Episode 45: Take Your Territory
In a 24-hour period, Jesus heals multitudes, calms a storm, and heals ONE man that changes the trajectory of an entire region. Jesus is always intentional in what He does and how He does it. In the Gospel of Mark 4-5, we see a cascade of events that change the lives of those who traveled with Him, and those that lived in a particular territory called Decapolis.
After a long day of ministry, Jesus told His disciples they were going to the other side of the sea to the land of the Gadarenes. Other boats joined Him on this journey, and after setting sail, a raging storm howled over the boat, filling it with water and causing it to sink. When the disciples finally woke Jesus from his sleep, He commanded the wind to “Be still!” He then encouraged the disciples and asked, “Where was your faith?” Although this isn’t the point of our story, a few important concepts arise that we need to tuck away for later.
Jesus doesn’t rebuke the disciples, He rebukes what is scaring them…the storm. Often, we feel like He’s mad at us when our faith fails, or we question if He’s at work.
Even if it feels like Jesus is “sleeping” on the job, He is not. Be encouraged, He is fully aware of what is happening to you and capable of stopping your storm. He may not stop every storm and if He doesn’t, you can still find comfort knowing that He is in the storm with you!
Jesus is Lord over the physical and spiritual realm of earth. Everything, even nature, must bow to His Lordship. This is important to remember for later in the story!
When the boats arrive on the shore in Mark 5, a man comes running towards them, obviously out of his mind with demonic activity. His home is the graveyard, and even though it’s against the Jewish customs and rules, Jesus goes straight to the tombs to meet this man. The demons bow at His feet—even calling Him “Son of the most high God,” as they ask Jesus to not torment them. Jesus askes the man his name, and he responds “Legions,” which indicates thousands seeing as a Legion was a military term from the Roman army. Undaunted, Jesus commands the “Legion” out of the man, and the demons strangely ask if they can be placed in the pigs grazing on the hills nearby. Jesus and the pigs (2,000 of them) have a moment before He agrees to the request. A few things to note about pigs:
They’re smart. Some scholars say they are smarter than dogs and have a high capacity for helping humans and understanding loving interaction.
Pigs can swim! Pigs have been known to navigate deep waters with their ability to swim from place to place.
When Jesus allows the demons to go into the pigs, 2,000 of them rush to their death in the sea and drown. But here’s the truth…they could have swum if they wanted, but rather than allowing the demons to still have control of that territory, they chose to die a martyr’s death for the King—Jesus. When the herdsman saw this and told the people of the region what happened, they asked Jesus to leave the territory. The man who was formerly demon-possessed was in his right mind, begging Jesus to let him come with Him back to the other side. Instead, Jesus told him to go to his people and tell them the good news. This territory of the Decapolis was his, and he spoke his truth to anyone who would listen.
What’s YOUR Decapolis? What’s holding you back from spreading the Good News to YOUR people? Perhaps this is the territory Jesus wants you to take for the good of His kingdom.
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