Day 09 - Jerusalem: Temple Mount, City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Pool of Siloam, Southern Steps, Western Wall, Temple Virtual Reality Tour, Rabbinic Tunnels, St. Anne’s Church, Bethesda

Wednesday Feb 25 / Day 9 -  Jerusalem

I think today was our busiest day–at least that’s what my feet are telling me! We started bright and early and only sat down for a few minutes at a time for our devotional times and to eat a quick lunch. Although we were go-go-going every minute, it was a WONDER-full day.  We saw so many amazing places, I won’t be about to capture it all, but here goes!

Temple Mount

We arrived at the security point for the Temple mount around 7:30. We were some of the first visitors on site and there were very few people there. Located on Mt. Moriah, or Mt. Zion, it was amazing to see the place where the Temple once stood, and to know that it was here that Yahweh has been worshipped since the time of Abraham and the near-sacrifice of Isaac!  It was this land that King David purchased and Solomon built the first temple. Although the first and second Temples were destroyed, the footprint of the site (added with Herod’s renovations) remains the same. The area is large enough to contain 26 football fields! The temple mount is under Jordanian authority now, and we walked past a massive mosque on the south end (which was first constructed 700 AD) before approaching the Dome of the Rock. The Temple Mount is the third holiest site for Muslims, and they built this shrine on the same place the Temple once stood. Because it is Ramadan, on Friday the Temple mount will be filled with Muslims coming to pray. 

City of David

We exited the Temple Mount through the Muslim Quarter and heading to the City of David, a pizza-shaped area to the south. Here, ongoing archeological work has revealed ruins and artefacts which predate the Temple! We saw a wall and a column capital from David’s palace, as well as part of the wall that dates from the Canaanite period before David conquered Jerusalem. Oh, and we walked right past a part of the wall that was built by Nehemiah and the returning exiles! Everywhere we went today, there was a WONDER!

Hezekiah’s Tunnel

One thing we’ve seen again and again on our tour is that where there’s an ancient city, there’s a water source, and Jerusalem is no different. The Spring of Gihon was outside the original settlement, but we got to go underground to see the walls that were built to protect it and walk through the tunnels that King Hezekiah built to bring water into Jerusalem during the siege of the Assyrians. Solomon was anointed King by the spring of Gihon! 

Pool of Siloam

At the far south end of the City of David, we reached the Pool of Siloam (which is fed from the Spring). The pool is undergoing excavation, so it was partially covered and full of scaffolding, but that did not stop the wonder from washing over us. Terry read from John 9 about the man born blind, who encountered Jesus (likely somewhere just outside the Temple). Jesus made mud for the man’s eyes and sent him to the Pool of Siloam to wash.  What you can’t picture from reading the story is how far away this pool is from the temple, and all downhill. It was quite a walk of faith! And yet, after he washed, his newly healed eyes would have looked up and beheld the Temple. He didn’t even know what Jesus looked like, but when the Pharisees questioned him and tried to discredit his story (and the Wonder-worker who’d healed him), the man replied– All I know is this: I was blind, and now I see! 

We don’t have to have all the answers to tell our story. We just need to talk about how we encountered Jesus, and what He’s done for us.

We got to take the same walk the newly-sighted man did– because a new excavation has revealed the first century path from the Pool of Siloam up to the Temple. Talk about a wonder–even though we were underground, we were walking on a path Jesus surely walked!  It was a lot of stair steps, but worth every one.

Southern Steps

Back at the Temple Mount, we gathered at the Southern Steps, which are still intact. The old gates into the Temple courts have long been filled in, but these steps would have been the path to go in the temple for many travelers to Jerusalem–including Jesus! Excavations in the area are uncovering extensive mikvehs, or ritual baths, just south of the stairs. This is where worshippers would wash before entering the Temple courts.

Western Wall

After lunch (we are all getting so fond of pita sandwiches–these were some kind of meatball) we went to the Western Wall. This is a section of the original Temple wall were Jewish people have gathered to pray for as long as they’ve had access to the walls. We had a chance to pray, too (men and women have separate sections) and even place small slips of paper with requests and loved ones’ names in the ancient wall.

Temple Virtual Reality Tour

Since the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans (first by Titus, then by Hadrian) and it is now home to the mosque and the Dome of the Rock, it’s hard to get a sense of what it looked like in Jesus’ day. Enter modern technology!  We donned masks to experience a 10 minute VR experience, showing us what the Temple Mount probably looked like, with all of the courts and different sections. The Second Temple was about 1.5x taller than the Dome of the Rock, and this VR ‘tour’ helped us visualize it!

Rabbinic Tunnels

Next, we headed back underground! The Rabbinic Tunnels are a series of underground, excavated passages in Old Jerusalem, which stretch 488 meters along the base of the Second Temple-era Western Wall. We got to access the Western Wall beyond the open-air plaza where people pray, including the closest point to the Holy of Holies! We marveled at the massive Herodian stones–the largest weighs approximately 500 TONS (talk about a wonder!) and at the the ancient, and Mamluk-era arches. The tour ended with an underground pool built by Hadrian when he re-established Jerusalem as a pagan city.

St Anne’s Church

Just outside the temple walls (across a cobblestone street) we walked into the gates of St. Annes courtyard. There, we entered a church dedicated to the mother of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Talking is not allowed in the nave, but singing is! We stood on the steps before the altar, while Yehuda directed us in singing the Doxology and Amazing Grace. He signaled us to rest after each line of the songs, and our voiced echoed off the vaulted ceilings of the church. (Talk about a wonder–a Jewish guide directing a Christian hymn-sing!)  Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Bethesda

We had one more wonder in store for us, because on the grounds of St. Anne’s is the partially-excavated remains of Bethesda!  Terry read John 5, about the man who lay here, paralyzed, for 38 years, until Jesus asked him one pivotal question: “Do you want to get well?”

To our surprise and joy, Laura led the devotional at Bethesda. She told us the typical teaching for this day is about the controversy over the healing happening on Sabbath. But Laura highlighted another detail of the story: after the John 5 man “got up, and took his mat”-- he walked straight to the Temple. He left Bethesda–everything he knew– behind. As a lame man, for 38 years he couldn’t have entered the Temple even if he could’ve walked there, because his infirmity made him unclean. But that’s where he went. Imagine His wonder when he encountered Jesus again, there in the Temple courts!  

Laura said that we all must answer Jesus’ question for ourselves: Do we want to get well? ... Do we want to change? The man’s paralyzed condition meant his whole life was spent at Bethesda, with other people like him, all trying to find a way to get to the water first. His life was about him. 

We have to want to move past a self-centered life and stop living like we’re lame. Obeying Jesus meant getting up and being about Jesus’ business. And like the blind man Jesus sent groping his way down the steps to Siloam, going where Jesus tells us might be difficult. It might mean we can’t see every step, it might mean the path is longer than we’d like. But when we trust that Jesus is the one who changes us and heals us, He makes us into men and women who tell of his wonders, wherever he leads us!

Quote of the Day

On the Temple mount, men and women are not allowed to touch one another. Andy was teasing me, Taylor (we’re married) by telling Laura that I would probably have a hard time keeping the rule. Laura replied– “It must be that Dad-bod!”