Explore › Pilgrims › Beyond the Jordan: the baptism site and Mount Nebo › Jerash, ancient Gerasa
Beyond the Jordan: the baptism site and Mount Nebo · Stop 10 · Day 3
Jerash, ancient Gerasa
600 m above sea level
In the Bible
Mark tells of a man healed across the lake who then told throughout the Decapolis what Jesus had done; crowds from the Decapolis followed Jesus.
On the other side of the sea, they arrived in the region of the Gerasenes. As soon as Jesus got out of the boat, He was met by a man with an unclean spirit, who was coming from the tombs.So the man went away and began to proclaim throughout the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone was amazed.The large crowds that followed Him came from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.Tradition
Many manuscripts of Mark and Luke call the region that of the Gerasenes, after this city; but Gerasa lies far from the lake, so the place of the healing is sought on the shore, at Gadara or at Kursi.
Here today
One of the best-kept Roman cities of the Decapolis: an oval plaza, a colonnaded street, theatres and Byzantine churches with mosaic floors.
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Land outlines: Natural Earth (public domain).