Day 11 - Jerusalem: Mount of Olives, Gethsemane, St. Anne's Church, Pool of Bethesda, Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Herodium

We started our day overlooking Jerusalem and reading Luke 19:29-44 which describes Jesus riding into the city on a donkey as the crowd cheers with palm branches. Then Jesus weeps over the city because they still don’t understand. He isn’t entering as a conquering King but as a sacrificial lamb.

Mount of Olives

Then we went near the top of the Mount of Olives and walked in Jesus’ footsteps to Gethsemane. We entered a church that had an altar with statues of sleeping disciples on either side. Everyone silently read Psalm 22.

Then we walked to St. Anne’s Church which was built over 800 years ago. Scott walked us straight up to the altar and asked us to sing Amazing Grace! As we started singing, a beautiful echoing swirl of music surrounded us. This church has acoustics that allow sounds to echo for 8 seconds. That powerful moment left a few of our group in tears.

Next, we walked towards the site of the former Jewish temple. We reached the ruins of the mikveh (ritual baths) that Jews would wash themselves in prior to worshiping God. The pool of Bethesda was next to the mikveh. We read about Jesus healing the crippled man there in John 5.

Our next stop was the place where Jesus was whipped, beaten, mocked, and given the crown of thorns. We sat and remembered. Then we followed the Via Dolorosa, which memorializes the path that Jesus took to the cross. This path weaves through the narrow roads of an ancient city with a crash of cultures and religions all around.

Finally, we arrived at the church of the Holy Sepulchre, which marks both where the crucifixion occurred and where Jesus was buried. As we walked through the entrance, we saw a large stone slab with many people gathered around it. Some lay their hands on it and others kissed it. This is where they believe Jesus’ body was laid when they took him down from the cross.

We walked further into the church, which is divided into 6 sections representing different denominations. Each is ornately decorated with lamps, candles, drawings, and carvings. The smell of incense permeates everything.

Right in the middle is an ornate building marking Jesus’ tomb. From one side, you can crawl on your hands and knees to touch the edge of the tomb. From the other side, you can wait in a long line to enter a small chapel and see a piece of the stone that was rolled away from the tomb as well as a bigger piece of the tomb.

Then we went into a small side chapel that marks a possible tomb of Joseph. Our final group stop in the church was in the quarry where the crucifixion occurred. It is now a chapel with carved stone pieces surrounding an altar. Scott shared that there is a high degree of archeological evidence that this church is in the correct location although some of the relics are debated.

We were given an hour to explore the rest of this sprawling, ornate church. Some chose to light candles for loved ones while others read scripture and prayed. Two stood in line to touch the tomb, while a few were overwhelmed by the crush of the crowds and decided to wait outside.

Herodium

After our full morning, we had a delicious lunch of Jerusalem bagels that we dipped in goat cheese spread, olive oil, zaatar, or chocolate. That revived us enough for our second stop of the day, Herodium. This is Herod’s palace in Bethlehem. We sat there and looked out over the caves, imagining that Jesus was born in one of them.

This would’ve been where the wise men met with Herod and likely where he gave the command to kill all the young Jewish boys. Herod was also buried here. We walked around in the ruins and realized that no matter how bleak things may appear, the Kingdom always wins over the Empire.