Walking Fast

McCown: Luke’s Central Section

The opening verse pitches the dom in an t tone for th e whole n a rra tiv e : w ith th e cross before him, Jesus tu rn s his face stead fastly from Galilee tow ard Jerusalem (9 51, 53). H is progress is so rapid, in th e concise account, th a t th e v ery first n ight brings him to S am aria to sleep, n o t in th e city where first shelter was sought, b u t in some village to which he moves on a fte r a rebuff (9 52,56). W heth er th e ro u te was from Tell H ûm eith er across Esdraelon by w ay of T ab o r to Jen în or Q ubatîyeh, or down th e Jo rd a n Valley b y w ay of Beisân to some village in th e moun- tain s south of it, th is would be no small achievem ent, as th e w riter knows from having m ade both journeys on foot, but not in one day.

C. C. McCown, “The Geography of Luke’s Central Section,” Journal of Biblical Literature 57, no. 1 (1938): 53.