JESUS GOES TO THE OTHER SIDE

MARK 4:35–5:20

Given Jesus’s attention to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt. 10:6; 15:24), first-century Jews might well presume that God’s Kingdom would be composed of Jewish citizens living within the old borders of David’s kingdom. But that was not to be the case. Jesus was bringing a much different Kingdom—a Kingdom that would encompass God’s entire creation and put an end to Satan’s fraudulent rule (1 John 3:8; Rev. 21:24, 26). We get a look at the power of the Kingdom of God as Jesus goes to overthrow Satan’s control of the other side of the Sea of Galilee (Mark 5:1–20).

With evening approaching and a full day of teaching behind him, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side” (Mark 4:35). The other side was local jargon for the east side of the Sea of Galilee. But there was more to it than that, for the other side was not only on a different side of the lake, it literally was the other side both spiritually and culturally.12

The other side was thoroughly invested in the idolatry of Hellenism that permeated the cities of the Decapolis. These cities, located mostly east of the Sea of Galilee and Jordan River, were showplaces for Greek and Roman architecture and culture. Their populations were largely composed of Gentiles who were part of the Greco-Roman culture of the day.13 It was not just in the cities but also in the agricultural fields around those cities where the influence of Gentile culture was felt. Here one could raise herds of pigs numbering in the thousands (Mark 5:13), because the Jewish prohibition on pork was not observed on the other side. Moreover, the Gospel writers tell of a man possessed by multiple demons living among the tombs, terrorizing all who came near. In contrast to Jewish communities on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, the other side was intimately linked to Satan and his kingdom.

Mosaic discovered at Magdala (first century AD), illustrating a boat used for sailing into the deep water of the Sea of Galilee.

Eastern shoreline of the Sea of Galilee near Gergesa.

When Jesus and the disciples traveled to the other side, they were going to the side of the lake where Satan’s grasp was firm. As Jesus’s boat traveled east across the lake, a furious squall (associated with the eastern wind known in Arabic as a sharkia)14 arose, threatening to drive Jesus away from the east side of the lake (Mark 4:37–41). The windstorm filled the boat with water and Jesus’s disciples with fear. In a panic, they awakened Jesus, who seemed to have surrendered all control of the boat to the squall even though he was near the rudder. Jesus knew exactly what he was doing and calmed the wind, quieted the sea, and let Satan know that the Kingdom of God had come to the other side.

Roman coin with the image of a running boar, which was the symbol of the Tenth Roman Legion (LXF).
© Dr. James C. Martin. The Rockefeller Museum, Jerusalem.

Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee for a reason. When he arrived on the other side, a man possessed by a legion of demons approached him. The demons pleaded with Jesus to be allowed to enter a nearby herd of pigs. Jesus agreed, and those pigs ran down the steep slope of the hillside and drowned in the Sea of Galilee. Two important pieces of information throw light on the significance of this event: in general pigs are buoyant and therefore good swimmers; and at the time, the “running boar” was a symbol of the Roman tenth legion that controlled the other side.

Thus the demons’ request was a ruse. If the adversary could not prevent the King from coming to the other side to proclaim God’s Kingdom, at least the demons could attempt to discredit the King by entering the mascot of the Roman legion (i.e., the running boar) and destroying the financial base of the local population. Initially, the enemy appeared successful as people in the surrounding areas came to Jesus and asked him to leave. But this was not the case, for Jesus had demonstrated the rescuing power of God and his authority over the adversary, Roman military conquerors, and the ritually defiled economy of those who lived on the other side.

Gadara, Gerasa, and Gergesa