During the height of Jesus’ popularity, people from all over the region of Palestine came to hear him speak.

People traveled from the regions of Tyre and Sidon in the north to Idumea (Edom) in the far south; from the Decapolis and Perea east of the Jordan River to the central regions of Samaria and Judea west of the Jordan; and of course from Jesus’ home region of Galilee (Mk  3:7-8). (See the map below.)

Since Jesus’ itinerary in the Gospels includes these locations, I conclude that some of the folks who traveled to hear Jesus invited him to come and speak to them in their home towns.

The alternative is that Jesus randomly chose the region of Tyre and Sidon to get out of Galilee.

Regions of Palestine in the First-Century

I don’t envy the town leaders of Capernaum. Quite likely, they were under pressure from the Jerusalem religious authorities to deal with Jesus.

Given Jesus’ pronouncement of doom against Capernaum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida (Luke 10:13-15), the logical conclusion is that these towns rejected Jesus — but without going so far as to arrest him.

Now Jesus’ experience had its share of conflict. He had even been asked to leave a town before this. And people come and go around Jesus without “doom.”

There is no record of eviction, and it seems unlikely that the town leaders could reach consensus if the synagogue ruler Jairus or local businessman Zebedee were influencers. (Analogous to the presence of Nicodemus and Gamaliel in the Sanhedrin.)

I take it, however, that there was some sort of majority rejection among the leaders to preserve the standing of their communities.

After all, if Jesus wasn’t a political Messiah, what did the political leaders really stand to gain from his activity? Contrast that against what they stood to lose if people listened to Jesus’ criticism.

Why are we talking about the weather? The weather cycle affected Jesus’ experience just like it does ours today.

Although we do not have a daily forecast for Jesus’ last year, we have descriptions of the region’s weather. There were two seasons: summer heat and winter rains.

Simply put, there is no precipitation during the summer months. Dew is the only form of moisture. People were free to gather outside or travel without the threat of rain.

Winter weather was another story. Rains impacted travel and other outdoor activity. Concerning precipitation:

• “Average annual rainfall in Jerusalem is roughly that of rainy London, but Jerusalem has 50 days of rain to London’s 300.” (Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5, 124)
• “From November to February, rain falls in periods of a few days, sometimes with intensity.” (Anchor Bible Dictionary, vol. 5, 122)
• The Hebrew Bible records a story where the people protested gathering in the rain (Ezra 10:9-15).

The SpendaYearwithJesus story gives subscribers a sense for how Jesus and his followers adapted to their climate. Blue skies, hot days, winter rains and even snow at higher elevations were all part of Jesus’ experience.

The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1991).
Jesus and His Times, ed. Kaari Ward  (Pleasantville, New York: The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc., 1987).

Jesus’ visit to the temple would begin on the southern steps. He would use the entrances for the common people including the double and triple gates, known as the Huldah Gates. Jesus did not have access to the VIP entrances.

Archeologists have measured the Temple Mount platform to the following dimensions–east 470m, north 315m, west 485m, and south 280m.+ The total area exceeded 130,000 square meters.

On the northwest end of site stood the imposing Antonia Fortress. Josephus describes the scene:

A Roman cohort was permanently quartered there [at Antonia], and at the festivals took up positions in arms around the porticoes to watch the people and repress any insurrectionary movement. For if the temple lay as a fortress over the city, Antonia dominated the temple… (War 5.245)

No less imposing, the Royal Stoa stood over the southern side of the platform. Jesus would have entered one of the southern entrances, proceeded under the Royal Stoa, then up through tunnels 14m long emerging in the southern courtyard between the temple sanctuary complex and the Royal Stoa.

In the center stood Herod’s walled sanctuary complex including a women’s court, a men’s court, storerooms, an altar and the temple itself.

On the west, north, and east there were porticos where people could gather. Jesus taught in these porticoes, visibly surrounded by the religious and political powers of his day.

___________

+ Mark A. Chancey and Adam L. Porter, “Archeology of Roman Palestine,” Near Eastern Archaeology 64, no. 4 (2001): 164–203.

