The Land of Jesus

By David H. Garner

The mortal ministry of Jesus Christ affected all mankind, yet it occurred in a narrow strip of land between 60 and 150 kilometers wide and less than 250 kilometers long.

Even though the gospel Jesus taught is universal, his teachings and earthly experiences are tied closely to the land in which he lived. Fishing nets, millstones, and temple walls were objects of his life and his teachings. Sychar, Mount Tabor, and the Sea of Galilee were places where he taught the plan of salvation. Tax collectors, fishermen, and noblemen were among those who heard his words and believed.

What was the land of the Messiah like? In this issue, we feature photographs of places Jesus knew in his childhood years and as his earthly ministry came to a close on Golgotha. Other scenes from the Land of Jesus will appear in future issues.

Photographs are from the pictorial archive of Dr. Richard Cleave of Jerusalem and from David A. Garner’s personal collection.

1. Bethlehem of Judaea

“And Joseph … went up from Galilee … unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem … to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, … she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:4–7.)

Thus, even though they were not from the city of Bethlehem, the birth of the baby Jesus in the ancient city of Ruth and Boaz (Ruth 1:2; Ruth 2:4) fulfilled the prophetic word of God: “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” (Micah 5:2.) Significantly, he who was called “the bread of God” and “the bread of life” was born in Bethlehem, which is a Hebrew term meaning the house of bread.

Modern-day Bethlehem is many times larger than the town of Jesus’ birth—the ancient city of Bethlehem takes up only the upper right-hand corner of the photograph. The terraced area in the foreground is part of the Shepherds’ Field.

2. Nazareth, City of the Savior’s Youth

When Joseph brought his family from Egypt, he apparently had decided to return to Bethlehem, where they had lived prior to their flight into the land of Egypt. However, when Joseph “heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: and he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.” (Matt. 2:22–23.)

Nearly six hundred years earlier, Nephi recorded, “I beheld … in the city of Nazareth … a virgin, and she was exceedingly fair. … And I looked and beheld the virgin again, bearing a child in her arms. And the angel said unto me: Behold the Lamb of God.” (1 Ne. 11:13, 20–21.)

Although the city is much larger today than it was when Jesus lived there, in many ways the original features of the village remain. The streets are small, the old shops stand side by side where people gather to carry out their business and exchange the news of the day, and the protecting hills still surround the ancient market place and well, which date to the time of Christ.

3. The Shore of the Sea of Galilee

As this photograph shows, the coastal land around the Sea of Galilee is quite fertile. The area often becomes quite hot, though the temperature is cooler in the hills. Sometimes the cold air rushing from the hills to the lowlands causes sudden storms over the lake.

Crowded with workers of many trades, there were nine cities around the Sea of Galilee, three with populations of more than 15,000—a great number in Jesus’ time. On the lake itself, the Savior performed a number of miracles, including stilling the storm and walking on water. On the sea shore, Jesus healed the sick and cast out demons, taught openly and in its synagogues, and chose his Apostles.

4. Jerusalem, the City of Peace

This west view of the Temple Mount at Jerusalem features the Dome of the Rock in the center. The site of the western temple courtyard of Herod is to the left and beyond the Dome of the Rock; the temple itself was on the site of the Dome of the Rock or near it to the right. This area is known as the Temple Mount.

“Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.” (John 2:18–21)

5. Mount Tabor

One of the unique mountains of lower Galilee, Mount Tabor lifts its rounded head above the plain of the Jezreel Valley. This mountain is one of the possible sites of the transfiguration of Christ, and fits Matthew’s description of a “high mountain apart.” (See Matt. 17:1–2)

In 1979 President Spencer W. Kimball visited the mountain and said a few hours later, “I felt very sure that this was the spot where Jesus had taken his three disciples, Peter, James, and John, to this high mountain apart, and there had given certain blessings. I felt a very warm spirit as we gathered together and felt what came to us from this experience.” (Transcription from the tape recording of President Kimball’s message given in a sacrament meeting held in Shepherds’ Field.)

6. The Garden of Gethsemane

The Garden of Gethsemane was actually an olive orchard where the Savior and his Apostles went at times for seclusion from the crowds and confusion of the city. This ancient olive tree or the root from which it sprang, has been dated back 2000 years and may even be older. Perhaps it was silent witness to that solemn night when Jesus groaned in agony under the weight of the world’s sins. Having introduced the ordinance of the sacrament, Jesus instructed and prayed for his beloved Apostles. “He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. … And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:41–42, 44)

7. Golgotha

“Pilate … delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. … And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull. … And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.” (Mark 15:15, 22, 25.) Golgotha, in the center of the picture, was so named because the features of a skull seem to be outlined in the face of the cliff, marking it as a place of death.

8. There They Laid Jesus

“Joseph of Arimathaea … came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, … and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes. … Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus.” (John 19:38–42.)

The sepulchre in the photograph is strongly regarded as the actual tomb in which the body of Jesus was laid.