Today, our last day, we started out at the Mount of Olives which is located on the east side of the Kidron Valley. The area is the site of a large Jewish cemetery for some 3000 years. The New Testament talks of Jesus teaching (Mt 24:25) resting (Lk 21:37) and ascension into heaven (Ac 1:9-12) from the Mount. Also at the foot of the Mount in the Garden of Gethsemane is where he prayed and was also betrayed (Mt. 26:39ff).
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| from the Mount of Olives looking towards Jerusalem |
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| me at the Mount of Olives with Jerusalem in the background |
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| walking down to the Garden of Gethsemane |
In the Garden of Gethsemane our leader Kirk Giles led a devotional and then we had some personal time to spend in the garden. It was very special to be in this place!
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| overlooking the Garden of Gethsemane |
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| me in front of one of the many Olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane |
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| Church of Agony near the Garden of Gethsemane |
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| Road leading up to the Lions' Gate |
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| Lions' Gate Road in the Muslim Quarter |
After our time at Gethsemane we were dropped off by our bus at the road leading up to the Lions Gate which leads into the Muslim Quarter. May of the roads are very narrow and yet you'll see cars travelling down them!
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| inside the Church of St. Anne |
Our next stop was the church of St Anne which is dedicated to Anna and Joachim the parents of Mary the mother of Jesus. It was built by the Crusaders around 1131 AD and it is believed that the parents lived at this location. The church today is owned by France and cared for by the "White Fathers" an order of the Roman Catholic Church.
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| Pool of Bethesda next to the church and the location recorded in John 5 where Jesus healed the sick man on the Sabbath |
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alley way and shops leading to the
Church of the Holy Seplechur |
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| entrance to the church of the Holy Sepulchre |
The Church of the Holy Seplulchre
(built around 325 AD) also called the Church of the Resurrection is one of the holiest sites. Located and enshrined within the church are what is believed to be Calvary / Golgotha and the empty tomb of Jesus. The church is overseen and shared by several denominations with the Greek Orthodox, Armenian Orthodox and Roman Catholic being in the forefront with Egyptian Copts, Syriac's and Ethiopians to a lesser degree.
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station 12 of the Via Dolorosa inside the church believed to mark the location of the cross on which Jesus was crucified
(Calvary / Golgotha) it is located under the altar (the rock can be seen under the glass) |
Protestants appear to prefer the Garden Tomb as the true place of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection.
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| me at the Garden Tomb beside what is believed to be the tomb given by Joseph of Arimathea for the burial of Jesus |
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Mark 15:22 (NKJV)
And they brought Him to the place Golgotha,
which is translated, Place of a Skull.
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The Garden Tomb was discovered in 1867 and nearby is a rocky outcrop believed to be the place of the "Skull" or "Golgotha" as described in the New Testament. Some Christians consider this to be the place of burial and resurrection of Jesus.
After leaving the Garden Tomb we then visited the present day Mount Zion a hill just outside of the Old City walls of Jerusalem. Located here is the Room of the Last Supper, King David's Tomb and the Dormition Abbey.
(unfortunately I have no worthy pictures to show of this area)
Our next stop brought us to the House
(or Palace) of Caiaphas the High Priest and it is believed to be the place where Jesus was informally tried by the Sanhedrin and imprisoned overnight before being taken to Pilate the next day.
It is also believed to be the place where Peter denied Jesus and hence the Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu (
meaning cock's-crow) a Roman Catholic Church is built over what was the House of Caiaphas.
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pathway discovered by archaeologists leading up to the House of Caiphus
Jesus would have been taken up these steps on Thursday night to be imprisoned
and taken down this path on Friday to Pilate! |
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this is the pit Jesus may have been thrown into to be kept overnight
we had a brief devotional reading from the prophetic Psalm 88 and singing |
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| Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu |
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| front doors to the Church of St. Peter |
