READ MATTHEW 15:29-39!
So let's create the setting here for our passage. In the last few days, we have just witnessed some incredible things including the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus walking on water, Jesus teaching what comes out of the mouth defiles a man (You know that didn't go over well with the Pharisees), and Jesus healing a Gentile woman's demon possessed daughter.
So where were they?
On the map, you can find Tyre in the upper left corner on the border. This is where the healing of the Gentile's daughter took place. Now, when Jesus left there he headed to the Decapolis, which is the huge area you find on the right side (east of the Jordan.) Mark 7:31 says, "Again, departing from the region of Tyre and Sidon, He came through the midst of the region of Decapolis to the Sea of Galilee." Matthew 15:29 says, "Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there."
I said this in my VLOG last week. Every passage of scripture could really come alive to us if we know the details of the event. It becomes more than a story, but events in history that have come to shape our destiny!
The Decapolis was primarily populated by Gentiles in the time of Jesus' life and was largely pagan in religion. WE NEED TO GET THIS TO FULLY UNDERSTAND THE PASSAGE!!!! This location and people were unique to Jesus' ministry. It was an exception to his general focus because the ministry to Gentiles had not yet begun. In this passage, Jesus heals them and has COMPASSION on them when they are tired and hungry!
There are two main things I want to point out about the story of the feeding of 4,000. Jesus' ministry was not cookie cutter and will not fit into a religious box. He loved everyone....can I get an AMEN! He did not let men tell Him what He could do or whom He was allowed to minister to. He did not let race, religion, or any other thing stop him from finding and reaching out to the those who needed him. WE BETTER TAKE NOTE! Mark 2:17 tells us, "On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
The second is this, Jesus' disciples had just seen him feed 5,000, heal people, cast out demons, and walk on water.....with their own eyes........AND STILL, they doubted that He could do all things. Jesus fed 5,000 people but here they were worried about feeding even less. Matthew 15:33 says, "Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?” We can see amazing things in the Kingdom of God and still doubt. We must be on guard and pray against it. Doubt and unbelief can hinder what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives and through our lives!
The second is this, Jesus' disciples had just seen him feed 5,000, heal people, cast out demons, and walk on water.....with their own eyes........AND STILL, they doubted that He could do all things. Jesus fed 5,000 people but here they were worried about feeding even less. Matthew 15:33 says, "Then His disciples said to Him, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?” We can see amazing things in the Kingdom of God and still doubt. We must be on guard and pray against it. Doubt and unbelief can hinder what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives and through our lives!
In case you're curious, the last verse of the passage says that Jesus sent the multitude away, got in a boat, and went to Magdala. You will find this city on the west side of the Sea of Galilee, close to Capernaum!
I was all set for the VLOG and missed it tremendously! The geography lesson was great, however. You are so right in your assertion that we need to slow down as we read The Word and really get a feel for what was going on, where it took place, and who the immediate intended audience was. All scripture is "God-breathed". Every single account, no matter how seemingly minute and insignificant, was included in the Bible to "show us and grow us". Slow down and meditate on His word and GROW! I love your BLOG, Tera. It encourages me daily.
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