Map

1 Bethlehem Jesus was born in Bethlehem, a village

just a few miles south of Jerusalem in Judea (Luke 2:1-38;

Matt 2:1-22).

2 Nazareth Jesus grew up in Nazareth (Matt 2:23;

Luke 2:39-40), a small village in the southern part of

Galilee, 65 miles north of Jerusalem. When he began

his ministry, he preached here but was rejected in his

hometown (Matt 13:53-58; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:16-30).

3 Jordan River Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist

in the Jordan River (Matt 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke

4:1-13).

4 Cana Jesus’ first recorded miracle was at a wedding

in this Galilean village (John 2:1-12).

5 Jerusalem Jesus traveled to Jerusalem right at

the beginning of his ministry (John 2:13–4:3), and he

concluded his ministry here as well. Jerusalem was the

center of religious and political power in the region, as it

was home to the Jewish Temple and the Roman governor.

Many of the most important events in Jesus’ life happened

in and around Jerusalem, including his crucifixion

and resurrection. His last week was all spent in this area,

with some time spent in Bethany, Bethphage, and the

Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.

6 Samaria Instead of shunning this region, as most

Jews at this time did, Jesus chose to travel through Samaria

and minister to the people he met there (John

4:4-42). Many people in Sychar believed in him as a

result of his ministry. The people of Samaria were half

Jewish, the result of intentional mixing of peoples when

they were exiled centuries earlier, and their worship

practices were different from the Jews even though

they were also based on the Pentateuch (Genesis—

Deuteronomy).

7 Galilee Jesus spent most of his time during his

ministry traveling throughout the region of Galilee. He

spent a lot of time preaching in towns around the Sea of

Galilee, including Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Korazin.

He performed many miracles in Galilee, including the

calming of the storm (Matt 8:23-27; Mark 1:40-45; Luke

5:12-16) and raising a widow’s son from the dead (Luke

7:11-17). He also delivered the Sermon on the Mount in

Galilee (Matt 5:1–7:29). While there were synagogues

in every town and a large Jewish population, there were

also many Gentiles and Roman military personnel in this

region, which was at Israel’s northern border.

8 Beyond Israel Jesus didn’t limit his ministry to the

borders of Israel. He ventured out into Phoenicia, visiting

Tyre (Matt 15:21-28; Mark 7:24-30) and Sidon (Matt

15:29-31; Mark 8:1-10). He also went to the Decapolis

region west of Galilee, where he fed 4,000 people (Matt

15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10).