Day 07 - Jerusalem: Temple Mount, Western Wall, Rabbinic Tunnels, Shepherds' Field, Bethlehem, Johnny's (shopping)

The Temple Mount is the third most holy place in Islam, and the location of Solomon’s temple and, later, Herod’s temple. This is believed to be the place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac before God intervened, where the Israelites came to worship and sacrifice, where God’s presence dwelt in the Holy of Holies, and where Jesus was tempted but did not succumb. (It’s also where we saw our first rainstorm—and oh did it rain.)

Herod’s temple, and the Dome of the Rock (built much later on the same site), were constructed on top of a massive stone structure and plaza the size of many soccer fields. After exploring the plaza, we went down below into the Rabinnic tunnels, which have been excavated below the surface along the western retaining wall of the plaza in order to provide more close access for Jews to that most holy place. Within the tunnels we saw the massive stone blocks that were used to support the temple plaza above—some 9 feet thick and weighing as much as 1000 tons (2 million pounds).

Later, outside the tunnels, we had the opportunity to approach the Western Wall. Because of the rain, only a few devout Jews were praying at the wall… and a few more in indoor spaces close by. They prayed, some clutching their copies of the Scriptures, stood and sat close to the wall, and tucked written prayers into the tiny cracks between the stones.

From there, we traveled a few miles by bus to Bethlehem in the West Bank to visit the area where it was believed the shepherds were watching their flocks on the night that Jesus was born. Honestly, it wasn’t much to look at. Simple stone ruins from later buildings, and rocky fields unsuitable for agriculture. But below in the hillside were many natural caves where the shepherds may have led their flocks at night—or in rainstorms—to protect them from injury. This was important because the animals they were raising may have been intended to be used as unblemished sacrifices at the nearby temple in Jerusalem. As Patrick explained how they would have wrapped newborn lambs in swaddling cloths to protect them, there was a sense of wonder about how special a place this really was.

After some shopping at a gift shop operated by Christians in Bethlehem, we finished our day with a visit to the Herodium… the place that Herod the Great had built and named in his own honor to be his final resting place. After visiting so many holy sites today, it stood in stark contrast as a feeble attempt by a man to create his own holy place. This one, though an amazing architectural and engineering feat, ultimately points only to a dead man.

As believers in Jesus the Christ, we know that we do not have to draw near to a stone or a wall, but can have confidence to draw near to God himself because of the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus, our unblemished lamb (Hebrews 10). We also know that we are now his temple because his Spirit lives within us (1 Corinthians 3).