Wilderness Wonderings

Wilderness Wonderings

New Testament

The Curse of the Gadarenes

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And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way. And behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Now a herd of many pigs was feeding at some distance from them. And the demons begged him, saying, “If you cast us out, send us away into the herd of pigs.” And he said to them, “Go.” So they came out and went into the pigs, and behold, the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the waters. The herdsmen fled, and going into the city they told everything, especially what had happened to the demon-possessed men. And behold, all the city came out to meet Jesus, and when they saw him, they begged him to leave their region.

Matthew 8:28-34
The colonnade at Gadara

When you see someone who has suffered find relief, what is your natural response? Generally, our first response is to celebrate with them. But what about when that relief comes at a great cost to yourself without your “consent”? How do you respond then? Do you give glory to God for healing or do you curse Him for the price that was required to bring that healing?

Jesus and his disciples have just crossed the Sea of Galilee after ministering to Peter’s household and his local community. In fact, the primary reason that Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee was to seek refuge from the pressing crowds (Matthew 8:18). After calming the storm and the fears of His disciples, they disembark the boat in the country of the Gadarenes, south of the River Yarmuk. Gadara was the capital of the province of Peraea, and is known today as Umm Qais in the country of Jordan, near the border of Syria. In 218 BC, the Greek historian Polybius described Gadara as the “strongest of all places in the region.” It was one of 10 cities in the region designated by the Roman governors as the Decapolis.

What is perhaps best known about Gadara is that it was the birthplace of Meleager, one of the most admired Hellenistic Greek poets of antiquity. He was most known not only for his own work, but more so for his compilation of the works of other Greek poets in his collection that comprised the “Greek Anthology.” Additionally, Gadara was known as a major trading station for pork, which was highly prized in the Roman Empire as a welfare allowance for the poor. As a result, Gadara was quite rich due to the herding and hunting of wild pigs.

At the time that Jesus was there, Gadara is known to have had no fewer than 3 performance theatres, a colonnaded market street, and a Greek temple to the mythological god, Poseidon – as evidenced by the large baths discovered during excavations. The god Poseidon was also known as “lord of the earth” or the “earth-shaker” and was historically credited as the reason for the seismic activity in the region as regaled in Greek myths. As you may recall from yesterday’s study of Jesus calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee, this speaks directly to the religious insights of the Gadarenes as it pertains to earthquakes in the region.

Not only did Jesus demonstrate His power over nature in the calming of the storm, He also demonstrated His authority over the “god of the earth”. Furthermore, in comes two demon-possessed men – likely adherents to the worship of Poseidon from Gadara. According to Mark’s account (which he sets in Gerasa – a few miles south of Gadara – which likely more accurately places the events somewhere in between the two cities), there were multiple demons – as many as 1000 – as evidenced by the name “Legion”.

As Jesus cast the demons into the pigs and the entire herd rushed into the Sea of Galilee and drowned, the herdsmen ran away and reported to the leaders of the city. Word got around so much so quickly that the entire city came out to meet Jesus. However, contrast the response of wonder from Jesus’ disciples with the response of the people of Gadara as they begged Him to leave the region.

They didn’t just politely ask Jesus to leave. They begged Him. Jesus was viewed as a threat to their economic way of life. He was a threat to their religious way of life. The very act of casting out the demons from these two men demonstrated that Jesus was a threat to everything they held dear.

And I ask you, what happens when Jesus upsets your apple cart? How do you respond when He challenges your way of life? How do you react when He takes from you that which holds you back from serving Him? Do you beg Him to leave you alone so that you can go back to the chains of this world? Or do you invite Him to make Himself at home within the recesses of your heart and mind? Do you offer Him your everything for the sake of His kingdom knowing that He has the power to overcome everything that binds you?

I beg you, I implore you. Open you heart to hear from Him today. Cling to Him for dear life and rest at His feet knowing that He has your best interests at heart. Let His Kingdom come in you today.

The Path Through the Pain

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And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing.” And He said to them, “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and sea obey Him?”

