Day 11 - Jerusalem Part II

Hello, Friends.

It’s day 11, our last day in Israel. We just had a great morning with our rabbis, Rod and Libby. Our first stop was the Mount of Olives, across the Kidron Valley, just East of the Temple Mount. It’s filled with hundreds, if not thousands of tombs, including some tombs of the Old Testament prophets. It is foretold in the scriptures that when Messiah comes, He’ll come to the Mount of Olives. And some believe that those who are buried there will rise first. It’s like getting a front row seat. ;)

A short walk down the hill took us to the Garden of Gethsemane. On the night He was betrayed, this is where Jesus prayed, wrestled, sweat drops of blood, and surrendered His will to the will of the Father. After a really great teaching on “the fifth cup” (ask us about that later) we took communion together and sang a hymn.

From the Garden, we walked the Via Dolorosa (the way of suffering) the path that Jesus walked from his trial, to the scourging, to the cross, and to the tomb. The path concluded at The Church Of the Holy Sepulcher. The Catholics have been playing “X marks the spot” for about 1,700 years, so there’s a good chance these sites are close to where it all happened.

We debriefed what it felt like to be in this dark old church, filled with Catholic, Coptic and Orthodox artwork, incense, rocks and relics, and such a diverse group of people who appeared to be there on pilgrimage. It felt anything but western, and anything but protestant. But one thing is for sure, it was evidence that people from all over the world, and from all walks of life, have a deep spiritual longing and hunger for God, and see Jesus as the way to God. In that sense, it was beautiful and powerful.

After lunch, Rod and Libby took us to one last sight, just outside the southern gate, where the Holy Spirit fell on Pentecost, Peter gave his first sermon, and three thousand people repented, were baptized, and came to faith in Christ. It was where the New Testament Church was born, and where the good news of Christ was made accessible to everyone. And with that, Rod and Libby said a blessing over our group, and we headed back to the hotel.

It’s hard to believe that this is our last day in Israel, a land and a people who have wrestled with God for over 4,000 years. And now we get to wrestle, too, with all that we’ve seen, and all that we’ve learned, and how we might apply these things to our lives back home.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon. Please pray for a smooth journey home. And please pray for Steve, one of our group members who wasn’t feeling very good today.

Shalom.