Who’s Who

There and then the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, they urged him to go away from their area. Matthew 8:34

Whole Town – I am sure you are familiar with the story of the demoniac and the pigs.  Yeshua crosses Lake Kinneret and encounters a man (two men in Matthew) who is extremely violent, being filled with demons.  Yeshua frees the man, sending the demons into a herd of pigs who promptly run into the water and drown.  Then the townspeople hear about this, but rather than rejoice over the rescued man, they become very upset and demand that Yeshua leave.  I am quite sure that your recollection of the story leaves you with the impression that these people had a lack of faith, that they rejected the Messiah and were spiritually darkened.  But maybe Matthew’s account is far more understandable than we usually think.  Let’s see.

In order to understand the reaction of the town, we need to know who these people are.  They are people who live on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Gadara.  This is the region of Decapolis, a non-Jewish occupied territory in the first century.  That means these people were not looking for a Messiah.  In fact, they probably didn’t have the Tanakh (the Hebrew Scriptures) and they clearly had nothing to do with Jewish Torah.  The economic operation of herds of pigs tells us that much.  As far as they were concerned, Jewish religion was probably something to be avoided.

Furthermore, when the demon-possessed men (plural?) are freed, these people are not particularly pleased.  Why?  Because the price was a very fine herd of pigs.  Their pocketbooks were adversely affected by Yeshua’s compassion, and everyone knows that money trumps empathy.  (Paul had a very similar experience in Ephesus.)  So the townspeople urge Yeshua to leave.  The last thing they want is some Jewish holy man stirring up trouble with the economy.  It was nice to be able to travel past the tombs (caves) without being attacked, but it wasn’t worth the cost.  Who knows what else this man might do if He sticks around?

What does this correction in the context teach us?  First, it underscores the fact that Yeshua came to the Jews.  They were the only people prepared to receive Him.  The fact that they did not speaks only to their hardness, not to their ignorance.  As we see in Acts 2, thousands responded when they finally understood.  “To the Jew first” is an essential part of God’s plan.  Had Yeshua come to the Gentiles, He would undoubtedly have received the same treatment as He found in this small community.  Gentiles are about business, not holiness, so the priorities are very different.

Secondly, we learn that misplaced priorities often have enormous, unseen consequences.  The Messiah walked right through this town.  He demonstrated incredible, godly power and compassion, but they weren’t interested.  Quite a different reaction occurs with the Samaritan woman, but there Yeshua doesn’t perform a miracle.  He just speaks to her heart.  It makes you wonder if God arrived in our communities whether we would even recognize Him or whether He would pass through while we urged Him not to bother us.

Finally, we discover that spiritual awareness is not necessarily tied to the miraculous.  There are always other explanations, other motivations, other concerns.  Miracles don’t have much lasting effect if the heart isn’t prepared.  And maybe that’s the real lesson here.  Preparation of the heart was a generations-long process among the Jews.  It took thousands of years.  Do you really imagine that we can get it all done in a flash?

Topical Index:  town, Gadara, preparation, economics, Matthew 8:34

Today my daughter leaves for Zambia with Overland Missions.  She will be there for 3 months.  Thank you to all those who helped with her support.  Please pray for her.  The work is difficult and she is a LONG way from home.