Flavius Josephus, Jewish War, Books IV-VII, trans. Henry St. John Thackery, vol. 3, 9 vols., Loeb Classical Library 210 (London; Cambridge: William Heinemann; Harvard University Press, 1961).

We recently met my in-laws at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. I have been to airports all over the world from Hong Kong to Frankfurt. An international terminal is as captivating as it can be frustrating.

The book of Acts comments on the attendees of the Feast of Weeks (aka Pentecost). The ranks include Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs (2:9-10).

Basically, the feast attendees are coming from the furthest known parts of the Roman Empire, north, east, south, and west in that order. That’s an international crowd!

As we know from airport experience, gift shops abound and food is generally more expensive. At international airports, currency exchanges are readily available with requisite fees.

I am not saying that the Jerusalem temple was the same as a modern airport terminal but it does share interesting features.

You can imagine hearing several languages and seeing different styles of clothing, all polite and reverential of course. People traveling from the far reaches of the Roman world would need currency exchange. And they needed to purchase sacrificial animals (after traveling light).

Can you imagine Jesus’ experience among the hustle and the bustle?

Did Jesus keep the Law of Moses? Answering yes means feast attendance in Jerusalem.

Jesus stated emphatically, Do not think that I come to put an end to the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abort them but to fulfill them (Mt 5:18).

He goes on to clarify that whoever dismisses even the least of the commands is held responsible, while the one who practices and teaches the commands will be identified prominently in God’s Kingdom (5:19).

In addition to Jesus’ own witness, references to the feasts in the Gospels of Luke and John point to attendance (Lk 2:41; Jn 5:1, 7:8-10).

The two spring feasts included Passover and Unleavened Bread after the barley harvest and the Feast of Weeks (or Pentecost) 50 days later after the wheat harvest.

The Law of Moses first mentions the feast attendance requirement in Exodus 23:14-17; 34:18, 22-23 and repeats the requirement in Leviticus 23 and in Deuteronomy 16.

The trip from Capernaum to Jerusalem was around 5 days, and the feasts generally lasted 8 days. (After digging into the Feast Weeks, however, I am not sure how long it lasted.) So the time investment was around 10 days of travel and around 8 days in the city.

Under normal circumstances, then, the feast attendance obligation per year required 54 days or almost two months.

Have you driven cross-country maybe for a wedding or a family reunion? After everyone gathers and the small talk begins to fade, eventually the conversation resurges as weary travelers discuss the pros-and-cons of various road routes – longer interstates and shorter two-lanes, construction, traffic density, and scenery.

Three times a year, Jesus’ community made the trip to Jerusalem for the spring feasts and the fall feasts. There were 3 routes to Jerusalem from Galilee:

• the western coast road Via Maris,
• the central highland road through the Samaritan hill country,
• and the eastern Jordan River Valley road through Perea (also known as the Transjordan).

The coast road was out of the way from Jesus’ starting and ending points. From central Galilee, the most direct route was the road through Samaria.

Ancient historian Josephus makes the following generalization, “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” (Antiquities 20.118).

Starting from Capernaum, it makes sense for Jesus to take the third route through the Jordan valley — walking along the sea of Galilee, taking the eastern road along the Jordan River, then from Jericho up into the hills to Jerusalem.**

Jesus went through Jericho on his final journey to Jerusalem (Mk 10:46).

Shortest route appears to be the consensus among students of Jesus’ story. The Jordan Valley route is a compelling alternative. Jesus’ experience includes both routes (Mk 10:46; Lk 9:52; Jn 4:4).

** see also: D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1991), 215; and Andreas J. Köstenberger, John in Baker Exegetical Commentary Series (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2004), 146.

Three Routes to Jerusalem from Galilee

The Gospel of John, 2005

Jesus grew up a carpenter, Joseph’s son (Lk 4:22; Mk 6:3). 2nd century churchman Justin Martyr wrote that Jesus “was considered to be the son of Joseph” and that he “was in the habit of working as a carpenter when among men, making plows and yokes…”* According to Luke’s Gospel, when he was about 30 years old, he began his teaching and healing tours (Lk 3:23). The question follows, did Jesus give up his carpenter’s apron?

