As we walked through the busy city streets of Tiberias taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells, I was overwhelmed at the thought that we had finally made it to the Holy Land. The plane, that had just 24 hours previous taken us from the familiarity of life in the states, had dropped us in a place completely different—completely foreign. From there we took in as much as we could over the next two weeks. We visited church after church, site after site, all in search of gaining a better perspective on the life of Jesus and the culture He was immersed in.
I experienced things that blew my mind, caught me off guard, and changed me deep within. The rest of this update is going to be devoted to sharing with you different snapshots of my trip to Israel. I have much more to tell than just this but it would require me to write a short novel in order to take you through all I experienced. Have a great January!
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After visiting Capernaum, where Jesus called some of His disciples and performed many miracles, we went to the Mount of the Beatitudes. This is the traditional site where people believe Jesus spoke the Sermon on the Mount (Mat. 5-7). It was unbelievably beautiful to look down onto the Sea of Galilee from where we were at. We could see all sorts of lush vegetation, and a little farther out we could see lots of different fishing boats out on the water. It was an incredible sight watching all the fishermen cast their nets near where Jesus would have called a couple of local fishermen to become fishers of men 2000 years ago. As if that wasn’t enough, Jesus then spoke one of the most inspiring and hope-filled sermons I’ve ever heard, and it all took place somewhere near where we were standing.
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In Acts 25 & 26, Paul had been imprisoned for his faith by the Sanhedrin. He was being held in Jerusalem but through a series of appeals was brought to Caesarea. At one point during the story, a king named Agrippa wished to hear Paul’s case as there were questions about the legitimacy of the charges brought against him. The text then mentions that he was brought to the audience hall to make his defense. The picture featured above is that very audience hall Paul would have stood in to talk to King Agrippa. Talk about intimidating! The spot I am standing in is where King Agrippa would have sat to hear Paul defend himself. Now, instead of crumbling under the pressure and pleading for his release, Paul used this time as an opportunity to share how Jesus had changed his life forever, and how his desire was for them to come to know, follow and love Jesus in the same way he did. That passage in Acts made me think for many days after, as I desired to be so devoted to Christ that I couldn’t help but see every situation as an opportunity to show people who Jesus is.
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The situation is rather tense in Jerusalem. In an attempt to keep the peace, the city itself is even broken up into four quarters. There is the Christian quarter, the Arab quarter, the Jewish quarter, and the Armenian quarter. One of the hot spots of conflict is at the site of the Wailing Wall. This wall is the western wall of what once was the Jewish Temple. Just on the other side of this wall lies a Muslim mosque called Dome of the Rock. This is a mosque built on top of the rock many Muslims believed to have been where Muhammad ascended to heaven. On the other hand, many Jewish people believe that rock is the site of the Holy of Holies, the most holy place on Earth. You can see why things would be tense here. While we were taking in the view of the Wailing Wall from a lookout point, I noticed a very large, golden menorah sitting nearby. I went up to look more closely at it and was struck by a plaque located next to it which read, “May the Temple be rebuilt speedily and in our day.” This place is a tense place indeed.
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The Church of the Nativity is the traditional site where it is believed to be the actual birthplace of Jesus. You enter into the church through a very small door and from there wander down some steps where you’ll eventually end up in a cave. Once in the cave there are two different spots where people sit, meditate, and worship. One is the spot where Mary would have given birth to Jesus and the other is the manger where Jesus would have been placed. The interesting thing about this place is that scholars believe that it is likely to really be the birthplace of Jesus because of evidence of people worshipping there from the time of Christ until now. That is an old church!
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This place was where we ended our journey of following in Jesus’ footsteps. We had spent the last two days visiting all the places Jesus would have been in his final days and now we sat there looking into an empty tomb. Regardless of whether or not Jesus was really buried here, it was remarkable to think that a spot like this caused Jesus’ followers to experience a whole range of emotion. It would have been a place of unbelievable grief as people thought about how this person they followed for the past three years and believed was the Son of God now lay there dead. Then, three days later those same people came to that same place only to find that their Savior was not there! He had risen from the dead! What terror, confusion, and hope people must have felt at that time. Just read the four gospel accounts and you can get a better picture of the range of emotion people displayed upon discovering an empty tomb.
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Thanks for allowing me to take a pilgrimage to Israel. I am so incredibly thankful for your continued support which makes these kinds of things possible. I am blown away every time I stop to think about the growth I have experienced over the past three years on staff with YouthFront, and this trip was just another chapter in my journey. None of this would have been possible without you, so thanks.
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