Visiting Jerusalem and arrival in Megiddo

  Megiddo, Israel
Sunday, July 6, 2008

Today we had the blessing of visiting Jerusalem, the city of King David, the most important city in the geo-political world today, and the capital of the world tomorrow.
 
We started out later than usual. We spent an hour in a Bible Study that Dave Baker and I gave in our hotel room after breakfast. Dave talked about taking advantage of the opportunities afforded by this project and used some example from his own life about how God can bless our efforts. I spoke about the Beatitudes since we had just visited the Galilee, and specifically the Sermon on the Mount area.
 
Then we loaded out, and drove into Jerusalem. Our first stop was the Mount of Olives, where Jesus gave the Olivet prophecy of Matthew 24, where he ascended up to heaven after His resurrection and where He will land once again on His return to earth.

On the Mount of Olives, the Temple Mount behind

The view of the Temple Mount and the rest of the old city is world famous and quite breathtaking. We saw the Jewish cemeteries on the slopes of the mount (Jews who know the scriptures, know the Messiah will descend there and that the dead will be raised - some want to be first in line...). We walked down the slope to the area of the church of Dominus Flevit, not to visit the church, but to see the "bone boxes" that are displayed. In the burial customs of the first century, bodies were placed in tombs to decompose for several months or a year, then the tombs were opened, the bones collected and placed in small stone boxes the length of the longest leg bones.  Several are on display and it was quite interesting to see them. Then we continued on down the hill to the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed before being arrested, and where Judas, betraying Him with a kiss, led the Roman soldiers.

The old olive trees, Garden of Gesthemane

There are Olive trees in the garden which may be as old as 2000 years. That means they might have been there when Jesus was betrayed here. Of course we can't know for sure, but the possibility is thought provoking.
 
We re-boarded the bus and rode to Mount Zion on the South-West side of the city where we disembarked. We visited the traditional site of the "upper room" mentioned several times in the book of Acts. The original room has been destroyed; the one we visited dates to the time of the Crusades, so it is suspect, but it was interesting to consider the possibility that it might be the correct site.

The Zion gate in Jerusalem

 
From there we walked through the city walls, to a point where the four quarters - Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian intersect. There is a reinforced rooftop at the intersection where all four can be clearly seen. That was new to Dave and to Marjolaine and me and quite a treat for all of us. We walked through the streets of the Jewish Quarter (all shops closed) then reached the Christian Quarter (all shops open) and found restaurant where we sat and watched the people walk by as we ate a Falafel sandwich and cooled off with a soft drink.
 
Then we walked the short distance to the traditional site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, both places now located in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

The entrance to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

It is quite a chaotic place, built around 1100 on the site of a previous Christian church built by Constantine, which was itself built on the site of a Roman temple to Venus and Jupiter (which was supposed to have been built around 135 AD on the site of the crucifixion and burial of Jesus in order to spite Christians). It is now shared between several Christian sects that don't get along well with each other. The groups have rights over different parts of the building and guard them zealously
 
We saw the traditional site of the hill of Golgotha, now full of rival priests making way for believers to touch the rock of the hill under their altars, shaking perfume censors, ringing bells, knocking blocks of wood together and so on. It is rather bewildering the first time one visits the place.

Orthodox priest over traditional Golgotha

 
We walked down steps to floor of the church, and came to a long stone on the floor that is supposed to be the place where the body of Jesus was prepared for burial. Some believers were kneeling with their foreheads on it, others were placing handkerchiefs and other items on it to be blessed and become protection talismans. As we watched, a priest came up with an incense censor and told everyone to move back so he could shake the censor over the stone several times before moving on.
 
We walked next to the traditional site of the tomb of Jesus, now a rather dark and spooky place with crowds of people waiting in line to step inside the shrine built over it.
 
It seems a great stretch to me that these could be the actual locations, but who knows? In any event it's not the places themselves that count for anything; that's all just superstition.
 
