The Pilgrims' Way up to the Temple

Ancient Jewish Law prescribed that men should visit the Temple in Jerusalem at festival times, three times a year. 

At Passover the pilgrims remembered God delivering them from Egyptian bondage. The second festival recalled God revealing his commandments to his people at Mount Sinai. The third commemorated the Israelites living in temporary dwellings after their escape from Egypt.  

In Jesus’ day, pilgrims from across ancient Israel flooded the streets of Jerusalem at festival times. Before ascending to the Temple Mount, they started off with ritual washings by the Pool of Siloam. The steps they walked were discovered less than 20 years ago, when a sewage pipe burst in East Jerusalem. Archaeologists arrived not long after the engineers.

As a result, we can now see the Pilgrims’ Way, a stretch of steps a third of a mile long, climbed 2,000 years ago by countless pilgrims, among them Jesus and his disciples.

When embarking on a road trip, the choice of music is essential.

The ancient Israelites had songs for the road too. Three times a year they made the trip to Jerusalem, spending much of their time ascending. A good soundtrack would have been essential! 

The songs of ascent are found in the Psalms (Psalm 120–135). They were sung, not as distraction but as worship. They were sung because life has its troubles and pressures and can feel like a real climb. 

The most important thing when we feel overwhelmed and feel the road getting harder and heavier is to remember who we are and where we’re headed. That is what these songs did – they reoriented struggling Israelites and they can do the same for us today. 

Read Psalm 121 now. Whatever your journey, whether you’re flying down the road or barely seeing the way forward, God is with you. Walking every step, helping you, and guiding you. He who guards you never sleeps …

Read on, to find out more about pilgrims’ songs in Bible times.

• God’s protection Psalm 121
• Arriving at the Temple in Jerusalem Psalm 122