Middle East Memoirs: The Last Day

Date: Saturday, April 9
Location: The Mount of Olives, Inner City Jerusalem
Temperature: Chilly
Excitement Level: *****************************
New Discoveries: In Jerusalem, Bible stories came to life, the past became the present, and the events of Holy Week as I had always pictured them to be had suddenly been turned upside down as we made our way from the Mount of Olives, through the city gate, and along the Via Dolorosa towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

After nine days of experiencing the Bible in HD (High Definition for all you non-tv people), we had arrived at day ten. Our last day together. Our last day to spend time in the scriptures together and walk in the way of the disciples. It was a surreal feeling to wake up in the Old City of Jerusalem; knowing in only one day we would be on a plane headed west toward the busy lives we had all left behind. For 10 days we had been immersed in the Word. Immersed in relationships with each other. Immersed in the culture and the land. Outside of the occasional, brief phone call or quick email home, we hadn't had any contact with "the outside world". What would it be like to suddenly be thrust into the busyness of jobs and meetings and life once again? After a trip such as this, how would we view the busyness of our jobs and meetings and life? Throughout this entire trip, we have been reminded over and over that we are not tourists. We are investments. God was investing in us. How would we return on His investment?

We left The Knight's Palace at 7:03 a.m. and made our way through the Old City towards the northern gate of the city. At 7:03 in the morning, much of Jerusalem is still sleeping. The streets are quiet as store owners haven't yet opened their doors in hopes of selling more Guns and Moses shirts or Seattle Seahawk kippas. And I'm not kidding.


These lil' nuggets made me miss my cherubs somethin' fierce.





Grabbin' some candy on the way to school.




Outside the city walls...



We met our bus outside the Old City, and it took us to the Mount of Olives. It was tourist central there. Buses and people everywhere. It was sometimes difficult to stay focused on what our Rabbi was teaching and explaining. Nonetheless, we were on the Mount of Olives. The place where Jesus went to pray the night he was arrested and tried.






"Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." " ~ Luke 22:39-46


For ten days we've been experiencing Aliyah. In order to get closer to God, we needed to go up. We hiked. We climbed. We struggled. We questioned our own strength. Jesus, in his greatest time of humanity, experienced grief, sorrow and despair. He questioned his Father's will for his life, yet, he knew his Father's plan. He knew what needed to be done. And he went willingly. And, to accomplish his Father's plan, Jesus traveled down. He walked down. His Aliyah was down. Down the Kidron Valley and back up into the city of Jerusalem. As Jesus made his way down the Mount of Olives, he was filled with despair. He would have been able to see the city that lay before him. And he knew that it was in that city that the prophesy that had been foretold would be fulfilled.


Modern roads follow ancient roads. Ancient roads follow the lay of the land. And so we made our way down into the Kidron Valley and back into the city of Jerusalem. It would be interesting to walk the path at night, after dark. After all of the tourists were snug in their beds. What would it have felt like to walk the path of suffering alone? Your friends having abandoned you. The only light surrounding you coming from torches carried by soldiers. Knowing that with each step taken, you are one step closer to your own suffering.





The site of the ancient Pool of Bethesda. The Pool of Bethesda was located on the eastern side of the city near the Fortress of Antonia. The name Bethesda means "house of mercy." It was here that a great number of disabled people used to lie; the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed. The Gospel of John says "from time to time an angel of the Lord would come down and stir up the waters. The first one into the pool after each such disturbance would be cured of whatever disease he had." It was at this pool that Jesus healed an invalid on the Sabbath. (John 5)

Then we made our way along the Via Dolorosa to the Antonio Fortress where it is believed that Jesus may have come before Pilate.





We walked up a few flights of stairs to the roof where we were able to overlook the city.

The double-dome is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.



As we made our way from the Antonia Fortress to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, our Rabbi took us through the business district. It was now early afternoon and insanely busy. Our Rabbi did this on purpose, of course, as some of the roads through the business district follow the way of the Via Dolorosa. He wanted us to experience firsthand the busyness of the narrow corridors so we would have a better understanding of what it may have been like for Jesus as he carried the cross to Golgotha. As Jesus was on the cross by 9:00 a.m., it is believed that the business district may have not been at "maximum occupancy" as it was in early afternoon, however, we got a feel for the closeness of the space and the distance he would have traveled.





