Jericho-Jerusalem Road with highlights

The ancient path connecting Jericho with Jerusalem is one of the best places in Israel to picture  events from the life of Jesus. This short video shows us something that is clearly apparent on the  ground, but not mentioned in the Text. Whenever people made their way from Jericho to  Jerusalem, they passed by the luxurious palaces of Herod the Great and some of the wealthy  priests from Jerusalem. “Upper Jericho,” as it was called, was a winter resort for the rich and  powerful. This video shows the ruins of Herod’s palace complex near the entrance to Wadi Qelt.  A residential building was on the north side of the wadi (on the right in this video). A huge pool  and an observation tower was on the opposite side of the ravine. A bridge spanned the wadi and  allowed residents a chance to watch the winter flash floods roaring through the canyon. Too  many people to mention traversed this road. Mary and Joseph walked this way on their way to  Bethlehem. Jesus and his disciples walked by the palace many times, including on the last trip  Jesus made to Jerusalem. When James and John (through their mother) made a request to sit on  the “right and the left” of Jesus when he came into his kingdom, they were very near the winter  homes of Jerusalem’s religious and political elite. The other 10 disciples were indignant with  James and John (Matthew 20:17-34). The unity of the group was shattered, just when Jesus needed  them to be united the most.