Day 09 - Tue May 03

Happy Tuesday!

Today was our first day in Jerusalem and it did not disappoint.

MOUNT OF OLIVES / GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE

We began in the Mount of Olives and garden of Gethsemane. This area was both beautiful and peaceful. It is no wonder why Jesus would come here to pray and commune with God as we see in Matthew 26:36: Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray. While in the garden, Terry reminded us that Gethsemane was a place where Jesus and the disciples would have spent time laughing, learning, and loving one another. On the night he was betrayed, Gethsemane was full of great sorrow. For us, it is a place of great joy.

1 John 3:1

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

Everyone found a spot somewhere in the garden and we took time to pray and commune with God. This was an incredibly moving experience for many of us and I am sure we will not soon forget.

We also saw the two oldest olive trees in the garden, dating 1100 and 1150 years ago.

BETHLEHEM

Next, we traveled to Bethlehem to the visit the Church of the Nativity. This is the traditional site of Jesus’ birth and Jerome’s cave. Jerome was the first person to translate the bible into Latin, which would allow it to be easily translate into numerous languages. We were incredibly lucky because there was no line to get down into the caves and manger area.

Matthew 2:1

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, 

While in Bethlehem we ate a delicious lunch of shawarma. We also shopped at Johnny’s. Only 10-12% of the population of Bethlehem are Christians, compared to the 88-90% who are Muslim. Johnny is a Christian and his business strives to help other Christians in his area. We were all keen to support his endeavors and bought some goodies to take home.

HERODIAN

Our last stop of the day was the Herodian. This marvel sitting atop a large hill was another palace/fortress of Herod the Great and a monument to his ego. As a reminder, Herod was a very wealthy king who was brilliant, paranoid, and a megalomaniac. He was ruthless in the pursuit of power. While king, Herod heard the prophecy of the “king of the jews.” Herod believed the prophecy a threat to him and his throne. 

Matthew 2:1-6

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem  and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.”

To prevent the fulfillment of the prophecy, Herod ordered the death of all children under the age of 2 in Bethlehem. Herod was not successful in killing Jesus because God provided a way for Joseph, Mary and Jesus to escape. Despite Herod’s extreme power, he could not kill this innocent little baby. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in a manger, in the shadow of the Herodian. It is no coincidence that the Messiah entered the world defenseless and weak, in the shadow of the most powerful man around. Herod thought he controlled everything, but ultimately God came right under his nose.

Time and again throughout the bible we see God using weak individuals to oppose the strong. We saw it when David defeated Goliath. We see this example from Paul in the following passage:

2 Corinthians 12:7-9:

"Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."

God uses the weakness of human beings to do remarkable things. Jesus started with 12 fisherman, and look what happened with some faith. The power of the Holy Spirit is greater than the powers in this world.

We should always be stepping out in faith and our reach should always exceed our grasp!

We are not called to be successful, we are called to be faithful.