Daily Devotional for Thursday 18th April
Jesus drives out an impure spirit
We might think of the Galilee area as a northern backwater, far from the centre of the Jewish world in Jerusalem and its surrounding towns. But in fact, the area Jesus began His ministry in was a bustling centre of trade, sitting on the main trade route down the Jordan valley to the southern capital, Jerusalem. There were many towns and villages around the north and western sides of the great lake, including Tiberias, which was famous as a sort of ‘spa town’ with healing hot spring waters.
Capernaum, where today’s story happens, was smaller and is, by tradition, where Peter lived. Remains of two synagogues from Jesus’ time have been found there. All this is important, I think, because the stories of the Gospels are amazing and unique, and it’s easy to think of them as encouraging ‘parables’ but not really true. But they are set in the real world, and the stories are based on real memories of real people.
If you wondered why there are so many sick and disabled people around in the area – well, it was an area associated with healing – somewhere desperate people might head for, hoping for the miraculous from those hot springs. Or maybe it was seen as holy because it was a centre for Jewish teaching – one of just a small number dotted around Israel in the first century. But Mark doesn’t deviate from his main theme – even the demons recognise who Jesus is! But Jesus seems anxious to conceal the full truth from those around Him – He quickly silences the demon who has blurted out His true identity. Why? The only answer I can come up with is that the time was not right, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, for the full truth to be widely known. Perhaps Jesus needed to have the three years of His preaching and teaching ministry, before fully revealing Himself as the Son of God.
We, of course, know the full story:
See from His head, His hands, His feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down!
Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
