Jesus in Jerusalem

 Jesus in Jerusalem

To the east of Jerusalem, a hill rises over the city. The south side of this hill is covered with graves. From a distance, it looks like a hive of boxy, monochromatic homes piled over one another. The top is covered with old and new buildings, among which are the distinctive towers of a Russian church, a hospital, and Hebrew University.

A morning view of the Old City from the Mount of Olives

The mount of olives provides one of the most iconic views of the old city. Across the Kidron valley, the temple mount stands out like the centerpiece of a tile mosaic. All around are walls and roofs and skyscrapers jutting into the horizon.

When I used to see pictures of this city I was often bored by the scene. It had a certain appeal because it was unique, but besides the temple mount, I didn’t know of any important locations there. It wasn’t meaningful to me. Yet now, as I’ve spent time in the city and considered the locations and history, I begin to finally see the significance of this view.

Our group started a two-day trek early on Tuesday morning. It was a bitingly cold day on the top of the mount of olives. After taking in the enormous view, we descended to a road that led to a church called Dominus Flevit which in Latin means “the Lord wept.”  Tradition holds that Jesus wept for Jerusalem at this spot when he came over from Bethany. Luke 19 records his words. Jesus prophesies that Jerusalem won’t understand the peace he brings. One day, they will be surrounded and crushed. This prophecy came true around 40 years later when the Romans destroyed the city in 70 AD.

We then traveled to another church called the Church of All Nations. This was a beautifully designed chapel housing a rock where Jesus is thought to have prayed before he was arrested and brought to his crucifixion. There is good evidence that this church was built near the actual location of Jesus’ plea to his Father. Underneath the foundation of All Nations—built in the early twentieth century—are the remains of a crusader church, and underneath that are the remains of a byzantine church dating to the 300s AD. Inside, the church is dimly lit, representing the painful time of testing that Jesus underwent.

To the north of the church, we saw a garden, part of Gethsemane. There are ancient olive trees there that could be descendants of olives that grew during Jesus’ time. Further north was a cave where scholars think Jesus left the other disciples when he went off to pray.

North of the old city is a place called the garden tomb. This is one of the possible sites of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. People think this could be the location because it was most likely outside the 2^nd wall, there is a rock that looks like a giant skull (Jesus was crucified at Golgotha or “the place of the skull”), and because they found an ancient winepress signifying a garden near some tombs which could have been where Jesus was buried. Most current archeologists claim that this isn’t the place because of the date of the tomb there and the lack of tradition, but the area provides a good place to reflect on Jesus’ great act of sacrifice.

Jesus' words to Martha are quoted in a plaque 
in the Garden Tomb

Daniel, our guide from the Garden tomb said it wasn’t so much about the place as it was about the person. “Every day these words echo through this garden: He is not here, for he has risen,” said Daniel. It was interesting to compare this site to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where most people think the death and resurrection took place. The church is dark and filled with candles and symbols. Worshipers shuffle in and bow down before a rock thought to be where he died. The garden tomb is bright, green, and full of flowers and plaques with Jesus’ promise of life. Each site seems to point out a different aspect of Jesus’ ministry. The church reminds me of the sorrow of his death, but the garden reminds me of the joy of his resurrection.

But seeing so many places that could have been where Jesus lived and died was beginning to wear on me. Everything we looked at seemed to be just speculation based on sketchy archeology or tradition. That changed however when we came to a place called the Jerusalem Archeological Park. Entering near the dung gate, we walked through a covered portion, then came out and saw the southwest corner of the temple mount retaining wall. It shocked me. It was majestic. We stood on an ancient road of worn-down stones where stalls used to line each side of the road. Just in front of us lay a pile of rubble—boulders thrown down by the Romans when they destroyed Jerusalem. Before my eyes lay the fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy of the city’s destruction. We could see the very beginnings of an arch called Robinson’s arch. It would have stretched dozens of feet over our heads, and turned ninety degrees to the south, to descend into a staircase.

