15: Galilee

. . . he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. And he had to pass through Samaria.
John 4:3-4

Why is Jesus compelled to go through Samaria? Consider Matthew 15:24–27:

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Jesus did not consider the Samaritan woman Jewish:

You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
John 4:22

It is possible Jesus wanted to spread the Gospel among the Samaritans, but it seems odd that this would be his only reason, given the passages above. Jesus—being God—could be spreading the Gospel in an unconventional place while also achieving another goal. One intriguing possibility is illustrated in this map.

There were two common routes from Judea to Galilee:

  • The shorter, more direct, red-dashed line via Samaria.
  • The longer, orange line via Jericho, up the east side of the Jordan Valley, and then crossing back over the Jordan River at the edge of the Decapolis into Galilee.

Josephus states the shorter route through Samaria took about three days:

. . .for Samaria was already under the Romans, and it was absolutely necessary for those that go quickly [to Jerusalem] to pass through that country; for in that road you may, in three days’ time go from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Josephus Life, Book 7, §269

For some time, at least, it was common for Jews to pass along this road between Galilee and Judea:

Now there arose a quarrel between the Samaritans and the Jews on the occasion following:—It was the custom of the Galileans, when they came to the holy city at the festivals, to take their journeys through the country of the Samaritans; and at this time there lay, in the road they took, a village that was called Ginea, which was situated in the limits of Samaria and the great plain, where certain persons thereto belonging fought with the Galileans, and killed a great many of them.
Josephus Antiquities, Book 20, Chapter 6, §118

Josephus does not indicate when this took place, only that it did so “in the past,” so Samaria might not have been so open to Jews, particularly Galileans, during the time of Jesus as it might have been just prior to the time of Christ.

Regardless of whether common Jews would travel the route via Samaria, pious Jews—Pharisees in particular—would not. While Gentiles were considered unclean, Samaritans were considered “even more unclean” because of their habits in eating and prayer, which differed from strict Pharisaical practice.

If Jesus wanted to travel between Judea and Galilee without being under the Pharisees’ watchful eyes, the path through Samaria would be ideal—especially if he befriended the Samaritans, who could ensure no word leaked out about his travels.

Beyond spreading the Gospel among the Samaritans—something Jesus declared, in other places, to be outside his mission—Jesus is also “creating space” he can use in the future. While we tend to think of everything Jesus does as purely spiritual, we will find there are many times when Jesus deals with the practical matters of running a religious movement in an often hostile land.

A second question arises because of his destination: why Galilee?

Consider the map above again. Everything shown on this map, other than the Decapolis, was originally under the control of Herod the Great—but when he died, Rome split his Kingdom into four parts, one for each of his children:

  • A northern part was given to Philip
  • Perea and Galilee were given to Antipas (called Herod Antipas)
  • Judea was given to Herod Archelaus
  • A small portion along the coast was given to Salome (not shown on this map)

Around 6 years after Jesus was born, the Roman Emperor decided Herod Archelaus was unfit to rule, so he converted Judea to direct Roman rule through a Procurator.

Why does this history matter? Imagine you are Philip or Antipas. While you serve as king over a small piece of territory at the pleasure of the Roman Emperor, you are going to:

  • Hate Roman rule. The land of Israel, by rights, should be completely under your control.
  • Hate your brother, who rules over some part of the land you hold should right be yours.
  • Particularly hate the Procurator who rules over Judea, as this usurps your family’s rule.

If you had just made the Temple’s rules angry by, say, cleansing the Temple, but you wanted to remain in Israel proper, where would you go? You would go to some part of Israel not directly controlled by Rome. Working in this area would offer at least some protection from Judea’s Roman ruler.

Further, Judea was considered somewhat cosmopolitan. Perhaps not as cosmopolitan as the ten Greek-style Roman cities being built in the Decapolis, but more than the back woods of Galilee. The back woods of Galilee, however, had a much higher concentration of Jews—and even religious Jews—than Judea.

The Sadducees, who were very attached to Greek culture (even to the point of undergoing operations to reverse their circumcision), would concentrate in Judea, particularly around Jerusalem and along Herod’s coastal cities. The Sadducees also just happened to be part of the Jewish ruling class who supported the money changers in the Temple, and a Sadducee held the office of Chief Priest.

Thus, by moving the center of his ministry to Galilee, Jesus accomplished three things while building his ministry:

  • Avoiding the ire and interest of the Roman Procurator
  • Avoiding the watchful eyes of the Sadducees
  • Working among a higher density of Jews who would be more likely to be interested in his message

For some time, then, Jesus could build his ministry relatively freely.

We should never underrate Jesus’ many miracles, nor that he is God. We should also never underestimate his humanness and ability to use worldly situations to achieve his ends without resorting to miracles.