On the blood road to Jericho

The Gospels record Jesus passing through Jericho where he healed blind beggars (Matthew 20:29), and inspired local chief tax-collector Zacchaeus to repent of his dishonest practices (Luke 19:1–10).

The 15 miles long road between Jerusalem and Jericho is the setting for the Parable of the Good Samaritan, illustrated in the window in the lady chapel dedicated to the Barker family of surgeons.

This detail from the Clayton and Bell window shows one of those who refused to tend to the Samaritan and passed by on the other side - wilfully, pre-occupied, lost in thought - or just checking his map?

“It's a winding, meandering road, conducive for ambushing. You start out in Jerusalem, about 1200 feet above sea level, and by the time you get down to Jericho, fifteen or twenty minutes later, you're about 2200 feet below sea level. That's a dangerous road.”— Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin did it in a hire car. On foot, and worried about robbers still hanging around, it’s about eight hours.