Reflections on My Trip to Israel - Day 4 of 10

After a sumptuous breakfast at our hotel, we boarded our bus and our first visit was to Yad Vashem, Israel’s memorial museum to the six million Jews who perished in the Nazi holocaust that begun in 1933. This place is an impressive collection of thousands of artifacts that relate to the times the Jews sojourned in Europe, for example, photographs, carrying cases and a host of memorabilia, also an eternal flame burning in memory of those who perished.

In memory of the tragedy of the holocaust, the museum has been given a name biblically which is Yad Vashem, derived from Isaiah 56:5.

In a trip to Israel, Yad Vashem is a distinctive place to visit. However, though some people, including myself were enthused with all the information given, yet for others it was too painful to withstand, and they walked away.

Yad Vashem is a sure testimony of Israel never to forget the Nazi holocaust and to pass that information to their future generations, just as they have done with the account of their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land in Old Testament times.

Then on we went to the Israel Museum in which there is a vast collection of arts, archaelogy and ancient scrolls and fragments of other writings. The museum has dedicated an entire wing called the Shrine of the Book to the housing of the Dead Sea scrolls found at Qumran in 1947 by a young Bedouin shepherd. To witness those ancient treasures somehow gave me the feeling of being present when they were created.

At the Israel Museum there is an outdoor scale model of the city of Jerusalem, showing houses, buildings and the Temple of Jerusalem as far back as AD 66. These models provide an accurate view of how Jerusalem looked in those times. Our tour guide mentioned that should there be any bit of new information coming in, the model is adjusted, but so far it is up to date and accurate with all information and traditions received. This work of art and skill is truly something to be seen.

I stand amazed to see how much Israel has accomplished in the mere 63 years the country has become a state. When I consider the Judean desert with its flourishing greenery in parts of it, aided by its intricate irrigation system and a museum filled with historical writings, massive excavations and the rebuilding of ancient structures, I have to agree with the Bible that Israel is truly blessed of the Almighty.

Then off we went to the Church of the Nativity (the place where tradition tells us that Jesus was born). However, before going there, our guide took us to a pastoral setting where there are caves, and we were told it was most likely such a place that Jesus was born. This was done so that we would get an idea of what the nativity cave looked like in those days.

The Church of the Nativity is a 6th century building which is said to be built over a cave.

This is a huge building, part of which is the church and part is a souvenir shop, selling holy oils, candles, religious pictures, olive wood carvings, etc. and to enter the part that is the church, pilgrims have to stoop low to walk through a doorway only 1.2 meters high that is cut in a stone wall. And as ususal, there was a noisy crowd of people, with flashing cameras and a lot of pushing and shoving to enter the church through the low doorway.

As one enters the church through the low doorway there is a grotto (cave) with a large silver star on its marble floor, marking the spot where Jesus is said to have been born. On the floor of the grotto there are the words “Hic de virgine Maria Jesus Christus natus est” meaning in Latin, “Here Jesus Christ was born to the Virgin Mary.”

As pilgrims entered the church, many could be seen, stooping low to kiss the star that marks the spot where Jesus was said to be born. In my mind’s eye, I imagined the cave as I had seen it at the previous pastoral setting and mentally placed it at that spot.

And as usual, with any Roman Catholic or Greek Orthodox church, the décor at the Church of the Nativity is very ornate, with beautiful hanging lamps, lighted candles and biblical pictures which all serve their purpose in creating a religious atmosphere. All this made me think “this would be a beautiful place to sit and meditate on the birth and life of Christ…if only there was time and opportunity to be quiet…” It would have been so much more meaningful and satisfying.

At the hotel, we ended the day with a great dinner and a wonderful teaching by Pastor Peter Youngren

Reflections on My Trip to Israel - Day 2 of 10

All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, we boarded our bus right after breakfast and our first stop was Gordon’s Calvary, which is a place that tradition tells us was known for executions of offenders in ancient Israel. The reason this place is called Gordon’s Calvary is because it was discovered by a British military leader named General Charles Gordon in the 19th century and named after him.

Gordon’s Calvary is a rocky cliff with an over-hang in the shape of a skull with two holes that resemble eye sockets. The entire area comprises a rocky cliff at the edge of an ancient cemetery, a well-tended garden below with beautiful flowers and trees, and a tomb that is hewn out of a rock. Tradition tells us that Gordon was convinced that this was the place where Jesus was crucified and that his body was placed in the nearby tomb, as mentioned at Mark 15:43-46. That tomb is now called the Garden Tomb and is the focus of thousands of visitors each year.

