Forgotten Bread-Feeding of the 4000

Tempting Him. The verb is peirazomai (πειραζομαι). Its original meaning is “to put to the test to see what good or evil is in a thing or person.” Since mankind always failed under the test and exhibited evil, the word came to mean also “to tempt” in the sense of soliciting a person to do evil. The context here decides for the first meaning. The Pharisees were attempting to put our Lord to the test to see whether He was an impostor or what He claimed to be, the Messiah of Israel.

Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 159.

I. How tenacious the Jews were of their traditions, and how unmovable in them even beyond the evidence of miracles. That Eliezer was of great fame among them, but he was a follower of Shammai. Hence he is called once and again שמותי the Shammean. When, therefore, he taught something against the school of Hillel, although he did miracles (as they themselves relate), they gave no credit to him, nay, they derided him. The same was their practice, the same was their mind, against the miracles of Christ. And to this may these words of our Saviour tend, “Why does this generation seek a sign?” a generation, which is not only altogether unworthy of miracles, but also which is sworn to retain their traditions and doctrines, although infinite miracles be done to the contrary.

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Hittites

Amorites

Girgashites

Canaanites

Perizzites

Hivites

Jebusites

Each of these groups represented distinct peoples with their own cultures and religious practices. The command to drive them out was not only about clearing the land but also about establishing a new social and religious order under the covenant with God—a transformation intended to set the stage for the unique identity of Israel.

The listing of these nations underscores a broader theological message in the biblical narrative—that the land was to be transformed into a place set apart, with divine order and purity prevailing. While historical and archaeological studies continue to explore the identities and fates of these ancient groups, their mention in the Scriptures remains a powerful symbol of renewal and the fulfillment of divine promise

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Bargil Pixner, a noted scholar on Galilee (1), has pointed out an ancient religious tradition that helps clarify the Jewish view of the pagan Decapolis. He noted that in the Talmud and in the writings of the church fathers, the people of this area were described as belonging to the seven pagan Canaanite nations driven out of the Promised Land by Joshua and the Israelites (Josh. 3:10; Acts 13:19). These nations worshiped Baal and ate (and sacrificed) pigs (Isa. 65:3-5, 66:3).

Visit 1: Healing the Demoniac

Scripture: Mark 5:1–20, Matthew 8:28–34, Luke 8:26–39

Location: Region of the Gerasenes (in Decapolis)

Event: Jesus heals a man possessed by a legion of demons. The demons are cast into pigs, which then drown.

Response: The people of the region are afraid and ask Jesus to leave (Mark 5:17).

Mission: Jesus tells the healed man to go back to his people and declare what God has done for him (Mark 5:19).

Impact: The man evangelizes in Decapolis and spreads the word.

Timing: Early-mid Galilean ministry (after calming the storm on the Sea of Galilee).

Estimated Time Gap: 6 to 12 months

Visit 2: Healing and Feeding in Decapolis

Scripture: Mark 7:31–7:37, Matthew 15:29–31, Mark 8:1–10

Location: Decapolis region (specific towns not named)

Event: Jesus heals a deaf and mute man and many others. Then He feeds 4,000 men plus women and children.

Response: This time, the people are welcoming and bring the sick to Him for healing.

Result: They glorify the God of Israel (Matt. 15:31).

Supporting Events Between Visits:

Jesus feeds the 5,000 (Mark 6)

Walks on water

Teaches on defilement (Mark 7:1–23)

Ministers in Tyre and Sidon

Summary:

First Visit: Met with fear and rejection

Second Visit: Met with faith and enthusiasm

Reason for change: Likely due to the healed man's powerful testimony throughout Decapolis (Mark 5:20)

Lesson: Personal witness can prepare a region for revival.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary 7:31–32

Some people there begged Jesus to place His hand (cf. 5:23) on a man who was deaf and could hardly talk (mogilalon, “speaking with difficulty”). This rare word occurs only here and in the Septuagint of

Paul was on his way to damascus to persecute believers of the way. Christanity must have exploded in the area of the decapolis

Mark Hearing and Speaking (7:31–37)

Within a Jewish context the miracles produced praise for God and questions about who Jesus was. In this Gentile context, however, the miracles produced only praise for Jesus. The phrase kept talking about it (7:36) is a weak translation. The Greek text does not say that the crowd went on talking about Jesus’ praise. It reports that they proclaimed it. This is the same word used consistently in earlier parts of the Gospel to describe Jesus’ preaching. He had proclaimed the kingdom of God. Now the Gentiles were proclaiming him.

The distinction between Jesus as the messenger and Jesus as the message is important, but it is not always easy to make. In general terms this distinction is preserved when Jesus is on Jewish soil, but as early as 1:28 people began to spread the news about him. By the time Mark describes the healing of the Gerasene demoniac, the line between messenger and message has clearly been crossed. Jesus instructed that man to spread the word about what the Lord had done, but the man broadcast the news about what Jesus had done for him (5:20). By the end of the healing of the deaf man, Jesus has become the message. From this point onward, the message and the messenger are indistinguishable. The relationship is so close that it is best described in these terms: where Jesus is the kingdom of God is.