Walking and knowing

To sum up the last actual 10 days of hard (at least 7 miles a day) hiking, enlightening and poignant information about the text intersecting with the land, deep teaching on Jesus as our priest and profit (not to mention rabbi), and deep meditations on all we are experiencing is impossible.

Basically below are the notes I took throughout the day from the teachings, and a few of my thoughts sprinkled in. this a pretty raw, and un sanitized, but I hope you can fill in the details. Many of the places I mentions below, we went to or could see where it was (or would have been before destruction). Gethsemane, the mount of olives, Jesus tomb and place of death. (or the two places it could be).

Today we walked Jerusalem, we walked the last week of Jesus life, teaching he would have emphasized in each place.

On the mount of olives (a hill side on the other side of a valley opposite where the temple stood) is a hill side filled with tomb stones. When Jesus is entering the town, riding on a colt (a huge declaration of him being the Messiah) the people in charge tell him to shut the people out, and he responds by saying if they are quiet, the stone will cry out! As he is looking at the tomb stones. he means people, the formerly dead! (Luke 19:39-40)

Every of King of Judah was announced on this hill. Mt. of olives.

Last week of Jesus life. Make it to Jericho where he heals blind Bartimaeus. Then walks with all the pilgrims on Jericho road to make the journey to Jerusalem. Disciples are excited they know the prophesy your King will ride in on the colt of a donkey. He asks for one then rides in. Huge statement of messianic proclamation. Palm branches, parting of streets – a zealot sign of allegiance to Jesus. He is proclaiming himself as the messiah, but he will not be the king they expect, the king who comes fighting through political power.

Luke 19 - he does “Alliah” goes up to Jerusalem. The Pharisees tell Jesus to get the people to be quite. They are afraid of Herodian’s and Romans killing them all. He says if I shut them up the stone will cry out

On the mount of olives, a hill side on the other side of a valley opposite where the temple stood is a hill side filled with tomb stones. When Jesus is entering the town, riding on a colt (a huge declaration of him being the Messiah) the people in charge tell him to shut the people out, and he responds by saying if they are quiet, the stone will cry out! As he is looking at the tomb stones. he means people, the formerly dead! (Luke 19:39-40)

Every of King of Judah was announced on this hill. Mt. of olives.

He is talking about that cloud of witnesses.

A detail in Luke: Jesus Begins to sob uncontrollably. It's illegal to wave palm branch it's the zealot flag. Hoshana is battle cry of zealot. "Please lord save us!!" they want to be saved From the Romans who are in power, not from their sins. He weeps because the people are missing it. People are tired of seeing their families hanging on crosses. Tired of this bully pushing their world view on them that isn't them.

Jesus doesn't enter eastern gate. (Where messiah is supposed to enter) he enters the sheep gate.  The people are thinking David lion of Judah. He is weeping because he is coming as a lamb to sacrifice not a lion to devour, but the people don’t understand that.

Right now in America we are getting uptight about politics. But kingdom of heaven did not come by sword or power! Came by our king who gave up power.

This kingdom will continue to be expressed by how we emulate this messiah. Giving up power. He was meek mild humble, on the colt of a donkey. Our enemy is the snake. It came in the beginning of time. (At Jesus resurrection the stones did cry out!!)

When he comes in on the donkey colt, he's making fun of all the triumphal parades! All the Roman Triumphs. Jesus is showing us the extreme contrast.
Everything we see in Jesus resurrection is body and soul.

He's taming chaos in the colt. Unbroken. Like he did the storm etc. when we lay our life down Jesus will come into or life and say peace be still. Come to Jesus the way he comes to us. Not about performance. He comes meek and humble. Just lay down give it up.

For first century Jew kingdom of heaven is bringing shalom to chaos.

Gethsemane means wine press. We literally say the olive press where Jesus would have been that night. John says Garden to bring us back to Eden, he is using imagery to convey his meaning but it wasn’t literally a garden it was an olive press. Jesus is going to be tempted. It's Passover and it would have started sundown. They eat their meal and walk down the Kidron valley.

(imagine 250,000 lambs are sacrificed in a 24 hr period. It's a sanitary issue all the blood. Every hour they wash court yard which formed a river of blood going all the way to Bethlehem.)

They leave upper room come down through the temple over the bridge of all the blood from lambs flowing. They get here and the text says Jesus was deeply overcome with horror and traumatized. Imagine the stories of the joy Christians across the ages who go to death with courage. But Jesus falls apart here! He prays take this cup from me. Here is why -

Cup- to a Jew salvation is Passover. Gods finger breaking in breaking bondage and bringing shalom to chaos. Very clear instructions for Passover. For 4 days a lamb is brought into insula (family) before its sacrifice. Supposed to identify with that lamb to feel Gods rescue through blood of lamb. When there was no temple they replaced lamb with wine. Salvation - one facet is God forgiving my sin. But so much more multifaceted. They drank 4 glasses of wine with Passover.

1. I will bring you out from from Egypt. (rescue)
2. Deliverance- is more than being set free. Being a slave long enough it becomes identity. He freed from that identity
3. I will redeem you with my very hand. To be brought back into household (prodigal son)
4. I will take you and protect you (wedding language). what if I go back into that stuff? God says I am yours and you are mine I will never divorce you

They used four cups of wine for each pieces of salvation.

For Jesus on the night of the last supper, Luke references the 1st cup before the meal. Then mark references the cup after dinner (2) – then Jesus got up and raised a cup to (3) redemption but instead of thinking about blood of lamb He says this is my blood and redemption is now in Jesus. But with fourth cup Jesus says I will not drink this cup until wedding feast of lamb. He didn't drink the cup of Gods protection.

At Passover they expect the 5 cup the cup of wrath and Gods judgement to come through Elijah who has not returned yet (in their minds). When Jesus prays on the mount of Olives He says “take this cup from me” he was talking about the cup of Gods wrath. He knew Gods cup of wrath was going to be poured out on him. But he gets to the place where he prays not my will but your will be done. He literally suffered hell for me for us. Hebrews says joy set before him endured the cross, we are His joy!! In spite of us!

we can say to God now I know how much you love me because you did not withhold your own son.

Freedom - deliverance – redemption - marriage.

Messiah on Friday dies, disciples would have been devastated, depressed. When everyone is praying life would come from earth he goes in. Then he's resurrected. 40 more days of teaching restoration on the earth with his disciples. Then meet him on mt. of olives where he goes to his father but promises he is coming again.

And he does on Pentecost. God came down on first Pentecost (Moses) and gave Torah. He's coming down again and comes into us. Place really doesn't matter. God changed his address from temple to us as His house.

First Pentecost. 3000 people were put to death for worshiping calf. On this Pentecost (book of Acts) 3000 come to know Jesus and holy spirit.

He is making his appeal to the world through insula (family, community) who love each other and welcome the world into it. We need a Pentecost. God changes us and fills us.

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This experience of literally walking and knowing in our whole being, the text, from Moses to Abraham to malkezadek to David Saul and Elijah, plus the life and story of Jesus has been revolutionary. We have travelled almost the entire land of Israel. It is smaller than I ever imagined, more desolate and beautiful than I ever imagined a place could be. The contrast of landscapes and cultures, has truly been for literally thousands of years and will continue to be until the return of our servant king, a platform to engage the world’s chaos and bring shalom.

Missy Weismann