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Part 2 of the Series:
“search the scriptures” John 5:39
In Matthew chapter 15 verse 29, the setting is described in general terms as a mountain near the Sea of Galilee. The parallel account, however, provides greater precision, locating this visit as, ‘through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis’, Mark 7. 31. This was a distinctly Gentile territory, and the presence of the Lord Jesus here was deeply significant. More than seven centuries earlier, the prophet Isaiah had foretold His coming into this region, ‘by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan,1 in Galilee of the nations’. The purpose of this visitation was clearly stated, ‘the people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined’, Isa. 9. 1, 2.
The Sea of Galilee is relatively small, really a lake, at approximately thirteen miles long and eight miles wide. Yet the geopolitical and cultural contrasts around its shores were very striking in New Testament times. To the west of the Jordan river lay the political district of ‘Galilee’, under the rule of Herod Antipas.2 Its northern sector included predominantly Jewish towns commonly mentioned in the Gospels, such as Capernaum, Magdala, Gennesaret and Chorazin. To the northeast rose the rugged highland region of Gaulanitis, the Golan region today. It was governed by Philip the Tetrarch, the half-brother of Herod Antipas, and notably Bethsaida lay on its border. These regions to the north of the lake were uniquely privileged, being the principal setting for the unparalleled miracles of the Lord Jesus and much of His teaching ministry. The so-called ‘golden triangle’ of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum are specifically named by the Lord Jesus as the places where His ‘mighty works’ had been done, Matt. 11. 21-24. Yet, despite such privilege, these areas were marked by stubborn unbelief, and the Lord solemnly declared that judgement would shortly fall upon them.
The southeastern shore belonged to the Decapolis (meaning ‘ten cities’), a league of predominantly Greek cities, spreading through modern day Jordan.3 The region was developed following the conquests of Alexander the Great and later came under Roman authority in 63 BC through Pompey the Great, who granted the area a degree of autonomy. These cities were prosperous and highly committed to preserving Greek and Roman culture. They were also centres of idolatry, especially the worship of Pan, associated with wild, untamed places, and expressed in music, dancing, and revelry.4 About a mile from the east side of the lake was the imposing Decapolis city of Hippos, built on a steep plateau nearly 1, 000 feet above the lake. The city dominated the eastern skyline and was an ominous reminder of Gentile power in the region to the Jewish fishing communities of the other side of the lake, where many of the disciples had grown up. It is not difficult to imagine that the disciples found travelling through Decapolis an unsettling experience. In a similar way, through obedience to the Lord’s command to ‘Go ye into all the world’, Mark 16. 15, we can find ourselves in unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory.
It is in this Gentile region of spiritual darkness that we read that the Lord Jesus, ‘went up into a mountain, and sat down there’, Matt. 15. 29. As for other mountains mentioned in Matthew, the Lord Jesus sitting in an elevated place is a powerful symbol of His supreme authority, with echoes of millennial glory.5 We can directly compare the mountain experience of Matthew chapter 5 verse 1. There, the Sermon on the Mount was delivered, primarily to a Jewish audience,6 with the teaching drawing heavily on Old Testament themes. In contrast, little of His spoken teaching is recorded in Matthew chapter 15,7 perhaps reflecting the limited scriptural understanding of the audience. Yet in both settings, the Lord Jesus is described as sitting, the recognized posture of a teacher exercising authority in that culture.8 He is not only ‘the King of Israel’, John 1. 49, but the ‘Lord of all’, Acts 10. 36, with ‘all authority … in heaven and on earth’ belonging to Him, Matt 28. 18 NKJV.
In contrast to the many hours the Lord Jesus spent towards the north of the lake, this appears to be the only time He made an extended stay in the region of the Decapolis. In verse 32, a visit of three days is mentioned. We read that ‘great multitudes came unto him’, v. 30. It is likely that this remarkable response is connected with the earlier testimony of the man of Gadara.9 On the only other recorded visit of the Lord Jesus to this region, he had been delivered by the Saviour from overwhelming multiple demonic possessions. The understandable desire of the man was to remain with the Lord who brought serenity and joy into his life that had previously been dominated by violence and oppression. Yet the Lord gave him a commission, ‘Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee’. As a role model to us all, he faithfully and zealously discharged his responsibility as, ‘he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel’, Mark 5. 19, 20. The seeds he had sown now appeared to be bearing fruit.
