It Is Finished!

That's not just the story of our last day, but the last part of our last day, as we celebrated Communion near the Garden Tomb, possible site of our Savior's resurrection.

Our final day was spent covering much of Jesus' last day in Jerusalem, as well as his return, as our resurrection hope.

We began early at the Mount of Olives, catching a spectacular view of the Old City and especially the Temple Mount. In the time of Jesus, he and the disciples would have looked up, though, since the Holy of Holies stretched much higher than the dome on the rock.

Jesus and the 12 spent many evenings at Gethsemane while in Jerusalem. As each day drew to a close, they might eat together, enjoy conversation, discuss the Master's teaching, and finally sleep. Though the exact location of Gethsemane is not known, we did spend some time where it may have been, reading and meditating, after Terry talked about Matthew 26. While Jesus' final time there was one of agonizing darkness, our morning was one of peace, now seeing things in the rear view mirror of God's grace.

As we meditated, the streets below were quite noisy with heavy morning traffic. As the bus engines roared and horns honked, perhaps we thought about how noisy it would have been in the Passover week, as hundreds of thousands of Jews came to Jerusalem.

From there we rode over to the city, where we walked up parts of the Via Dolorosa, then went into one of the possible sites of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. As we walked from place to place inside the Church of the Sepulcher, there seemed to be a site for everything, from where Adam and Eve were created, to the tomb of the "good thief" crucified beside Jesus. Yehuda spent a little time telling us how such traditions get started. It was interesting to see how people almost worshiped things like the supposed site of the crucifixion, the supposed table on which his body was laid, and a fairly new tradition of Adam & Eve's creation.

For lunch we enjoyed large Jerusalem bagels, dipped in our choice of four tasty sauces: Olive oil & hyssop; Olive oil, hyssop & goat cheese; Olive oil, hyssop & hummus; and chocolate. What a great last lunch to share together!

From there we went to the Garden Tomb, north of the city and outside its walls. This location also features what many think is the "place of the skull," a hill along the busy street, just north of the old city. Our guide there discussed why this location may be a more accurate place for the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. He also reminded us, though, that the true location matters not to the solidity of our faith.

After discussing Golgotha, we went to a tomb at its base, which, if nothing else, represents well the layout of a first-century tomb. It even has a groove in front of the entrance, which would have served as a seal for a stone to roll and sit in place.

Our day ended with Terry Feix taking us from God's covenant with Abram to the cross of Christ, then we shared communion together.

So the trip ends here. Yesterday and today, we walked around five miles each. Many of us can't wait to collect the data from our step-counts for the last 11 days, as we wonder how many miles we have walked! It could be around 50-60. Wow.

We share a final dinner tonight before boarding a plane in Tel Aviv. We are so excited to come home and share so much more with family and friends. We do hope, however, that this blog has offered you a taste of our experience. And we pray that the stories we have experienced and will share with you will help the love of God and the grace of Jesus Christ grow in your hearts.

Shalom!