Day 09 - Jerusalem: Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, Saint Anne's, Pool of Bethesda, Ecce Homo, Via Dolorosa, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Garden Tomb, Farewell Dinner

The day started with sun…we were all hopeful for warmth, we were spared rain, but it was definitely COLD….Worship was "How Great Thou Art"- we all reflected on how great God is.

Devotion was led by Russ - Carrying the Cross

Luke 9:23-24 - whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me….

Luke 23:26 - the soldiers seized Simon from Cyrene and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

By these scriptures it is a certainty of what Christ calls us to do. We know the truth.

Russ shared take aways from this trip. The reminder of God's faithfulness. Digging into God's Word daily; they not just words on a page.

What it truly means to love God and others.

Give up what’s easiest for us and choose obedience, our life, our methods must be cross shaped.

Take away questions include: How am I denying myself for Christ? What are tangible ways I can take up the cross? How can I be more obedient to the Lord?

As we began our day on Mt. Scopus- where our hotel is located it was a place of ancient smoke signals.

We passed the Hebrew University, first to teach in Hebrew. We traveled from East Jerusalem, Muslim Quarter, moving toward the wilderness.

We were reminded that if traveling from Galilee to Jerusalem most traveled the Jordan Valley in Jesus’s time.

We left the bus….would not be on it again until after our farewell dinner….let just say we all hit our step goal!

First stop Mt. Of Olives. Ronen states the pace will be slower today, offering more time of reflection.

It’s a neighborhood outside of the city, just a hill.

We then begin the long walk up the hill, Garden of Gethsemane.

We begin in Matthew 26:36-Jesus in the garden with his disciples after Passover dinner - his ask was:

                1.            Pray 2. Stay 3. God has a plan

We were then given time to pray alone in the garden, by far the most poignant time of the day.

Then as a group we made the pilgrimage from Mt. of Olives to Mt. Moriah - past the eastern wall through Lions gate or St. Steven's gate, Sheep Gate, Jericho Gate……

Our first stop within the city wall was St. Anne's (the mother of Mary)

Here we as a group sang in front of the altar for all to hear “I love you Lord” and the Doxology….we all think we were pretty good!

Outside were the Pools of Bethesda, meaning House of the loving kindness of God.

This is where Jesus healed the paralyzed man by the water, John 5.

We Contrasted that with John 9, the story of the blind man.

Do we question or make excuses  for our unbelief at times?

Our homework is look at significance of water in the gospel of John.

We then walked northern wall. Northwest corner under the western wall is Antonia Fortress

Court of law- beginning of Via Delarosa. We walked the 2000 year old street below, where Jesus carried the crossbeam section of the cross, in a narrow street against the flow of traffic…

We made our way through Damascus gate. Lunch was at Fayed restaurant with yummy kabobs in the warmth!

We continued our walk through Jerusalem, through the bazar. Grateful for no rain, but oh the cold! It’s believed we all now have Jerusalem beanies!

Next stop was the Garden Tomb, which is a secondary site where the crucifixion and burial of Jesus took place.

But we were reminded of the gospel of John….why do you seek the living among the dead, He is not here! He has risen.

We then took communion together as a family. Special cups provided by Johnny from Bethlehem. Prior to Pastor Shane spoke of the cup means the wrath of God, or being forsaken by God.

Psalms 75:8- the cup of the Lord

Jeremiah 25-take this cup, the wrath of my hand.

Jesus in garden-Take this cup, the wrath of God.

Ichabod-God has turned his back

Romans 1& 2-given over to….

But in 1 Corinthians we are now given the new cup, God's Holy Spirit, because of Jesus’s sacrifice. This was such a reverent time, so meaningful.

Our last stop back through the bazar was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the holy tomb). This is where 90% of scholars believe Jesus was crucified, his body prepared and buried. This is a busy place, many of us were overwhelmed by the amount of people and ornamentation.

This entire place is to help us remember the legacy left by Jesus.

We the headed for our final dinner together with Ronen and Meir…

We had a time to thank them for all they have given to us.

We are all truly blessed to have been cared for by Meir (the best driver in Israel) and led and taught by Ronen…who truly has a gift and is a gift….

As we took our final walk through the streets of Jerusalem at night we read Psalm 48 reminding us of the city, and that we are called to pass it on to the future!

And pray for peace of Jerusalem.

This pilgrimage has been a total body experience, body, mind and spirit. None of us leave here unchanged….we all seek to remember and move forward from here alive and living for Jesus, with passion for the word….seeking hospitality and loving God with all our hearts, mind and spirits and loving our neighbors as ourselves.

Praying for safe travel to Fresno….we all look forward to sharing what God has revealed to us with you!

Shalom Shalom