Day 08 - Golan Heights: Gamla, Caesarea Philippi, Omrit

Gamla

Our morning began in Gamla, which was the main city of the Zealots. This Jewish sect adhered closely to the Torah and was known for acts of violence against any opposition. Simon and Judas were both Zealots.

Gamla is situated on top of a mountain overlooking a valley with two waterfalls. Traversing the steep, rocky road was worth it when we reached Gamla’s synagogue. We know that Jesus went to all the synagogues along the Galilee, so we once again walked where Jesus walked (Matthew 4:23, 9:35, Luke 4:44).

Rome invaded Gamla in 67 AD and pushed the Zealots to the very top of their mountain where most of them plunged to their deaths. We sat in a hard place with a terrible memory and resisted the urge to rush in with easy answers or simple lessons. This openness provided the freedom for people to share painful stories from their own lives.

Caesarea Philippi

We hiked back to the bus and rode to a beautiful spot with trees, water, and a cool breeze. After lunch, we walked a short distance to the 1st-century Temple of Pan, which features intricate carvings on a sheer rock face.

To the left of Pan’s temple is a huge gaping chasm in the rock that was called the “Gates of Hades.” On the right side was a temple to Augustus and another to Zeus. This was obviously a hotbed of different pagan religions.

We climbed part way up the rock and sat down in a level space. Then we read Matthew 16:13-20, which begins, “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi,”. Woah! How many times have we skipped right over that? We took a minute to imagine Jesus in this pagan place.

The passage continues with Peter declaring that Jesus is the Messiah. Then Jesus says, “On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” Reading these verses in context brought new depths of meaning to this well-known passage.

Omrit

Our last stop of the day was at a recently uncovered 1st-century building. It seems to be an office that travelers would pass through on their way to Damascus. The tradition at the time was that people had to declare their allegiance to Caesar at these types of border patrol spots.

So, Paul likely passed through there and then a short while later had a vision of Jesus again asking about his allegiance (see Acts 9)!