07.03.04 Lk. 6:17-19
GREAT CROWD GATHERS
17After coming down with them, He stood on a level place with a large crowd of His disciples and a great number of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases; and those tormented by unclean spirits were made well. 19 The whole crowd was trying to touch Him, because power was coming out from Him and healing them all.
Jesus, like everyone else, walked a fast gait wherever He desired to go and, at times, it was over great distances. The switchbacks on steep hillsides and the detours around cliffs and wadis (dry seasonal streambeds) added significant distance to the grueling hike. The direct distance from Jerusalem to Galilee is in excess of eighty miles, mostly through the central mountain region. It is difficult to read the biblical narratives and understand this element of His life. In essence, His ministry required great physical stamina. The Roman roads were an improvement over earlier trails, but, nonetheless, long walks were always a demanding task, especially in the summer heat.
For example, in John 2:1-12 Jesus performed his first miracle at Cana in Galilee. In the following section (vv. 13-25), he was in Jerusalem where he drove out the moneychangers. Then John and Jesus were baptizing new believers in the Judean countryside. That was followed by a return to Galilee (4:1-3). Shortly thereafter, he met the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:4-26), but later returned to Galilee (vv. 43-45). It is not clear when he left, but it can be seen that, with the exception of Luke, it was not the intent of the gospel writers to give a detailed chronological and biographical account of the life of Jesus, but to write His message. Nonetheless, He traveled many miles on foot.