Day 8: The "Wilderness"

Today was our last day here in the Holy Land.  As we will be leaving for the U.S. in a few moments, here are some pictures and brief thoughts on today.

Masada

Masada is located near the Dead Sea, the place with the lowest land elevation on earth.  Masada is the location of one of Herod the Great's Wilderness Fortresses.  It's also where a small band of Jewish rebels held out against 15,000 Romans for 3 years after the destruction of the temple in 70 C.E.

Leona, in what were once Herod the Great's pet pigeon's homes at Masada.

Rob at Masada

A bird at the location of where Herod the Great kept his pet pigeons.

At the ruins of Masada.  Above the line is reconstructed by archeologists, below the line is what is left of the original buildings.

Qumran

At Qumran (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found).

Cave #4 (where many of the Dead Sea Scroll fragments were found).

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea.  The place where the sand and water meets is white with salt.

Salt from the Dead Sea.

Leona floating and playing in the Dead Sea.

Rob reading while floating on the Dead Sea.

The Jericho Road

Ein Gedi, a desert oasis mentioned in the Bible.

This is also where our Natural Mineral Spring bottled water was from.

St. George's Monastery built into the rocks of the wilderness of the Jericho Road.

Can you see the Shepherd and all of his goats?

The Wilderness.

This has been a wonderful experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life.  Please pray for our safe return.  I will see you all when I get back.

-Rob

Thank you for all of your prayers.  We will enjoy sharing more of our stories when we return home.

-Leona

Day 7: Resurrection to Birth

We have spent the last day of our pilgrimage going backwards from Christ's Resurrection in the Garden Tomb to his Birth at the Church of the Nativity.  Today then could also be considered the day we celebrated the two times Christ came into this world: once as a baby and once as the risen Christ.

The Garden Tomb

The True Tomb of Christ?

 Yesterday we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher which contains a tomb that has been venerated since the 3^rd Century as the tomb in which Jesus was laid after he was crucified.  Well, they found another one…maybe.  The Garden Tomb is another possible location for Golgotha that people have been visiting since the last century in search of a different kind of experience with Christ’s Tomb.

Rob explains why it might be Golgotha, the “place of the skull” and why it’s by a bus depot.

This stone is a replica of the stone that would’ve covered the opening of a 1^st Century tomb.  This is not to scale.  Leona is showing you how big the actual stone would have had to be to function properly.

 Inside the Garden Tomb

 This is an example of how close everything and everyone is in Jerusalem.  As we were in the gardens surrounding the Garden Tomb, we heard the sounds of children singing in Arabic during their music lesson at the school next door.

The Israel Museum

Jerusalem Model & The Shrine of the Book

 This scale model of Jerusalem as it might have looked in Jesus’ time was amazing.  After walking through the streets of Jerusalem yesterday and not really knowing where things were, it was incredible to see it all laid out before us.  Check out the very narrow space between two walls on the right side of the picture just in front of the Temple Mount.  Those walls mark out the original city of Jerusalem under King David.  It grew.

This is looking at the Temple Mount from the opposite direction.  The large platform originally built by Herod the Great is now the location of the courtyards surrounding the Dome of the Rock.

 This re-creation of Herod’s Temple is based mostly on details from scripture.  The Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine, now sits on the exact spot the Jewish Temple was believed to sit on.  Both religions believe it is the most sacred spot in Jerusalem though for somewhat different reasons.

 The shrine of the book is a museum display housing the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The building is designed to look, on the outside, like the tops of the clay jars in which the scrolls were stored until they were found in caves by Bedouin herders in the late 1940’s.  Inside the museum/shrine, fragments of the scrolls are displayed which tell of the lifestyle and worship practices of the Essenes, an ascetic Jewish community of Jesus’ time.  Many other scrolls were found there but the most important piece of the Dead Sea Scrolls to Israeli Jews is the oldest known complete scroll of Isaiah.  We saw a piece of it but they wouldn’t let us take pictures inside.

Bethlehem

The City of David

 To get into Bethlehem, we first had to leave our fabulous Israeli guide Gila behind since we would be entering the West Bank, a Palestinian territory.  Israeli’s can’t go to the West Bank and Palestinian’s can’t get into Israel.  After going through the checkpoint uneventfully, we picked up a new guide, Gabriella, on the Palestinian side who took us to the Bethlehem sites. 

But first we had lunch.  Falafel here is obviously wonderful and the gentlemen graciously allowed me to snap this picture of him frying it up.  We’ve both been enjoying it and the Chicken Shwarma which we’ve had served in a pita with salad for lunch the last couple of days.

The Shepherd’s Field Church by Barluzzi

The angel outside commemorates the “Heavenly Host” who announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds there and bid them to “go on up to Bethlehem to see the child.”

Three paintings in the church depicted different pieces of the Christmas Story.

Robert’s deep thoughts.

The Shepherd’s Fields behind the church

These would also have been the fields of King David’s ancestors--which is

why Bethlehem is called the city of David.

