THE OTHER SIDE

Mark 4:35 (NIV), That day when evening came, [Jesus] said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” (See Matthew 8:28-34; Luke 8:26-40)

Jesus’ ministry was exploding. The crowds were huge. Expectations were building. There was a “buzz” in the air, when all of a sudden Jesus dropped a bomb. He looked at his disciples and said, “Okay… Let’s go to the other side.”

Jesus was referring to an area known as the Decapolis. It’s a Greek word that means “10 cities.” For a first century Jew, this was “enemy territory.” Jews were a minority in the Decapolis. The population was basically made up of Gentiles.

In Capernaum, Jesus basically has “home field” advantage. His popularity is on the rise. He is surging in the latest opinion polls. When, out of nowhere, he looks at his disciples and says, “Let’s go to the Decapolis.” In other words, “Let’s move from ministering to people who look, act and think basically like me and you, and let’s reach out to people who live on the other side.”

The Decapolis represented everything Israel was not. It was filled with pagan temples that featured cults that reveled in sexuality, sensuality, violence and death.

First century Jews regarded “the other side” as the place where Satan lived. They believed it to be a dark, evil and demonic place. Nobody ever intentionally went to “the other side.” At least, no self-respecting rabbi… I mean, a rabbi willingly going to “the other side” would be like Billy Graham hanging out for a week in Las Vegas or Amsterdam.

That’s one of the things that's so COOL about Jesus. He loved defying expectations! He didn’t care about protocol. He didn’t care about propriety. He cared about PEOPLE. So even when his ministry was drawing huge crowds, he had the disciples to pack it all in and go to “the other side.”

“What happened when he reached the other side?”

According to Mark 5:1-2, when “…they arrived at the other side of the lake… Just as Jesus was climbing out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit ran out of the cemetery to meet him. “

This guy was the “poster child” for Demons R Us. He lived in a graveyard. He couldn’t be restrained, even with chains. He was completely out of control. He had lost his grip on reality. He had become a serial “flasher” with no respect for anyone, especially himself. All day long and throughout the night, this guy wandered around the tombs naked, screaming and hitting himself with rocks…

Jesus left “standing room only” crowds in Capernaum only to arrive in the Decapolis, and be met by ONE GUY who was completely out of his mind. Logically, it just doesn’t make sense. Add GRACE, it makes perfect sense.

This extra from the Exorcist comes at Jesus screaming and shrieking: “Why are you bothering me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Don’t torture me.”

Jesus calmly looked at the guy and said, “What is your name?” “…the spirit replied, ‘Legion, because there are many of us here inside this man.’” (Mark 5:9-10)

At this point does anybody feel like we’re in an episode of The Twilight Zone?

This guy was totally “whacked out.” He was under the control of demon influence. He was a shell of the guy he had once been. His fling with Satan had cost him everything: his sanity, his family and his personal dignity.

Here’s the USA Today version of what happened next. Jesus spoke and the man was set free… The demons that had been controlling this man take up residence in a herd of pigs and drive the pigs to suicide. Yeah, that’s really in the Bible.

But, the real news is what happened to the guy… What happened to this man who lived on “the other side”? I love this part of the story.

“People went out to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had been sent, sitting there at Jesus’ feet, wearing decent clothes and making sense. It was a holy moment, and for a short time they were more reverent than curious.” (Luke 8:35, The Message)

Wow! No more chains… No flurry and fury… No screams and shrieks… Just PEACE, REVERENCE and WORSHIP… Talk about a transformation! This guy’s life was completely revolutionized all because one guy was wiling to go to “the other side.”

What about you? Where is “the other side” for you? Maybe it’s across the street. Maybe it’s across town. Maybe it’s “across the tracks.” Maybe it’s across the office. Maybe it’s down the hall.

Unlike Jesus, most of us opt for safe, neat, static lives, surrounded by people who look like us, talk like us, think like us and act like us… We’re afraid that if we get up close and personal to irreligious people that somehow their values, beliefs and behaviors will rub off on us…

I’m glad Jesus didn’t think like we think – like I think… Not at all!

This wasn’t Jesus’ first or biggest trip to “the other side.” For that, you’ve got to go back a little further to a time with the Son of God himself – ultimate purity, holiness and righteousness – left the glory He experienced with the Father for all eternity, took upon himself a body of flesh, was born of a virgin Jewish mother, lived, grew and walked and talked among us…

For whatever reason, Jesus thought that you and I were worth a trip to “the other side.” Our redemption was that important to Him.

Maybe, just maybe, that can motivate and inspire you and me the next time we rub shoulders with somebody who doesn’t look like us, talk like us, act like us or believe like us… Maybe we can extend the same grace to them that God extended to us…

Want to reach out to people on “the other side”? Here are a few simple actions you can take:

• Love and Accept People Unconditionally.

Love people right where they are. No strings attached.

• Serve Someone Sacrificially.

Steve Sjogren writes, “…the simple power of kindness, small acts down with great love, can turn the church inside out.”


I love these words written by Steve Camp several years ago:

“Some people want to live within the sound of chapel bells
But I want to run a mission a yard from the gate of hell
And with everyone you meet, take the gospel and share it well
Look around you as you hesitate, another soul just fell
Let’s run to the battle!” ~ Steve Camp, Run To The Battle


Maybe it's time the church does what Jim Morrison and the Doors sang about several decades ago: "Break on through to other side..."


Worth Checking Out:

No Perfect People Allowed by John Burke

Run To The Battle by Steve Camp from the CD, "The Definitive Collection" or "Doing My Best"

Divine Nobodies by Jim Palmer