Saturday, July 30, 2011

Holy Land Pilgrimage - Day 11 Part 2

Thursday March 12:

We viewed the King David Memorial. The Tomb of David is a much-revered site on Mount Zion in Jerusalem that has been variously owned and jealously guarded by Christians, Muslims and Jews throughout its history. Today it is a Jewish holy site. Despite this site's long association with King David, it is highly unlikely that this is actually his burial place. The Bible records that David was buried on the eastern hill in the City of David (1 Kings 2:10), which is on the other side of Jerusalem. Our tour guide, Brother David, posed with the statue of King David.
Next we went to the Palace of Ciaphas. It has been proven that this is most likely his palace (99% sure ). So that means this probably where Peter denied Jesus 3 times and houses the dungeon where Jesus was held the night before His crucifixtion. We were able to go down to the "cell" where Jesus was held. We sang "The Old Rugged Cross" while down there - wow, what an emotional experience! Now whenever I hear that song, I remember being down in that dungeon and it evokes quite the feelings!
This is the hole where the guards would look down to check on Jesus and lower food or water to prisoners.


These ruins are from the 1st century. These are the steps Jesus would have walked if, indeed, He was held here.





The Gospels tells us three different people asked Peter, a disciple of Jesus, whether he knew the person who was on trial inside the home of Caiaphas, the high priest. Each time Peter said he didn't know the man. Jesus had predicted Peter would deny him. After the third denial, Peter heard a rooster crowing. He then recalled what Jesus had said: You will deny me three times - after the third time, you'll hear a rooster crow.
The church of St. Peter in Gallicantu (which, translated, means "crowing of the cock") commemorates the events with these statues. Note the rooster at the very top of the picture.

Before we left Mt. Zion, we went to a lookout point. George pointed out several sights that we had already visited.

The area where they say Judas hung himself.
Brenda and myself with Jerusalem in the background.
We then headed toward Bethlehem and just outside the wall, we stopped for lunch. Brenda and I once again each bought something different and shared it (Felafel and Schwarma) along with fries and a drink. After lunch we went into Bethlehem. George, our guide, let Brother Daved take the reins and he had no trouble getting in. The walls that surround Bethlehem are quite something. It is controlled by the Palestinians and is considered part of the West Bank.



Our first stop was the Church of the Nativity. The Church of the Nativity is one of the oldest continuously operating churches in the world. The structure is built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus, and thus it is considered sacred by Christians. While we were in the main hall, George made us laugh. A security guard and a priest got upset at that; our punishment was we were asked to leave and come back later more reverently. We felt that was a bit harsh but did as asked. The Door of Humility was made smaller because people would ride their horses in through the door and around the church which was unacceptable. If you look closely at the door in the 2nd picture, you can see the outline of the original door.



Again, like other churches we have visited, this one was very ornately decorated!



We went down some stairs into the Grotto of the Nativity. This silver star, beneath the altar in the Grotto of the Nativity, marks the spot believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. While down there, we sang "Away in the Manger" - again... a very moving experience.


From the Church, we headed to the Shepherds Field. this is supposed to be where the angel told the shepherds about the birth of Jesus. The roads descending to the east of Bethlehem lead through the mostly Christian village of Beit Sahour, which includes the Shepherds' Fields: the fields identified since ancient times with the shepherds who saw the Star of Nativity. Of course, there is a church there: Church of the Shepherd's field. In a grotto there, we had a short devotional and sang some Christmas songs.


We then headed back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner at 6:30 p.m. After dinner, a group of us went back to Abrahams to do some more shopping. It was very enjoyable chatting along the way and in the store with some of the others. Back at the hotel, Brenda and I packed up and were in bed by 10:30 p.m.

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