Joseph and Mary's Journey

When you consider what Mary endured traveling from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem of Judea when she was with child you realize the journey would have been a challenge.  We do not know if they walked or if they had a donkey.  Because of the mode of travel at the time, it is possible that she could have ridden a donkey.

We know that the trip from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea would have been somewhere between 70 or 80 miles.  A man can walk about 3-4 miles in one hour, so Joseph and Mary could have traveled about 25 miles a day.  However, the route they took might have been carefully selected.  Nazareth in Galilee was quite a distance to the north of Jerusalem (near the Dead Sea) and Bethlehem of Judea was just south of Jerusalem.  Samaria lay in between and Jews did not get along with Samaritans.  Joseph probably would have looked for a safe route, possibly to the east.  That would have made the journey take a little longer.

We also have to remember that shoes were not what they are today (no high grade tennis shoes) and they wouldn’t have any support. 

We do not know when they left Nazareth or if Mary was nearly ready to deliver.

Luke 2 tells us that Mary was “obviously with child” but we do not know if they were in Bethlehem for a while before she delivered or if she delivered immediately.  There is no indication that she had a mid-wife there to help her.  There is no mention that her Mother was with her

We know that Augustus called for a census and because Joseph was a descendant of David he had to go register in Bethlehem of Judea. Micah foretold the birthplace of Jesus when he wrote in Micah 5:2:

O Bethlehem, Ephrathah, you are but a small Judean village yet you will be the birthplace of my king who is alive from Everlasting Ages Past (LB).

We know the birth of Jesus was a miracle, but we don’t often talk about the difficulties Mary and Joseph faced.  We don’t mention Mary’s faith that God would take care of them in this strange place.  We don’t consider how Joseph felt.  We tend to think it was wonderful and easy. 

The truth of the matter is that they faced many difficulties along the way, just as we face difficulties. God took care of them, just as He takes care of us.  Even though you may be facing uncertain times, you can trust that God goes ahead of you and is with you. 

Just as God was with Mary, God is with you. God is for you and on that you can rely.