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Miles Jesus and Mary Walked

How far did Jesus and Mary Walk?
(New, Updated and Revised)

Mary the Mother of Jesus ‘Walked at least’ Half the distance around the world at the equator!

Jesus of Nazareth ‘Walked almost’ the distance around the world at the equator!

I, Arthur Blessitt as the Guinness Book of Record’s holder for ‘the world’s longest walk’ I have spent now 51 years walking with a 12 foot cross around the world. By the grace and mercy of God I have carried the cross in 324 nations, island groups and territories. The distance is as of January 1st 2021, 43,340 walking miles (69,748 km). This is the 54th year 1968-2021. As a ‘walking man’ and follower of Jesus I of course have pondered over and over the life of Jesus and his lifestyle and travel. This also is true of Mary the Mother of Jesus. I feel that as you see the following facts you will begin to look at both Jesus and Mary in a different light. Most often Jesus is shown in artist’s paintings and film in a white clean robe and Mary in spotless clothes. I feel it is very important to see both Jesus and Mary in a true real life way.

I have never read, nor can I find any information on the miles they walked. To most it is assumed that Jesus traveled only a few miles from where He was born. I read a recent book saying Jesus never traveled over 30 miles from His birthplace. Another source says 90 miles. All such statements are inaccurate, as I will soon show. I begin this study alone with the leading of the Holy Spirit. After the first draft and appearing on T.V. Rev. Mike Ooten who has offered great insight to the fact of Jesus attending at least three festivals a year joined me in this historic endeavor. His notes are toward the end of this article.

Please consider the following:

Every devout religious Jew was to be at least ‘three’ times a year Jerusalem. “Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel”. (Exodus 34: 23) Foremost among the many religious feasts was the ‘Passover’. Surely both Mary and Jesus attended the yearly Passover. Remember in Jesus public ministry of 3 years He was once at “Feast of Booths” (John 7:2) in Jerusalem and once He was at the “Feast of Dedication” (John 10:22-39). He was in Jerusalem during that 3-year period at least three times for the “Passover” (John 2:13-22; John 5:1-47; John 12: 12-19). You have Jesus during His 3 year public ministry making ‘at least’ five separate trips to Jerusalem from Galilee. Under the law He would have made at least 9 trips to Jerusalem from Galilee. Five are listed but four are not spoken about yet surly He made them as required by the law.

1.
The mileage from Jerusalem to Nazareth and Capernaum and vice versa is: Approximately 120 miles (193 km)! The most direct route would be about 90 miles, however this would be through Samaria. This was an area between Jerusalem and the Galilee area to the north. The Jews as a whole hated the Samaritans and they the Jews. Travel through Samaria was to be avoided because of the mountainous conditions and the racial hatred. The travel route was from Jerusalem down to the Jordan valley ‘the Jericho Road’. Then across the Jordan River into the area know as Perea (part of present day Jordan and once a part of Israel with two and a half tribes of Israel living there). One would then go north on the east side of the River Jordan on up into Decpolis still on the east side of the River Jordan. Just below the Sea of Galilee the route crossed back over the River Jordan and then split. One route went on Northwest to Nazareth the other route passing along the West side of the Sea of Galilee past Tiberias and on through Magdala to Capernaum. Both these routes are about the same mileage.

2.
Mary lived in Nazareth as she grew up. Then went to Bethlehem where Jesus was born then moved to Egypt and then back to raise Jesus in Nazareth. She lived there also during His public ministry as well as traveling with Him. There is no record of her travels after her last trip to Jerusalem with Jesus when He was crucified and arose from the grave then ascended to Heaven.

3.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem and then Mary and Joseph his parents fled with Him to Egypt. Later they traveled back to live in Nazareth where Jesus grew up and lived till the age of 30 as far as we know. During Jesus’s public ministry of three years He based His ministry out of the city of Capernaum at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee.

