 14:3). These incidents were important statements about Jesus’ concern for sinners and those whom Jewish society considered to be second class; Jesus valued these persons so highly that they were given the privilege of anointing him as king.
After several days, the journey to Bethlehem would have become more challenging, following the ancient road that curved back and forth as it ascended and descended the hills and mountains of central Israel. Each day’s journey would have ended at a spring or well that could provide for the needs of all the people and animals in the caravan. We stopped at two such places, Jacob’s Well in Sychar, where Jesus met the Samaritan woman.
The grade of the city of Sychar has risen over the centuries with the destruction and rebuilding of city upon city. Today, the well is beneath a magnificent church built by the Russian Orthodox. Descending a set of steps to the left of the altar, visitors come to a room with an ancient well. There, a bucket is attached to a rope, and when lowered for what must be one hundred feet, it finally takes on water. As I drew water from the well, I imagined Joseph and Mary drinking from this same water source as they rested here for the night. Little did Mary know that thirty-three years later, the child in her womb would stand here, offering living water to a Samaritan woman.
Mary and Joseph continued on their journey from Sychar, traveling for the next three days over ever-higher hills. For Mary, this would have been the most difficult and uncomfortable part of the journey. The Holy Family would have been traveling now for seven days. “Soon,” Joseph must have assured Mary, “we’ll be going down to Bethel, and then on to Jerusalem and Bethlehem. We’re going to make it. You’ll be fine, Mary.”
On the afternoon of the ninth day, or early on the morning of the tenth, Mary and Joseph finally must have seen Jerusalem. I can only imagine how they felt as they saw the Holy City spread out before them. Jerusalem was of course much smaller in the first century. It was a city set upon a hill—actually multiple hills— but the eye was naturally drawn to one hill, Mount Moriah, where the Temple rose high above everything else.
From Jerusalem, it would have been only a few hours’ walk to Bethlehem, across several miles of arid desert and some hills. Finally, on perhaps the tenth day of their journey, they would have arrived in Bethlehem.