Exploring Jerusalem

We had our first day of touring Jerusalem today! It was a great experience, starting with a breathtaking view as we arrived looking on the skyline. We could see the Dome of the Rock from a distance. This is where Abraham almost sacrificed his son Isaac on the altar to God. The Dome of the Rock now covers this place and is the most noticeable site to people when they see pictures of Jerusalem.

We made our way over to the garden of Gethsemane. It was a bitter-sweet moment to walk where Jesus walked and remember what would soon happen to him after praying at this location. As a group, we took some time to explore and pray in the garden. Then we were able to partake in communion together in the garden. This was a very special moment to share together.

We then walked from there into the Lions Gate of the old City of Jerusalem. The first place that we stopped at was the Pool of Bethesda. In John 5, you can read the story of when Jesus healed an invalid near Bethesda. It was incredible how large this pool was. It is over 40 feet deep in some areas. Due to different powers conquering the city at different times since the first century, most of the pool is much shallower than that because conquering armies would bury it in rubble. However, we could climb down a set of stairs that brought us down to a section that has been discovered that sits at the first century depth. Quite a remarkable site!

After this, we took the way of the cross. The streets that were marked as those that Jesus carried his cross to his death. The path was long and uphill. I was getting tired of the walk on the way there; I couldn’t imagine carrying the cross after being flogged! It is no wonder that Jesus eventually needed help carrying it the rest of the way. We eventually made it the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church was built directly where it is believed that Jesus’ cross was erected and where his empty tomb remains.

Next, we traveled to Bethlehem. We entered the Church of the Nativity which was built on top of the stable where Jesus was born. We explored in the cave and saw where they kept the animals. Inside of the cave is where Saint Jerome translated the Bible into the Latin Vulgate. Many of our current translations still look to the Vulgate and Jerome’s work when translating our Bible into English.

We still have more to explore in Jerusalem and we will continue tomorrow for our final day of our tour! I am excited to let you know how it goes.