Day Seven

The Way of Suffering!  

Day Seven was spent entirely inside the walls of old Jerusalem. The bus dropped us off at the gate leading to the Western Wall and picked us up at the opposite corner.  In between we saw the Moslem, Christian and Armenian quarters of Old Jerusalem. 

The first stop was the Western or Wailing wall. The classic picture of Jewish men and women praying by the wall became real and personal. We were touching the stones laid by Herod the Great to develop the temple mount. A unique element is that a tunnel has been dug along the old wall and when we popped out, we were at the Pool of Bethesda just north of temple mount.  The stones were massive. One was 500 tons and somehow they had been placed so precisely the cracks are virtually hidden.  

Reaching the Pool of Bethesda, we were allowed to sing within a church at the site. It is noted for having perfect acoustics. Tim sang a solo and then as a group we sang "Nothing but the Blood". A group of Christians from Armenia joined us but sang in their own language. It was a special moment. 

Then, it was up the Via Delorossa, the way of Suffering. Passing each station we were reminded of the various events that happened as Jesus was beaten and then carried the cross to Golgotha. The streets were narrow and are now busy markets in the Moslem quarter. Amid a similar street life, Jesus would have hardly been noticed as He went to the cross.

The next stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.  It is the traditional site for the cross on Golgotha and the tomb. To be honest the church and so many pictures, statutes, candles and a host of other elements cover the original site and you can't see Golgotha or the tomb.  It epitomizes so many sites in Israel where centuries of religious additions almost eliminate the original reality. 

Our final stop was at Caiaphas' house where Jesus was tried, beaten, slapped and spit on by the Jewish authorities. It is also the place where Peter denied the Lord.  It capped a day that made us aware that while the Lord Jesus was making His way to die for the sins of man, most people are unaware of what is really happening OR quickly cover His work with their own form of worship OR deny any relationship to Him.