Tuesday, 10-20-09

Today our day began with a visit to the Mount of Olives which overlooks Jerusalem on the east side, across from the Kidron Valley. While we were there, Richard and Stardedt couldn’t resist a camel ride : ) Then Regina and Barbara had to have a ride too!

The Mount of Olives was a place Jesus and the disciples visited often, and the location where Jesus taught them about End Times. It was also from here that he entered Jerusalem during the “Triumphal Entry,” and He wept over Jerusalem as He fortold of it’s destruction. Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mt. of Olives, and this is where Zechariah prophesies that He will return.

From here we went through 2 different cemeteries, one Jewish, and one Christian. We learned that Jewish law does not allow a person to be buried within the city of Jerusalem, but they would like to be buried as close as possible to it. They always bury their dead with their feet facing toward Jerusalem. This is because they believe that when Messiah comes, he'll descend from the Mt. of Olives through the Eastern Gate, and thus they believe they'll be the first to be resurrected.


The Eastern Gate

Next to the Mount of Olives is another cemetery called “Dominus Flevit” which means “The Lord wept.” This is the oldest “Messianic” Cemetery known. Many of the early Christians were buried here. The Jewish burial tradition was a lengthy process, involving burying the body in the ground, and allowing for decomposition to occur, and then removing the bones and burying the longest bone(the femur) in a crypt like structure. Families were  often buried in the same tombs or stacked one upon another. The Jewish people do not place flowers on the gravesites. Instead they place stones on the tombs, as a marker and sign that they were there to visit, thus many stones are visible on top of the tombs in the cemeteries.

From this area, we proceeded to the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus sweat drops of blood as He prayed that God might find another way to redeem His people, and yet Jesus yielded His body to His Father’s will. It was here that Jesus was arrested. Pastor Steve read Psalm 22 here, wearing his prayer shawl, and we spent some individual quiet time in the garden where Jesus prayed so long ago.

The Garden of Gethsemane contains several very old olive trees, which are believed to date up to 2,000 years old. So it is possible, we are told, that some of these trees may have been there during the time of Christ.

After this, we visited ‘The Church of All Nations,’ also called, ‘Basilica of the Agony,’ where, in front of the altar is the traditional “Rock of Agony” where Jesus prayed the night before His arrest. This church was filled with beautiful paintings and mosaics.

From here we went on to the the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu and the House of Caiphus, the High Priest during the time of Jesus. In the courtyard was the location of Peter’s denial, just as Jesus fortold. It was here that Jesus was mocked and beaten, and held captive until his hearing before the elders and chief priests, and then Pilate and Herod.  We saw some underground caves and chambers here, and a cistern which could have been the place where Jesus was held prisoner the night before he was taken to Pilate.  We imagined the horrible conditions Jesus was subjected to, and we read Psalm 88 together, as we appreciated how Jesus was abandoned, and the suffering He went through for our sake.                   

   Sculpture titled: "I do not know him"

After this we headed for Mount Zion, in southern Jerusalem. We went into the “Upper Room” which is located above the traditional burial site of King David. This is also the location where the apostles waited for the baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentacost. The room we viewed was built by Franciscans in the 14th century, but was later taken over by Muslims and turned into a mosque.

The Upper Room
From here we headed out to the city of Bethlehem. the location where Rachel was buried, the home of Naomi, and where Ruth gleaned the fields and fell in love with Boaz, her kinsman redeemer. This was also where David was born and anointed by Samuel to become king. But the most notable event that occurred here was the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We remembered how that all these events speak to us of the great love of our God.

We had lunch here, and did some fun shopping in the Christian section of Bethlehem, which is mostly inhabited by Palistinians now. Then we visited the Church of the Nativity, which sits on top of the traditional birthplace of Jesus. This church is shared by the Greek Orthodoxs, Armenians, and Roman Catholics. The church is filled with ornate lamps and religious objects, paintings and mosaics. A descending staircase leads to the area of Jesus’ birth, which is covered with a silver star. Thousands of people wait in very long lines to view the birthplace and pay homage here.

Church of the Nativity                                    

         
Traditional Birthplace of Jesus

After this we headed out to the “Shepherd’s Field,” the probable location of where the angels appeared to the shepherds to announce the birth of our Savior. Together we read the story from Luke, ch. 2, and we sang praise songs to our Lord for being our great shepherd.

To conclude our day, we had a very special treat… we got to visit Calvary Chapel Jerusalem, where the ministry “For Zion’s Sake” is located. We worshipped with the small church there, and then Pastor Steve taught a message from Luke 19: 35-42. What a wonderful time of fellowship we shared with these Jewish believers.

Praise God for another incredible day in the Holy Land!