The garden is peaceful and is ideal for meditation and prayer, and our group participated in a communion service there given by our host, Pastor Peter Youngren.

Something of note is that Gordon’s Calvary is in direct controversy with the Church of Holy Sepulchre, which is built on a spot where the Roman Catholic tradition says Jesus was crucified and buried. There will be more about this place later on.

Next we visited the Upper Room, sometimes called the Room of the Last Supper, or the Cenacle (the word “cenacle” is derived from the Latin word “cena”meaning “dinner”). This second-storey room is a large hall and for most of the day it is filled with people going to and fro to see this place where we are told that Jesus ate His last Passover meal with His disciples, and this meal turned out to be the beginning of the Lord’s Supper for followers of Jesus.

The Upper Room is supported by three huge pillars and boasts an arched design in the ceiling -- definitely Gothic in style of architecture. The ceiling is ornate and is a masterpiece. Gazing in awe at this room brought my mind to another masterpiece: that famous painting of the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci that has inspired thousands of people all over the world.

This place, situated on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem is also the location that tradition says was the site of three other major occurrences in the life of Jesus: this is where Jesus washed His disciples’ feet, also where He made an appearance to His disciples after His resurrection, and the place where the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’ disciples (Acts 1:13, 2:1-4), and making the beginning of the New Testament church.

While we were there we witnessed another group of tourists, some of them in an emotional frenzy and could hardly stand. They were shouting, singing, praying and being slain in the Spirit. I was excited to be touching on biblical history in a real way and expected a rushing wind and tongues of fire resting on those worshippers as it happened in the Book of Acts, however no such thing took place.

Next we visited King David’s Museum, which is in the same building on a lower level. In this museum there is a large sarcophagus covered in red velvet and adorned with the Star of David upon it; there is also a sign saying “King David’s Tomb” and there were separate entrances for men and women to view the tomb. As can be expected, there was a crowd there as well.
We wandered around the various rooms, trying to keep in touch with Doron, our tour guide, while making our way around a lot of Jewish people who were saying prayers.

Carpenters were busy doing renovation work in various parts of the building and their constant hammering were in competition with the voice of our tour guide and this did not make it easy for us to follow what he was saying. However, all in all, just being in the presence of King David’s tomb was enough for most of us.

As I stood at the tomb, two of my favourite psalms came to mind; they were Psalm 23 and Psalm 91, which tradition tells us were written by King David. I thought also about the hero stories of that “man who was after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), his conquest of Goliath, his issues with Saul, and other biblical accounts, then I began to wonder “Am I standing at the place where King David’s bones lie? Or is it merely a place built in memory of that great king?”

I did not have to think long. A man from another group made the remark that he did not think the remains of King David were in that sarcophagus but were somewhere else and this sarcophagus was just a structure erected in memory of him…well, so much for that!

As usual, in the courtyard, vendors did a brisk business, selling everything from postcards to hats, and you know, I bought a hat, something very necessary to beat the heat in Israel.
Next stop was a visit to the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. It is a beautiful, modern structure on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, which tradition tells us has been built on the ruins of the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest to whom Jesus was brought for trial. In Israel, it is common to see buildings that were built on top of other old structures and the amazing thing is that the builders made a great job of doing that.

I am always amazed at the structures of the ancient world, how great buildings were created without the use of modern equipment. We have to say those builders were even more talented than those of today because of their lack of the sophisticated equipment we now have at our disposal.

If my knowledge of Latin serves me right the word "Gallicantu" means “singing or crowing rooster” and while on tour of the building something funny happened. As Doron, our tour guide was recalling the story to us about Peter’s denial of Christ and how the cock crowed three times, a cock crowed somewhere in the vicinity. And before long there was a lot of cock crowing taking place. Seems like there has always been a lot of chicken-rearing in Jerusalem.

At this church we were shown a pit below the building, which tradition says had served as a holding place for Jesus before He was taken to Pilate.

Back at our hotel, the Crowne Plaza, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and before retiring for the night we had another great teaching by Pastor Peter Youngren.

Reflections on My Trip to Israel - Day 1 of 10

Day One -- At Last, A Visit to the Holy Land

At last, I was on my way to visit the Holy Land. For years I dreamed of it, but somehow always kept on procrastinating about the trip. However, I have always been attracted to the culture of Israel, and fascinated by the Hebrew language, so much so that at Bible College I did a couple courses in the Hebrew language and some studies in Israelology. And I thank God for having done them.

