We are reminded again, Matthew groups teachings and events by themes. While generally following chronological order, the events in the next two chapters are unlikely to have occurred in quite this precise sequence. Matthew's perspective was to show to his Jewish readers how completely Jesus fulfills all the purposes of, and prophecies about, the Nation of Israel. At the same time, it was critical to show doing these things made Jesus quite contrary to what the leaders of that nation expected, as they had bound themselves to a false reckoning of what Moses and the Prophets had written.
Promptly after the long teaching session on the mountain, Jesus was confronted by a leper. The worshipful approach was the leper's affirmation he believed Jesus was the Messiah, and his words indicated full faith in Jesus' power. The question was not whether He could, but whether He would. Jesus would and did. In the process, He shows His superiority to the Law of Moses, for He touched the leper. This would normally make Him ritually unclean, not to mention risking infection of Himself. Instead, it was Jesus' purity and health which was infectious. The caution about publicity was more for the sake of obeying the meaning of the Law regarding cleansing. Rather than go about bragging he was now clean, the man should first attend to the ritual of presenting himself before a priest. It would also guarantee the priests could not dispute Jesus' evidence.
Indeed, Jesus' authority was even better understood by Gentiles and by His own people. We note in passing Jesus need not have had this conversation directly with the centurion for this to be an accurate report. Rather, the conversation carried on by messanger was considered the same thing in ancient cultures. In this case, the Gentile centurion maintained a proper respect for Jewish sensitivities. Indeed, this man was quite wise and decent, referring to his servant as "my son." We can be sure such a man was highly regarded by his staff and troops. His true brilliance was in realizing, as a man under and and over the authority of others, surely the Messiah would not lack for authority to have his command executed by all Creation from any distance. So it was. In marvelling over this, Jesus bluntly prophesied most Jews would find themselves outside the Kingdom they arrogantly considered their natural birthright, because it was about faith, not DNA. The image of reclining in the great dinner hall in the sky was a typical Jewish expression for better days when Messiah would come crush the Romans, and enslave all the Gentiles under Israel. Thus, Gentiles such as this centurion would take their place, and they would be less than slaves, but aliens.
He was Lord over the Sabbath, too. Arriving at Peter's home in Capernaum, things were pretty much out of domestic order with the matron of the house sick. The large number of guests invited with Jesus would have to fend for themselves, a deeply embarrassing prospect. Jesus paid no attention to rules and promptly healed the woman. She immediately recovered and went about the business of the day. That it was clearly the Sabbath can be seen from the context, for the neighbors would not bring out their needy until sundown, when the Jews reckoned the Sabbath to be past -- a "day" was evening and morning, so evening began the next day. Here Matthew points out directly Jesus was fulfilling prophecy, specifically Isaiah 53:4, a Messianic prophecy.
At some point, Jesus decided to leave the crowds to their own devices and make a divine appointment elsewhere. He ordered His disciples to ready a boat for departure, but while waiting was approached by a couple of men seeking to be full-time disciples. One was, of all things, a Scribe -- the term for a Jewish lawyer. Perhaps he was genuine in his own mind, but Jesus warned him to count the costs. In this case, it meant leaving behind all the creature comforts to which a Scribe might have grown accustomed. Another was hoping to finish up affairs at home. Under the Law, a man whose father died, or was approaching death, was exempt from all other civil and ritual requirements. Using a standard Hebrew figure of speech about spiritually dead people, Jesus pointed out the Kingdom of Heaven was yet a higher calling, taking precedence over the old ways, including earthly family concerns. Again, it was counting the costs, as Jesus was demonstrating by dropping everything, leaving behind an adoring crowd, at the whims of Kingdom service.
Stepping aboard the little boat, they pushed off. Typical of the Sea of Galilee at various times of the year, a violent storm struck. Even experienced sailors would panic in such a situation, since it could easily mean death by drowning. Jesus was catching up on some lost sleep, apparently unconcerned. They knew He could save them, but were short on faith enough they failed to trust His command to be out on sea in the first place. If He was sleeping, were they really in danger? Matthew seems to paint here a picture of Jesus exasperated by their panic, and stopping the storm more to end their whining than to end an actual threat. The disciples' comments could easily be read as grateful crowing at what a powerful rabbi they followed.
Equally tiresome today is dealing with silly questions about where the boat touched ashore. Pedantic reading from a Western viewpoint yields an impossible situation, as there is no place which matches the names and the physical description. First, we don't know of any place called Gergese. Comparing with the accounts in other Gospels, we get Gadara and Gerasa. These all appear to conflict, until we realize each Gospel writer addressed a different audience. Second, it's just possible Matthew's spelling is the result of minor textual corruption. Still, it hardly matters when we approach this from a proper Hebrew frame of mind.
The Decapolis was a region of Hellenist Syrians with other mixed ethnic groups who became dominant in the area sometime before 280BC. Gadara was the chief city near the southeastern shore of Galilee, some six miles inland. However, the city was on a high ridge, from which the Sea was quite visible. Much of this area would have been called by this chief city, and the inhabitants over quite some range could rightly be called "Gadarenes." Since Gerasa was the capital of Decapolis at that time, all the residents could be also be called "Gerasenes." It happens a small village just beyond the farthest northern extent of Decapolis control along the shore is today called Kursi (or Kersi, Koursi, etc.). Greek rendering would almost certainly make that Gersa, Geresa, or something similar. Further, we note the herd of pigs was quite far off, just barely visible. People who have explored that area recently tell us one finds two or three places within walking distance of Kursi where a steep slope runs into or close to the water, and cliffs with caves are all over that area.
If we picture a massive herd of 2000 pigs stampeding, they could easily have run squealing the whole six miles from Gadara, if need be, in order to drown themselves. Chances are, they were just over the line from Decapolis in Jewish territory, near Kursi. This would make them Jewish-owned pigs raised for the Gadarene market. Even if the herders could prove in Jewish courts Jesus was the primary cause of the herd's loss, it was illegal for them to raise pigs in the first place. At any rate, Jesus was not worried about pigs. Stampeding to their deaths insured the demons could do no further harm.
We note also Matthew says there were two men, but the other Gospels see one. Apparently one of them commanded a lot less attention. It hardly matters, because between the two of them, the Demon Legion was a serious problem. Indeed, the whole land at that time was spiritually wide open to dark forces, as the Jews had consistently disobeyed the Word. Their corruption of God's promises, twisted into mere worldly comforts, was a direct rejection of their calling to bring the light of spiritual truth to the world. Not only had they denied that truth themselves, but tried to prevent others finding it. Their contempt and vile wishes for Gentiles resulted in the deep spiritual malaise hanging over the Promised Land. It was up to Jesus to clean up the mess, and set things right for these two men.
Thus, we draw a picture of Jesus establishing His authority.
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Ed Hurst
09 September 2007
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