What day is today?

 This is Jerusalem, so it must be Saturday, right?

We started the day with a beautiful bright-blue sunny sky on the Mount of Olives. Here we read the prophesy of Zechariah about the coming of the Messiah. From our perch, we could visualize the Triumphant Entry as Jesus left the Mount of Olives on a donkey and crossed the Kidron Valley into Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was originally known as Mt Moriah (Genesis 22) when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his only son at this location. Later in history, David brought the ark of the covenant and Solomon built the temple on this mount. This is truly God’s chosen land. 

We hiked down very steep and narrow roads to the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of Olives. The Garden was a quiet refuge in the busyness and noise of the city all around us. We shared communion and had a time of reflection and worship. It’s surreal to think that Jesus prayed in this garden 2,000 years ago. 

We continued down to meet our tour bus for a trip to Herodium, another fortress palace of Herod the Great, only three miles from Bethlehem. After a hike to the top, we could see the panoramic views Herod had of the entire region. It was at this palace that Herod met with the wise men from east when they were searching for baby Jesus. Pastor Adam reminded us that Herod is believed to be entombed here among the ruins, but the tomb of Jesus is empty. He’s alive and His church is alive and well!

We piled back on the bus to visit Bethlehem. Bethlehem is under Palestinian control, so a Palestinian Christian became our tour guide. Interesting fact: only 10% of the population of Bethlehem is Christian. In this congested, busy city we visited the Church of the Nativity to see the cave in which many believe was where Jesus was born (not in a barn).

So, back to the title question, “what day is today?” Today is the conclusion of Shabbat in Israel which we would call the Sabbath. It is widely observed in the Jewish culture, especially here in Jerusalem. It is also our seventh day of going non-stop, so our days have blurred together!

We will end our visit to this Holy Land tomorrow with a packed day in old Jerusalem. We are so thankful for the unity and camaraderie of this team! We are tired, but safe and ready for another great day (it’s Sunday, right?)