What are you doing here?

Matthew 8:28-34

I wonder what Jesus was doing there in the first place? The place this story occurs is in Gentile territory. Jesus didn't intend to do any ministry among the gentiles. Although, there are a few instances where He does interact with them, He didn't seek them out. So why is He there? I get the feeling that He was trying to get away from things for a while. It makes sense really. Everyday, people are pestering him for healings and such. All that teaching and miracles. Sometimes a guy just needs to get away. Where better to go than a place where they don't really know who you are and probably don't care that much.

It always seems kind of odd to project these sort of things onto Jesus. I think somewhere inside, I see Jesus as robotic, going about His business without the frustrations and tiredness I think I would experience. But these stories, they help to fill out the reality of who Jesus is. These are the kinds of things you wouldn't necessarily be looking for, but would expect to find in an account of someone's life. I'm glad these details are included. Obviously, the writer intended the casting out of the demons to be the focus, but the surrounding story adds some significant light on Jesus as well.

I was thinking about what Jesus would have meant to those gentiles in that area. Jesus does have universal appeal, to be sure. The centurion and others came to Jesus because of the miracles He could do. But much of what Jesus was about, being the Messiah, wouldn't have mattered to gentiles. "What's a Messiah?" might have been their response. Jesus makes much more sense in the context of the Jewish people. God had prepared the context ahead of time for the Jews to understand what He was about and why He was there and what He was to accomplish. It just emphasizes the important of context on how we see the world and understand it. It is our worldview that shapes the way we see things. The gentiles wouldn't have understood what Jesus was all about in the same way that the Jews would have. He was (is) no less important to them, but their understanding of Him would have been different.