More than I could have ever imagined

“Jesus love me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…”

How many times have you heard this song? Probably a million. But have you ever stopped to think , really think, about just how much Jesus loves you?

We did that today.

We started off our day at the Mount of Olives where Jesus and his disciples spent so much of their time. We even walked down the very street where Jesus rode a donkey in to Jerusalem. Hosanna to the King of Kings!

We spent time in the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus last spoke with his Father knowing it was the end. Then walked down the Kidron Valley to Old Jerusalem.

We walked through the streets of Jerusalem and the marketplace (the Villa Dolorosa), on the very streets where Jesus, with his crown of thorns, beaten, and carrying his own cross, was hit, pushed, spat upon, and mocked on the way to his death.

We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site where our Savior was crucified and buried in a tomb.

We went to the Israel Museum to see the Dead Sea Scrolls that were found by three shepherds in the caves of Qumran, a place we visited earlier.

Our last stop of the day was at the Garden Tomb, on Skull Hill, where we saw an actual depiction of what the cross and the tomb might have looked like. There, as a group, we shared a very special time of communion…communion with our new “family” in Israel!

Of all of these sights though, nothing touched me more than the Garden of Gethsemane. It was there I realized the true depth of Jesus’ love for me. He came to earth, wrapped in flesh, to save me. That night, he could have gone to the Mount of Olives like he normally did, he could have ran, he could have hid, but he stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane to talk to his Father one last time. He knew what lay ahead, yet he waited there to be taken by the enemy. He loved me that much, without even knowing me. He loved me enough to suffer and die so I might be forgiven. How? How? How could I possibly not love him too?

If this trip has taught me anything, it has taught me that my Jesus loves me more than I could have ever imagined. The places I’ve seen, the plans he had, the prophecies fulfilled… none of it is coincidence or by accident. Jesus loves me! This I know! He loves you too! I hope you can understand that, even without a trip to Israel.

Denise Surber