Was Jesus in the Golan Heights?

Golan was an important city in Old Testament times, some 17 miles east of the Sea of Kinnereth (Galilee). Around 80 BC it was destroyed by one of the priest-kings of the Maccabee era, and it never regained its former status. However, the high ground between Golan and Galilee inherited its name as the Golan Heights, or simply "The Golan." Today the Heights are mapped to extend to Mount Hermon far to the north, but for the purpose of this article I'll be considering only that land east of the Sea of Galilee.

Did Jesus Ever Visit the Golan Heights?

Approaching Sussita (Hippos) in the Golan Heights

The answer to the question is YES, more than one visit. Jesus' first encounter with the people of the Golan Heights was across the Sea of Galilee by boat, when in the Autumn of AD 28 he was met by two demon-oppressed men on the eastern shore, one of whom who was afflicted by a whole legion of demons.

Jesus' encounter was probably below the city of Sussita (Aramaic for Horse), also called Hippos (Latin for Horse), near the southerly end of the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus and his disciples remained near the shoreline for less than a week, likely doing some fishing for food. The steep slopes remind us of the swine who rushed into the sea, although there are no steep cliffs at water's edge.

Here's a view of Sussita from above. Jesus did not climb up into the city on the heights itself, but its residents came down to Jesus to ask him and his disciples (politely) to leave the area. Sussita was a Roman colony, one of the ten cities of the Decapolis, and this business of casting out demons made them uncomfortable indeed. Jesus complied with their request, but this was not to be Jesus' last visit to The Golan.

Fast forward to April 17, AD 29. This was the day of Passover, but in Jerusalem there was an arrest warrant out for Jesus, who was looking for some respite for himself and his disciples. Instead of travelling to Jerusalem, he elected to travel by boat again to the eastern shore of the lake, not so far south as Sussita this time. He and his disciples climbed up into one of the lush, grassy valleys of The Golan to rest for a while.

But the residents of Galilee had seen them depart, and they followed them along the shore and up into the Heights. Jesus ended up celebrating Passover by feeding some 5,000 men plus their families, starting with five loaves of bread and two fish.

Location of Gamla, northeast of the Sea of Galilee

Still looking for that much-needed vacation, Jesus went farther this time, walking to the Great Sea (the Mediterranean) and its port cities of Tyre and Sidon. Even that far away, one of the local women found Jesus and pestered him until he cured her daughter. Rested, Jesus and his disciples returned by an easterly route, passing through the area of Gamla, in the territory of Herod Philip.

One of the springs in the Golan Heights

Turning south from there, Jesus bypassed Bethsaida and continued down the eastern shore until he was again in the territory of the Decapolis, although none of the  Ten Towns themselves were situated quite this far north in The Golan.

Nevertheless, Jesus picked up a crowd again from Bethsaida on the north shore and even from as far away as Capernaum on the northwest shore. Jesus was in a mostly "desolate" place, where there was no village that was large enough to support a market where they could buy food.

But, of course, this was Jesus. His disciples came up with seven loaves of bread and a few fish, and again Jesus fed a multitude of 4,000 men plus women and children. The people were satisfied and the disciples collected seven baskets of leftovers.

Altogether therefore, Jesus visited The Golan at least three times. It is may be that he and his disciples were there a fourth time, even as far as ancient Golan itself on the eastern edge of the heights, 17 miles from the sea of Galilee.

Although there were not significant towns or cities besides Sussita on The Golan, there were always small villages scattered on its rich farm and pasturelands. Jewish outposts were always here or there, and some of them were large enough to boast of a synagogue, such as the one above. (This one is from the 7th century AD, built on the ruins of another synagogue of the 6th or 5th century.)

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