Early morning in Jerusalem…at The Olive Tree Hotel
The Olive tree in the middle of the dining room.
The Damascus Gate.
Right up to the end of the 1800's, trade caravans, camels loaded with wares, would travel the trade route from Damascus to Jerusalem. The caravans would come to this gate to unload their wares.
The smaller gate next to the large gate is the gate where the “Cardo” started. This was the main thoroughfare leading to the Damascus Gate during the time of Emperor Hadrian in 135 AD.
Off we go…into the Old City…
The Western Wall.
The holiest shrine of the Jewish world, it is revered as the last remaining relic of the Temple. It is the wall closest to the Holy of Holies of the Last Temple.
During Roman rule, Jews were not allowed to come to Jerusalem but during the Byzantine times, they could come once a year on the anniversary of the destruction of the temple.
From 1948-1967 the wall stood on the Jordanian section of the city and once again, Jews were not allowed to visit the wall. After the Six-Day War, the wall became a place for national rejoicing as well as a place of worship.
Barrows of Jewish bibles, prayer books for the public to use.
The women’s side of the wall. Large amounts of swallows circling above the area.
2 Chronicles 6:32-35
Solomon is praying to God and preaching to the children of Israel. He speaks about the foreigners who will come to the Temple and pray. He also speaks about the children of Israel who are far away from the Temple and who will pray toward the Temple and Jerusalem. Solomon asks God to hear from heaven and to answer their prayer.
Therefore, today, because the Temple was destroyed, they are praying towards Jerusalem where the Temple stood.
All the synagogues that are built have to face Jerusalem.
While anybody can come and pray at the Western Wall, many people do not understand how holy it is considered by the Jews. This was evident as you witnessed the reverent awe the Jewish people have for being able to pray here. When they are finished praying, they move away by walking backwards, never turning their backs on the place where the Holy of Holies once stood – the place where they feel closest to God.
The men’s side of the wall.
The Western Wall Plaza.
The ‘Bronze” Laver.
The priests washed their hands and feet before entering
and coming out of the Holy Place.
Entering the Western Wall Tunnels.
After the Six-Day War, the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Israel started excavations for the purpose of exposing the continuation of the Western Wall. These lasted for 20 years revealing many unknown facts. Discoveries from the Herodian Period, the Ayyubid, Mamluke and Hasmonean Periods have been made.
Super COOL!!! I feel like Lara Croft…Jerusalem tunnels raider!
In the area where the Antonio Fortress, the Roman Headquarters, was…
The Church of the Condemnation and the Church of the
Flagellation are also here. This is the start of the Via Dolorosa…
Back in the market place of the Old City…
Golgotha - the Garden Tomb.
The place of the Skull, where Jesus was crucified. Luke 23:33.
Jesus went willingly to His death on the cross in obedience to God the Father.
The Bible also tells us that, “at the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no-one had ever been laid.” John 19:41.
That tomb and presumably also the garden right next to it belonged to Joseph of Arimathea, a secret disciple of Jesus, who was given special permission to bury the body of Jesus in his nearby tomb before the start of the Jewish Sabbath.
The discovery of both an ancient tomb and the remains of an ancient agricultural garden so close to the Place of the Skull conforms well with that description.
On 20th February 2015, the bridge of the nose of the skull of Golgotha collapsed during a storm.
The Garden Tomb.
Quite suddenly, I found myself completely alone in the Garden Tomb. (Which in itself is amazing...the amount of pilgrims coming to see the tomb is phenomenal).
I stood there just trying to drink it in...
As I looked at where He had lain I became aware of Him...His words enveloped my spirit as He spoke. ‘I lay my life down, so that I could be resurrected in you...so that together we could finish what the Father has asked us to do.’
Reluctantly I left knowing that the group would be waiting for me to partake in Holy Communion but in truth, I wish that I had stayed.
I later found a spot near the tomb away from everyone to be alone with Him. Sinking to my knees, I surrendered all that I had and was...’Lord, forgive me, here I am. Let it be unto me according to Your Word...’
Days later, back in South Africa, I was meditating on what had happened, I could imagine the moment that the stone slid out the way, and the Lord stepped out. What a moment! Victory!
I thought about the angels announcing His birth upon the earth and I wondered why was the moment not announced in a most glorious way...?
If it had been my script, the stone would have rolled away and brilliant light would have broken forth in such glory that the inhabitants of Israel would have been woken up. Heavenly choirs of angels would have sung praises to the Lord God Jehovah in an ‘I told you so’ way and everyone would have known that Jesus was the glorious Son of God.
Why Father? Why did the Son of God, the one who had all dominion and power, who had defeated every principality and power, every ruler of the darkness and every spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places...why did He step forth into ...well...nothing? No glory, nothing?
It was then that I realized...everything about the life of Jesus was about us...
He came for one reason only...to be our sacrificial Lamb...to redeem humankind...to destroy the power that sin had over all of us by paying for ALL sin.
It was not about making the glory of God known, although He did reveal the power of God.
He came to be the Lamb that would take away the sin of the World SO THAT we could be reconciled to the Father and be restored to the position we were meant to hold, a people created in His image...
So while it was a victorious moment...the purpose of the victory was still to be manifested in creation as they heard about their redemption, believed in the Way that Jesus had made, surrendered their lives to be transformed and when finally, the Holy Spirit would indwell them...that was the moment of glory.
"I lay My life down so that I could be resurrected in you."
The glory that Jesus deserves, well, that becomes a manifested reality when our lives reveal Him...not in word but as a living reality.
Christ in us the hope of glory.
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