Old City Jerusalem 1/22

We went to the Old City Jerusalem which was crazy and not at all like I expected it to be like! It felt like i was on a set of a movie that wasn't real. It is a tiny city with buildings so close together, stone everywhere (roads, paths, buildings. . . ) I just pictured it to be bigger, wider, more spacious.

small walkways that motorcycles try and go on

everything here is hard stone

It is such a sad city though that needs Christ! We went in through the Jappa Gate to Herod's citadel where it is likely that Pilate tried Jesus. I couldn't believe I was actually there! From the top of the citadel we were able to overlook the whole city with the Mount of Olives in the background. The reason that the Romans left the Citadel without destroying it was to be a symbol that if anyone tried to revolt their grandeur would be lost. From the top we could see the temple mount and the Dome of the Rock. We can see through Jerusalem that Yahweh is at work in order that 6 million Jews continue to have position of Jerusalem and the Muslims have not been able to take over.

View from the Citadel

My roommate. I'm so blessed to share this opportunity with her!

Mount of Olives

We continued onto the crowded streets that are packed with tiny shops with shop owners calling out to you. Everyone is trying to pull you into their shop! It is a vicious place and I would never go alone. It is sad that many people are only in Jerusalem to make money from the tourist. It was just so packed and filled with so much greed that it reminded me of Jesus throwing over the tables in the temple. I could almost just see it! I was getting quite frustrated myself. It is so crowed and packed that I can't stand to be in it too long.

Waiting for the others to exchange their money

            Then we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher where by tradition is the place where Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. It is unlikely that Jesus was actually buried there because tombs are always built outside the city. There is a good possibility that that is near where our Lord and Savior was crucified. When you first walk in the church there is the Stone of Anointing, which is believed to be the place where Jesus’ body laid after He was taken off the cross to be prepared for burial. There  many women were rolling incense of some sort over this stone and it just made me sick to my stomach to see them worshiping the site rather than our Savior. That is a common thing in Jerusalem. I just want to reach out to those people who are just so lost! God can still work in this city.

Bill teaching us right outside the church of the Holy Sepulcher. Such a neat man.

behind the candles and to the right you can see a woman on her knees and right in front of her on the ground is supposed to be where Jesus was crucified

            From there we went out through the Damascus Gate, which is on the Northern side of the wall and walked alongside it to the Eastern wall of the city. Along the wall was a clutter of gravestones that covered the hill leading up to the Kidron valley and covered the other side of the valley. Praise the Lord there is hope beyond death! There were also very nice tombs that Jesus was probably referring to as to the hypocrisy of the religious leaders looking good on the outside but dead on the inside. We were able to see some very intricate tombs from far away. 

Bill showing us the Mount of Olives

reminded of death everywhere! They want to be close for when Christ comes

walking among the gravestones parallel the east wall

Jerusalem walls

Then we saw Herod’s Gate (still on North side), turned to walk alongside the Eastern wall, and walked through the Lion’s Gate, also known as St. Stevens gate, the only open gate on the Eastern side. Soon after we went through the gate we came to the place of the Pools of Bethesda, the place of mercy, where Jesus healed the lame man. The pools were very deep and big to hold water for the temple and the rest of Jerusalem. I did not expect them to be big! I always just pictured a swimming pool size.  The idea that an “angel of the Lord” came to stir the pool was a pagan idea and by healing the lame man Jesus was showing He was divine, able to heal, and that He is greater than the Sabbath. There is a crusader church built by where the pools would have been (more pools had been added) and it is over 900 years old. We all sang in the church again, In Christ Alone; Be Thou My Vision, and it was so meaningful! We attracted quite an audience, some even joined in. Bill then turned us lose for 10min to explore but most of us stayed in the church and kept singing. It was AMAZING! We had random people taking pictures and video of us :)

the very bottom of the place of a pool

ruins

Just me having fun taking pictures :)

            Then we turned along the gate onto the south side and was able to look down the Kidron Valley which was very deep and very obvious as to why it was used as security and safety. Then we went through the Dung Gate and continued to Christ Church, got a tour and then left the city.

slope of the Kidron Valley. It's steep!