4.
The normal means of transportation was ‘walking’. There is no record that Mary the Mother of Jesus ever rode a donkey! Most of the time travel to the Passover or other Feasts in Jerusalem was done as a family group or town group. The annual trips are what later became know as pilgrimages. Often as one group merged with other groups on the main road the numbers would increase to thousands strung out along the way walking or camping. Every Inn and barn would be full of people overnight with others camping along the road or in the fields. Remember when Jesus was 12 years old He went with His family to Jerusalem and when Mary and Joseph left, Jesus remained behind in the Temple. They traveled for a day before Jesus was missed. They thought He was traveling with other family members in another group. It was two more days before they found Jesus back in Jerusalem in the Temple. This is just a glimpse of life on the Pilgrim roads.

5.
Along the roads there were no toilet facilities, water or other travel needs. Life was tuff in those days for the traveler. In the summer time the heat could reach up to 120 F. and in the winter there is often snow along that route. The way included mountains, valleys, rivers, desert and wilderness. There were bandits and killers hiding along the wayside. For those who could afford it a donkey was brought along to help carry supplies.

6.
I just gave a minimum of information above. You can research the life on the road at that time for yourself. I encourage you also to check out the mileage listed above and below. This has been a silent subject. Now I want to open this to public research.

Mary the Mother of Jesus!

Mary was probably carried to Jerusalem till she reached 3 years of age. Mary would have walked from Nazareth to Jerusalem and back ‘at least’ once a year from the age of 3 till the Jesus when she may have been about the age of 20. The one way mileage was about 120 (193) each way and thus it would be about 240 miles round trip (386 km). Mary Walking: 240 miles (386 km) per year from Nazareth to Jerusalem round trip x 17 years = 4,080 miles (6,565 km)!

After she conceived by the Holy Spirit of God she ‘walked’ traveled from Nazareth to south of Jerusalem where Elizabeth her cousin was pregnant with John the Baptist (130 miles, 209 km). She then ‘walked’ traveled back to Nazareth (130 miles, 209 km). Then with Joseph she ‘walked’ traveled back south of Jerusalem to Bethlehem (130 miles, 209 km). During all this walking travel of 390 miles (627 km) Mary ‘was’ with Child!

Mary, Joseph and Jesus must have lived in Bethlehem for about two years. Jesus was taken at least twice to the Temple in Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph for Circumcision and then again for Him to be ‘presented to the Lord’. (Luke 2:21-24) Let us count these two visits to Jerusalem for a total of 25 miles Mary walked.

With Herod the King seeking to kill Jesus an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and he was told to flee to Egypt and they lived there till the death of Herod. Then he was told again by an angel to return to Israel and they came to live in Nazareth. (Matthew 2:13-23) The normal mileage from Bethlehem down to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, through Gaza across the Sinai Desert and into Egypt to the Pyramids along the Nile would be about 350 miles (563 km). Mary traveled with the infant baby Jesus at about the age of two for 350 miles (563 km) through the desert.

Mary, Joseph and child Jesus at about the age of 4 or 5 walked (traveled) from Egypt across the desert past Gaza and Joppa along the Mediterranean Sea to Nazareth. Mary walked about 400 miles (643 km) from Egypt to Nazareth with Jesus and Joseph.

Living in Nazareth Mary would have gone at least once a year to the Temple in Jerusalem and back. This would surely have been at Passover or at least one of the Temple festivals. Jesus begins His public ministry at about the age of 30. Let us say they came back to Nazareth when Jesus was 5. For 25 years, Mary would have made round trips to and from Jerusalem once a year. Mary walked 240 miles (386 km) round trip from Nazareth to Jerusalem for 25 years, this = 25 x 240 = 6,000 miles (9655 km)!