Last year the trip nearly happened but did not, and this year it nearly did not happen. But it did. It happened when I heard of the Grace TV Israel Tour with Pastor Peter Youngren as host of the tour, and since I know of Pastor Peter’s church which is the Toronto International Celebration Church, I decided this was the time and seized the opportunity.

I went on this trip with a lot of expectation. I had been thinking “at last I will walk in places where Jesus walked, and see places where He healed the sick and did His miracles.” After a three-hour wait on arrival at the airport to check in, at last my husband, Errol and I boarded an El Al aircraft on May 3rd bound for Tel Aviv on a nonstop flight. And as I settled myself in my seat and buckled up, deep in my heart I said: “Oh Israel, here I come…”

I was told the flight would be 11 to 12 hours long and wondered how I would endure sitting in one position for that long, then I remembered that when I went to England some years ago the trip was 8 hours, so what if it is only 4 hours more! Anyway, I managed. The drone of the engines seemed like it would never end. And all we could do was just wait and wait for the touch-down.

Eventually we arrived at the Ben Gurion Airport at 7:05 a.m. next day to a crisp morning, slightly cool, and with beautiful sunshine. It felt great to stand on terra firma once again and our 10-day bus tour started immediately.

There we were met by our bus drivers and tour guides. Our company of tourists filled three buses and my husband and I were assigned to Bus #3. From the beginning we felt we were in the hands of two competent helpers. Our bus driver was Obadiah (Ovad), who did an excellent job in manoeuvring steep hills and deep curves, and our tour guide was Doron Hoffman who is passionate about his work He did an excellent job in showing us around and narrating the information we came to Israel to hear. Also, he was not short on filling our ears with humour all along the way, which made our trip a memorable one.

Thank God, the buses were comfortable and airconditioned. Our first stop was the Mount of Olives. We began with a sweeping view of the Old City of Jerusalem and surrounding area, and a visit to the Mount of Olives and Garden of Gethsemane. Here, Doron, our tour guide gave us a picturesque, historical overview of the Old City and surrounding area.

I had heard that a visit to Israel involved a lot of walking and that we should wear comfortable shoes, but to say that the tour involves a lot of walking is an understatement. Jerusalem is a city of hills, walls, stones and more stones, large and small, and it really does involve more that a lot of walking. It is an experience of climbing hills and walking on rough terrain, and I found it to be quite a challenge for the first two days. However, I did much better than I expected for the rest of the tour.

I was determined to master the trip and by the grace of God, I did. However, in the process, I have discovered the secret to being able to do long bouts of walking, and it is this: just keep on
w-a-l-k-i-n-g.

I am not one for much walking and when our tour guide explained that the walk to the Garden of Gethsemane was a very steep and challenging one from where we were, and that those who felt they could not walk would be taken there by the bus that was music to my ears.

However, the bus drove the few of us who stayed on it to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus spent his last few hours on earth in agony and prayer to His Father in heaven (Matthew 26:36-56) and there we caught up with those who walked.

At the Garden of Gethsemane, we walked and walked through pathways in the garden, absorbing the beauty of every tree, shrub and flower while trying to catch every word and hold on to every description of what we saw, as given by Doron, our guide.

The garden is filled with gnarled, old olive trees, most of them hundreds of years old, though most likely none of the trees were as old as before the time of Jesus’ death, because we are told that during the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD, the Romans destroyed all the trees in the area for use as fire wood and for the purpose of the siege itself.

As I looked at those olive trees, I thought to myself “if only those trees could talk, they would have much to say.” And as I reflected on the beauty and calmness of the garden, I was reminded me of the words of that popular, spiritual song: “I came to the Garden alone, while the dew was still on the roses” and thought of how it might have been in the time of Jesus’day.Was the garden just as beautiful, peaceful and calm?

I wondered: “What did Jesus contemplate during His last few hours?” Did He think of you and me? Did He look beyond the cross He knew He would have to endure to the glories of heaven? But then again, I remembered that we have only to look to the Book of John, chapters 16 and 17 for the answer.

Another place of interest to the tourist is the Church of the Agony, also named The Church of All Nations (so named because it was built with financial support from 12 different countries) which stands next to the Garden of Gethsemane and is a beauty to behold.

Then off we were to a fabulous lunch of Israeli cuisine and then to the Crowne Plaza Hotel to relax for the rest of the day. After dinner that evening, we enjoyed a dynamic teaching by Pastor Peter Youngren before retiring for the night in anticipation for the next day.