The Road to Jericho

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Although the story is made up by Jesus, the road “from Jerusalem to Jericho” is real. Known as The Bloody Way, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho had a long history of being a perilous journey.

The Road to Jericho

April 15, 2021

“Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.” (Luke 10:30)

Although the story is made up by Jesus, the road “from Jerusalem to Jericho” is real and would have been understood immediately by his listeners. Known as The Bloody Way, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho had a long history of being a perilous journey famous for attacks by thieves and robbers. The road is about 20 miles long, and was steep, descending about 3000 feet from the Mount of Olives to sea level. It ran through a rocky area with plenty of caves, large boulders and other hiding places that provided robbers a place to lay in wait for defenseless travelers. Although Jesus leaves the man undescribed, the listeners, being Jewish, would naturally assume that he was a Jew. The lawyer, remember, has just asked Jesus ‘who is my neighbor’ – believing that the answer is a ‘fellow Jew.’ Jesus implies that the man who was beaten and robbed is a ‘neighbor’ even in the restricted sense of ‘fellow Jew.’ Since the man is stripped, he is unidentifiable. In Jesus’ day, a person was identified by the way they dressed and the way they spoke – their accent or dialect. The man in our parable can provide neither, so he is void of his ethnic background, his stature in the community, his position or occupation. He is literally unidentifiable since he is “stripped and half-dead.” “Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.” (Luke 10:31-32) Now Jesus has the lawyer’s full attention. By referencing a Priest and a Levite in the parable, Jesus is using the lawyer’s peers to make His point. The Priest and the Levite are highly educated, upper-class religious men, from the tribe of Levi who serve at the temple. And what do they do when they come across their neighbor, their fellow Jew? Both the priest and the Levite see the injured man and choose to pass by on the other side. Why would both of them do that? The fact that both the priest and the Levite avoid the injured man gives us a clue that something else is going on here. Something everyone listening would have understood but is foreign to us. So let’s get to the bottom of what is happening: First, our parable priest is probably one of the ordinary priests of the temple. Jesus does not say he is the High Priest or a Chief Priest, he simply calls him a priest. In Jesus’ day there was one High Priest, about 200 Chief Priests, and approximately 7,200 ordinary priests. They formed an exclusive community of men who could trace their ancestry back to Aaron, Moses’ brother, who was the first High Priest. In Old Testament times the Jewish High Priest (kohen gadol) was the head of the priestly hierarchy in Jerusalem. He had many privileges but was also bound by numerous restrictions. He alone could enter the Holy of Holies once a year to offer sacrifice on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement).

Of lesser rank were his Chief Priests, who accompanied troops into battle, had charge of Temple finances or assumed administrative functions connected with the Temple, such as assigning duties to the lowest rank of priests (the cohanim). The cohanim were divided into 24 groups or clans and took turns serving in the Temple for one week twice a year. The priest in Jesus’ parable is most likely one of these lower ranking cohanim priests. Interestingly, the cohanim, who trace their lineage back to Aaron, have surnames (e.g., Cohen, Cowen, Kahn, etc.) that indicate their status and lineage. Cohanim were granted first preference in the synagogue in the reading of the Torah and pronounce the priestly blessing over the congregation on festivals. A cohen must also preserve his ritual purity by avoiding contact with the dead and hence may not attend funerals, except those of close relatives.

The Levities were descendants of Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. One of the twelve tribes of Israel, the Levites were distinguished as servants of God because of their refusal to worship the Golden Calf. Levites served with the Priests at the Temple and they performed some lesser services associated with public worship, and were musicians, gate keepers, guardians, Temple officials, judges, and craftsmen. Like the priests, the Levites were divided into 24 clans, each of which served a week at the temple twice a year. Unlike the High Priest and the Chief Priests, most of the ordinary priests and the Levites lived outside Jerusalem in the some of the nearby towns and villages – like Jericho. It is very likely that the priest and the Levite in the parable would have just completed their mandatory week of service, because they are going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, not the other way around.

Now that we understand the characters who are in the parable, join us tomorrow as we look at their reasons for ‘passing by on the other side’ of the road. Prayer – Heavenly Father, May I have ears to hear, O God, to understand all the parts of the Parable, even those that are unfamiliar and foreign to me! What a beautiful system You created for redemption of all those who lived before Christ. You sought to have a relationship with us, even though Adam and Eve severed our relationship through sin. But You were relentless; You gave us priests as mediator between You and men; and appointed Levites, who were faithful even when faced with mob idolatry. Although I no longer live under Your ancient Temple/Priest arrangement, I see the beauty and dignity it in. I thank You that Your Son was the complete fulfillment of all the Temple and Priests foreshadowed. I thank You that He was faithful to death so that I can be restored in a relationship with You. Wash me clean in the blood of Christ. Forgive me of my sins and create in me a forgiving heart toward all those who sin against me. In Jesus’ precious name, Amen! Community - If you would like to post a comment, ask a question, or make a prayer request, please scroll down to the end of this blog. We'd love to hear from you! Subscribe – If you enjoyed today's blog, please subscribe! You'll receive an email reminder about the latest blog topic and stay up-to-date with the Living 10:31 community. This Week’s Scripture Memory Challenge - "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Tips for Sharing the Gospel – The Parable of the Good Samaritan is an easy way to start a Gospel-centered conversation. Just share the information that was interesting to you – it will be interesting to someone else, too. Personal Application – How does understanding who the Priest and the Levite were help you understand the parable better?

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