During the public ministry we find Mary in Cana with Jesus. (John 2:1-11) Mary was with Jesus in His ministry (Matt.12: 46-47; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19)She was present as Jesus was crucified. (John 19:25-27) The disciple John was asked by Jesus to take care of Mary. (John 19: 27) Mary stayed to live with the early believers in Jerusalem. (Acts 1:14) We do not know the full extent of her travels with Jesus during this three year period but she surely went to the Passover three times, traveled to Cana round trip (12 miles, 19 km) and Capernaum round trip from Nazareth (60 miles, 96 km). The three Passovers including a one way from Nazareth to Jerusalem = 240 x 2 = 720 + 120 (one way to Jerusalem) + 72 = 912 miles (1,467 km). Mary walked at least 912 miles (1,467 km) during the 3-year public ministry of Jesus.
Total miles walked by Mary the Mother of Jesus!

*
4,080 Nazareth to Jerusalem and return. (Age 3 till 20)
*
390 While with Child.
*
25 From Bethlehem to Jerusalem twice.
*
350 Bethlehem to Egypt.
*
400 Egypt to Nazareth.
*
6,000 From Jesus age 5 till 30.
*
912 During the public ministry of Jesus.

* Total: 12,187 Miles (19,612 km) Mary the Mother of Jesus Walked by the time she was about 50 years of age!
The distance around the world at the equator is 24,901.55 miles (40,074 km).

This means the Mary the Mother of Jesus Walked almost ‘HALF’ the distance around the world!

An average of 20 miles (32 km) a day on all her journeys would mean that Mary spent at least 609 days and nights on the road in her life! This is a total of One Year and 244 days on the road in her life!
How far did Jesus Walk!

At the age of about two Jesus would have been carried by Mary and Joseph from Bethlehem across the desert to Egypt the 350 miles that they traveled. However as a 4 or 5-year-old child He would have ‘walked’ from Egypt across the Sinai Desert and on to Nazareth. Jesus walked from Egypt to Nazareth for a total of about 400 miles!

Every devout religious male Jew was to be at least ‘three’ times a year at Jerusalem. “Three times in the year all your men shall appear before the Lord, the Lord God of Israel”. (Exodus 34: 23)

Please study the scriptures and notes toward the end of this article!

During the early years of Jesus from 5 to 12 Joseph would have gone to the required 3 festivals each year. I believe I can say with confidence that Jesus as a devout Jewish boy would have attended these with Joseph. It was required for every ‘man’ after the age of 12 or 13 however you count it.

Going from Nazareth to Jerusalem ‘at least’ three times a year for the Passover from the age of 5 till the age 30 when He begin His public ministry. This is 240 miles (386 km) round trip. Jesus walked from Nazareth to Jerusalem and back at least 3 times a year during this 25-year period. That would be 3 x 240 miles, which is 720 miles (1,158 km). 720 x 25 = 18,000 miles (28,967 km)

Before Jesus public ministry He walked at least 18,400 miles!

Jesus started out from Nazareth and traveled to the wilderness of Judea. While there He was with John the Baptist. Jesus was also baptized and tempted of the Devil. Then Jesus went to Galilee and was in Capernaum and Cana. This would be one round trip of at least 240 miles (386 km). (John 1:19-28 through John 2:12)

Next Jesus goes from Galilee to Jerusalem and returns to Galilee. (John 2:13- through 4:54) this is another 240 miles (386 km).

Back to Jerusalem (John 5:1-47) and return to Galilee for another 240 miles (386 km). Jesus is next again in Jerusalem for the ‘Feast of Booths’ (John 7:2) and back for another 240 miles (386 km). There is the ‘Feast of Dedication’ that Jesus attended for another round trip of 240 miles (386 km). Then Jesus does a final walk from Galilee to Jerusalem to be crucified. (Luke 17:11) This is 120 miles (193 km). As stated earlier and in the studies at the end of this article Jesus would have made at least 9 trips to Jerusalem and return during this three year period for Feast. Five are listed and four are not. Therefore one must add the additional four trips for a total of 240 miles x 4 = 960 miles (1,544 km).