We walked on through the streets of Jerusalem to the north and west, toward the Damascus gate. Our route took us along part of the Via Dolorosa, the way Jesus is supposed to have carried the cross on His way to the crucifixion. It leads from the location where the Roman Fortress Antonia stood (on the edge of the Temple Mount - with a view overlooking the Temple), to what is now the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Walking down the "Via Dolorosa"

We noted several "stations of the cross" as we walked down the narrow street. I explained to the volunteers some of the things traditional believers do around Easter as they try to reenact the suffering of Jesus.
 
I reminded them of the passage in John 4:24 where Jesus said the Father seeks those who worship Him "in spirit and in truth."
 
Walking out through the Damascus Gate, we continued up a few hundred meters farther and turned up the narrow street that leads to the Garden Tomb. We viewed the cliff located behind the local bus station, and that looks rather like a skull, and then went to the tomb which most accept now is from the 4th century AD, and thus too late to be Jesus' tomb. But again who knows?

The Garden Tomb

It is a pleasant garden, and it certainly is a good example of the kind of tomb in which Jesus was buried. Each of us got to step inside and we took photos too of the group in front of the tomb. As the tour and visit finished it was time to say goodbye to David Baker. He has to continue his trip with pastoral visits in Kuwait City, and Abu Dhabi before returning home to his family after what will be a one-month absence. He did an outstanding job of guiding the group through the Jordanian portions of the program, including the projects at the YMWA and at Al Rajef. It is always great to work with him; I know we all appreciated his knowledge, experience in the area and wisdom in making this project a successful one.
 
Doreen essentially finished her work for us at this stop. She caught a ride with us to her home area as we drove toward Megiddo late in the afternoon. We thanked her with applause and a generous tip and continued on our way.
 
We arrived at kibbutz Ramat Hashofet after 6:00 pm, unloaded our luggage and said goodbye to Usama in much the same way as with Doreen. He had been very friendly and helpful during our time with him.  We got our room assignments at the simple kibbutz hotel, unpacked and rested until dinner at 7:30 pm, when it was time for dinner and after that the orientation meeting.
 
Our schedule here will be very full:
 
04:55 (Sunday through Thursday): the busses pull out of the kibbutz for Tel Megiddo. This means getting up at around 04:30 at the latest to be able to dress, gulp down a cup of coffee or something and be on time for the busses, which wait for no man (or woman). Fall back asleep on the bus.
05:10 (or so): arrive at the dig site and unload, walk up the hill to the various dig squares which are labeled by letters of the alphabet. More on that later
05:20 (or so): break out the tools: pickaxes, hand picks, broad bladed hoes, buckets, trowels, level measuring equipment, notebooks, water bottles etc.
05:30: start digging!
08:30: walk back down the base of the Tel for breakfast: bread and cheese or fish, boiled eggs, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes, cornflakes, fruit, yoghurt, and hot beverages.
9:15: walk back up the Tel to start work again
11:00 "elevensies": a 15 minute break to sit and talk and rest
13:00: end of digging, put away tools take pottery, bone, flint, metal and any other finds down in marked buckets, busses take us back to the kibbutz.
13:30: lunch
14:00-16:00: quiet time; time to sleep, do laundry, write etc. The camp should be quiet.
16:15 pottery washing until done
18:00 various classes on archeology for those taking them.
19:00 dinner
20:00-21:00 evening lecture by archeologists working at Megiddo and elsewhere.
As quickly as possible after 21:00: drop dead until too early the next morning
 
Our four male participants are rooming together, and our four female volunteers will room together also. Fiona and Tatiana will sleep in an annex room with 4 ladies, but will use our bathroom (we're next door), so that we don't have more than 4 people using any one bathroom. That way we won't overload any of the showers, which will be important with the kind of work we'll be doing.
 
Our time in Jordan was fantastic. The touring in Jordan and Israel was fascinating and highly educational. Now we are starting a new phase that will be educational and enriching and put us in direct touch with Old Testament times, but will test our organizational skills and endurance. This should be a very interesting four weeks.