Day 4 - Entering Jerusalem

There is only one "first time" entering the city of Jerusalem for a person. Today was my day. I was overwhelmed.

In ancient days, pilgrims to Jerusalem would travel in caravans. The trip Joseph and Mary took from Nazareth to Jerusalem would have taken about a month. The closer they got to the city, the more the excitement grew. Eventually, the plains turned into the hills beginning the ascent into Jerusalem. Whether you come from the north, south, east, or west, you always go "up" to Jerusalem because it is elevated. On the way, pilgrims would sing a collection of Psalms. You may have noticed that Psalms 120-134 have a notation at the beginning, "A song of ascents." That is for the pilgrimage; they are ascending to Jerusalem. Read through them, especially the later ones. These words express the excitement and pure joy of seeing Jerusalem. For many, like me today, seeing Jerusalem for the first time in their life, the excitement is immeasureable. My breath got shallow, eyes filled with tears, heart raced faster, and the smile could not leave my face.

We got off the bus with a panoramic view of the Old City before us (see photo above). The spot where we sat, if you can imagine this feeling, was the exact spot where Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem for his triumphal entry on the donkey. It was at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives and the view was breathtaking. With the view of Jerusalem shimmering before us, one of our group read Psalm 122. Imagine seeing what we were seeing, looking at the same place Jesus would have seen as he began his entry into Jerusalem, and hearing this song of ascents:

¹ I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the LORD.”
² Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.

³ Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
⁴ That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the LORD—
to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute given to Israel.
⁵ There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.

⁶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
⁷ May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
⁸ For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
⁹ For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your prosperity.

Everyone of us had our hearts in our throats. The person reading the psalm read through tears. It is absolutely amazing. In one scene, I could see the garden of Gethsemane, the locations of the Temple, Jesus' trials, the crucifixion, and if I turned to the side, the traditional location of his ascension to heaven. The core of the Gospel stories was right there in living color! All of the stories of Holy Week came to life for me today. Jesus as a boy in the Temple came to life for me today. The Old Testament stories of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles came to life for me today.

I'll say it for the second night in a row. Every Christian should do whatever is needed to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land at least once in a lifetime. This is so amazing.

Not to neglect the early part of the day, we saw three sights in Galilee before heading to Jerusalem. We stopped first at a place not mentioned in the Bible, but most affirm it was influential in the life of Jesus growing up. It was the city of Zippori or, by its modern name, Sepphoris. It is directly across a small valley from Nazareth, about two miles away. It was a large Roman town in Jesus' day. Not only is it likely that Joseph would have worked on the many construction projects as a carpenter, but he would have also brought Jesus with him. Zippori also had a synagogue and was likely the place where Jesus learned the Torah.

Next, we went to Cana where Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding there. Many of the shops there were named "First Miracle" or "Cana Wine." You could actually buy Cana (prounced like a can of Coke with the "a" like "uh") wine there even though Cana had no winery. I was a bit distracted by the churches built over the first century sites. I understand it. It was a common practice then and now to build memorial sanctuaries at holy places. Still, when you are a tourist and not a regular, you don't want the modern church building tour; just the actual sites. In the basement of the Church of the Wedding was a first century home thought to be the large home in town big enough to have weddings. In the excavation of the home, a wine vat was found. Interesting find for the place where Jesus did this particular miracle. We all checked out water bottles when we got back to the bus. Just in case. You never know.

The final stop before the two-hour ride to Jerusalem was Nazareth. Rainy, cold Nazareth. We actually visited three churches. The first had an interesting name: The Church of the Synagogue. It is the site where Jesus read from the Isaiah scroll in his hometown (Luke 4). The fact that he could do this showed he already had a trusted reputation among the rabbis. But then he was thrown out of town for his interpretation. Or, in the words of Luke, they were ready to throw him off a tall cliff (which we saw). The second stop was the Church of the Annunciation. This was the church built over Mary's childhood house. Tradition has that this was the house outside of which the angel announced that she was going to give birth to Jesus. The final stop was The Church of Joseph. As our guide said, "Poor Joseph. So little attention is paid to him." This was a church built over a first century carpenter shop thought to be his.

One thought I've had before. You know how we tour Williamsburg or St. Augustine or Plymouth and think it is old? Perspective time. Several hundred years verses thousands of years. Nothing in our country is old except the land itself. Here is where history was invented!

Finally, the impact of this place crashed upon my heart and soul today as we were told that the place we were looking at - Old Jerusalem - was no bigger than four football fields. Yet, every Muslim traces roots to here because this is where Mohammad went up to heaven to get the Koran. Of course, every Jew would be connected to Jerusalem as the great city of their faith. And every Christian sees the place where the great sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world took place and salvation to eternal life was gained. Three major world religions. Four football fields of land. Psalm 122 may call for "peace within your walls and security within your citadels" for Jerusalem, but that is an aspiration and not a reality.

Not yet anyway.

One day we know we will see, in the words of Revelation 21:1-5...

1“A new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”

Make it so, Lord. Make everything new. And begin inside of me. Amen.

Shalom