You’re the Defender of the weak, You comfort those in need, You lift us up, on wings like eagles…

Jesus’ Ministry in the Decapolis

Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there. Mark 7:31-37 – Please Turn in Your Bibles

Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people. The news about Him spread throughout all Syria…

and they brought to Him all who were ill, those suffering with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, paralytics; and He healed them. Large crowds followed Him from Galilee and the Decapolis and Jerusalem and Judea and from beyond the Jordan.

When He came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes (Gadara), two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass by that way.

The Decapolis included ten cities that were in a league and were authorized by the Romans to mint their own coins, run their own courts, and have their own armies. This was predominantly Gentile territory. Warren Wiersbe

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Gadara theater from top

Gadara basilica

Gadara Decumanus

Gadara shops along street

Gerasa oval plaza

Gerasa Triumphal Arch of Hadrian

Gerasa oval plaza and hippodrome from north

Gerasa theater with scena frons

Gerasa Cardo from theater

Gerasa view of city from theater

Gerasa Cardo

Gerasa entrance to Temple of Artemis

Gerasa Temple of Artemis

Amman theater from acropolis

Amman acropolis from east

The Gospel According to Matthew

God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert…

Thus says God the LORD, Who created the heavens and stretched them out…”I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I will also hold you by the hand and watch over you, and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

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"I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat.”

When Jesus heard this (faith of the centurion), he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

"Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?"

So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.

The Greek word spyridas describes baskets made of rushes that the Gentiles used to carry fish and other food. In 14:20 the disciples used kophinous, baskets the Jews used to carry kosher food, at least in Rome. This is another clue that the audience here was mainly Gentile. Tom Constable

Feeding 5,000Feeding 4,000 Primarily JewsPrimarily Gentiles Galilee, near BethsaidaThe Decapolis 5 loaves, 2 fish7 loaves, “a few fish” 12 baskets over7 baskets over Crowd with Him 1 dayCrowd with Him 3 days Spring of year (green grass)Summer season Tried to make Him KingNo popular response Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Mt 15:21). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

But Jesus, aware of this, said, "You men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread? "Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up? "Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up?

Please Turn to 1 Corinthians 11:23-30