Day 9 – Monday, February 27: Old City, Easter Gate, Pools of Bethesda, Holy Sepulcher Church, City of David, Hezekiah’s Tunnel, Southern Wall Excavations, Western Wall, Garden Tomb
Today was our last day here in Jerusalem. Over half of the group will be flying home either late tonight or early tomorrow morning. Some are staying in Jerusalem a little longer, while 27 of us are heading to Egypt. This last day was once again a cloudless sunny day, with highs around 70. We’ve had incredible weather on this trip!
Eastern Gate
We read form Psalm 48 as we left the hotel around 7:40. We drove to the northeast corner of the Old City and walked to the Eastern Gate. According to some, this gate has been closed since 810 AD, and perhaps a few times during the Crusader Period. We read from Ezekiel 44 about how the Messiah will walk through the Easter Gate of the city.
St. Anne’s Church/Pools of Bethesda
We then entered the Old City of Jerusalem (walls dates to the Turkish Period, 1537-1544) through the St. Stephen’s Gate (also called Lions and Jericho Gate). We enjoyed singing in St. Anne’s Church before seeing the archaeological ruins of the Pools of Bethesda (John 5).
Western Wall
From here we walked to the Western Wall. This wall served as one of the four retaining walls for Herod the Great in order to doubling the size of the platform of the Temple. This is the most holy place for Jews today. We took time to approach the Wall. There were a few Bar Mitzvah celebrations taking place.
Southern Excavations
Nearby we walked to the Davidson Center to see the Southern Excavations of the Temple. Within the center, we saw the SW corner of the Temple (with massive Herodian stones), the Herodian pavement, and the southern steps that would have led into the Temple in Jesus’ day. Sitting on these steps recalled the many times Jesus and the disciples (and Paul) used these steps. Whereas the Temple was a magnificent building (Mark 13:1-2), we are to be the Temple (1 Corinthians 3)!
City of David
We walked down outside the Dung Gate to the City of David. We first got a great view of the area from the observation tower before we walked down through the excavations of Area G (where Dr. John dug for a month in 1982) and Warren’s Shaft. At the Gihon Spring is where some in the group accessed the entrance to Hezekiah’s Tunnel, a 1,710-foot tunnel chiseled in 701 BC. We walked in water through this amazing discovery mentioned in 2 Kings 20, 2 Chronicles 32, and Isaiah 8:6. Others walked through the “dry” Canaanite tunnel. Both groups converged at the Pool of Siloam where we heard the story of John 9. Remarkably, the new excavation of the other larger part of the Siloam Pool is well underway now! They have scraped off much of the dirt and are close to exposing the other steps.
“Today was our last full day in Jerusalem. We were blessed with another perfectly sunny day, with highs around 70. We saw lots of archaeology and made many connections with the Bible again. We ended with a wonderful worship & Communion service at the Garden Tomb!”
Holy Sepulcher Church
We loaded on our buses and drove to the Jaffa Gate where we entered the Christian Quarter. After lunch we visited the Holy Sepulcher Church, the probable location for the crucifixion and burial site of Jesus. The church was built in 325 AD, but rebuilt over the centuries since then. Entering the very crowded church, we saw the Edicule that encloses the proposed tomb of Jesus.
Garden Tomb
At 3:30 p.m. we began our walk through the Muslim Quarter and out the Damascus Gate to the Garden Tomb. This is an alternative location for the crucifixion and burial site of Jesus. We saw the rocky scarp (Golgotha) and the proposed tomb. A special time of worship and Communion followed. We worship the Person, not the place.
We returned to our hotel for our Farewell Dinner. We shared in good conversation, thankful to God for the great experiences we encountered. Following dinner, those on the midnight flight home left for the airport.
Day 10 – Tuesday, February 28: Arrive Home/Free Day in Jerusalem, Flight to Cairo