Total Miles from Nazareth or Capernaum to Jerusalem and return is 2,280 miles (3,669 km) during His 3 year ministry.

Now let’s take a look at the other trips that Jesus would have walked to. Jesus made one circuit trip from Capernaum to Cana and Nazareth and return. (60 miles, 96 km) John 2 1-11

Another circuit trip was to Nain and return to Capernaum. (70 miles, 112 km) Luke 7:11

There is a very long trip by Jesus as He leaves from Capernaum and goes north up into Phoenicia to the cities of Tyre and Sidon (present day Lebanon). Then He loops back south around the Sea of Galilee and into the area of Decapolis and back north to Capernaum. Depending on which way Jesus got to Tyre and Sidon, the mileage would be about 85 miles (136 km) north of Capernaum. Then count about 120 miles (193 km) back around the Sea of Galilee to Decapolis then back to Capernaum would be about 50 miles (80 km). Mark 7:24-37 and Matt. 15:21-39 On this one trip Jesus walked about 255 miles (410 km)!

Then Jesus went almost immediately on another trip from Magdala up to the region and cities of Caesarea Philippi north of Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee in the mountains as it goes up to Mt. Hermon. That is about 50 miles (80 km) north so the round trip would be at least 100 miles (160 km). Matt. 16:13-28 and Mark 8:27-30

Again almost immediately Jesus leaves with His disciples on a trip to what we believe is Mt. Tabor (the mount of transfiguration) Matt. 17:1-13 and Mark 2:13 this walk would be about 60 miles (96 km) round trip.

The above trips are just the longest trips that we have a record of in the northern area of Israel as He based out of Capernaum. It does not include the short trips to nearby cities. Also it does not include any mileage for such verses like this; “Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom”…Matt.9:35.

Time and again we see Jesus in other cities surrounding the Sea of Galilee and Capernaum I do not see any way that this would be any less that 100 miles walking total (160 km). So I will use this figure.

Now lets look at Judea and the area near Jerusalem. Not counting the trips to and from Jerusalem for Galilee lets look at trips recorded where Jesus left Jerusalem and returned from that area.

Jesus is in Jerusalem and then sends out the 70 followers to go before Him into every city and place where He Himself was about to go. Luke 10 1-37 This is believed to be Judea. We then see Him back at Bethany then Jesus is in Perea, which is across the River Jordan. Then in Jericho and back in a big loop. Also there are many trips by Jesus from Jerusalem to Bethany and vice versa. Most of this is recorded in Luke 10th chapter through Luke 21st chapter. The area of Perea is across the River Jordan for a distance of about 25 miles (40 km). He went into Perea, which is very large. Let’s just say he went 25 miles (40 km) deep into the territory. It would be at least 100 miles (160 km) round trip and yet Jesus went into many cities and villages.

It would think the most conservative estimate would be to say that all these trips combined would be about 200 miles (321 km).

Total Miles Jesus walked during His 3-year public ministry is: 3,125! (5,029 km)
Grand total of miles Jesus walked in His 33 years on earth while traveling on trips:

*
400 miles: Jesus walked from Egypt to Nazareth.
*
18,000 miles: Jesus walked from Nazareth to Jerusalem And return by age 30.
*
3,125 miles: Jesus walked during His 3-year public Ministry.

* Grand Total Miles Jesus walked on trips! 21,525 Miles (34,640 km)

An average of 20 miles (32 km) a day on all His journeys would mean that Jesus spent at least 1,076 days and nights on the road in his life! This is a total of Two Years, 346 days on the road in his life! All these miles He walked by the age of 33.

The distance around the world at the equator is 24,901.55 miles (40074 km).

This means the Jesus ‘walked’ ‘Almost’ the distance around the world!

