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It's no coincidence that Jesus attached his
parable of the Good Samaritan to a specific
road that dangerous, narrow, winding
mountainous road (more like a trail or
footpath) between Jerusalem and
Jericho. As the hymn goes, "On the
Jericho Road, there's room for just two; no
more and no less.
"
From time immemorial pilgrims traveling the
route between Jerusalem and Jericho have
been beset by robbers. Even today, in
the 21st century, the Israeli army forbids
travel after sunset on the wider, asphalted
Jericho road (first paved by the Romans in
the late first century AD).
During times of security unrest, there have
been numerous incidents of knifings and
shootings by predators upon individual
hikers. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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On the Jericho Road
there's room for just two...(looking west) |
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As early as the first century BC, General
Pompey had to clear out the "haunts of the
robbers" on the passes [of the Jericho road]
leading up to Jerusalem in order to conquer
the holy city. This is according to
the Roman geographer Strabo. And
shortly after the time of Jesus, Jewish
rebels fled from Jericho to the uneven and
uninhabited mountainous area in the
direction of Jerusalem [i.e. the Jericho
road] as the Roman army approached.
This is according to Jewish Roman historian
Josephus Flavius.
For the first time in 15 years, I recently
had the opportunity to lead a group along
the eastern part of the road from the
Monastery of St George down to New Testament
period Jericho. And no we weren't
beset by robbers! |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Sixth century St. George
Monastery still inhabited by Greek Orthodox
monks |
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The narrow path was just as I remembered
rugged, biblical, serene the ideal venue
for contemplating Jesus' take on, "Who is my
neighbor?" |
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Our bus took us as far as
the steep road leading down to the sixth
century St. George Monastery. Below
the monastery we crossed a bridge over the
Wadi Kelt which was nearly dry after winter
rains. Then we started on the
footpath. I heaved a sigh of relief when I remembered the tricky part a
subtle fork in the path where the guide
needs to take the upper route. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Jericho Road hiking east
towards Jericho |
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It's not a hard hike, although definitely
not recommended for the faint-hearted or
acrophobic. And certainly not in the intense
summer heat. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Sheep and goats grazing on
the southern slopes of the Wadi Kelt |
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On the steep slopes across from us, we saw
lots of goats and sheep eating very yummy
green grass, probably watered by holes in
ancient aqueducts, either Herodion or
Turkish period. During the time of the
second temple, it's said that when the
priests waved incense over the altar and the
wind was blowing towards the east, the goats
in Jericho sneezed. As I gazed at the
goats perched so precariously, I wondered
whether any of those sneezing goats in
antiquity ever fell into the ravine below! |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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When the priest waved
incense over the altar, the goats in Jericho
sneezed! |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Ancient Herodion and
Turkish period aqueducts still carry water
to Jericho |
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After about forty minutes of walking, we
come to a sitting area where we can
comfortably open our Bibles to Luke 10 to
consider the parable of the Good Samaritan.
And we want to make plenty of time for
reflection. There's a deep quiet, only
broken by the occasional bleating of a lamb
or goat. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Reflecting on the parable
of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 |
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Before we leave to continue hiking to New
Testament Jericho, we can consider
Bartimaeus (Mark 10:46+) who sat on this
very road. As the hymn goes, |
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"On the Jericho Road blind Bartimaeus
sat
His life was a void so empty and flat
But Jesus appeared, one word brought him
sight
On the Jericho Road Christ banished his
night."
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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First view of New
Testament Jericho |
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After you hike the Jericho Road, you will
never be able to hum, "On the Jericho Road
there's room for just two: No more and
no less, just Jesus and you" without the
memory of this biblical landscape invading
your mind in all its colors and contours. |
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Are you tempted now to put the "holy land"
near the top of your bucket list? |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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An alternate to hiking the
old Jericho Road! |
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Copyright 2015 Gila Yudkin. Permission
needed for any reuse. |
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While we're on the subject of thieves, Jesus
claimed in Matthew 21 that the temple itself
had been turned into a den of thieves.
Listen to the story as you tour the Temple
Mount with Gila.
Gila's Temple Mount tour
is now available not only in audio format,
but also as a written 24-page PDF
with a Temple Mount
plan, guidelines for passing the security
check and ten recommended reads
on the Temple Mount from Gila's bookshelves. |
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Cleopatra, whose intellect and beauty were
legendary even in her day, wasn't deterred
by robbers on the Jericho Road. She
insisted that Mark Antony give her Jericho's
lucrative well-watered plantations of dates
and balsam perfume. Read more about the
ancient femme fatale. |
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When Mark Twain traveled along the Jericho
Road during his 1867 pilgrimage, his party
employed "two gorgeous young Arab sheikhs"
armed with cargoes of swords, guns, pistols
and daggers to protect them from imaginary
Beduin marauders. Mark Twain states
that during his entire pilgrimage, he had no
more need for the "guards" than he had for
patent leather boots or white kid gloves.
Check out
Mark Twain's tips for holy
land pilgrims. |
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If the holy land is on your bucket list,
don't wait too long! And certainly
don't pay attention to the media. For
a not-to-be forgotten half day customized
tour of Jerusalem's Old City see
book
Gila. |
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More
on Jesus' public ministry: |
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Mt Arbel / Galilean
ministry |
Sepphoris / hypocrites |
Mary Magdalene |
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Pilate's Praetorium |
Hippos / Decapolis city |
Walk 1st C AD Bethsaida |
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