Jesus: A Pilgrimage
TLDR: “Lovely, personal story of a trip to the Holy Land”
I really enjoyed this book. It’s a travelogue by a Jesuit priest of a trip he took to the Holy Land with a friend. In it, he travels to different locations associated with Jesus’s ministry to follow in the footsteps of the Messiah.
He writes so well. It just flows very naturally, and he captured the tension between holy sites and commercialism. He and his friend get scammed a couple of times, and they fall into tourist traps, but they genuinely see some lovely things.
One of the problems, it seems, with visiting the Holy Land, is figuring out where things happened. Lots of locations are disputed, and different people claim different things, depending on what can make them money. Additionally, there are places where Jesus might have actually visited, and then there are places that only became notable in the years since the Crucifixion – lots of sites from the early church and from the second millennium.
In each chapter, he details their visit to a site, and then reflects what that moment or story from the Gospels means in the context of Jesus and his ministry. He tries to put a very human spin on it – like, what would it be like for people who were actually there at the time.
I loved the book, and this surprised me because it’s very similar in subject and format to Walking the Bible, and I really didn’t enjoy that. I feel like maybe I should revisit it.
I may read this again in the near future. It feels like a book I should meditate on a little.
Reread
Added on
I went right back through this, with a highlighter and a pencil. In particular, I was interested in cataloging all of the spiritual places they visited. I have a sudden interest in the physicality of Jesus.
Here’s a list of where they visited or mentioned, in the order they appeared in the book. AI helped me link most all of them to their corresponding Wikipedia page.
Many of the locations are disputed, and the author notes that some of them are clearly not in the location they claim to be. Yet others have become tourist traps run by businesspeople to whom the location holds no religious or historical significance.
- Galilee
- Nazareth
- Caesarea Philippi, now called Banias
- Tiberias
- Bethlehem
- Jordan River
- Capernaum
- Galilee
- Basilica of the Annunciation, or The Church of the Annunciation (note that another site claims to be the correct location of the Annunciation)
- Mount of Olives
- Shepherd’s Field
- Church of the Nativity, The Nativity Grotto, and The Door of Humility
- Milk Grotto
- Mary’s Well
- Judea
- Sepphoris
- Garden of Gethsemane
- Bethany, also called El-Aizariya
- West Bank
- Jerusalem
- Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Gennesaret and the location of the Bay of Parables
- Stone of the Hemorrhaging Woman
- Aroma Cave
- Mount Precipice
- Tabgha Springs
- Bethsaida
- Magdala
- Mount of Beatitudes and the church there
- Gerasa
- Kursi
- Tabgha
- Church of the Multiplication
- Bethesda
- Pool of Bethesda
- Old City of Jerusalem
- Church of Saint Anne
- Jericho
- Herodium
- Valley of the Shadow of Death
- Wadi Qelt
- The Tree of Zacchaeus
- Damascus Gate
- Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also the location of The Chapel of the Finding of the True Cross
- Al-Eizariya
- Tomb of Lazarus
- Jaffa Gate
- Golgotha, also called Calvary or The Place of the Skull
- Cenacle, also called The Upper Room
- Tomb of David
- Tyre
- Sidon
- Room of the Washing of the Feet
- Lions’ Gate
- Kidron Valley
- Basilica of Gethsemane, also called The Church of All Nations
- Stone of Anointing
- Tomb of Christ
- Church of the Flagellation
- Mount Zion
- Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu
- Aedicule
- Emmaus
- Latrun Monastery
- Abu Ghosh
- Chapel of the Dismissal
- Road to Emmaus
- Church of the Primacy of Saint Peter
- Mensa Christi
- Church of Dominus Flevit
- Church of Saint Mark
- Via Dolorosa
Here is a list of events the book covers or refers to. In some cases, the author visited the associated location, and in other places, he analyzed or even just referred to the event.
The events are in rough order in which they occurred, historically. The book was organized that way, though I’m not sure if the trip was strictly chronologically scheduled.
- The Annunciation
- Joseph and Mary Travel to Bethlehem
- The Birth of Jesus
- The Nativity of Jesus
- The Flight into Egypt
- The Hidden Life of Jesus
- The Baptism of Jesus
- The Passover
- The Temptation of Christ
- Rejection at Nazareth
- The Call of the First Disciples
- The Wedding Feast at Cana
- The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes
- The Healing of the Woman with the Hemorrhage
- The Miraculous Catch of Fish
- The Healing of the Crippled Man at Capernaum
- The Sermon on the Mount
- The Parable of the Sower
- The Parable of the Prodigal Son
- The Stilling of the Storm
- Walking on Water
- The Gerasene Demoniac
- The Healing of the Paralyzed Man
- Zacchaeus and the Tree
- The Healing of Bartimaeus
- The Raising of Lazarus
- The Anointing of Jesus
- The Betrayal of Jesus
- The Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem
- The Washing of the Feet
- Jesus Predicts His Death
- The Arrest of Jesus
- The Resurrection of Jesus
- The Way of the Cross
- The Crucifixion of Jesus
- The Appearance to Mary Magdalene
- The Road to Emmaus Appearance
- The Ascension of Jesus
- Easter Sunday
The book as a whole is a remarkable look into the physical life of Jesus, where he lived and ministered.
Book Data
- Author
- James Martin
- Year
- Pages
- 524
- Acquired
- Not recorded
- Open Library
- OL19976871W
- I have read this book. According to my records, I completed it on .
- A hardcover copy of this book is currently in my home library.