Mount of Olives
We awoke in the morning and started our day at the Mount of Olives. It was a very crowded and busy area on the roads, so our tour bus dropped us off at the top of the mount and we were able to take in a exquisite view of the entire mountainside. As we looked out, we could see the old city of Jerusalem and also the catholic side of the cemetery. We walked down a very, very large hill and took in the site. We stopped and Eli told us all about how tombs kept family bones together from generation to generation. This kept them linked together in their tombs. The tombs were not buried so that the next family member's bone could be added as they passed away.
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| Mount of Olives |
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| Catholic Side of the Cemetery |
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| Old City Jerusalem |
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| Old burial tomb |
Garden of Gethsemane
When we got to the bottom of the hill, we walked down the sidewalk to the Garden of Gethsemane. This is the location that Jesus was betrayed by Judas with a kiss on the cheek. The road splits down the middle of the garden now, but it was easy to imagine how beautiful this place would have been back in Jesus' time. Eli got us into the very small and private side of the garden. There was no other group in this part of the garden. We had time to read the bible, pray, and meditate on this sacred place. It was a very intimate setting. One of complete beauty and sadness at the same time. It is from this garden that Jesus was taken, placed on trial, and then pronounced guilty. From there, he began his walk on the Via DoLorosa. It was such a surreal opportunity to see just what Jesus went through and know that we were literally walking and sitting right where he had been!
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| We snuck and tried a olive from the ground while we were here! |
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| This Olive Tree was actually in existence when Jesus walked through the Garden of Gethsemane |
We walked to the other side of the garden across the street to enter a church that has been built on the property. It is said that the stone that Jesus sweated blood in the garden rests in the church.
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| Original flooring in the church |
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| Stone upon which Jesus sweated blood in the garden (disputed) |
After walking down the Mount of Olives and into the Garden of Gethsemane, we moved in toward the Via DoLorosa "The Way of the Cross". This is the path that Jesus took while carrying his own cross to be crucified upon. They showed several stops that he made along the way, such as where he was given a drink, flogged, spit on, etc. It was a very emotional walk, and also strange to see how it was in the middle of the entire old city. People were everywhere, living their daily lives....walking upon the same place that Jesus walked.
At the end of the Via DoLorosa, we entered the church I had gone to the night before. This church was built upon a disputed place of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. Many of our group stood in a very crowded and stressful line of people to go up to the spot that is said to have had Jesus' cross in the ground. To this day, you can place your hand in the hold that held the cross. We placed our hands in the hole and all we could feel was grease from so many other people's hands.....it was pretty gross honestly....but we were glad to have gotten the experience!
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| Depiction of the cross and where it stood with Jesus upon it. |
After he died and was taken down from the cross, he was laid on a stone and prepped for his burial in the tomb. It was interesting to see how the people laid their faces, hands, clothing on the rock as if it would give them luck and power. Many people wept over the stone. People from all over the world were there weeping and praising in all different languages. Such a strange and powerful thing to see.
Lunch in Jerusalem
We were starving after all of the walking, and we were blessed to get to do a little shopping in the city of Jerusalem. We also ate a yummy lunch! We took a photo especially for Chad!
Pool of Bethesda
After lunch, we took a visit to the Pool of Bethesda. This pool was said to be a healing/bathing pool. When people would go there, they would go for healing and prayer. They hoped that God would hear their prayer. This is the place that Jesus healed the lame man. He told him to pick up his mat and walk into the pool. He did just that and was healed! No one could believe it was the same man who had laid there for years. But it was! My mom and I climbed down into the pool just to say we had been there. What was interesting is that there were many different pools. You could walk down into many different ones to baithe.
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| Deep down into one of the pools |
Dead Sea Scrolls
We closed off the day at the site of Dead Sea scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient manuscripts that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near Khirbet Qumran, on the northwestern shores of the Dead Sea. They are approximately two thousand years old, dating from the third century BCE to the first century CE. These serve as one more proof that the history as it is written in the bible is real and true. We were not allowed to take pictures of the scrolls in the museum, but we did get a group picture outside. The building represents the protective case that many of the scrolls were found in.
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| As the sun sets above the site of the Dead Sea Scrolls |
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