Perea · Region east of the Jordan River (western modern Jordan)
Shortly before his death, Jesus ministered in Perea beyond the Jordan, healing a woman crippled for 18 years and a man with dropsy.
Background
Perea (Greek for 'the land beyond') was the name given in New Testament times to the large region east of the Jordan River and north of the Dead Sea. In the first century it was governed by Herod Antipas and inhabited mainly by Jews. Near the end of his ministry Jesus left Galilee and traveled 'through the region beyond the Jordan' (Matt 19:1), moving south through the villages of Perea toward Jerusalem. On a Sabbath in a synagogue he saw a woman who for 18 years had been bent double and unable to straighten up. He laid his hands on her and she instantly straightened up and began glorifying God (Luke 13:10-17). On another Sabbath, at the house of a leading Pharisee, he healed a man with dropsy and asked the lawyers and Pharisees whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath (Luke 14:1-6). These events show that Jesus valued compassionate care for human need over rigid, man-made traditions.
Related Scriptures (New World Translation)
Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And look! a woman was there who had had a spirit of weakness for 18 years; and she was bent double and was unable to straighten up at all. When he saw her, Jesus addressed her and said: “Woman, you are released from your weakness.” And he laid his hands on her, and instantly she straightened up and began to glorify God.— Luke 13:10-13
On another occasion he went to eat a meal in the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath, and they were closely watching him. And look! a man who had dropsy was in front of him. So in response Jesus asked those versed in the Law and the Pharisees: “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” But they kept silent. With that he took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away.— Luke 14:1-4