Matthew 8:23-27

Are you willing to follow your leaders into battle? Many people do so blindly every day. Soldiers follow the orders of their commanding officers, trusting that the officer has the intelligence necessary to win the battle ahead. Business teams follow their own leaders into the battle of commerce, trusting that the strategy that has been communicated to them is effective and profitable. Students follow the instruction of their teachers, trusting that the education they are receiving will serve them well in the years to come.

Jesus’ disciples followed Him, and they went blindly trusting Him. And they weren’t ignorant of the dangers that potentially lie ahead. The Sea of Galilee is known for sudden storms caused by uplifts of air from the Mediterranean to the west that come in and strike the mountains and then rise up and form storms on the other side of those peaks. Additionally, the region of Israel is also known for being at the northern end of a tectonic plate that comprises all of the Sinai Peninsula to the south. This tectonic activity is largely responsible for the formation of the Red Sea that separates Egypt from Saudi Arabia, as well as the formation of the Gulf of Suez on the west of the Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba to the east. Peter, Andrew, James, and John all knew the potential dangers of setting out on the Sea of Galilee that could strike without warning as it was their careers as fishermen that prepared them for these dangers.

Yet, when the storm arose and the ship began to be overrun by the waters, they became afraid. And this was no small storm. “There arose a great storm” is translated from the Greek phrase “ginomai megas seismos”. In essence, we are talking about a gigantic, mega-earthquake. And Jesus was sleeping through it all. As they trembled in fear, they awoke their Master, who rebuked their lack of faith in the One who has already demonstrated His power over disease and infirmity. Then He stands and rebukes the very power of nature itself. And they stared in wonder and admiration at the fact that even the unpredictable powers of nature were at His command.

The term “ginomai” is actually a theatrical term which means “to come upon the stage” or to make a sudden grand entrance. “Surprise! I’m here!” If there is anything that 2020 has taught us this year, it’s that life is unpredictable. That is an inescapable fact. War, disease, fires, hurricanes, political unrest. Who would have predicted a year ago that everything we have experienced this year would come to pass. And yet, too often I have seen disciples who have chosen to follow the Savior cower in fear as if Jesus was not present or “asleep at the wheel.” Too many of us have put our faith in our political leaders to resolve our problems instead of crying out to the only One who can command the storm. We blame “climate change” on one another instead of the natural shifting of nature over time that has occurred for thousands of years.

We must never forget that Jesus not only got into the boat, but as His disciples we got in the boat with Him, knowing full well the dangers that lie ahead in this life. Being a disciple of Christ doesn’t mean checking your brain at the door. God can still use your career and all of the knowledge you have gained in the world to serve His kingdom and provide you with a fresh perspective of His power and authority in this life. The fishermen among the disciples knew what they were supposed to do when the storm strikes, but for some reason they believed those skills no longer mattered to the kingdom. The appropriate response was not to freak out in fear, but rather to anchor deep trusting in the mission of the Master.

If you are a disciple of Jesus, I implore you – remember that He’s on the boat with you. His presence is not negated by the arrival of the storm. Sometimes, the storm is simply a test for you to use the skills and competencies that you already have to serve the Master. Instead of running in fear to Him, try trusting in what you already know to be true. Trust that Jesus has a purpose for the pain. There is a reason that He chose the path through the storm instead of going around it. That reason is build an opportunity to trust Him and believe in what He has called you to do and that is to follow Him through the storm, knowing the dangers that lie ahead, and trusting that He will calm the storm with simply a word. Live your life in wonder and admiration of the One who can see you through it all.

Peace Within the Pain

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But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

As Sara and I near the end of our packing up for our move, yesterday I went through and starting taking things off the walls. As I took down pictures and decorations from the various rooms in our apartment, then had to go back and remove nails and staples, which left marks in the walls that I will have to go back to cover over before we turn in our keys. Otherwise, as is common practice, we would be charged with the damages from simply living a normal, every day life with decorations on our walls. Embellishments to make life more bearable. Photos to boast of our travels. Paintings to add color to our meager existence.

It struck me how removing all of the embellishments and vanity pieces exposed the damages beneath. The scars along the walls that were hidden behind the photos and decorations. What struck me even more was how much of a picture of our lives this has become. When all is stripped away and your life is laid bare, what will be exposed beneath the embellishments of your life? Inevitably, underneath it all, we all bear scars from pains long past. Our natural tendency is to cover up those scars and hide them or distract from them with false impressions that are secondary to the true surface that lies beneath.