The sheep come out right on cue.

They’re in the center of the frame all bunched up together as they follow the shepherd.

Carol, this one’s for you.  This is part of a fountain outside the Shepherd’s Field Church.

The caves on the site of the Shepherd’s Field Church have been set up to approximate what the cave Jesus was born in (that's right, the stable was probably a part of a cave) might have looked like.  Maybe this’ll be next year’s Christmas Card.

The Church of the Nativity

 You may have heard of Manger Square.  This is it.

Rob is here pictured with Ken, our awesome program leader and storyteller extraordinaire.

The 14 pointed star over the rock on which tradition says Jesus was born.

Robert bending down to touch the rock pictured above.  He’s wearing the red stole we purchased in Bethlehem.  This will be the red stole he will wear on Pentecost, at Ordinations, or at Commissioning Services.

The Roman Catholic part of the Church of the Nativity

This is the place you may have seen “Live from Bethlehem” if you’ve seen the Bethlehem Christmas Eve Mass on TV.

We have one more day in the Holy Land and are excited for what we will experience tomorrow.  Thank you for your continued prayers.  We are continuing to pray for you.

-Leona

Day 6: Jerusalem, the Holy City

Jerusalem

The Holy City

Of all of the days that we have been on this pilgrimage, today was by far the most busy (and the most emotional).  It was our first day in Jerusalem and the focal point of our trip.   We visited and had worship, told the Bible stories, prayed and sang in an unbelievable amount of amazing places.

Here is a SHORT list:

The Mount of Olives 

(Palm Sunday, Christ's Ascension into Heaven)

The Palm Sunday Road 

(From the Mount of Olives toward the Old City of Jerusalem)  Mark 11:1-11

The Dominus Flevit 

("The Lord Wept"--This refers to when Jesus wept over the city in Matthew 23:37-39)

The Garden of Gethsemane

(Where Jesus prayed to the Father to "let this cup pass" from him).  Mark 14:32-42

The Church of All Nations 

(Built in 1924 in the Garden of Gethsemane)

St. Stephen's Gate 

(one of the many Gates that pass through the massive wall around the city).  

This is where St. Stephen was stoned in the book of Acts.

Pool of Bethesda 

(Where Jesus heals a paralytic in John 5:1-9)

St. Anne's Church

The only Crusader church left in the city.

Via Dolorosa 

"The Way of Tears" 

This is the traditional Stations of the Cross in Jerusalem.  By walking the stations (while carrying a large wooden cross) we walked past:

The Praetorium 

(Where Pilate Sentenced Jesus).

The narrow road

 that Jesus walked with his cross through the city.

The Church of the Holy Sepulcher

(contains the tomb of Christ and Golgotha, where Christ was crucified)

The Chapel of the Divestiture

(Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher) where Jesus was stripped of his garments.

The Upper Room

Where Jesus had his last supper with his disciples.  While we were there, Leona and I were asked to perform hand-washings instead of foot-washings for everyone in our group (John 13:1-17).  This is also thought to be the site of Pentecost in The Book of Acts.

Caiaphas' Home

(containing the pit where many believed Christ was held overnight before his Crucifixion)

The Roman Steps

(Where Peter denied knowing Jesus three times and is also the path that Jesus would have taken from the upper room to Gethsemane)

The Western Wall.

 The last surviving portion of the 2000 year old temple mount of Jesus time.  We prayed at the wall with hundreds of others.

The view of the city that Christ would have had on Palm Sunday.

The City of David in the Old Testament.

The alter in The Dominus Flevit.  Look closely, you can see the city of Jerusalem (and the Dome of the Rock) through the window behind the alter.

"Amazing Grace" in St. Anne's Church.  This church has an 11 second echo!

One of the old olive trees in Gethsemane.

Marker for the 5th Station of the Cross on the Via Dolorosa.

The Gate directly above Rob's Head is called the "Golden Gate."  This gate contains two large doors that always remain shut.  It is believed that at the End of Days the Messiah will enter through these doors.

Some of the amazing (and intentionally dark) stained glass windows in The Church of All Nations.

Leona walking through the narrow streets of Jerusalem.  Imagine carrying a cross through streets this narrow.

Our group singing Psalm 88 inside the pit in Caiaphas' home, where Jesus could have been imprisoned the night before he was crucified. 

Rob drinking an Arabic Coke!

The Roman Steps that Christ would have walked to travel from the Upper Room to the Garden of Gethsemane.

Various people praying and blessing items on the rock where it was believed that Christ was taken down from the cross in The Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 

A video of Christ's empty tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Leona outside the ornate doors of the Church of All Nations.

Rob had to wear a yarmulke to pray at the Western Wall.

The Western Wall.

Rob in Gethsemane.

Leona and Rob outside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

This has been an amazing and moving experience.  I will never be able to read the scriptures the same way again.  I look forward to sharing all that I have learned and seen here in the Holy Land with each of you.

