We were hoping to be one of the first ones there to beat the crowds, but even before 6am there were still a few tour groups there! So we got as close as we could to the sights. Above is a statue erected over Golgotha - the place where Jesus was crucified. You could see the bedrock from Golgotha below the statue.
Also in the church was this tomb - not the traditional tomb of Jesus, but one from the same period that we went into. As we were waiting in line to see the actual tomb of Jesus, a priest/bouncer loudly shooed everyone away and closed the doors as they were about to start mass. We may try again to get in there another day we are in Jerusalem. We'll see. Still, it was amazing just to be so close to where our Lord was crucified, buried, and raised again on the 3rd day.
After breakfast, we boarded our bus to head across the Kidron Valley that separates Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. There are so many stories from Jesus's life that take place on the Mount of Olives. We started at the top and walked down the path to the bottom stopping at places along the way. I had the privilege of reading Matthew 21:1-11 to the group about Jesus's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem during the week leading up to his crucifixion.
Matt and I at the top of the Mount of Olives looking over Jerusalem.
At the bottom of the hill was the Garden of Gethsemane. We saw some close to 1000 year olives trees in that garden. They wouldn't have been the ones from when Jesus was there since Rome cut down all of the trees surrounding Jerusalem to build siege weapons when the fought to take over the city in 70 AD. We also went inside the Church of the Nations - a Byzantine church built on the site.
After that, we boarded the bus to head up to Herodium - which is the remains of Herod the Great's palace from the time of Jesus. Herod the Great was the king when Jesus was born who had all of the babies in Bethlehem killed after the Magi visited him and told him about the birth of the king of the Jews (Matthew 2). He also did MANY other major building projects around the country of Jerusalem (building port cities, rebuilding the temple mount, etc.)
We then headed into Bethlehem which is currently an Arab state. So we had to pass through a checkpoint into what is today a big city... not at all the small village it was in Jesus's time. We were able to visit a place called Shepherd's Field which has some great views of fields surrounding Bethlehem which remind us of the fields where angels appeared to shepherds announcing Christ's birth. The place where Jesus was actually born is not known.
Matt and I in the garden at Shepherd's Field
This
valley had many important things happen in it including the battle
between the Philistines and the Israelites where David fought and killed
Goliath. In 1 Samuel 17:1 it says, "Now the Philistines gathered their
forces for war and assembled at Socoh in Judah. The pitched camp at
Ephes Dammim between Socoh and Azekah." We were able to drive to the top
of the hill of Azekah and look toward the hill of Socoh and know that
the battle took place in the valley between. We read the story of David
and Goliath and were truly blessed to be there!
The picture above was taken in the brook that runs through the Elah valley which is located in the foothills next to the Hill Country of Judah (where Jerusalem sits). Matt is picking up some stones from the now dry brook to bring home as souvenirs. The stones that were traditionally used by slingers were the size of a baseball.
The picture above was taken in the brook that runs through the Elah valley which is located in the foothills next to the Hill Country of Judah (where Jerusalem sits). Matt is picking up some stones from the now dry brook to bring home as souvenirs. The stones that were traditionally used by slingers were the size of a baseball.
In the creek bed! I was quite car/bus sick at this point! I made a change and now sit in the front of the bus :) Bleh!
The Elah valley from the hill of Azekah
Below is a picture of Matt posing like Samson in the Sorek Valley where most of the events of Samson's life occur. Judges 13:25 tells us that Samson was born between Zorah and This picture shows the hills of Zorah (on the left) and Eshtaol (on the right).
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