Four groups of people brought to the Lord are named, the ‘lame, blind, dumb, maimed’, v. 30, although we also read along with ‘many others’. These were all laid at His feet in an implicit acknowledgement of His authority. The record is wonderfully simple, ‘he healed them’. These conditions vividly picture the effects of sin: its detrimental impact on our spiritual perception (blindness), our ability to communicate with God (dumbness), our ability to move spiritually towards Him or for Him (lameness), and the way sin can disfigure our life (maiming). The words of Isaiah come to mind, ‘He was wounded for our transgressions … and with his stripes we are healed’, Isa. 53. 5. The profound work of the cross, not only addresses the penalty of sin but also the consequences of sin. On a personal level, the transforming effect of Calvary can bring healing to our broken lives, restoring us to wholeness, and enabling us to experience the peace and serenity of knowing God intimately and walking closely with Him.
The multitudes marvelled as they witnessed these miracles, although in verse 31 the order of the afflictions shifts, with ‘the dumb to speak’ mentioned first. Perhaps this reflects a particular impression made by the healing of the deaf and dumb man recorded, Mark 7. 31-37, where the people were ‘beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well’, v. 37. Matthew adds an important detail, ‘they glorified the God of Israel’, v. 31, particularly relevant because these were Gentile peoples coming out of spiritual darkness. In contrast to the north of the Sea of Galilee, this region that had received comparatively little revelation, demonstrated an openness to the Lord Jesus and a genuine response of faith. The lesson for us is that the Lord can transform the most unlikely of people and work in places where we least expect it. We should not doubt His power in being able to do so.
Bible critics have sometimes pointed to an apparent inconsistency in the accounts of the feeding of the 4, 000 and the 5, 000. However, both Matthew and Mark clearly record these as distinct events with notable differences.10 The feeding of the 5, 000 probably occurred in the spring, near the time of the Passover, John 6. 4, with the people seated on grass, Mark 6. 39, in ‘a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida’, Luke 9. 10. By contrast, in Matthew chapter 15 the setting remains Decapolis, where the Gentile multitude sat on the ground suggesting a later time of year, perhaps late summer or autumn, v. 35.
The similarities between the two miracles should have encouraged the disciples to trust that their Lord was both able and willing to meet the need before them. On this occasion, there were 4, 000 men present, ‘beside women and children’, v. 38, fewer than in the earlier miracle.11 Yet they had more provisions available: seven loaves, likely from the recent wheat harvest, rather than the five cheap barley loaves described in John chapter 6 verse 9, along with ‘a few little fishes’, which the disciples seemed to dismiss so readily, v. 34. The disciples doubted the all-sufficiency of their Master, ‘whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?’ v. 33.
In this second feeding, the Lord again proves Himself able to meet every need, regardless of the place or people in need. The disciples’ hesitation reminds us how easily we forget His past mercies. We too may find ourselves in a wilderness through difficulty, loneliness, or infirmity, perhaps asking, as Israel once did, ‘Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?’ Ps. 78. 19. The miracle provides us with the assurance that, ‘God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus’, Phil. 4. 19.
‘Beyond Jordan’ means east of the river Jordan.
These tetrarchies (literally ‘ruler of a fourth’) are described in Luke chapter 3 verse 1. Although Gaulanitis is not specifically mentioned, it falls under the regions of Ituraea and Trachonitis.
Notable ruins of Decapolis cities can still be seen at: (i) Jerash (ancient Gerasa), one of the best-preserved Greco-Roman cities in the world, sometimes described as the ‘Athens of the East’; (ii) Gadara, where the remains are both impressive and distinctive, particularly for their use of dark basalt stone alongside limestone. The ruins include two theatres, colonnaded streets, temples, and public buildings; and (iii) Hippos, where, despite severe earthquake damage, there is clear evidence of earlier pagan temples, a forum, and an aqueduct system. Later a thriving Christian community existed during the Byzantine period, perhaps evidence of the early impact of the gospel in this region.
The conversion of the wild man of Gadara, described later, and the destruction of the swine into the lake would have especially spoken to Pan worshippers. The presence of the Lord Jesus in this ‘wilderness’ region, Matt. 15. 33, was also significant.
Here the picture is of Gentile blessing in the millennium. See: Isa. 49. 6; 60. 1-3; Zech. 8. 22, 23; 4. 6.
Although not exclusively, since people from Decapolis are also mentioned in Matthew chapter 4 verse 25.
Or Mark chapter 7.
Matt. 23. 2; Luke 4. 20; Acts 22. 3.
See Matt. 8. 28-34; Mark 5. 1-20; Luke 8. 26-39.
Feeding of the 4, 000: Matt. 15. 32-39; Mark 8. 1-10; feeding of the 5, 000: Matt. 14. 13-21; Mark 6. 30-44; Luke 9. 10-17; John 6. 1-14.
A similar expression is used to the feeding of the 5000 and hence both occasions may have included as many as 8000 to 10, 000 adults, and possibly many more given the large families that existed at the time.
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