Please remember this! The above mileage concerning Jesus is the most conservative possible. Here is what John one of Jesus twelve disciples writes in the Book of John chapter 21 verse 25 “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen”

Looking at the above mileage Jesus walked and knowing that He traveled much more than listed. I personally believe He walked the distance around the world that He had made with the Father and the Holy Spirit. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men! (John 1:1-4)

Without a doubt Jesus taught, preached, healed and ministered in more places and more often than listed in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I have chosen not to speculate or include any miles that cannot be reasonably backed up with scripture from the Holy Bible. I pray that this look at the walking miles of Mary the Mother of Jesus and Jesus will help you to see both of them in a more realistic and clear light. Most of the writings about both fail to consider how much time they spent walking and traveling in tuff conditions in the Middle East. Jesus walked the areas that now include the five nations of Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Israel and Lebanon.

Jesus walking and ministry stretched south to north from Egypt (Nile, to Sidon, Lebanon) a distance of 436 miles (701 km)! He walked from the Mediterranean Sea inland at least as far as 100 miles (160 km)!

May the Holy Spirit open our understanding to see Jesus truly as He Was and Is. God bless you in your ‘walk’ of ‘following Jesus’.

Again I welcome all helpful insights, or teaching on the walking and traveling lives of Jesus and Mary His Mother.

Should you not know, believe in and follow Jesus, I encourage you to pray now and invite Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior and Lord. Give your life to God now.

Let’s tell the world about Jesus! Go into all the World!

“The Glory of the Coming of the Lord is at Hand!”

Remember, the longest mile Jesus walked was the last one ‘to Calvary where He was crucified on the Cross for you and me! He walked the last mile ‘for you’! Jesus has ascended into Heaven and opened the way for you to ‘come on in’. It was your sins and mine that He carried to the cross so you may be forgiven and that you may know Him.
Notes and Research by Bible Teacher Michael Ooten

Dear Arthur: Here is what I have found so far. Jesus attended annually three great festivals the three most important Jewish feasts

* Passover: The Bible traces the origin of Passover to the exodus.
According to Exodus 12, on the evening of the 14th of the first month (Abib; later called Nisan). The Israelites gathered in family units to sacrifice a yearling sheep or goat. They used hyssop to apply blood from the lambs to the sides and tops of the doorframes of their homes and roasted the lambs. They also prepared bitter herbs and bread without yeast. They ate the food hastily and with their sandals on their feet as a sign of their readiness for a quick departure. That night, the Lord killed Egypt’s firstborn but spared Israel. Of all of Israel’s festivals, Passover is of the greatest importance to the New Testament because the Lord’s Supper was a Passover meal (Matt 26:17-27; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-22; notwithstanding problems posed by the Johannine chronology, as in John 18:28; see the major commentaries on John. In passing the bread to the disciples and telling them that it was his body and that they should eat of it, Jesus was perhaps presenting himself as the Passover lamb. Christ is thus described as “our Passover lamb” in 1 Corinthians 5:7 and as “the Lamb who was slain” in Revelation 5:12. John’s Gospel points out that none of Jesus’ bones were broken in his crucifixion in allusion to the requirement that none of the Passover lamb’s bones be broken (John 19:33-37; cf. Exodus 12:46).
* Pentecost: The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost). The Feast of Weeks occurred seven full weeks after the wave offering of the First fruits at Passover (Lev 23:15; Deut 16:9). It celebrated the end of the grain harvest. Because of the fifty-day interval (in the inclusive method of reckoning), it is also known by the Greek name “Pentecost.” Like First fruits, it took place on the day after the Sabbath. Exodus 23:14-19 refers to the Feast of Weeks when it links the “Feast of the Harvest” to the Feast of Unleavened Bread and to the Feast of Ingathering (Booths) as the three major agricultural festivals of Israel (see Deut 16:16; 2 Chronicles 8:13).
* Feast of Tabernacles: Feast of Booths (Tabernacles or Ingathering). The Feast of Booths took place on Tishri 15, five days after the Day of Atonement, in what is now mid-October. The festival is described in Leviticus 23:33-43 and Deuteronomy 16:13-15, but the most elaborate presentation of the details of this week is found in Numbers 29:12-40. For seven days the Israelites presented offerings to the Lord, during which time they lived in huts made from palm fronds and leafy tree branches. The stated purpose for living in the booths was to recall the sojourn of the Israelites prior to their taking of the land of Canaan (Lev 23:43). The offering of the first day was thirteen bulls, two rams, and fourteen male lambs as burnt offerings, with one goat as a sin offering. Each day there after the number of bulls offered was decreased by one. The eighth day was exceptional: one bull, one ram, seven lambs, and one goat were offered (Num 29:12-38). These were all in addition to the grain offerings and freewill offerings (Num 29:39). The week was to be a time of joy as a final celebration and thanksgiving for that year’s harvest (Deut 16:14-15).

