Day 5 – February 19th
Sunday saw us ending the first half of our journey and moving slowly into the second and final half. We sang for worship, “That’s Why We Praise Him” as a medley with “it is Well” and “Holy, Holy, Holy”. Pastor Edwards, in his introduction to the next few steps of the journey, expressed that this is time when we trace the steps of Jesus between Transfiguration and Calvary. He said: “Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt, not on a donkey (Luke 19). If he rode in on a donkey, he would be seen as a warrior taking his throne.” However, Jesus rode in on a colt, fulfilling Zechariah’s prophesy (Zechariah 9:9), not to establish an earthly throne, but more importantly, to be seen as a saviour building a heavenly one.
From the hotel, we made our way to the bottom of Mt. Olives and ascended the same. This was the mount from where Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matthew 21); where Jesus gave his prophetic discourse to the disciples (Matthew 24), and it is the place from where he ascended to heaven (Acts 1). Beyond that mount, just northwest, is Bethany, the town where Jesus would frequently spend the night with his friends: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (Mark 11 & John 11). However, just below Mt. Olives is the Kidron Valley. You would remember Absalom, son of David. A river in that valley and a pillar built there, all bear his name in honour of him. Also, the vision God gave to Ezekiel of the dry bones is believed to be depicted in the Kidron Valley (Ezekiel 37).
Once again, we’re on the road, but this time on foot. The Garden of Gethsemane is not too far from Mt. Olives. After all, the garden is just across the Kidron Valley, near the Brook Kidron (John 18). Nestled into what is already a garden area is a church called, The Church of All Nations. It was built to commemorate the place where Jesus was emotionally spent when he prayed using those familiar words: “Let this cup pass from me” (Luke 22). According to the biblical recorded, Jesus was identified by the betraying kiss of Judas; he would be arrested, and the disciples would scramble for cover from the Garden of Gethsemane (Luke 22:39-53). Inside the church in question is the Rock of Agony, believed to be the rock upon which Jesus pleaded with God. Interestingly, Gethsemane literally means, olive presses.
As we leave Gethsemane heading to the place where the Upper Room is located, I couldn’t help thinking that our movement should have been the other way around. Yet, that’s sometimes what happens in a tour the size of our group with logistical arrangements. The place believed to be the Upper Room is on the same campus as where the tomb of King David is located. Here Jesus and his disciples had their last supper. The Upper Room is where Jesus’ final instructions to his disciples and prayers for them and believers were given (John 13-17). In that Upper Room we decided to sing, “Let Us Break Bread Together” and read, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
From that experience, we made our way out of Jerusalem and south to Bethlehem, which is translated, “House of Bread”. Currently, Bethlehem is located within the West Bank, under Palestinian Authority. We found it curious that our tour guide, who is Jewish, had to vacate the bus before crossing the border so that another tour guide in West Bank could take over. Nonetheless, Bethlehem is at an elevation of 775 meters above sea level and it is approximately 10 km south of Jerusalem in the Judean Mountains. Notable in Bethlehem’s history is the site where Rachel (Jacob’s wife) died (Genesis 35); the birthplace of King David and his anointing to kingship by Samuel (1 Samuel 16), and the birthplace of Jesus (Matthew 2 & Luke 2). We visited the Church of the Nativity, which was built to commemorate his birth, and which is home to the cave where Jesus was born and the place where his manger stood (Luke 2).
That section of the trip would not have been complete without seeing the site where the angels brought Jesus’ birth to the shepherds’ attention. So, for a few minutes, we went east of Bethlehem to a little Christian village by the name of Beit Sahour, a place believed to be the fields where the shepherds were watching their flocks that night (Luke 2). The hills of Shepherds Field is rolling, somewhat jagged and arid; a little rocky, but rolling, nonetheless. I could imagine the shepherds, on alert, watching their flock and angel of the Lord bringing the good news. I could imagine the angelic host saying with one voice the same refrain. We couldn’t help but break out in singing: “Go Tell in on the Mountain!” As we were leaving heading back to the hotel for the night, Pastor Robert Zama noticed some caves in Shepherds Field, several of them, actually. We went down into a few of them and you could see the “rooms” dug out within. These were caves where shepherds took their sheep to rest for the night. Lots of imagery came to mind (Psalm 23). Food for thought: Shepherd’s Field is also believed to be the place where Ruth and Naomi gleaned for food; Ruth being the grandmother of Jesse, the father of David (Ruth 2-4).
So there you have it once again… Five days have passed and the last one packed into one blog post. My prayer continually is that, the little I have been able to share encourages you and strengthens your faith in your walk with Christ. I wish you God’s awesome favour this week. Still more to come!
Blessings,
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