Day 10 – Wednesday, June 22: Mt. of Olives, Old City, City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Southern Wall Excavations, Gush Ezion
Our first day here in Jerusalem was a refreshingly cooler one, with a mix of clouds and sun, and temps in the mid 70s. We saw a lot that connected us the Old Testament, the life of Christ, and with modern Israel at the end of the day.
Mt. Of Olives
We left our hotel reading from Psalm 125:1-2 as we drove around the Old City to the Mt. Of Olives. The view of the Old City and the Temple Mount was incredible! We walked down to Dominus Flavet where we read from Luke 19, Acts 1, and Zechariah 14. Continuing down the pathway, we made a brief stop about the traditional Garden of Gethsemane where we read about Jesus’ passion (Luke 22).
Old City/Pools of Bethesda/St. Anne’s Church/Holy Sepulcher Church
From the western slope of the Mt. of Olives we walked into the Old City through the Lion’s Gate (also Called St. Stephen’s and Jericho Gate). We visited St. Anne’s Church, a Crusader Church with a 6-7 second echo. We enjoyed singing here! Next to the church is the Pool of Bethesda. We read John 5 of the miracle that took place here. From here we walked through the Old City to the Holy Sepulcher Church. Built in 325 AD, this is the traditional location for the death and burial place of Jesus. The archaeological and historical records favor this site. We were even able to go inside the Edicule (enclosure over the tomb) because of the few tourists here. We ate lunch nearby.
Western Wall
From lunch we walked to the Western Wall. This wall served as a retaining wall to support the expanded Temple platform. We enjoyed walking down to this Herodian wall. Some of us placed prayers into the cracks of the wall.
Southern Wall Excavations/Southern Steps
A short distance away is the SW corner of the Temple where we walked on the Herodian pavement. This corner may have been the pinnacle of the Temple where Jesus was tempted (Matthew 4). We walked up the southern steps used by commoners in Jesus’ day. Jesus Himself would have used these steps to enter the Temple. While sitting on these steps in the shade, we recalled the many mentioned in the NT who used these steps (Luke 2, 18; John 2; Mark 13; and Acts 2, etc…).
“Our first day in Jerusalem was unbelievable! I still can’t believe I am actually here walking down the Mt. of Olives, seeing where the Temple once stood, visiting the possible site of Jesus’ tomb, and walking through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. It was an excellent day!”
City of David
South of the Old City is the City of David. After gathering on the observation tower, we walked down through the “Area G” excavations. We saw David’s palace, city walls, and houses (including the house that Dr. John helped excavate in 1982). Next we descended down through Warren’s Shaft . Initially this was thought to be the “water shaft” used by David’s men in conquering the city of Jebus (1 Samuel 5), but new discoveries do not suggest this was the shaft. Many walked through the 1,700 foot-long Hezekiah’s Tunnel (2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32), while some took the “dry” Canaanite tunnel. Both groups met at the Pool of Siloam (John 9).
Gush Etsion
Our last stop was outside of Jerusalem in the district of Gush Etsion. Here we visited the “Lone Tree” of the area (and the mosaic done by Rachel and Shlomo). Nearby we drove to see an hour-long presentation about how four kibbutzim tried to defend this area against Arab attacks in 1947-48. It was well done.
We returned to our hotel for another great dinner and a free evening.
Day 11 – Thursday, June 23: Yad Vashem, Israel Museum, Bible Lands Museum, Free Time in Old City
