Kanakuk Institute

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While in the church at the Bethesda Pools in Jerusalem, we tested out the awesome acoustics with some worship. Imagine our delight when other tour groups from another country joined in–same grace, another language!!

Today we got to gain a deeper understanding of the culture of Jerusalem, not just the Biblically historical sites. We started off the day touring Temple Mount, which currently hosts the Dome of the Rock and is policed by Israeli forces but controlled by Muslim authorities and guards. This mountain, Mt. Moriah, seems to be the place where all the tensions of Jerusalem climax. The area is somewhat open to tourists, but there are very strict measures in place about where, how, when and who can be there. Because we are not Israeli or Muslim, we don’t understand all their customs and restrictions, and so can accidentally insult them. Before we went into the area, our tour guide told us to put our Bibles in our bags and to take off any cross jewelry so as not to offend anyone. We did this, but when passing through security, they asked each one of us if we had Bibles and took them from us before we could enter. Once inside, we were able to walk around freely and take any pictures we liked. We didn’t feel unsafe, but maybe just out of our element and a little uncertain. It’s good to be out of our comfort zone, and to see and experience different things, but I think it can be difficult too, because we don’t understand everything that’s going on and aren’t treated as we would be in the US. My husband and I got yelled at for touching while posing to take a picture, then witnessed the same guard reprimanding a Muslim woman because she brought her baby to the site, then the guard turned back to me and told me to “Dress” because I had taken off my jacket and was wearing only a short sleeve t-shirt. His requests alone were completely reasonable—I was on his turf and therefore he could tell me what I needed to do to be respectful. The part that was harder to swallow was the delivery of the message. Anyway, it was insightful to visit the Muslim holy place, and helped open our eyes to a little more of the culture on this VERY important little mount!

Another stop of the day was the Bethesda pools, at which Jesus healed a paralytic man who had waited by those pools for years seeking healing. There is now a church on the Bethesda site with awesome acoustics. We sang several songs, including Amazing Grace. The cool part was that the other tour groups in the church with us began singing along in their own languages!! Such a neat picture of the unity that can exist within the body of Christ and perhaps a glimpse of heaven. I have a video of it, and will blog it when I get back home (tomorrow is our last day, can you believe it?)

Then, we started our journey down the Via Delorosa, the street that Jesus walked carrying the cross. OK, so bring on the culture. I was expecting a reverent, quiet and reflective walk down this very important street, but pretty much got the opposite. Tons of vendors have stores down this street, which makes sense that it would have been this way even during Jesus’ time. Why did I expect it to be different? Anyway, it was not reverent, but it was very interesting as we walked through parts of the Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Quarter markets. At some points it was a little congested, and you wouldn’t believe all the things we saw for sale—from whole sides of meat, to veggies, grains, scarves, clothing, kids’ toys, and beautiful trinkets. Very interesting! We did a little shopping in the Christian Quarter and some more in the Jewish Section, because that’s where our tour guide knew the reputations of the shops the best. But we were all grateful to grab some souvenirs. Maybe, if you’re lucky, your student picked up some cool gifts for the folks back home!

After lunch we spent some time in the shop of a local Rabbi, who offered to meet with us and answer any questions we had about Judaism. He was very straightforward with us (for example, saying his goal wasn’t to try to convince us to believe as he did, simply to answer the questions we had about his faith) and very disarming. He wasn’t there to argue and wasn’t defensive, and spoke intelligently and sincerely. At the end of our short time together, we still didn’t agree, but appreciated the discussion and further understanding.

A couple more stops for the day included the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the most ornate church I have EVER seen. It’s very beautiful, but very, very detailed. This is the site where many believe Christ was crucified and where his body was laid. The church has massive mosaics portraying the scene of the crucifixion and a tomb area with a long line of people waiting to walk through and see where Jesus was laid. A gorgeous church!

In contrast, we also visited a place nearby called the Garden Tomb, which is also a very beautiful place, but instead full of plants and birds and little nooks for prayer and Communion. This garden is located on Skull Mountain, which has natural rock formations that look like two eyes and a mouth. The guide there gave us a very quick tour and explained why this site COULD have been the site of Jesus’ death and resurrection, but was quick to emphasize that the where matters very little. What really matters is that it happened, and that Christ didn’t stay in the grave. No matter which of the two (or neither) it was, I’m with the guide on this one!! All that really matters is that the resurrection did happen, and that “He is not here. He is risen, just as He said.”

For the most part, that was our day. Like I said, a few religious sites and a few cultural sites. I think we are all sad to be leaving soon. Sad to leave our guide friend Ronnie, and sad to leave such a great country where we have heard and seen so much. However, our bodies are getting very tired, and since our bags our packed and our hotel reservation runs out, I guess we will come home! We will tour for the day (headed to the Holocaust Museum and Caiaphas’ house) and we will have a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant before driving to Tel Aviv to catch our almost midnight flight. As far as I know, we are still planning on arriving in STL around noon on Saturday. Maybe a little jet lagged, but with plenty of stories and pictures, so bear with us. It has been an amazing, life-changing, eye-opening trip. So worth it!! Now, we have a context that brings the Bible to life. We are deepened in our faith and more understanding of current events in the Middle East. We are so very thankful!

This will be my last blog from Israel, but I will blog about tomorrow’s events and travel back so we can finish out the trip. It’s been a blast!!! Won’t YOU come with us next year?

The Dome of the Rock is gorgeously designed

Bethesda Pools

The Via Delorosa

The Church of the Holy Sepluchre-see the detail?

Sign found on the inside of the Garden Tomb

Taking a moment to pose for our friends at Rise Collective (they designed our t-shirts). The name rise is based on Jesus rising--how appropriate!