John 7:2-10 describes a visit of Jesus to Jerusalem during the Feast of Booths. On the last day of the feast Jesus promised that any who came to him would experience streams of living water flowing from within (i.e., the Holy Spirit; vv. 37-39). By New Testament times, the tradition had developed that during the feast a priest would draw water from the pool of Siloam and carry it in a sacred procession to the altar. This apparently was behind Jesus’ metaphor. The New Testament also reflects the theology and symbolism of the Feast of Booths in its use of the term “tent” as a metaphor for the mortal body awaiting the glory of the resurrection (2 Corinthians 5:1-4; 2 Peter 1:13-14).

The Postexilic Feasts:

* The Ninth of Ab. Ab is the fifth month of the Jewish calendar. Zechariah 7:3-5 alludes to ritual fasting and mourning carried out in the fifth and seventh months in commemoration of the destruction of the temple. Eventually, the Jews settled on the Ninth of Ab as a day to commemorate both the first destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar and the subsequent destruction of Herod’s temple by the Romans in a.d. 70.
* Purim: Purim was established to celebrate the failure of Haman’s plot against the Jews as described in the Book of Esther. The festival originally took place on the fourteenth and fifteenth of Adar, the twelfth month. The word “Purim” means “lots” and refers to the lots Haman cast in order to find an auspicious day for the destruction of the Jewish race (Esther 9:18-28).
* Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah or Lights): Judas Maccabeus established Hanukkah to commemorate the recapture and cleansing of the temple from the Greek forces of Antiochus IV in about 164 b.c. The ceremony took place on the twenty-fifth of the ninth month (Chislev). First Maccabbees 4:52-59 describes the initiation of the festival; John 10:22-23 mentions the holiday as an occasion on which Jesus was in Jerusalem.
Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology –‘ Feasts and Festivals of Israel’.

Quotations from prominent Biblical Scholars:

“There were three big occasions each year when all the ‘men of Israel’ were required to attend the national celebrations: Passover, Harvest, and ‘Tabernacles’. ”
Zondervan Handbook to the Bible, ‘The Great Festivals’, Leviticus, P.190, Zondervan Pub. House-1999

“In the New Testament times all Israelite males were expected to appear in Jerusalem thrice annually, for the Feasts of Passover, of Weeks, or Pentecost and of Tabernacles.”
The Illustrated Bible Dictionary” Volume 3, ‘Passover in the New Testament’, P.1158, Tyndale House, Pub.1980

“The feasts or sacred festivals, held an important place in Jewish religion. They were religious services accompanied by demonstrations of joy and gladness. The Passover was the first of all the annual feasts, and historically and religiously it was the most important of all. It was called both the Feast of the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the two really forming a double festival. This combined feast was one of the three feasts that all male Jews who were physically able and ceremonially clean were required by Mosaic Law to attend (Ex.23: 17; Deut.16: 16). The other two were the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles.”
New International Bible Dictionary based on the NIV, General Ed., Merrill C. Tenney, ‘Feasts’, Zondervan Pub. House-1987

” The Passover He kept at Jerusalem. It is the first after His baptism. Christ being made under the law, observed the Passover at Jerusalem. He went up to Jerusalem when the Passover was at hand, that He might be there with the first. Christ kept the Passover at Jerusalem yearly, ever since he was twelve years old”.
Matthew Henry’s Commentary on John 2:12-22.