As we made our way to the southern side of the Temple Mount, we came to what our guide called the Ophel. We stood on an impressive set of stairs called the monumental staircase. In front of us was the south wall. Two gates called the Huldah gates would have opened into a passageway under the mount. They are now both sealed over. The pattern of the steps was designed with alternating short and then long steps, making it easy to sit down on them. Jesus could have taught the people here, right outside the temple. Below us lay a confusing maze of houses, cisterns, and Mikvot—Jewish ritual purification baths. It was amazing to see all the work that had been done to carve some of these structures out.

Southwest corner of the temple mount. The beginning of Robinson's Arch barely peaks
 out of the wall. Below is the rubble from the remains of the arch the Romans threw down.

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Icy rain fell early in the morning of our second day. We had just left our hotel near Jaffa gate rain for a visit to the Temple Mount. Not many people were about. When most people think about the old city of Jerusalem, they usually picture a sprawling city with countless nameless buildings. But one structure always stands out. That is the gold top of the Dome of the Rock Mosque on the Temple Mount. I never thought I would be standing next to it.

There is one gate to the Temple Mount that non-Muslims can enter. It is near the Southwest corner, just above the Western Wall. When we entered, we started exploring the South side and moved along the eastern edge. Our guide pointed out some capitals from the Herodian period, laid out on the ground like gravestones. The whole courtyard was huge, and it seemed like a graveyard. There were trees, stones, and not many people. The only sound I heard was the rush of rain and wind. It was hard to imagine this place bustling with activity on one of the holy days. There was certainly space for a lot of activity though.

When we came around to the West side of the platform, our guide pointed out a row of Herodian-era stones at the bottom of stairs on the west side of the platform leading up to the mosque. Some researchers think that the dome is built over the location of the temple and because this row is slightly off the plane from the rest of the stairs, it may have been part of the temple.

The Dome of the Rock itself drew our eyes. Its dome was smooth and gold. The building was blue with Arabic calligraphy on the walls. The whole thing looked like a piece of art. I could only imagine what the temple would look like on this ground. This is the place where God made His glory dwell. How much more glorious would it be to behold the temple than this building? Rather than feeling nervous because of the guards watching us, I would feel true fear in the presence of God.

The dome of the rock probably stands above the location of the temple.

We soon moved on to leave the Temple Mount, withdrawing through a gate to the north (non-Muslims can leave through any gate). Our next stop was the pool of Bethesda, where Jesus healed the lame man in John 5. Nearby stood St Anne’s Church. It was fascinating to see all the archeology in this place. There were ruins from Roman shrines of worship, a crusader church, and deep roman cisterns. But we could also see the actual pools. From where we stood, they seemed like deep pits, going down about fifty feet, but our guide reminded us that we were standing on centuries of fill. This was a place where many people connected superstitions and miracles. The man whom Jesus healed in John’s gospel was trying to get into the pools after a supposed angel stirred the waters and gave them healing properties. By curing the man, Jesus showed his power over the supernatural. He doesn’t use the water as he does at Siloam to cure the blind man, he merely says the word, and the man is healed.

John 13-17 is one of Jesus’ most famous speeches. Although only the first two chapters happen inside, the section is known as the upper room discourse. Our next stop brought us to a place where people think this room was. The architecture has some crusader and Muslim elements to it and is not the original upper room, but there is a good history of tradition behind the location. When we got to the place, we read John 13 together. This could have been Mary’s house where Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, displaying his humility in serving them and teaching them the new commandment to love one another.

Maybe Jesus spent in this spot or maybe not. Maybe he was crucified at the church of the holy sepulcher or maybe somewhere else like the garden tomb. Maybe he did pray on the rock inside the Church of All Nations. Wherever these things happened, the truth remains: they did happen. Through this two-day excursion in Jerusalem, I gained a greater realization and trust that Jesus ministered right here in Jerusalem. He performed the most loving act in all of history in this place. The last words he spoke on the cross still echo through the world. “It is finished.”