Good Friday and Easter Thoughts

These pictures are all taken in Jerusalem. Today is Good Friday here and I can't help but think of the sacrifice made for me. Being able to see the potential locations of these accounts deepens my understanding of the scriptures. 


36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called [a]Gethsemane (olive-press), and He told His disciples, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” Matthew 26:36 AMP

Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane

There is no way to really know how old these trees are, but how cool would it be if these were the same trees?! I wonder if it could be related to the original. 

The Church of All Nations built by the Roman Catholic church next to the garden on the Mount of Olives. It enshrines a section of bedrock where they believe Jesus prayed before his arrest.

Service being held inside the Church of All Nations. 

View of the Church of all Nations from the Temple Mount. There is a valley (Kidron) that separates the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives. 

Jesus Is Buried

57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who was also a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus [so that he might bury Him], and Pilate ordered that it be given to him.59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth (burial wrapping), 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock; and he rolled a large stone over the entrance of the tomb and went away. 61 And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other [q]Mary, sitting opposite the tomb.

Believed to be the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. 

Inside the tomb

Inside the tomb

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This is inside the Old City area of Jerusalem and is also believed to be located at Golgatha or Calvary where the tomb of Jesus was. That's right, two different locations claiming to be the location of Jesus' death, burial and resurrection. The building is divided with the following denominations sharing parts of the church: Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Egyptian Copts, Syriacs and Ethiopians. 

The Immovable "Status Quo" Ladder. This ladder can be seen in the picture above as well. Its right under the window.  This ladder has been here since at least 1852 but possibly going back to 1757. The understanding is that no christian order may move, rearrange, or alter any property without the consent of the other 5 orders. 

Big beautiful doors at the entrance

The Aedicule surrounding the tomb itself. This was incurring major renovation at the time of our visit.

Kelt Canyon

The Kelt Canyon is a rocky canyon (wadi) between Jerusalem and Jericho. 
It runs from west to east, draining a significant part of the northern Judean wilderness. The Wadi Qilt is very deep and a barrier to traffic – travelers must travel alongside it rather than cut across it. The route around it is called the “Ascent of Adummim,” the main route from Jericho to Jerusalem. 

Possible biblical references: 

Isaiah 40:3-5
"A voice is calling,
“Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
Make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.
4 “Let every valley be lifted up,
And every mountain and hill be made low;
And let the rough ground become a plain,
And the rugged terrain a broad valley;
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
And all flesh will see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”"

The Good Samaritan

Luke 10:30 

"30 Jesus replied and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and [a]beat him, and went away leaving him half dead."

The Temptation of Jesus

Matthew 4:1 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. "

God Sows

The Jezreel Valley is a large, triangle shaped valley in Israel. The soil is rich, black gold, making this some of the most fertile farmland. This valley is mentioned in the Old Testament by name, including references to a city of Jezreel located in this valley. Because of it's location, it has always been a military battle ground. This valley played a role in battles for Deborah, Gideon and Saul. Some say that this area is mentioned in Revelation 16:16 as being the site of Armageddon.

The dual nature of this land is striking to me. The same land that provided a perfect battle ground for the armies of the world, is also a place where God sows. The ground is so rich, I think even I could successfully grow something!

Away In A Manger

Part of our experience was visiting Bethlehem, specifically the Church of the Nativity which is located on the spot that some considered to be over the cave that marks the birthplace of Jesus. Let me just say, this was something I was really looking forward to without really knowing what to expect. If you are interested in learning about church history or architecture, it is a great place to visit. And that's where I'll leave it. :) Also, since this was in the West Bank area, security was somewhat of a concern. The tour bus dropped us off, left and came back to get us. We did not stop anywhere along the way to sight see. We simply went to the church, took a tour and left.

First Impressions. This is the parking garage of a mall. 

Not to be confused with Starbucks...

The Church of the Nativity. We came just as the call to prayer was sounded off (loudly) at the nearby mosque. Our tour guide had to wait until it was finished before he could continue.  

Beautiful floors underneath the wooden walking path. We came during major renovations.

Scaffolding, incense, and ornate decor.

Entrance to the grotto. 

