The Pilgrim’s Tunnel

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As he [Jesus] passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him … Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man’s eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing (John 9:1-3,6-7, ESV).

In ancient times, the Pool of Siloam, a reservoir fed by a fresh-water spring, served as Jerusalem’s primary source of fresh water. As Jesus “passed by,” he noticed a blind man, which started a discussion among the disciples as to who sinned, the man or his parents, as they believed disability was caused by sin.

Jesus said, “It’s not sin but for the works of God to be displayed in him.”

For many centuries, skeptics doubted the accuracy of the New Testament because no archaeological evidence supported the existence of the Pool of Siloam, until it was discovered in 2004. And … and … on January 20 of this year (2026), not only has the Pool been found, but the ancient “Pilgrim’s Road” that the Jews used to walk from the Pool to the Temple opened to the public.

A former U.S. ambassador to Israel once called the discovery of this road, “One of the world’s most significant archeological discoveries and proof that the Bible is a matter of fact, not simple faith.” 

The “Pilgrim’s Road,” used by millions of Jews traveling to Jerusalem for feasts at the temple, and the phrase “as He passed by” the Pool of Siloam, indicated that Jesus walked this very street. 

Examine this artist’s rendering of the Pool of Siloam in the time of Jesus. Notice the wide steps heading upwards (originally 26 feet wide), about 600 meters from the Pool to the Western Wall.

When the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 70 A.D., they tore apart the temple, the encircling walls, and pretty much everything made of stone, fulfilling the prophecy of Jesus, “As for these things which you are observing, the days will come when there will not be left one stone upon another, which will not be torn down” (Luke 21:6).

Because of this destruction, the Pilgrim’s Road and Pool of Siloam, buried under rubble, were difficult to find, but now a tunnel encasing the road (not excavated to its full width) passes underneath a Palestinian neighborhood.

On this newly excavated Pilgrim’s Path (in a tunnel), you can walk on the same stones that Jesus and his disciples walked many times. In this photo of the tunnel/road, note the large paving stones, which King Herod used to construct many of his roads.

I get chills just looking at these stones. Notice that I placed an “X” on one of them. There is a great possibility that Jesus walked on this very stone.

Wow. Amen!