There is no escaping the inner tourist. When the Romans conquered Jerusalem, they took a fancy to the Temple furniture and just had to get some to show the neighbours. When the British traipsed through Greece and Italy, knocking off the heads of artworks like the Elgin marbles was just par for the course. And even in this day and age I am convinced that there are more pieces of rock that originated in Israel outside of its borders than currently exists inside " thanks to the millions of tourists it plays host to every year.

The crew of The Life of Jesus documentary series are not immune.

The majority of our film equipment and personal bags turned up " thank God! " half-way through our first designated shooting day. Undaunted, we headed off for our first location, the newly uncovered Pool of Siloam. The Gospel of John mentions records Jesus healing a man born blind, giving him the instructions to "wash in the pool of Siloam'. Since archaeologists struggled to find the pool John described, and the word "siloam' means sent in Aramaic, many concluded that the place was just metaphorical. However archaeologists uncovered the non-existent pool in the last few years and we were privileged to inspect the dig on our first day.

Returning to my opening point, though, it was interesting to observe the effect that simple geography has on even the most cool-headed historians. Almost all of the crew were familiar with the story of the healing associated with the Pool of Siloam, but being there seemed to add some unspoken dimension. It wasn't that we doubted that the event occurred; the Bible was evidence enough for the Christians present. But the proximity to the location where it occurred made it that much more personal. And in endeavouring to savour or prolong that personal application, more than a few hands closed on a loose piece of stone or accepted the gift of a pottery shard.

It reminded me that, in addition to its intellectual side, Christianity is a fundamentally emotional religion. How could it be otherwise if it was to really find a place in the human heart? In Jerusalem a man born blind had a personal encounter with Jesus. Standing in the remains of the Pool of Siloam we entered into that personal encounter, and in turn experienced our own personal connection. And it's no wonder that a person might walk away with a little piece of stone in their pocket to remind them of the occasion " any more than it would be a surprise that the man born blind would never look at the Pool of Siloam in quite the same way again. As sociologists have observed, our possessions are far more than just things we own. They are often the means by which we map our life experiences. Personally, visiting the Pool of Siloam reminded me just how much Jesus had healed me, as well as the man born blind.

Well, this is probably too much for a simple shoot blog. On to more details of the road!

Our second day of shooting took us to Masada, deep in the Judean wilderness, where Jews rebelling against Roman rule made their last tragic stand. It was an excellent location for John Dickson reflect on the counter-cultural nature of Jesus' call to love enemies, and Greg Clarke to talk about how human sinfulness is at the heart of conflict, not political or religious systems. I thoroughly recommend checking out the video blogging they are doing from key locations as they go along. Here's the link to a conversation they had at the top of the Mount of Olives; I'll provide more as they become available.

It was 40 degrees celsius in the shade " no kidding! " so after filming other segments in the desert and the ruins of Qumran, the crew finished the day with a dip in the Dead Sea. It was another quintessential tourist moment " salty, hot and stinging to every nick and scrape but, hey, it was the Dead Sea! There are supposed to be some remarkable skin benefits but I'm pretty sure the vast majority of people who swim there do it simply to say they've done it. Probably the same thought process continues to undergird the continued consumption of haggis"

From the Dead Sea we headed back to Jerusalem, entering the city on the eve of the Sabbath. It was a profound experience sharing the evening meal with many devout Jewish families in the dining room of the hotel in which we stayed. I know that there is much to say on the sadness of a people praying for a messiah who has already come, but there was no mistaking the joy with which these families ate and prayed together. You would have thought that it was some annual holiday, except that the waiter assured me it was the same happy bedlam every Friday. Fellowship over a meal is still a highly significant thing in Israel today. Being asked to share someone's table is akin to being asked to enter into their family. It clarified to me just how significant Jesus offer in Revelation 3:20 would have sounded to ancient ears:

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Just another souvenir from the filming of the coming series of The Life of Jesus"

The Life of Jesus crew is John Dickson (Presenter), Allan Dowthwaite (Director), Greg Clarke (Presenter / Researcher), Mal Hamilton & Paul Moss (Camera operators), Neil Kelly (Sound recordist) and Mark Hadley (Producer).