You Want to go Where?

Have you ever wondered what the big deal was in referring to the opposite side of the Sea of Galilee as 'the other side?' I have actually given it very little thought until now.

Well, 'the other side' is like saying the dark side...or the wrong side of the tracks...maybe, even the slums. You see, they raised pigs. Large herds of them. Plus, the people were thought to have connections to demons and such.

And, sadly, this treasured piece of real estate fought for by the Jewish nation and inherited by part of the Manasseh tribe over time became a place that fully embraced Greek and Roman culture, religion and architecture. As far as places to avoid go, this ranked up there with Samaria.

But none-the-less, that's where Jesus wanted to go.

So they all got into one of the fishing boats and head out. The disciples probably figured after Jesus took them slowly through Samaria and spoke to a woman, how bad could it be? Who knew a storm would blow in? Hello, storm on the water, can you say "what are we doing?" "Let's get out of here."

They were definitely following God's leading, going where he wanted them to go...you would think it would be smooth sailing to get there...but,not so in this case.

In the book, A Visual Guide to Bible Events, the writers point out that the storm, or sharkia, that rose up was an attempt to drive Jesus and his men from the 'dark side.' By calming the storm Jesus not only amazed his followers but, also let Satan and his minions know that the Kingdom of God would not be stopped. The light had come.

Here's another interesting tidbit. Have you ever wondered why demons would want to go inside pigs? What purpose did that serve? Well, according to the writers there were two reasons and both were another attempt to undermine any work Jesus did on the dark side of the sea.

By drowning two thousand pigs who are usually bouyant and good swimmers it cut into the economy of the people. Of course, the people are going to ask Jesus to leave. Who wants to lose income?

And, it attacked the Roman legion who controlled that area...they had a running boar on their coins. It made it look like Jesus was making a statement against the Romans.

I never knew these things. I just thought it was a herd of dirty, noisy pigs that no one probably cared about. But, no, like everything Jesus did, it had a purpose. Jesus and his disciples did not stay long that visit, but while there, he healed a man who ended up getting the word out to the rest of the people in that territory. When Jesus made a return visit he was met by a large crowd anticipating his return. Ah, his purpose.