We cover up our pain with false joy and laughter. We fill in the cracks with the appearance of wealth and prosperity. We spackle the piercings with vanity and pride. We paint over the blemishes in order to blend in with our surroundings hoping that nobody will see the imperfections beneath. We make our lives a facade while our world continues to crumble from the inside out.

Too often we treat vulnerability as a weakness, but in reality, it is in our weakness that we can find our greatest strength. When we humbly submit to the healing hand of our gracious Lord, He joyfully provides the healing we so desperately need. But we must be willing to strip away the veneer and lay our lives bare before His throne so that He can reach out and touch us and make us whole again. We must learn to be honest with ourselves about the true state of our being before we can really grasp the depth of our need for our Savior.

Then and only then can the Master Builder come in and do the work of restoration that our souls require. He fills in the holes of our pain with healing. He covers the blemishes of our sin with grace. And as a Master Painter, He begins painting a new mural with our lives that outshines the dull, drab white-washed walls of our heart.

Open your heart today to the joy of the Savior. Let Him transform your mind and bring peace to your troubled heart.

The Disciple’s Sacrifice

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Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”

Matthew 8:18-22

I am the proud father of a daughter who serves in the Armed Forces. She and her husband have both worked diligently to achieve the rank of Sergeant, but their success has not come without sacrifice. While I did not have the privilege of serving in the military, I have always had a healthy respect for those who do serve. As part of the boot camp training experience, each soldier is broken down and rebuilt into the image of a soldier fit for service. That means being isolated from everything that has defined your life, personality, and habits up to that point in your life. It’s a high price to pay to serve the greater cause of liberty and the mission of protecting our nation.

Following Jesus is really no different conceptually. If we say that we will follow Him, we must understand that at times He will call us to go places that are uncomfortable and unfamiliar. We may be required to cross the street and care for a neighbor. We may need to demonstrate love to someone who is “unloveable.” Perhaps He may even call you to cross the oceans to carry the gospel to some of the darkest places on earth.

Last night, my wife and I attended a webinar hosted by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary where we listened to stories of current missionaries serving in South Asia in a land of 1.7 billion people, where 1.5 billion of those do not know the light of Jesus. For a sense of scale, that is a population that is more than 5 times the total population of the United States in an area that is roughly half the geographic size of the Lower 48 states combined. It is considered “the greatest concentration of lostness in the world” as 89% of that region has no connection with the truth of Jesus. What is equally distressing is that for these missionaries, they are literally putting their lives on the line to bring the light of the gospel to this darkness.

January 30, 1933 is a day that should be forever burned in our memories. It was on this day that the history of the world irrevocably changed as the Nazi regime rose to power in Germany. Two days later, Adolf Hitler was installed as Chancellor of Germany in the hopes of reviving the Holy Roman Empire. Immediately, from the earliest days of the Nazi regime, a young Luteran pastor began boldly speaking out against this powerful new regime and their idolatrous worship of the Führer (“leader”). He would often refer to Hitler in his radio speeches as Verführer, or “misleader, seducer”.

It wasn’t long before he was on the radar of the Nazi leadership as he vocally criticized Hitler’s campaigns for euthenasia and genocide. In 1943, he was finally arrested by the Gestapo and imprisoned in Tegel prison for a year and a half where he endured unspeakable torture before being transferred to Flossenburg concentration camp. In 1945, he was accused of association with a July 20 plot to assassinate Hitler. He was quickly tried and hung as a martyr on April 9, 1945. His name was Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

His overriding passion was the Kingdom of Christ and it cost him his life. During this time, much of his writing was designed to encourage Christian living in an increasingly secular world and he wrote a book that is considered one of the great classics of modern Christian thought “The Cost of Discipleship”. Within this book, he summarizes his thesis very clearly with this one statement:

Salvation is free, but discipleship will cost you your life.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

And yet here we are in the American church complaining because our pews are too hard or our built in coffee bars don’t serve our preferred drink. We spend more time debating with each other over doctrine and politics than we do serving our communities that we are called to be a light to. We walk around either with our heads held high in the air with pride or drooped in despair, all the while there is a lost and dying world in need of the transformative power of grace right in front of our noses. We sit in judgement of those who believe differently than us instead of breaking bread with those who need our fellowship and the grace of our Lord. We continue to perpetuate the very same divisiveness that we decry in the name of our own self-preservation.

