DAY 12 (DAY 7 OF ISRAEL TOUR) – SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26: MT. OF OLIVES, GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE, POOL OF BETHESDA, GARDEN TOMB, HOLY SEPULCHER CHURCH, ISRAEL MUSEUM
Today was our first full day in Jerusalem and it was a rainy one. The temps hovered around 50. We managed to see everything on our program except for the view from the top of the Mt. of Olives (which we’ll see on Monday).
Garden of Gethsemane
Because of the showers and low visibility, we drove directly from the hotel to the bottom of the Mt. of Olives. We walked to a private area where we read from Luke 22. Somewhere on the western slopes of this area Jesus prayed, “Not my will but yours be done.” We also went inside the Church of All Nations, the traditional location for Gethsemane.
Pools of Bethesda
We walked into the Old City through St. Stephen’s Gate (also called Lion’s and Jericho Gate) to the Pools of Bethesda. We read from John 5 about the healing that took place here. Also here is St. Anne’s Church (from the Crusader Period). We enjoyed the incredible 7-8 second echo while singing a few songs.
Eastern Gate
We walk back out of the Old City to the area in front of the Eastern Gate. This gate has been closed for over 1,300 years (opened only a few times). An archway below the present gate was discovered here in 1969. Ezekiel 44 mentions that some day the Messiah will walk through the eastern gate of there Temple.
Garden Tomb
Walking through the Muslim Quarter of the Old city and out the Damascus Gate took us directly to the Garden Tomb. Here we enjoyed a tour of the proposed tomb where Jesus was buried. This site serves as an alternative location for the Holy Sepulcher Church. We also enjoyed a brief worship and communion service.
Old City/Church of Holy Sepulcher
We walked back through the Old City for lunch in the Christian Quarter. Nearby is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Archeologically, this location better preserves the location of the crucifixion and burial site of Christ. We walked into the church on our own.
“Even though it rained today in Jerusalem, we encountered a number of things that once again connected us to the Bible. We saw various parts of the Old City on foot. The time we spent at the Garden Tomb was most special!”
Israel Museum
We walked out through the Jaffa Gate where we met our buses. We drove to the Israel Museum across from the Knesset (government building). At the museum we saw a marvelous 1:50-scale model of Jerusalem as it looked prior to 70 AD. We also walked through the Shrine of the Book (where some of the Dead Sea Scrolls are displayed) en route to the archaeological wing of the museum. We saw many artifacts here that connected us to the Bible.
We returned to our hotel for dinner and a free evening. Tomorrow’s weather is supposed to improve.
DAY 13 (DAY 8 OF ISRAEL TOUR) – SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27: YAD VASHEM, BETHLEHEM, SHEPHERD’S FIELDS, SOME OF THE SELECT CITIES OF THE “SHEPHELAH” – LOWLANDS OF JUDAH
