religion, but equally it could be of a trade organization or other body to which one belongs. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus was at this point in territory inhabited mainly by Gentiles. In fact, the territory was part of the Roman empire, part of the province of Syria. This is not expressly set out unless it is alluded to when the unclean spirit says his name is “Legion,” but he probably only means that the spirits are many. There may be no covert reference to the Roman army. Jesus meets a demoniac who lives in or among the tombs. The poor lunatic is therefore religiously and legally unclean because, of necessity, he overshadows corpses. This fact is not mentioned. Swine, including their mass suicide, are prominent in the episode. Pigs are notoriously unclean. Again this fact is not mentioned. There is no sign that Jesus became unclean under Jewish law. Having cured the demoniac, Jesus refuses to have him as a disciple. In Mark, the point of the episode is that Jesus’ message is not to the Gentiles. Law is not mentioned but it is all-pervasive. Indeed, it does not have to be mentioned, because its presence is known and is accepted as authoritative. A major facet of the Lecture is, of course, that law is everywhere but often not noticed. To give two contemporary everyday examples. First, sexual intercourse. Law is not at the forefront of the parties’ minds. But legally it may matter if your partner is someone else’s spouse, is under age though does not look it, if you are HIV positive, if your apparently happily willing partner is drunk enough to be incapable of consent, if you have oral sex (which until very recently was sodomy according to the law of Georgia). An equally everyday event is shopping in a supermarket. Is a tacit contract established when you enter the store? What liability is imposed, and on whom, if you drop a jar of pickles whose debris cause another customer to fall and be injured? Is the store liable if you pick
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