The Gospel of John, 2005

I was pleased to see the scene from John 7:1-9 in The Gospel of John (2005). It shows Jesus working at carpentry after his ministry began. The images to the right offer a visualization of the setting of Jesus’ life. For example, Jesus probably worked at carpentry outdoors rather than in an enclosed shop.

Though teaching was Jesus’ primary vocation, it was natural for him to continue his trade. In fact, “Rabbis were expected to gain a skilled trade apart from their study (thus Paul was a leather-worker), so that the stratification that divided teacher from manual laborer in Stoic and other circles of the Hellenistic world was not a significant factor in much of Palestine.”** We are not surprised to read about Paul working as a tent-maker at various times, so why not apply that same logic to Jesus’ experience?

* Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 88, trans. by Philip Schaff. The rest of the quote states, “making plows and yokes; by which He taught the symbols of righteousness and an active life; but then the Holy Ghost…descended on Him…” Justin sees a contrast in Jesus’ activity (“but then”) when his teaching ministry began, so our question to decide is how much contrast?

** D.A. Carson and Douglas J. Moo, Introduction to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005), 240.

The events of The Galilee Kingdom Tour culminate with the gathering of a climactic crowd accompanied by the performance of a major multiplication miracle followed by a miraculous walk followed by another climactic crowd interaction. Jesus’ schedule is crowded!

Then just like that, the crowd disperses, and life goes on. How does this happen?

Before we answer that question, let us consider the major miracles. Distributing bread to 5,000-plus people in groups of 50 at a time would have taken a couple hours at least, but what did the average person in the crowd witness? Could they see to verify the multiplication of loaves, or were they simply handed a loaf by one of the twelve? They certainly could verify the generous provision even if they could not verify the source.

And what of walking on water? No one else except the few disciples in the small boat saw Jesus in this one-time-recorded event (Jn 6:22). In terms of time, it was just a drop in their lives, yet their witness has caused huge ripples through generations.

Interestingly enough, even after the disciples had gone and Jesus dismissed the crowd, according to John, at least some of the people remained in the area (Jn 6:22). These people sought out Jesus in Capernaum and rather mundanely were apparently looking for more bread (Jn 6:26).

For the participants in the story, the sensational is subsumed by their daily lives and needs. We can look back 2,000 years later and marvel at the miraculous, but if we’re honest, it doesn’t affect our day-to-day very much either. I don’t expect to multiply bread or walk on water, after all.

But when the crowd turns on Jesus (Jn 6:66), that is a repeatable historical phenomenon true-to-life.

When Sabbath comes, the rules of day bring quiet. The energy of the crowd played out. Sabbath provided a guardrail so that events did not careen out of control. . . And another harvest was coming.

Have you ever been part of a big crowd?

To your right, you greet local people who traveled across town. To your left, you meet people who traveled across country. Radio, tv, billboards, Web sites, and word-of-mouth are ways the crowd heard about the event.

Big crowds don’t just happen. They are part of a larger social context and communication network.

In Jesus’ story, we read about three big crowds. On one occasion over 5,000 joined Jesus (Mk 6:44). Later 4,000 gathered to hear him teach (Mk 8:9). A third account mentions a crowd of many thousands around Jesus (Lk 12:1).

Drawing a crowd of thousands today requires a lot of time and effort including marketing plans, venue negotiations, sound system setup, security, etc.

Minus the technology, similar crowd-factors would apply in Jesus’ day such as…

• Since crowds take time to gather, Jesus must have stayed put for a time rather than always being on the move.
• Some marketing-like communication must have let people know where Jesus was.
• A location with great acoustics and low background noise was critical since there was no amplified sound.
• Regional population density and seasonal work demands impacted who could gather and when.

It’s fun to think about the energy of a big crowd around Jesus. It’s important to realize that for that crowd to gather to Jesus, like a crowd gathering today, the factors had to be just right.