A Year in Luke/ActsSample

We can compare verses 22–39 to Mark 5:1-20. In this passage, especially, geographical context is important. In Luke 8:22, Jesus said, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the lake.” This directive likely took the disciples by surprise, because “good” Jewish people didn’t typically travel to the Eastern side of the Sea of Galilee; they stayed on the Western side.

On the Western side of the Sea, you found the Synagogue, the “Torah side.” On the Eastern side, the region was known as the Decapolis, a Greco-Roman region of great darkness––to our modern ears, we might think of these as “Vegas cities.” Should we retreat from the darkness or engage with it? (For further reading: Krist McLelland, Luke in the Land (Nashville: Lifeway Press, 2024)).