Chapter Forty Six - "Israel, Part Two: Onwards to Jerusalem"

Day 3 – Monday, 1^st September 2014 (‘A Day of Prayer and Blessing’)

I made it down to breakfast this morning, slightly later than hoped – my alarm didn’t go off. Despite being half past seven, at the hotel’s supposed ‘peak time’, there was hardly anyone in the dining area. The first familiar faces I saw were David and Ann, early to breakfast as I had expected. They had some great news to share. Yesterday, at Capernaum, we had prayed particularly for healing for David - since arriving on the trip I noticed he had been finding it difficult to walk, using a stick to get around. I understood that he had been suffering from gout for the past half a week. This morning however, after the first night without pain, he was walking (and practically dancing) without any aid at all! We praised God right there for a miracle of healing, and it was the best possible start to my day, as I came to appreciate the joy of having such an amazing and faithful God – someone who answers our prayers!

The first stop of our day was Cana in Galilee, where Jesus turned the water into wine. The actual site was situated on the lower floor of a church, and we were able to see remains of an old Jewish house within the grounds of this present day church. I was amazed at the size of the stone vessels used for carrying the wine – I had always pictured reasonable-sized clay jars, but stone was used as it was easier to purify. The container was absolutely massive, and I was given to understand that the container itself probably wouldn’t have moved. As the specifics of these first century weddings were described to me, I began to realise why the wine at the wedding would have been such a big deal. The wedding would have been a huge community celebration, with maybe four hundred to five hundred people attending and staying over the course of a week. Everyone in the town or village would know everyone else. To run out of wine would have been a bad thing, and highly embarrassing.

As we walked upstairs we saw the foundations of the old Jewish house, with its ritual bath, Mikveh, for purification, and a collapsed stone column, characteristic of the Roman revolt in AD68, an effort to stamp out Christianity. Then we wandered back to the coach, pausing on the way at a souvenir shop specialising in wines (of course). Some couples, including David and Ann, stayed to renew their wedding vows – this was turning into a very special day for them.

Our next stop was Nazareth, where we would get a glimpse of life in Jesus’ time, through the Nazareth Village experience. In contrast to the busy Nazareth we see today, with a population of 80,000 people, in the first century there would have been just 500. Unfortunately however, since then, the proportion of Christians in the area has decreased.

I found the Nazareth tour really fascinating – it was interesting to learn the difference between the sheep and the goats, particularly how they differ in character; the goats can wander off in any direction and lead the sheep astray. We were also introduced to old-style carpentry and weaving, and it really helped put Jesus’ surroundings into perspective. Also, the winepress and olivepress, and finally the synagogue. As we left the ‘village’ scene, we were each given a small pottery oil lamp to remember Nazareth by. Part of me wished life was still that simple today, with quaint skills now probably long forgotten.

After lunch we had two more sites to visit before the formal part of our day was over. The first of these was the Church of the Anunciation, the spot where Mary was supposedly told by the angel Gabriel that she would bear Jesus. As we went inside the church, a number of questions came to mind, including the veneration of Mary. Where did this tradition come from, surely a stumbling block to those searching for faith? Another question was why there was a mysterious and ominous masonic eye symbol, depicted above the main picture on the back wall – one that we were unable to answer. As I looked around the church, things felt a little strange - the status that Mary (an ordinary Jewish girl) seemed to have attained was completely unbiblical, and as such I felt no spiritual connection.

Our final stop was Mount Precipice, and we couldn’t have asked for a better end to today’s sights. This was the hill where the Jewish leaders forcefully took Jesus to try and kill him for his ‘blasphemy’. But Jesus walked through the crowd and left them. It was staggering to see the sheer height of the place – much more than just a hill. The mount overlooked the plain of Armageddon (the site of the final battle), and was bordered by Mount  Carmel on the right, Mount Gilboa straight ahead, and Mount Moreh and Mount Tabor on the left. (Strangely, a plaque in the centre of the mount described it as ‘The Leaping Mountain’, where according to old tradition, Jesus jumped from the mountain when fleeing his pursuers. Where did this come from? Not the Bible.) Appropriately, we finished our time there with a prayer, thanking God that he is still in total control today.

