To recap and set the stage for the 1st Century A.D. in Bethsaida: Geshur was destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in 732B.C., and lay basically abandoned for the next 300+ years. Following the invasion of Alexander the Great in 332B.C. the area was repopulated and Bethsaida was rebuilt, although on a smaller scale.
It was a fully gentile town until the time of the Jewish revolt against the Greeks and the establishment of an independent Jewish state under the Hasmonean family (approx. 140B.C. – 40B.C.). At that time and then under the rule of Herod the Great, the town became a mixed Jewish and Gentile town. It was ultimately incorporated into the Roman region of the Decapolis, which was primarily a Gentile area east of the Jordan.
This was the situation when Jesus began His ministry. Archaeological evidence (such as types of animal bones that indicate some families eating kosher, and cultic objects that indicate pagan worship) shows signs of both faithful Jewish inhabitants and clearly pagan gentile inhabitants.
So, Bethsaida became a bridge between Jesus’ ministry to the Jews and His ultimate plan for the salvation of Gentiles too. Perhaps His choice of at least 3 of His apostles underscores this. John 1:44 tells us that Philip, Andrew, and Simon Peter were from Bethsaida, and indeed their names are Greek not Hebrew. It is also possible that James and John, the sons of Zebedee were from Bethsaida, but this is less clear.
Bethsaida as a bridge for Jesus’ salvation of the Gentiles, can also be seen in the miracle of Jesus’ Feeding of the 4,000 found in Mark 8:1-10. The Feeding of the 5,000 was the miracle and promise of salvation for the Jews, but the Feeding of the 4,000 was for the Gentiles. It likely happened on the plain near Bethsaida in the Decapolis region. And the in-gathering of the 7 baskets of left over fragments refers to the idea expressed in Acts 13:16-19 that there were 7 Gentile nations in the land before the conquest under Joshua, as well as being the number for the whole creation and completeness. Jesus is telling the Gentiles, that the in-gathering for salvation is for them too.
Bethsaida was an important place for Jesus during His ministry, and He seemed to have spent a fair amount of time there. Mark 8:22-26 tells us that He healed a blind man there. And after Jesus sent the apostles out on their first solo missions, Luke 9:10 tells us that He took them to Bethsaida to ‘de-brief’ and rest.
However, this was also one of the cities in the northern Galilee area that Jesus cursed in Matthew 11:21 and Luke 10:13 for their hardness of heart and refusal to believe, even in the face of His “mighty works.”
Digging around, mucking about, and generally hanging out in the same dirt and stones that Jesus did…pretty splendid!
Interesting way to think about it, which then brings to my imagination, when you compress the dirt in your hands and let it run between your fingers what does it feel like? When you close your eyes and put it up to your nose, what does it smell like? For a moment I am transported back, and if I press in, I can hear the sounds of people walking, speaking in a language which to me would be foreign, but the laughter is the same. Yes it is pretty splendid!
Barb