-Rob

Day 5: From The Galilee to Jerusalem via the Jericho Road

Leaving the Galilee

We spent today traveling the roads that Jesus would have travelled between the Sea of Galilee and Jerusalem.  This was a path frequently travelled by Jews in that day on pilgrimage to the Holy City and one that was traversed by Jesus, his family, and his disciples.  Due to current political boundaries, taking the exact route the 1st century Jews would have traveled isn't possible.  Our guide, Gila was able to point out the route to us and we were able to stop at a few of the places Jesus may have been.

Sunrise over the Sea of Galilee

Seeing this ribbon of birds (extending off the edge of the picture on both sides)

skimmed the sunrise on the water was breathtaking.

This picture is awesome.

Bet She'an & Scythopolis

On top of this hill is the ancient town of Bet She'an.  This area was fought over many times as it is at the intersection of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley.  When Israel's first king, King Saul, died trying to capture this crossroads from the Philistines (1 Samuel 30:8-11), the enemy hung his body from the walls of the city.  The rock outcroppings high on the top right of the hill are these city walls.  

The greeks built this city of Scytholpolis at the base of the ruins of Bet She'an.  The double line of columns represents the main road through town.  Although Jesus wouldn't have necessarily gone to this gentile city, it was the closest Hellenistic city to the Galilee so he would have known about it.  It was dedicated to Dionysus who was the greek god in charge of wine.  Our guide, Gila, told us of one scholarly interpretation of the Cana water to wine miracle that suggested the miracle was done to prove how much cooler Jesus was than Dionysus.

Ancient Greek Acoustical Engineering

 All these columns fell over in an earthquake except one.  And that one was still completely buried before they dug it up.  A whole new hillside was created with the extra dirt.

This is what they did with the extra stuff they dug up.

We saw a shepherd!  And the sheep were grazing right on the ruins.  Dead city or no dead city, the sheep would like to be fed.

The Jordan River

Yesterday's baptism site is one just at the southern end of the Sea of Galilee.  However, John the Baptist was probably baptizing in a area much further south.  Geographical clues in the bible actually narrow the area along the Jordan River to about 5 miles.  The claim to this particular spot is backed up by traditions that also put the Old Testament Prophet Elijah (2 Kings 2:6-12) and Joshua, leader of the Israelites after Moses, (Joshua 3:7-17) at the same Jordan River crossing.

We got in.

The current realities of a holy site on the West Bank.

The Greek Orthodox baptism site on the Jordan River was only open 2 days a year until very recently due to security concerns.  Apparently, it just opened up on a more regular basis but this is such a new development, it wasn't even on our itinerary.

Jericho

The city of Jericho is the oldest city in human history with archaeological evidence dating it back to 8,000 B.C.  There was an oasis in the desert here with many springs coming up right in this area.  Although the Jordan River is close by, it has picked up quite a bit of mineral salt on it's way down from the springs of Caesarea Phillipi, through the Sea of Galilee and on to its final destination of the super salty Dead Sea not too far to the south of here.  So you'd be better off drinking the spring water.

This tower is the 8,000 year old archaeological evidence.  Experts think its a watch tower.  No one has ever found the famous walls of Jericho that Joshua and the Israelites tumbled with some walking and some horn blowing (Joshua 6).

The Monastery of the Temptation above Jericho

Although Jericho is green, the countryside around it is NOT.  Since tradition has Jesus' baptism close by, tradition then concludes that the wilderness of Jesus' temptation is also close by (Matthew 4:1-11).  It's not so easy to see, but the Greek Orthodox have a bright white monastery built right into the rock face of this barren mountain about Jericho.  If you can't find it, it's just left of center and about 1/3 down from the top.  They picked it because there are caves nearby that contain stones about the right size to resemble the bread-sized stones mentioned in scripture.

Bethany

The home town of some of Jesus' best friends, Bethany is mentioned often in the New Testament.  Siblings Mary, Martha and Lazarus figure in quite a few stories and Lazarus' resurrection at the hands of Jesus foreshadows Jesus' own resurrection later in the gospel narrative.  Lazarus' tomb is venerated here with a Greek Orthodox church next to it and a Mosque right beside it.

Lazarus Tomb

Jerusalem

Our final pilgrimage destination

We first saw the Holy City from the top of the Mount of Olives as the sun was setting behind it.

One of three possible locations for "Mount Zion" is in the center here on the horizon.  Although the Greek Orthodox Dormition (Ascension) Church is here, this may be the least likely site for the "real" Mount Zion.  This site was picked by pilgrims in the middle ages because it was the highest point in the current Jerusalem of their time.  The Muslim's Dome of the Rock on the site of the Jewish Temple (you can see the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount bottom right) has been considered Mount Zion in it's day.  The original Mount Zion referenced in the Bible talks of a citadel built by King David in the Kidron Valley which is bottom left in this picture.

Rob & Leona & the Dome of the Rock

I'm sure we'll have lots more to say about Jerusalem tomorrow.

-Rob & Leona