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In The Steps of Jesus
An authoritative and colourful guide to the key sites visited by Jesus, written and compiled by an experienced tour guide of the Holy Land who is also a theology lecturer at the University of Oxford. The focus of the book is on Jesus and the sites that are likely to be authentic. The text follows the chronology of Jesus' life and so has an overall 'story line'. Each chapter (or site description) a description of the biblical event, any relevant previous history or associations of the site, a site description in terms of geography and archaeology, any relevant later history, and what it looks like today (maps and photographs).
Hardcover
First published January 19, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 8, 2025
Great explanation of locations and their historical meaning
May 13, 2018
Peter Walker's book is a fantastic option if you want a concise pictorial guide into the Holy Land where Jesus ventured. His book covers all the places where Jesus traveled and taught, right up to his death and resurrection. With lots of geographical information as well as both ancient and modern facts, it's well worth the read.
March 8, 2019
nice to have a counter narrative and more detail in reading this while on Pilgrimage.
September 11, 2019
An excellent "walk" through the Holy Land, to the sites of Jesus' ministry.
September 16, 2019
This has been a great book to read before my trip to Israel and the Holy Land. I’m sure I’ll want to read it again after I get back.
December 30, 2024
A valuable and panoramic view of the Holy Land, integrating Scriptures, history, people, geography, archaeology, photographs, charts, and above all, spiritual insights.
January 1, 2013
"In The Steps of Jesus" is partly a commentary and partly a travel guide to Israel. The author used Luke as an outline for which places to discuss in which order. Each location had its own chapter, and he started the chapter with a quote from the New Testament about an event that happened at that location. He then gave a short description of the site and told what Old Testament events also happened at that location to give some insights into the cultural heritage of the site. He then described the sites that a modern tourist might be interested in that related to the Bible or early church history.
Based on the online descriptions I read for this book, I expected a lot of descriptions and full-color pictures of what the landscape and places would have looked like when Jesus walked the land. While there were a few pictures like this, most were of modern tourist spots including those that look nothing like what was originally there. Some pictures didn't have captions. In addition to the pictures, there were some maps and charts of key dates for things that happened in that area.
I liked the author's (brief) descriptions of what the place looked like if you were standing there. He also gave some background information, but a lot of that was very speculative, especially in the beginning chapters. At least he usually pointed out that it wasn't a "known fact" or if other opinions existed. I didn't agree with much of his speculation, and some of it even seemed contradictory to previous statements. For example, he said that Jesus' birth would have been full of shame (in other people's view) since Mary wasn't even properly wed, yet later he said these exact same people would "foster and guard any royal claimant growing up in their midst" (meaning Jesus).
The locations covered: Bethlehem, Nazareth, the river Jordan, the Judean Desert, Galilee and its villages, Samaria, Caesarea Philippi, Jericho, Bethany, the Mount of Olives, the Temple, Jerusalem, Golgotha and the tomb, and Emmaus.
Based on the online descriptions I read for this book, I expected a lot of descriptions and full-color pictures of what the landscape and places would have looked like when Jesus walked the land. While there were a few pictures like this, most were of modern tourist spots including those that look nothing like what was originally there. Some pictures didn't have captions. In addition to the pictures, there were some maps and charts of key dates for things that happened in that area.
I liked the author's (brief) descriptions of what the place looked like if you were standing there. He also gave some background information, but a lot of that was very speculative, especially in the beginning chapters. At least he usually pointed out that it wasn't a "known fact" or if other opinions existed. I didn't agree with much of his speculation, and some of it even seemed contradictory to previous statements. For example, he said that Jesus' birth would have been full of shame (in other people's view) since Mary wasn't even properly wed, yet later he said these exact same people would "foster and guard any royal claimant growing up in their midst" (meaning Jesus).
The locations covered: Bethlehem, Nazareth, the river Jordan, the Judean Desert, Galilee and its villages, Samaria, Caesarea Philippi, Jericho, Bethany, the Mount of Olives, the Temple, Jerusalem, Golgotha and the tomb, and Emmaus.
February 4, 2009
Great illustrations following the NT locations.
September 26, 2016
I devoured this book, and took it with me to my recent trip to Israel. Essential for anybody planning a pilgrimage to Israel/Jordan.
March 10, 2020
excellent background for trip to Israel
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews