Smoodock's Blog

Matthew 19 begins Jesus final journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. However, it would be wrong to believe he left at this time to travel to Judea to be crucified. As we shall see, Jesus left Galilee in time to celebrate, first the Feast of Dedication, otherwise known as Hanukkah, which comes in early winter, during the final days of Kislev, the ninth month in the Jewish calendar. After this, Jesus remained near Judea without returning to Galilee. The next time he traveled to Jerusalem was to celebrate the Feast of Purim, which comes in the twelfth month of the Jewish calendar or late winter. Purim is celebrated in the middle of the month, the 14^th and 15^th of Adar. This is one full month before the Passover, when Jesus was crucified.

Therefore, we need to ask, where Jesus spent his time between Hanukkah and Purim, and where he spent those three or four weeks between Purim and Passover. We’ll see that Jesus was very active during these three months, but we need to pay close attention to the wording of the Synoptics and John’s Gospel to figure out what exactly happened and when. Consider for example, both Matthew and Mark tell us that Jesus left Galilee and traveled to Jerusalem by way of the far side of the Jordan, vis-à-vis the east side of the Jordan River (Matthew 19:1; Mark 10:1). Yet, Luke has Jesus and his disciples leaving the midst of Galilee and entering Samaria, which is west of the Jordan River (Luke 17:11-12). How are these scriptures reconciled? This is what I hope to do in this study.

Actually, when Jesus left Galilee for the final time, it was to celebrate Hanukkah (John 10:22), and, according to Luke, he passed through Samaria (Luke 17:11-12). Remember, the Jewish authorities at Jerusalem wanted to arrest him prior to celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles (John 7:1). When he went up to Jerusalem, he did so in secret (John 7:10). During the final days of the Feast, he healed a man born blind (John 9:1, 11, 30-34), and afterwards returned to Galilee (Mark 9:30).[1] Therefore, the next time Jesus left for Jerusalem was to celebrate the Feast of Dedication or Hanukkah (John 10:22), and he did so by passing through Samaria (Luke 17:11-12).

During the Feast of Dedication, Jesus once again got in trouble with the Jewish authorities, and they wished to kill him (John 10:30-31, 39). However, he left Judea and journeyed to Bethabara on the other side of the Jordan River, where John had first baptized (John 10:40; cp. John 1:28). Therefore, both Matthew and Mark have Jesus leaving Galilee (Matthew 19:1 and Mark 10:1), but the second part of each verse has Jesus coming to Jerusalem from the other side of the Jordan River. If we take Luke 17:11 and John 10:40 into consideration, Jesus went from Galilee to Jerusalem through Samaria to celebrate the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), and retreated to Bethabara on the other side of the Jordan, and it was here that the multitudes followed him and he healed them of their diseases (Matthew 19:2; John 10:40-42).

A few months later he left Bethabara for Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Purim (second parts of Matthew 19:1 & Mark 10:1). Afterwards, it seems he returned to Bethabara or someplace nearer Jerusalem than Galilee, because Lazarus got sick. A message was delivered to Jesus to return quickly, because he was dying (John 11:1, 3). Nevertheless, Jesus remained where he was (John 11:6) for two days. After arriving in Bethany, Lazarus was in the grave for four days, meaning Jesus was about 20 to 25 miles away when he was asked to come to heal Lazarus. It would take 2 days to travel 20 to 25 miles on foot on good terrain. Capernaum was about 85 miles from Jerusalem or about a 6 to 7 days journey on foot and on good terrain, meaning he could not have returned to Galilee after celebrating the Fest of Purim, and for about 3 months he had been living in or near Bethabara, which is in Peraea, just outside the realm of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem, lying east of and between Galilee and Jerusalem. Once he raised Lazarus from the dead, the Jewish authorities sought Jesus’ life once more (John 11:45-53). Therefore, Jesus retired to the city of Ephraim just north of Jerusalem, about a day’s journey by foot. It was from Ephraim that Jesus made his final journey to Jerusalem (John 11:54).

[1] We know that Jesus was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles at this time, vis-à-vis when Jesus was transfigured before three of his disciples (Matthew 17:1-2; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28-29); see my studies: Was It Six Days or Eight Days; and The New Worldview of the Messiah. A day later, while still in Jerusalem, Jesus healed a man’s son, who was suffering from epilepsy (Mark 9:18). After this, Jesus and his disciple journeyed to Galilee (Mark 9:30, 33).