold. If you pay close attention to those words you make a startling discovery- the disciples never got out of the boat! They were so insistent on staying away from this pagan place and it's unclean people that they would not follow their Rabbi into the Decapolis.

Jesus makes a huge point in this story. The Kingdom of Heaven is a portal for the unclean to join us! Praise the Lord that He draws a line between the sin and the sinner! The disciples didn't realize that without God they were no better than the filthy pagans and that after their redemption the pagans were just as forgiven as they were. There is no one who cannot be forgiven. Jesus wasn't just out looking for those who were already following God- He was searching for the naked, crazy, demon possessed man that other people had chained up somewhere to keep him from hurting anyone. There is no room for "holier than thou" attitudes in the Kingdom of Heaven. Everyone is welcome.