Dr. Alfred Edersheim, the great Biblical Scholar of the nineteenth century bares witness that Jesus would have attended all three feasts every year until His death, ” In strict law, personal observance of the ordinances, and hence attendance on the feasts at Jerusalem, devolved on a youth only when he was of age, that is, at thirteen years. Then he became what was called ‘a son of the Commandment,’ or ‘of the Torah.’ But, as a matter of fact, the legal age was in this respect anticipated by two years, or at least by one. It was in accordance with this custom, that on the first Paschal after Jesus had passed His twelfth year, His parents took Him with them in the ‘company’ of the Nazarenes to Jerusalem.”
The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Volume I, Book II, Chapter X, Pp.235-236-Macdonald Pub. Company, McLean, Virginia

Dr. J.W. Shepard in his excellent exegetical study, ‘The Christ of the Gospels’ bares the same testimony. “Once only was the curtain lifted on the twenty-six silent years in Nazareth. Luke gives us one wonderful glimpse of the splendid boy Jesus, at the age of twelve, on a visit with His parents in Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. That was a critical age in the life of the boy, just turning to adolescence with the quickened growth physical and intellectual, and the expanding vision and idealism. It was exactly at this age that the Jewish boy became “the son of the law,” and entered on the privileges and responsibilities of an Israelite, including attendance annually on the three most important Feasts (Ex.34: 22, 23). Page 51

The Mention of Feasts as Related to the Life of Jesus

1. Christ Always Observed the Feast of Passover Matt. 26:17-20; Luke 2:41; John 2:13, 23
2. At age twelve we find Jesus at the Passover Luke 2:42
3. At the beginning of Christ’s Ministry we find Him in Jerusalem at the Passover John 2:12-17
4. John and Luke mention three appearances of Christ in Jerusalem during different Feasts Luke 9:51; 13: 22; 18:31; John 2:13; 5:1; 7:2, 10; 13:1.
5. Jesus was present at one Feast of Tabernacles of Feast of Dedication John 7:2; 10:22 At the Feast of the Dedication (which would be our Hanukkah ) this would be about 2 or 3 months after He had attended the Feast of Tabernacles ( John 7:2 ) Now why would Jesus attend two Feasts ( one was not required ) so close together, if He was not committed to keeping the other required Festivals?

Closing thoughts: I find it most interesting that we find Jesus, at the early age of twelve to be in Jerusalem during the Passover. And we must not pass up the fact ‘that his parents went to Passover in Jerusalem every year “according to the custom”. Luke 2:42

Then we find that Jesus begins His ministry at the age of 30 at Jerusalem during Passover, and casting out the moneychangers in the Temple! Now why does the Holy Spirit include these facts?

Could it be that we see a pattern, a consistency? Is this not consistent with the Jewish law that every male must be at three feasts every year? And was not Jesus doing just that?

Pilgrim followers of Jesus,
Arthur and Denise Blessitt

P.O. Box 632246

Littleton, Colorado 80163
U.S.A.

This article and research has been prepared by Arthur Blessitt in a humble effort to give Glory to Jesus who walked so far on this earth for sinners such as me. I have walked the roads of this world with a cross for Jesus and as a witness to others. Jesus seems never to have been given credit for all His miles walked. I trust that this will stimulate more research on the subject. I have walked many of those roads Jesus walked and just want to give Him credit! I am sure He is smiling and saying “now get those miles correct”! Ha! It took over 2,000 years for anyone to focus on His walking miles but at last that day has arrived.

I love you Jesus! Thanks for all those Miles!