‘And it came about that, as he drew near to Jericho, a certain blind man sat by the way side begging,'
Having crossed the Jordan from Peraea Jesus now approached Jericho on the way to Jerusalem. A meeting with a number of blind men and other beggars there would not be unexpected. At Passover time large crowds of people would be making their way to Jerusalem across the Jordan, both from Peraea and Galilee, and many of them would take this route. It was thus a good begging point at a time when people would be feeling generous. Possibly we are also intended to see that a blind Jerusalem awaited Him.
This was modern Jericho, not the site of ancient Jericho mentioned in Mark 10:46 (He would actually be between modern Jericho and ancient Jericho). Some have said that ancient Jericho was not known then still to have been recognised under that name, but while the fact may not be known to us it is unlikely to be true. The story of Jericho and what happened to its walls was so prominent that its site must have been recognised. Every generation who passed it would tell their children the story. Modern Jericho was only comparatively recently built. And Mark was probably proud of ancient Jericho. And he probably mentions old Jericho (for he does not usually mention place names) because he sees Jesus entry into the land almost as a repetition of Israel's entry, followed by that of Elisha (compare 2 Kings 2:4-15). First the Jordan, and then Jericho. Thus it would be the ancient city that he was interested in.