Israel Study Tour with Oaks Christian School

February 13-22, 2019

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Go through it out of love

We started this morning at the Mount of Olives and essentially were able to walk in Jesus’ footsteps during the last week of his life before he was crucified. Mount of Olives was surreal because we were able to see where Jesus wept over Jerusalem, where he sent his disciples for a donkey to ride in on, where he ascended and where he will come back to one day.

From there we walked to the Garden of Gethsemane where he prayed the night before he was captured. It is a place that reminds us that He is a suffering God who has been through the depths of emotional and physical pain and can understand ours as well. It also reminds us that even though he wanted that cup of suffering to pass and for there just to be another way, that he still chose to go through it out of love.

We took quiet time by ourselves and read the scriptures, prayed and reflected. We then participated in communion as a group, which was sacred and a moment we will never forget.

-Allie Davis, OCS Bible Teacher

Mount of Olives

Separated from the Eastern Hill (the Temple Mount and the City of David) by the Kidron Valley, the Mt. of Olives has always been an important feature in Jerusalem’s landscape. From the 3rd millennium B.C. until the present, this 2900-foot hill has served as one of the main burial grounds for the city. The two-mile long ridge has three summits each of which has a tower built on it.

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After Jesus was arrested from the Garden of Gethsemane, he was brought to the house of the high priest and imprisoned in a dungeon. Jesus ascended the holy stairs to eventually meet the Sanhedrin.

In waiting, Jesus was held in a pit, while Peter waited outside the door of the high priests quarters.
It is known that Peter would forsake Jesus three times, the third time was in earshot of Jesus, as a guard recognized Peter as the man who injured his relative the day before. As Peter denied his affiliation with our savior, a rooster crowed at mourn. That is why the church built over this site is called St Peter in Gallicantu.

-Bill Trodder, OCS Father


The Pool of Bethesda

Bethesda means house of grace. This is the pool where Jesus cured a man who was unable to walk in John 5. The man was outside of the temple because he and the others near the pool were disabled in some way, and therefore considered unclean and were not allowed entry into the temple itself. They gathered around the pool and waited for the water to swell, because they believed that was caused by an angel stirring the water, and that the first person who then entered the water would be healed.

This thought process comes from paganism, and what they believed was an angel stirring the water was actually caused by the water levels in connected nearby caves and springs changing.

Jesus' miracle at the Pool of Bethesda almost perfectly mirrors his miracle in John 9. The only strong difference is the reactions of the healed men. The man in John 9 is extremely grateful and immediately begins to testify for Jesus. The man in John 5, arguably, reacts poorly and tells the Jewish leaders who healed him, when they were looking for who had ordered the man to pick up his mat on the Sabbath, which is against the law.

-Alexis


Via DeLarosa:
Walking through the Via Delarosa was an amazing experience. The energy of the crowd is fast and vigorous. It is because all the people there were either following a tour guide or going throughout their everyday life. Then when you see all of the street venders it shows how popular this place is. Imagining that Jesus was walking through there while carrying the cross was insane because he would get stuck in the crowd and people would shove and hurt him. Overall this street was a great experience because it showed me the emotion and feeling of Jerusalem.

-Marco, OCS 8th Grader


We ended the journey at the Church of the Holy Suplechre, the supposed place of Jesus’ crucifixion and burial at Golgotha. It is often a difficult sight for people because it’s not the barren isolated hill you’d imagine. Now it is in the heart of the Old City, surrounded by pomegranate stands, shops and hair salons. It feels wrong at first but then you come to realize that if it weren’t for the Christians building the church and protecting it. (and all 6 Christian groups who share a slice of the church) then it would likely just be another orange juice or leather stand. My personal highlight is seeing all of the Christian pilgrimage from all over the world to that sight to see and lay reverence to where Jesus likely died for us.

After this wonderful and very full day, we headed back to the hotel for a trip debrief and ceremony. It was fun to reflect together on all that God has done and what He has taught us through the teaching, Ronen, and the land.

Going to sleep grateful for the time in this country and sad to leave tomorrow. We have a VERY early wake up call but we will then start our journey back to the US!

-Allie Davis, OCS Bible Teacher

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