Going up to Calvary

Richard and Susan

Today we began our final day in the Holy Land by going up to the Old City of Jerusalem and then going up to the Cross via the Stations of the cross which follow the Via Delarosa. We came into the Holy City in the Muslim Quarter and started at the Pool of Bethesda. They have excavated this site to see the actual pool. There was a wonderful Byzintine church built over the pool in the 300-400’s. You can see the ruins – but especially the arches over the pool – which are 1700 years – which sounds young when you are here. Isn’t that crazy. There’s a wonderful church at this site now run by French Catholic monks called St. Annes. It’s worth the stop just for the acoustics. Singing seems to be the thing to do when you there – every group sang – including us.  Wow! Here are a few pictures.

Courtyard of St. Anne's Church

The Pool of Bethesda - under the stone arches of the Byzantine Church (400 CE)

 We then walked the Stations of the Cross through the old, winding streets of Jerusalem. We saw original

paving stones that date back to Jesus. It was a moving experience that began at the Roman fortress. Jesus had to walk up and up through these streets to get to the gate that led out to the quarry where the Romans set up their executions. They used crucifixions as a weapon of intimation for their conquers lands. They set up crosses by the main roads leading into the cities and let the crucified person hang for a week – to make sure everyone got the point of what happens when you disobey Rome. Jesus did not hang there that long on Good Friday because Joseph and Nicodemus both played their influence to get him removed and buried. The

traditional Calvary and empty tomb is now a church called the Church of the Holy Sepulcher ( I still can’t pronounce this name). People have been worshiping in this spot since the century after Jesus.

 As a pilgrim it is crowded and overwhelming – the people from around the world are praying, singing, chanting and moving. In some ways this is exactly the kind of world in which Jesus was crucified – a hot bed of nationalities from around the world were present in Jerusalem for Passover. We then spent time exploring the Old City, shopping and haggling which is a lot of fun. Finally, we went to the

Inside Church of the Holy Sepulcher 

Jerusalem Museum to a see a wonderful model of the city of Jerusalem in the 2nd Temple Period – the time of Jesus. I hope you have enjoyed my blog. Please let me know if you have been reading it. I plan to teaching the final few Wednesday nights lessons based on this trip. I hope you will join me. Pastor Eric

Shopping in Old City of Jerusalem