And then, after yet another turn, there it was. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Originally built by the mother of Emperor Constantine in 330 A.D., the Church of the Holy Sepulcher commemorates the hill of crucifixion and the tomb of Christ's burial. Today this church is controlled by the Greek Orthodox Church.

Inside the church is a rocky quarry which is the traditional place where the cross was placed. Archaeological excavations have demonstrated that this site, at the time of Jesus, was outside the city but close to one of its gates and thus would have been a good location for a crucifixion. The point of crucifixion was not so much a punishment to fit the crime, but rather, a clear message to all coming into the city that THIS is what will happen to you if you cross the Romans. No pun intended.


This structure preserves the location of Christ's tomb, hence the name The Holy Sepulchre. Visitors will wait in line all day for an opportunity to step inside the aedicule.


We made our way around the back of the aedicule to a first century tomb believed to have belonged to Joseph of Arimathea.


The fact that first-century tombs are still preserved inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is some of the best evidence that the tomb of Jesus was in this area. Called the "Tomb of Joseph of Arimathea," these burial shafts are clearly from the time of Christ's death and thus attest to some kind of burial ground in the area. Combined with the evidence from tradition, this church is most likely the true location of the Christ's death and burial.

The Israeli scholar Dan Bahat, former City Archaeologist of Jerusalem, has said this of the church:

"We may not be absolutely certain that the site of the Holy Sepulchre Church is the site of Jesus' burial, but we have no other site that can lay a claim nearly as weighty, and we really have no reason to reject the authenticity of the site."

And I'm not one to argue.

As we made our way out of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, we met a man carrying a cross. An extremely powerful, sombering feeling.





On our way out of the city, we stopped at a gate where our Rabbi intrigued us by asking how we would enter the city "after hours" if we came home late. What would we do if the city gates were closed?

And then he showed us the door within the door. And the name of that door within a door? The eye of the needle. Hmmmm.....where have we heard that phrase before?

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:23-24

Before leaving the city of Jerusalem, we visited the Israel Museum. There, we were able to see artifacts from Qumran including the Dead Sea Scrolls. No cameras allowed. Therefore, no pictures. Also at the Israel Museum, there is a model of the city of Jerusalem during the 1st century. This model gave us a better idea of where events during Holy Week took place in relation to how the city looks today.

Two pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Again, all sites are possible not definite. The red-roofed and other buildings in the foreground in front of the crucifixion site were not yet built at the time of Jesus. The wall behind the crucifixion site is the wall around the Old City. The temple is attached to the Antonio Fortress (Pilate's quarters) and would have been located in the upper right-hand corner.

The temple. Obviously. You can see a tower of Pilate's fortress in the upper right-hand corner of the picture. Much of the wall behind the temple is still standing today and is now known as the West Wall, or the Wailing Wall.

And then, just like that, we were back on the bus and headed to Tel Aviv. We would fly from Tel Aviv to Amman in the morning and then from Amman to Chicago. When we arrived in Tel Aviv, we ate at a restaurant along the Mediterranean Sea. Following our meal, we all walked down to the beach to watch the sun set.




Ten days ago, our walk through the scriptures began in Egypt. An ancient land where the people believed in the power of the sun, moon, and the stars. The daily setting of the sun, moon and stars in the west, led to this direction assuming a mythological connection with death, retreat and weakness. The Egyptians viewed death as a state that took men and stars towards the west, and consequently nearly all the pyramids and royal tombs are located on the Nile's west bank. On the contrary, the east was the direction of beginnings and renewed strengh.

Ten days ago we headed east. We spent ten days immersed in the Word. Our strength and our walk with our Maker was renewed. And now, God was sending his investments west. Not to a place of retreat and weakness, rather, a place hungry for the Truth.


I am an investment. I know the Truth. I have seen the Truth. The Truth lives in me.

Shema Israel, Adonai elohenu, Adonai echad,
Ve'ahavta et Adonai eloeikah,
b'khol levavkah,
uve'khol naphshekah,
uve'khol m'odekah.
Ve'ahavta re acha comocha.

Hear O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone,
love the Lord your God
with all your heart,
with all your soul,
and with all your strength!
Love your neighbor as yourself.

Deuteronomy 6:4,5 & Leviticus 19:18