Flourishing Life

Bob and Me at the Dome of the Rock

Our day began at the Temple Mount where we viewed the Muslim sites the Al Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The Dome is built on the approximate site of Herod’s Temple, although because the Muslim leaders in charge of the Mount will not allow archaeologists to dig beneath the Temple Mount, we are not certain about the exact location of the Temple.

We crossed the Temple Mount and entered into a Christian area where we visited St. Anne’s Church, a Crusader Church with a unique acoustical echo. We sang and Barbara Lanham again shared her vocal talents. Next to the church is a much more intriguing biblical site, the Pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed the lame man on the Sabbath. It is deep in the ruins of a Byzantine Church. Larry Adkins read John 5:1-10. Hannah noted that the only two healings Jesus performed in Jerusalem were of the blind man at the Pool of Siloam and the lame man here. Before David conquered the city, the Jebusites told him even if they put the blind and lame guarding the walls David would not be able to take the city. He did take the city and in the first century Jesus took the city by healing the lame and the blind.

We left the Old City via St. Stephen’s Gate, also called the Lions’ Gate, and boarded the bus which took us to Mount Zion. There we walked past the Hagia Sion Church which is a 19th century structure built over a Byzantine Church. Part of the complex contains a room built by the Crusaders over the remains of a Byzantine Church, which was built over what is believed to be the actual Upper Room where Jesus shared his last meal with his disciples. Ted Bauman read Mark 14:12-26. Tradition teaches that the disciples were here at the beginning of Pentecost, so we sang “There’s a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place.” At some point, Muslims turned it into a mosque, but since 1948, following Israeli independence, the place has been available to all faiths, but it is much more important as a Christian site, so I believe Christians are the only group who utilizes it. This actually makes it a nice pilgrimage site because the room has been left relatively simple, unadorned, and quiet.

Very close to the Upper Room is what has been venerated as King David’s Tomb, which we briefly visited. This site functions as a small synagogue. It is highly unlikely this is the actual tomb due to its distance from the City of David, however, Byzantine pilgrims reported that they had visited David’s Tomb on Mt. Zion near the Upper Room.

Me Reading Scripture in the Dungeon that Held Jesus

Leaving David’s Tomb, we made our way downhill by foot to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Gallicantu means “cock crows.” The modern church is built on the site of an ancient Byzantine Church which was built on the ruins of a large private home that is thought to be that of the High Priest Caiphas, where Jesus was held the night before his death and Peter denied Jesus three times. There is a nice outdoor chapel/sitting area where Bob read John 18:12-18 and commented briefly on the text. In the lower level of the church, where one of the cisterns had been venerated as the dungeon in which Jesus was imprisoned, I read Psalm 88 and we sang “Jesus Loves Me.”

Ismael took us back to the Old City and we entered via Herod’s Gate and began our journey through the Via Delarosa. It begins at a Franciscan Convent and winds through the Muslim Quarter, along narrow, sometimes covered streets lined with shops. We took a brief detour to see the first century street in the basement of the Sisters of Sion building where Bob read from Mark 15 and we reflected on Jesus’ journey to the cross. The Via Delarosa eventually goes into the Christian Quarter and then to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the place that enshrines Golgotha and the Empty Tomb.

Lydia at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built by Constantine but was destroyed by Muslims in the seventh century. The Crusaders rebuilt the church and this structure still stands. It is under majority control of the Greek Orthodox Church and in typical Orthodox fashion is filled with smoke and incense stained icons and much gold and silver. Even though it is not to Westerners’ tastes, aesthetically, is bustling and busy with so many pilgrims, there still is a holy and awe-some feel to being in this most significant place.

After walking through the church we spent some time hanging out at the shops of the Christian Quarter. I enjoyed an Arabic Coffee with several fellow-pilgrims. We made our way out the Jaffa Gate and back to the hotel. Another blessed day following the footsteps of Jesus.