This is it. The spot marked by the church showing where Jesus may have been born. Was it what you were expecting? 

Ugly lightbulbs don't discriminate. I groan every time one of these gets used in my house!

Jewish Quarter- Part One

Once we finished lunch on campus, we headed through the markets to the Jewish Quarter. We happened to lose one group member along the way and sent someone back to find her. 

This picture sums up the Old City. Four quarters, Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Armenian.

We stopped to admire the Jerusalem Cardo ruins. This would have been the main street 1500 years ago. Built in the 2nd century by Hadrian (the Romans). 

This is in the jewish quarter. Israel has mandatory military service requirement for women (although these were certainly teenage girls). There were many groups like this in that same square (out of view here),  and it reminded me of ROTC in a way.  

Wohl Museum

Ritual Bath (Wohl Museum)

Mosaic Floor (Wohl Museum)

Wohl Museum. You can see a collection of vases in the background.

Mansion of those times. (Wohl Museum)

Ornate column (Wohl Museum)

Roman architecture indicating a courtyard enclosed by a series of columns. (Wohl Museum) 

Jerusalem University College- Israel

Once we arrived on campus, we were given a tour and had our Orientation class. We had quite a bit of homework to complete before heading to Israel. One of the main objectives of this academic tour was to learn the Historical Geography of the regions. I won't bore you too much with the details, but it's very interesting to learn the layout of the land. You can better imagine why people fought over certain areas (perhaps the soil, climate, access to water, etc.) and you can see just how hard some of the journeys taken would have been. Geography, Geology, Archeology were main topics of discussion during our stay.

JUC

The tour guide we had was very, very good. Dr. Carl Rasmussen has had many years of experience in Israel and has published an atlas of the bible with Zondervan publishing. It was wonderful to learn from such a distinguished instructor. Carl teaches at Bethel University (or may have recently retired, I'm not sure) and serves as an adjunct professor at JUC.


The college itself sits on Mount Zion and overlooks the Hinnom Valley. The history of the land includes:

- JUC relocating to this location following the Six Day War in 1967 after being occupied by troops. It overlooks a valley that was considered no mans land during the war.
- The historic buildings were part of the Bishop Gobat School built in 1853.
- The grounds and buildings rest atop portions of the Herodian Wall and includes the site of the Essene Gate. (Herodian= really old, possibly built by Herod the Great 74 BC- 3AD).
- There is also a cemetery located here, where famous protestants from the 19th and 20th century are buried.

This is the dining room where we enjoyed lunch on campus.

Carl describing the tombs and burial methods. Notice the people in the background? 

Our fearless leader stopping to get a picture. Carl has a free website filled with pictures of the holy land. HolyLandPhotos.org. 

First Impressions - Israel

Once we landed in Israel, we joined a group of people who were also headed to Jerusalem University College for the same tour we were taking. We arrived at the Gloria Hotel and met Moria, the student assistant for the college, who let us know about our "no room in the inn" situation. The hotel did not have a room available for us that night so they escorted us two blocks down the road to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. A very simple room with working air conditioning and a few unique features:
The electricity only worked if your room key was placed in a slot on the wall.
The shower head was handheld.
This is actually a church, so you could very well be eating breakfast with a priest or group of nuns.

This is called Jaffa Gate. It is named after the city it points to (Jaffa on the Mediterranean).  One note on names, there are multiple names for places here. There might be a hebrew name (Sha'ar Yafo), an english name (Jaffa Gate) and arabic name (Bab el-Khalil or Bab Mihrab Dawud) for the exact same gate!

We headed out the next morning (4/05) to find the college and attend our orientation class.

This was a moving sight for me, to see normal life happening in a place we think of primarily in terms of historical context. 

The view from our room at the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Church.

Entrance to the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate Church

Another view of Jaffa Gate. Behind me is the road leading down to JUC. 

Right inside the opening of Jaffa Gate. 

Trying really hard to not look like a tourist but still amazed at everything we see! 

Mom is tired of the pictures already! 

Something in bloom. 

This is the Old City Wall just down the road from Jaffa Gate. This whole wall around the city was built during the the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent (1538). He was a Turkish ruler of the Ottoman Empire from 1520-1566.  

Arrived!