Day 10
I’m back in College Station, going through my first day back
in the US kind of on autopilot. I
forgot what overcoming jet lag is like!
I wanted to share our last day in Israel before my memory gets too fuzzy
though. It was cold & rained
on us for most of the day so I didn’t take many pictures or very good
notes. We saw so much that day
though! We walked from our hotel
into the Old City of Jerusalem—because of the Jerusalem Marathon most of the
streets were closed off. But also
because of the marathon it seemed like us & the runners were the only ones
in the city! We had to stop a
couple of times to wait for runners to pass us before crossing the street so we
got to cheer them on. We saw
runners in their dry fit kippahs
& tzitzits (hats & tassels—they
weren’t really dry fit, but wouldn’t it be funny if some Jewish company made
them especially for running?) & we saw two guys from Texas—one wearing
Texas flag running shorts (I wonder if any other country or state makes running
shorts out of their state flag—we didn’t see any others!).
I hate running but even I have to admit Jerusalem would be a cool place to do a marathon!
We went to the
house & room believed to be the upper room where Jesus & His disciples
ate the last supper. We learned
that in Jewish culture the guest of honor would sit on the first or second seat
of the left hand side (if you’re looking at the tables with both ends closest
to you) of a U-shaped table in this room called a triclinium (3 table
room). Traditionally, the most
important other guests would sit next to them & on down the line. John
& Judas were next to Jesus & Peter was probably at the very end. Passover dinner was traditionally eaten
on Friday night (beginning of Sabbath) but Jesus & the disciples ate on
Thursday night, then Jesus took His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to
pray, Judas came to betray Him and by Friday noon when the high priest would
have been offering the sacrificial lamb for Passover, Jesus, the Lamb of God,
died. The temple veil tore from top
to bottom (like a Jewish father mourning the loss of his son would tear his
clothes) and the need for the sacrificial system to cover over sins was no longer needed because Jesus’ sacrifice took away the sins of the world.
We went from
there & walked through the streets of the Old City to the Western wall of
the Temple Mount. The area is
separated—about 2/3 for men & 1/3 for women. We went underground into the tunnels under the western wall. The tunnels show the last 2,000 years
of levels of street levels & buildings of the walls of the temple &
area immediately around it. We
learned that the western wall is the closest in proximity to where the Temple
stood so that’s why it’s such an important area for the Jewish people to come
pray. There’s a little section of
the wall that can only be accessed through the tunnels & it’s the nearest
place you can be to the Holy of Holies. I
think technically it’s on the women’s side, so it’s also a covered area for
women to come pray. There were
some women down there—Jewish and Muslim women. The tunnels were super narrow (most of the tunnels we
climbed through were narrow—I don’t know why I’m still surprised by
this!). We saw two different
models of the temple & topography of the land under it while
underground—both were so helpful!—did you know that Herod took the top of the
mountain (don’t even know if it has a name since Herod destroyed it) next to Mt
Moriah in order to build a bigger platform for the temple? Seriously, that guy! And also, those stones they used to
build the walls were seriously big!
One we saw underground weighs more than a loaded 747 airplane! Holy cow.
We had a few
minutes waiting for the rest of our group to finish the western wall tunnel
tour, so some of us got to go up to the wall. There were women with their heads against the wall, some
were reading Scripture, some crying, some rocking back & forth
praying. The only thing I could
think about while next to the wall was how thankful that I do not have to come
here to be near God. How thankful
I am that Jesus provided full access to the Father & through His sacrifice
for me—I don’t have to do anything or go anywhere or follow any rituals to earn
God’s favor or love. It made me so
thankful!
That feeling
of thankfulness continued while we went to the Church of the Holy
Sepulcher. This is one of the
possible sites for Jesus’ crucifixion & burial. This place had such a sad feeling to it—so many people were
worshipping the site—lots of people lighting candles, kissing the stone on the
floor, & burning incense. It
was sad to people who are lost trying on their own to find God. It definitely motivated me to pray for
these people who are so clearly seeking that they would turn to the only one
who will satisfy them. And so so
thankful for God’s grace!
Ma doing the tunnel!
In front of the Western Wall--it was so cold!
We walked
through more market areas (so so crowded! Muslims going to pray, Catholics doing the Via Dolarosa, Jews getting things done before Sabbath, & us trying to stay together!), ate some falafel for lunch (the best one I’d had
yet) and did some shopping.
Market place around noon.
Then
we went to the Garden Tomb—the other possible site for Jesus death &
burial. This place was so
different from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. We had a jolly British man named John lead our group to an
area of the garden that overlooks a cliff that resembles a skull. John is a Christian & it was so
great to hear someone say how it’s not this place that matters but it’s the fact
that Jesus did die & that He did raise again! That it’s not the place that deserves worship, it’s
God. He showed us how this area
& this tomb are very, very similar to what’s described in the Bible. We got to go inside the tomb where on
the door is written, “He is not here, He is risen!” We took communion as a group & sang some hymns. A group near us was singing hymns in
another language. I’m so glad we
ended our day with this place!
At the Garden Tomb
Indeed!
We went back
to the hotel then, to get warm & then ready for dinner. It hailed outside as soon as we got
inside! We went to have dinner at
the American Colony Hotel—the house of Horatio Spafford who wrote the hymn It
Is Well. He & his wife moved
to Jerusalem to start their lives over after losing their daughters. It was a really cool place—and we saw
the hotel note paper where he wrote the original version of the song.
Went back to
our hotel—in bed by 11pm. Wake up
call at 2am the next morning. In
the hotel lobby with luggage by 2:45, left for airport in Tel Aviv at 3:30. Our flight left about 7:45—all our
security stops went smoothly & our luggage weighed in under 51 lbs! But just barely! Flights were long but on time. It’s good to be home! I have one more meeting this evening
& then I can go to sleep!
Yea! Thanks for sticking
with me the last 2 weeks! It was a
really great trip & I highly recommend going if you ever get the chance!
Addendum: {realized at 3am this morning (3/19) when I woke up (after taking one Ambien at 9:30pm & before taking another at 3:45am) that I hadn't added this & I wanted to}
Definitely my biggest takeaway from this trip are the feelings I had at the Western Wall--I don't have to come here. It's a blessing to get to come to Israel & see the real places (or regions at least) where the Bible took place, but I don't have to come here to be any closer to God or earn God's favor. And this makes me so grateful & makes my understanding of God's grace deeper & sweeter. I understand better what a HUGE deal it is that God provided direct access to Himself through Jesus. And I don't have to go to or through anyone or anywhere to talk to or deepen my relationship with Him! Praise God!