On returning to the hotel, I decided to write some postcards (which would probably arrive after my return to England). At dinner I spoke with our tour leaders, Ian and Ruth. They were interested to know what brought me on this particular trip, as I had booked alone. Soon conversation turned to my life in Devon, and I realised to my surprise that my school was known to Ian, as a site for previous summer camps – such a small world in Christian circles!

Day 4 – Tuesday, 2^nd September 2014 (‘Singing with the Angels’)

This morning I packed my bags, ready to leave the hotel for the last time. We had a busy day ahead of us, so I wanted to make sure to eat enough to keep me going. With the selection at breakfast, that wasn’t going to be difficult.

Once our bags were loaded onto the coach we headed off on our tour. Our first stop would be the town of Bethany, to see Lazarus’ tomb. We would be going into the West Bank, passing the Gilead Mountains, the Samaritan Mountains, and the town of Jericho. However, I suddenly wondered whether I had left my passport behind at the hotel, and if I had enough money for lunch, so I wasn’t really studying my surroundings from the coach. Once at Bethany, I checked my luggage – nothing missing!

We heard the story of Lazarus being read out, and took some time to ponder why Jesus wept. It was interesting to think that Jesus was weeping over the fact that death is so cruel, and not at all how the Father designed the world to be. With this in mind, I made my way down into the tomb (still wearing my sunhat). It was interesting to see the burial site, but it was really nothing more than an underground room.

Our next stop was the Western Wall (the Wailing Wall). It was slightly surreal to actually be there myself – somewhere seen so much on TV or spoken about in the media. As I approached the wall I was amazed to see so many prayers and scraps of paper folded up and pushed into the cracks. I didn’t touch the wall (regrettably) but prayed for peace in Jerusalem, as I stood there. It was a humbling thought to consider that only God knows all the prayers that have been said there, and he cares deeply about every single piece of paper in that wall. We are so small, but our God is so strong, and hears every prayer.

From the outer portion of the wall, we made our way into the tunnel, traversing the underground sections of the Western Wall, underneath the Muslim quarter of Jerusalem. Before starting the walk, however, we were given a quick history of the geography of the city, and the history of the temple. (As our guide explained everything, I couldn’t help thinking about the significance of the fact that God told Abraham that he would provide the sacrificial lamb when Isaac was about to be offered, and later on the very same ground, He really did provide the lamb, as Jesus died on the cross.) As we walked along the tunnel, we eventually reached an old preserved pavement where Jesus would have stood – however, I found it difficult to connect with the past and feel the wonder of the place, but I had to appreciate that we would all process things differently.

After lunch we visited a few stations of the cross on the famous Via Dolorosa. Then we arrived at our final stop of the day – the Bethesda pools, where Jesus healed the lame man. It was here, before we even saw the site of the pools themselves, that we (myself particularly) experienced the highlight of my day – if not the trip so far. At the Crusader church (St Anne’s, if I recall correctly), just inside the entrance to the pools, it was suggested that we go inside and sing one song, because the acoustics were said to be amazing. What an understatement! Ian led us all as we sang, ‘How Great Thou Art’. Not only did our song carry, but we all seemed to sing in perfect harmony. Such sincere and heartfelt praise to our God, I just knew the angels would be singing with us. (Ian said afterwards that on an occasion such as this, it’s as if something supernatural takes our voices and unites them in perfect balance together.) Even our guide was moved, saying it was one of the most powerful songs he’d heard in his numerous years doing the tours. As we left to continue our tour, one lady who was sitting in the church at the time, begged us not to stop, to which someone replied ‘In heaven’ – the meaning was clear. Surely a glimpse of heavenly worship was had today.

At last, after we’d finished looking around the pools, we moved on to our new hotel in Jerusalem. A much larger room, and far superior, but we did miss the Sea of Galilee. At dinner, Steve and I were overwhelmed by the spread of food available – but no complaints there! Godly conversation continued as we ate. Miriam and John asked me how I felt being the youngest in the group, and perhaps the only single. I said I was really valuing seeing the lifestyles of more mature and more experienced Christians, and that I could learn a lot from them.

The day concluded with a short walk to the Damascus Gate in the cool night air. We would be visiting Bethlehem in the morning.