But Jesus warned us that the mission we have before us carries with it a price. We must learn to let go of everything that binds us to what we were before we came to know Him and allow Him to transform our lives to be more in line with the truth of His word – to be more like Christ. Sometimes that means being at odds with our own family members. Sometimes that means going places that don’t make sense in the moment. Sometimes that means letting go of our preconceived notions of who Jesus is and simply listening to His words and accepting them for truth, in spite of our personal preferences and opinions.

Jesus never promised that following Him would be easy. In fact, He very clearly promised that it would be difficult. I’ve often heard it said that nothing worth doing in this life comes easy, and that is never more true as it is related following Jesus. It often requires swimming against the current of society. It often requires enduring the ridicule and judgement of others who do not even know Him. But to know Him – to truly know Him instead of just knowing things about Him – is to love Him and to be devoted to Him and His mission to “seek and to save those who are lost.”

I would like to challenge you today. Be willing to break out of your routine and be intentional about your faith. Speak the truth even if it is uncomfortable, but do so in a spirit of love and grace. Be willing to go and shine your light into the darkness around you. But be prepared, for the task is not easy. However, in the end, the rewards for obedience will far exceed your wildest imaginations.

A Woman’s Service

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And when Jesus entered Peter’s house, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she rose and began to serve Him. That evening they brought to Him many who were oppressed by demons, and He cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”

Matthew 8:14- ESV

When Jesus touches you, He changes your life for the better. He restores your spirit and soul. He forgives your sin and reconciles your relationship to the Father. He even has the capacity to heal your sickness for the glory of God. But when Jesus touches your life and changes you, how do you respond? Do you respond with an attitude of gratitude, ready to serve Him in whatever way He needs you for the sake of the Kingdom? Or do you continue on your merry way accepting His grace as if it was owed to you?

The touch of Christ in our lives is always intended to inspire a Kingdom response. It is intended to shine a light on our Messiah who comes to take away the sins of the world. Too often we treat the touch of Jesus as if His primary purpose for coming to the world is to serve us. While it is true that He came to be a servant, He came to be the King of our hearts. When we treat Jesus as if He is nothing more than our genie granting wishes whenever we have a perceived need that will make our lives more convenient, what happens when He sovereignly chooses not to provide your desire?

A couple of interesting things to note in this passage to illuminate the grace of our God. First, Simon invited Jesus into His home and he didn’t restrict Jesus’ access or movement. As a result, not only was Jesus able to see his sick mother-in-law, He was able to touch her and heal her. Yes, we have already established that Jesus did not need to go in person to the centurion’s home to heal his servant, but it still required the invitation of the centurion inspired by faith in the one He knew could heal. Jesus doesn’t intrude where He is uninvited except where it is required to advance the purposes of the Father’s sovereign will and Kingdom purposes. He doesn’t force His love and grace upon us. He offers the gift of Himself in daily communion, but it is a gift that requires acceptance in order to realize the blessing.

Secondly, neither Simon nor his mother-in-law asked Jesus for healing. In fact, the healing that took place was at the full initiative of Jesus himself. He saw that she was sick with a fever. He saw that she was sick. He saw her. The single most important part of this entire passage is these two words: “He saw.” Jesus sees. He sees your situation. He sees what you are going through. He sees your pain. He sees your suffering. He sees your sickness. He sees your hopelessness. He sees your sin. He sees your isolation. He sees your rebellion. He sees your rejection. Yet He still loves you and He reaches out to touch you and restore you and reconcile you so that you might serve Him.

Finally, our service to the Kingdom, when performed with an attitude of gratitude for His grace, draws others to Him. There is no indication in this passage that Jesus left Simon’s house, but it is glaringly obvious that word got around as to what Jesus did and how she quickly responded by serving Him. And this drew others to their home in search of a touch from Jesus to restore their hearts, bodies, souls, and spirits. Not only did Simon’s mother serve the one who healed her out of gratitude, she and Simon opened their home for others to receive that same touch.

