In Matthew 8, Mark 5, and Luke 8 we have parallel accounts of Jesus’ healing of a demon-possessed man on the shore of Galilee. He commanded the demons to go into a herd of swine who then ran down a steep hill to their death in the sea.
The site of this miracle has been a matter of debate in recent years. Early Christians clearly identified the site as el-Kursi, which was later known by its Greek name, Gerasa or Gergasa (see Matthew 8:28). The name was prophetic since it means “the dwelling place of those who had been driven out”. Writers in the fifth century and later referred to a Christian church which had been built at the miracle site.
At the time of the Arab conquest (seventh century) the church was destroyed and eventually all traces of it were gone. Consequently, there has been much confusion as to the exact location of the miracle site. Scholars involved in Holy Land studies in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries named several locations as possibilities.
After the 1948 Jewish War of Independance, the el-Kursi district was turned into a military area and a Syrian security village was established there. During the Six-Day War in 1967, the village took an active part in the hostilities and was almost completely destroyed. Following the Six-Day War, the area was again opened to civilians.
Early in 1970, while building a road through el-Kursi, bulldozers unearthed pieces of pottery near the destroyed village. Israeli archaeologists were immediately notified. After examing the site they found that the destroyed village stood on a Byzantine site whose remains were almost invisible on the surface.
In July and August of 1970, a relief excavation was carried out by the Department of Antiquities and Museums and the Military Government. The excavators soon found the remains of a fortified monastery dating to the fifth century. Of the several monastery structures, only the church, which stands at the center of the compound, has been examined. The rooms of the church were found to have beautifully colored mosaic floors. While cleaning one of
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Map of the El-Kursi area
the floors in preparation for photographing, a stone slab with an iron ring at its center was noticed. When the slab was raised, the archaeologists found a magnificent crypt, in a perfect state of preservation. About 30 skeletons were found in the crypt. All were male and their average age of death was 40, which was relatively old. Since it was an all-male tomb, it is believed that it was for the monks of the monastery.
With the discovery of the monastery, Israeli archaeologists are certain that they have found the site of Christ’s miracle. The ruins of the city of Jesus’ day lie about a quarter of a mile west of the monastery, on the shore of the lake. It is yet to be excavated, but remains from the Roman
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period have been identified in the area. Structures were also found along the shore which indicate that the inhabitants of the city made their living by fishing.
Just south of the ruins of the city is a very steep hill running down to the edge of the sea. This is undoubtedly the slope the swine ran down.
“And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought Him that He would suffer them to enter into them. And He suffered them. Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked. When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Jesus, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind: and they were afraid.. .. Now the man out of whom the devils were departed besought Him that he might be with Him: but Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to thine own house, and shew how great things God hath done unto thee. And he went his way, and published throughout the whole city how great things Jesus had done unto him.” (Luke 8:32–35, 38–39).
In this account we have a beautiful illustration of how a person becomes a Christian. Jesus approaches a sinner under the control of Satan. The sinner asks Jesus to remove the evil from his life. Jesus casts the sin out and sends it to the bottom of the sea, never to be remembered again (Micah 7:19). The sinner, clothed in the righteousness of Christ (Revelation 19:8) and in his right mind, then has the joy of sitting at the feet of Jesus. Finally, he is commissioned to go forth and tell others of the great things Jesus has done for him (Mark 16:15).
Has this been your experience? If not, why not invite Christ into your life today.
(CHRISTIAN NEWS FROM ISRAEL, Vol. XXII, No. 2 (6), 1971)
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