Jerusalem

Today was so impacting and overwhelming for our group as we literally walked in the footsteps of Jesus! We have grown closer as a community in so many ways over the course of our time spent together exploring Israel and hearing from the Lord! It is now time to head back to our families, churches, and communities, and take what we have learned to the world!

We began our final day in Israel sitting at the top of the Mount of Olives looking over the city of Jerusalem from the east. We talked through the final days of Christ’s life and the events that led up to his crucifixion and resurrection. What was amazing about today was that we read so much Scripture together, and it all points to real places, real times, and real people that existed during the time of Jesus. We got to see some of those places first hand today! Sitting on the Mount of Olives we discussed its significance and learned a little background information about the week of Jewish Passover.

Next, we visited a possible site of the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus, anticipating that the time had come for Him to die, prays to the Father here in this location, is arrested, and taken to be tried. We looked at a little background to the Jewish celebrations and how some of them correspond the the events of Christ’s death and resurrection. We continued to walk through the account up until Jesus was crucified, again using Scripture as our guide. What was broken in Genesis 3 through sin was restored through Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection, and can come to all those who place their faith in Him! This is great news that must be shared!

We continued into the city going through the Lion’s gate entrance and made our way into the site of the Pool of Bethesda, where we read the story of Jesus healing the lame man. Many people would come to this pool for healing and various treatment, but we recognize and see in Scripture that the ultimate authority and power of healing comes from Jesus. Here we spent some valuable time in our tribal groups just praying for family and friends in need of healing. By the way, tribal groups are just small groups that we have had throughout the week so that we can help keep up with each other in an easier way. We have many "tribal checks" throughout the day to make sure that everyone in our group is present and no one gets lost.

After leaving here, we headed to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the most possible site for the crucifixion of Jesus. A few different churches are built here on this site, which makes it difficult to imagine what Golgotha would have looked like, but we could say that we were most likely in the right area that this event took place. There are also many different first century tombs, here. Perhaps one could have been the tomb that Jesus was buried in and rose from, but we are not certain. We did get some interesting information about the typical process of burial during this time period. This was a fascinating location, with so many cultures and religious views colliding in one central place! Though this was a very neat place, we don’t worship the actual sites, but we worship Jesus who is not dead and in a grave anymore because He is risen!

By this time of the day many of us were getting hungry, and we went to a nearby park to eat some pizza! Before and after lunch, several people in our group shared about what God had shown them this week or who they had been impacted by in certain ways. We then headed back into the city, where we walked along the top of the walls and prayed/reflected on this week. Our last experience led us to the southern steps of the temple walls. It has been excavated a ton and you can actually see much of the wall at some points! Here at the southern steps, we turned our attention to the Holy Spirit and the event at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit gives power to us as followers of Christ and we see an amazing example of that in Peter’s first sermon at Pentecost here in Jerusalem, where 3,000 people come to faith and are baptized!

We ended our Jerusalem experience standing there on the southern steps looking out over the valley and were challenged to take what we have learned to the world. Would we love God with all our heart, soul, and strength that we serve Him alone and do what is right in His eyes? Would we be living, standing stones for the world to see that there is a God? Would we seek the Living Water and keep drinking especially when we find ourselves in the desert? Our experience here in the land of Israel has been life changing for the people in our group and I hope that we continue by God’s strength to answer yes to these questions and the challenges that God has put on our hearts!

Our day came to a close with a wonderful dinner as a group at a nearby restaurant. The community and experience this week has been amazing! I think we are all excited to get home to our families and friends, but will sure miss being here in this special place. Israel means so much to all of us and we will never forget our time here. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for our group and keeping up with our experiences this week. Hope that this blog has influenced you in many ways, for His glory!

-Patrick