A No Bus Day

March 08, 2023

We left the bus in front of the Dung Gate this morning and did not see Shlomo again until the end of our day. That means we walked the whole day to all the places we visited. And in a crowded Old City the team did well.

We began our day going through the line to go up on the Temple Mount. After the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD, the Temple Mount at one point was farmed until the 7th century when the Muslims built the mosque of Omar and the Al Aqsa mosque up there. Now the Muslim control what happens on the Mount while Israel holds ultimate say over security. It is a strange combination. We envisioned where the Temple once stood, how Jesus was defensive for the Gentiles to have a place to pray there, and how one day Jesus will return there through the Eastern Gate. We reminded everyone of the three major events that happened on this same spot: the offering of Isaac as a sacrifice; the building of the Temple; and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. All three happened on Mt. Moriah.

We left the Temple Mount through the Sheep Gate and came to the pool of Bethesda. Jesus healed a lame man here. The question he posed is “Do you want to get well?” It’s a good question for us to consider. We then went into St. Anne’s church (this is the mother of Mary) and sang to amazing acoustics.

We walked down the street a short distance and began the journey on the Via Dolorosa, the way of suffering of Christ. The 14 stations of the cross were only created by the Catholic Church around 500 years ago and only two of them or three are substantiated by Scripture. But we felt the crowded, narrow streets, we could picture His broken, flogged body staggering, and we could imagine the darkness that come over the earth in those hours. We ended our journey at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A monstrous building, it contains a high level area where Helena the mother of Constantine substantiated the crucifixion took place, with a slab of stone below it where they did the quick wrapping of Jesus’ body and a large edicle where the Greek Orthodox Church holds that the tomb of Jesus was located. These are probably historically correct but we will get a better feel and understanding of it all tomorrow at the Garden Tomb. We did go behind the edicle to see a cave complex that was part of the tombs in that area and it helped to envision what Jesus’ tomb may have been like. We did not wait in the very long line to walk through the edicle.

Next was lunch in the Muslim quarter Bazaar area, then a walk through the Jewish Quarter on our way to Mt. Zion. We stopped briefly at the cardo area, and also at the wall that King Hezekiah built to expand the city. Unfortunately the wall was covered due to some kind of renovation. We discussed the destruction caused by the Arabs in the war of Independence and Israel’s retaking of the area in 1967. The area was crowded due to tourists and Purim celebrations.

The Zion Gate is pock-marked with bullet holes having been an area of intense fighting in 1967. It was also the border prior to 1967. On Mt. Zion was visited the Upper Room, sight of the last supper and also Pentecost. It was transformed into a mosque just to desecrate it as a Christian holy sight by the Muslims at one point. We recounted the events of Pentecost and movements followed by Jesus and the disciples that night. We also reminded the group of Jesus’ teaching at the last supper, setting the example by washing even the feet of His betrayer, denier and doubter.

From there we walked down the hill to the house of Caiaphas where Jesus was taken after His arrest. We recounted His trials before the Sanhedrin and went down into the empty cistern where he was imprisoned. Van Adams read Psalm 88, a sobering description of how He may have felt.

But the story does not end there. Tomorrow, we visit the Garden Tomb and remind ourselves He is risen!