Garden of Gethsemane

Today really brought home what this trip is all about. We started the day on the Mount of Olives. This is where Jesus preached the sermon on the mount. From atop the Mount of Olives, you can see all of Jerusalem laid out before you as well as Mount Moriah and the Dome of the Rock. I can't even put into words what it feels like to be standing where Jesus preached.

We walked down the mountain and on the way down we passed a Jewish cemetary. Their cemetaries are quite different from ours. The jewish are not buried in caskets, instead their body is wrapped in holy cloth and they are laid directly in the ground. There is no landscaping, i.e. trees, bushes, flowers, statues, etc. There is a grave stone with an inscription on it. On the grave stone rocks and pebbles are placed each time the grave is visited. Each grave stone has holes in it to allow the placement of candles to be lit at night in remembrance. I imagine it is beautiful at night when all of the candles are burning.

We went to the site of the Lord's supper. This is where Jesus dined with his 12 disciples on the eve of the passover.

Next we visited the Church of the Four Nations and the Garden of Gethsemane. WOW!!! What an experience this was. This was very much as I had pictured it. There were olives trees in the garden that they can date back 2,000 years to the time of Christ. This was the most beautiful place that I have ever visited. This is where I prayed the prayers for those who asked me to pray for them. How often have you wished to be whisked back in time to get a glimpse of our Lord or hear His voice if for only a moment? I had that opportunity today. Walking through the garden and reflecting, it really became clear to me who Jesus was. He was a human (albeit the son of God) but he had emotions and feelings like any of us have. He felt love, joy, sadness, sorrow, anger and fear like any one of us. The only difference is that Jesus was perfect. He knew all along what his purpose for life was yet at the end he was as terrified as any of us would be. All night as he prayed at the Garden of Gethsemane his soul was overwhelmed with sorrow. I imagine the devastation and heartbreak that he felt by the betrayal of his best friends, condemning him to death. After praying all night, this is where Jesus was betrayed by Judas and arrested.

Next we went into Old Town Jerusalem where we visited the house of Caiaphas (the high priest) where Jesus was taken and condemned to death. We went into the pit where he was held during the night and down the ancient courtyard steps that he walked as he was taken to be condemned. Next we went to the judgment hall of Pilate where Jesus was sentenced to death. This is where he was brutally flogged (to the point that many men would have died just from the beating that he took) and a crown of thorns was placed on his head. We proceded down the Via Dolorosa (the Way of the Suffering) and walked the route that Jesus carried his cross to the site of his crucifixion. I can't even put into words what it feels like to take that walk. I can only imagine the dread Jesus felt while he was taking this final walk. People were hurling insults and jeering at him. This was quite a long winding walk and I can't even imagine what it was like carrying that heavy cross.

I will do a separate post about the location of the death and resurection of Christ.

Shalom,

Diane