If you treat Jesus as a means to an end, what happens when you come to the end of your means? Time and again I see people make demands of Jesus like He owes us some material blessing. Jesus owes you nothing, but we owe Him everything! Jesus doesn’t owe you a new car or a house or even the designer clothes you think you deserve. The truth of the matter is because of our sin we deserve Hell. Because of our willful choices to disobey Him and reject Him in favor of our own selfish desires, because of our own self-inflated sense of self-worth, we are deserving of nothing more than to be cast out of Paradise for eternity.

But Jesus, in His great love and grace and mercy, wants to reach out and touch you and make you whole again. His touch is meant to inspire you to serve Him and His Kingdom and draw all people unto Him. Most importantly He sees you, but He will only touch you if you open the door of your heart and home to let Him in.

Note: Copyright of the video above is held by The Chosen Productions and VidAngel Studios. No copyright infringement is intended and the video is linked solely for educational purposes in keeping with fair use doctrines. As an additional side note, I highly recommend watching The Chosen. This program is without question one of the most original expressions of the gospel and gives unique insights into the personality of Jesus and the Biblical characters without compromising the heart and message of the Scriptures. To view The Chosen, you can download The Chosen app on your iPhone or Android device and stream through any streaming device (i.e., Roku, Amazon Fire, Chromecast, etc.) to your television.

The Capernaum Strategy

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When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.” And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.” But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And to the centurion Jesus said, “Go; let it be done for you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed at that very moment.

Matthew 8:5-13
Portrait of Roman Centurion outdoors in front of rocks

Capernaum, translated in the Greek as “Village of Comfort.” Capernaum was a small town in its heyday situated on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee, near where the northernmost extension of the Jordan River flowed into it. Based on its name, it is possible that this was the home of the Old Testament prophet Nahum. This made Capernaum a strategic fishing port as fish would flow into the Sea from the River following the current of the river. This was the city that was the home of a couple of fishermen who would go on to become fishers of men – Simon Peter and his brother, Andrew.

Due to its strategic importance as a fishing port, a Roman garrison of 100 soldiers was stationed there. Their leader was an officer – unnamed, except for his title of centurion. The centurion knew his place and his position of authority, yet he also knew his limitations. More importantly, he was familiar with this Jewish rabbi who defied human limitations. Obviously he was a man who cared deeply for his charges. Otherwise, a servant would be considered replaceable. But this centurion had enough of a relationship with his servant to seek out the only one who he had heard of that could heal him.

Perhaps it is out of desperation that he reached out to Jesus for help, but that is just fine. “He said to them, ‘Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.'” (Matthew 17:20) All it took was this centurion taking a step of faith to ask Jesus to heal his servant. In fact, Jesus offers to go and touch him, but the centurion out of humility simply acknowledge the omnipresent power of God to heal with but a word. And it was so. And Jesus praised the faith of this centurion.

All too often we place our faith in our marketing strategies and our programs. We spend crazy amounts of money investing in finding the right location, location, location – believing that to be enough to draw in the fish. We cast our nets far and wide and we are astonished when they come up empty. But Jesus, who is known by his reputation for kindness and grace and mercy to those who would simply believe, has the power to simply speak and heal. He is able to heal the broken hearted and the afflicted. He can heal the confused mind and restore the wayward child if only we approach Him with faith, not our strategies and plans. Jesus is not confined to our strategic plans. He will not be boxed into a program or a formulaic approach to religion. He desires faith and relationship.

Is the Jesus you reflect kind? Do you exhibit mercy and grace to those around you? That is what will inspire faith in others, not our superficialities. Jesus was in Capernaum because that is where the fish were that He was trying to catch. In the process, He caught the attention of a soldier and inspire the faith of a man to heal his servant, for whom he was responsible. Oh, that we could learn so much more from this simple act of faith in our King of kings.

Let us cling to Jesus instead of our programs. Let us demonstrate His kindness that is representative of His Kingdom instead of being activists for the kingdoms of this world. Let us love and demonstrate grace and mercy in a world that is lacking of these highest of virtues. Let us show the world who Jesus really is – the Son of the most high God – who can simply speak the word and our world can be healed by His power.

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