Students in Israel: Mt. of Olives, Bethlehem, Herodian

Prophecies made real for Master's College student after reading Zecharaiah and standing before the Mt. of Olives.

By ALYSSA FENTON
Alyssa Fenton on Herodian (photo credit: )
Alyssa Fenton on Herodian
(photo credit: )
Our first stop of the day was the Mount of Olives! I was really looking forward to going here after seeing it from a distance on our Jerusalem field trips. We first stopped at the Augusta Victoria, which is now a hospital, situated on the top of the Mt. of Olives. Just below us was Bethphage, where Jesus began his journey on a donkey to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. We also could see Bethany, where Mary, Martha and Lazarus lived. We read John 11, when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in Bethany. I tried to fathom what it would have been like to see the resurrected Lazarus, wrapped up in his cloths, trying to get out of his tomb. The resurrection of Lazarus caused many people to believe in Jesus, but only hardened the animosity of others (John 11:45-48). The ascension of Jesus (Luke 24:50 and Acts 1:6-12) also occurred near Bethany. During the tour we were blessed with a cooler day that had puffy white clouds scattered throughout the sky. It was neat to be able to look up at the clouds and think of how God took Jesus up in a "glory cloud,"probably the same cloud as that of the Transfiguration. We proceeded to another lookout on the Mt. of Olives from which we could see Jerusalem spread out before us. We read Zechariah 14:1-5,a prophetical passage which describes the coming of the Lord, and the Mount of Olives being split in two from north to south! Often I just skip over prophecies because I can't understand them or fathom them, but being able to sit at the place Zechariah was talking about made the prophecy real. Walking down the slope toward Jerusalem, (mighty steep I must say) we came through a modern Jewish cemetery; however, some of the tombs have been there since Jesus' time. We read Matthew 21:1-11, which describes how Jesus came down this slope riding on a donkey, a picture of humility and fulfillment of another Zachariah (9:9) passage. The fact that the people called Jesus the Son of David and cried out "Hosanna!" shows that they acknowledged him as King, and recognized him as Savior. Walking further down the hill, we stopped at the Garden of Gethsemane (which means place of the Olive-oil Press). A garden in Jesus' time was usually a private plot of ground, often with trees, not necessarily places full of flowers and vegetables. Reading Matthew 26:36-46, our teacher compared Adam and Jesus in "gardens". In the Garden of Eden, Adam basically told God, "Not Your will, but mine." However, Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, said, "Not My will, but Yours." Jesus is the supreme example of surrendering to and desiring God's will above our own. We walked into the beautiful Church of all Nations, the modern Catholic Church at Gethsemane. The ceiling looked like stars shimmering all around. On our way up to the Hinnom Valley to see tombs from the first temple period (c 600 BC), we stopped at a specific point along the border between Benjamin and Judah where the Hinnom Valley and Rephraim Valley come together(Joshua 15:8). The Road of the Patriarchs passes here. It was near this area that a Levite would have stopped to consider turning into Jerusalem, but instead continued on the route to Gibeah (Judges 19:11-13). The first temple period tombs we saw are were at Ketef Hinnom. The prophet Jeremiah mentions this area being a place for multiple burials (Jeremiah 7:32). It was interesting to see how they buried people then. One tomb had enough space for eight people to be laid out on benches. The most significant part about this place is that here in 1978-1979 archaeologists discovered the oldest text of the Scripture ever found, which dated to around 600 B.C. The text, Numbers 6:24-26, "The Lord bless you and keep you,make his face shine upon you,and give you peace" was scratched onto small silver sheets, rolled up and apparently put as a necklace around the deceased's neck. I was excited to see our next stop, Bethlehem, especially after having learned about Jesus birth in depth in our Life of Christ class. Jesus' birth was a complete miracle, yet He came to this earth in great humility. However, Bethlehem was a big disappointment to me; I hate to say that, but it is true. I pictured Bethlehem as a small village that had flowers and trees surrounding it. However, driving into the town, it was really run down with graffiti on the walls. We went into the Greek Orthodox Church of Nativity, where they believe Mary gave birth to Jesus. The pillars were half brown and tan. Hanging colored lamps and worn down chandeliers covered the ceiling and murals of Mary and Jesus covered the walls. Every picture included a golden halo on Mary and Joseph's head. Incense filled the church and there were huge crowds of tourists who were kissing the pictures of Mary and Jesus and crossing themselves. We all huddled together to step down into the cave where they believe Jesus was born, but when I finally stepped down, the room was so crowded and full of sweat and incense that I had to leave. Being in the church made me sad because it was so gaudy - such a contrast to Jesus' humility. Also, my heart broke for those who seemed to worship Mary. She was simply God's servant, not one to be worshipped. Afterwards we walked around the town, but it seemed so dirty to me. In the market area, flies covered the fruit and vegetables. The worst though was seeing dead goats hanging from the ceiling, with their fury tails still attached. On our way to the Herodian, we stopped east of Bethlehem to see the region where the angels appeared to the shepherds when Jesus was born. We read Luke 2:8-20 which explains how the angels appeared to the humblest among people during that time. I hope that the Lord will show us history in heaven so I can see how magnificent that night was! How incredible it would be to be the first witnesses of Jesus' birth and to see a great company of heavenly hosts! On these same hills did Boaz and Ruth fall in love! The Herodian was our next stop, which was the coolest archaeological spot we have been to yet! Herod built this fortress to secure his flight to Masada if need be. We read Matthew 2:1-18 which describes how Herod made the decree to kill all male babies age 2 and younger in Bethlehem. Our teacher exhorted us to not be like Herod who manipulated, even murdered, to hold onto his position. Herod was eventually buried at this site. Our last stop was at the Valley of Berachah, which means "blessing". Looking out over the valley we could see Tekoa, which is where Amos lived and was a shepherd. Tekoa sits on the edge of the Judean Wilderness south of Bethlehem. We read 2 Chronicles 20 where God gave victory to King Jehoshaphat. We lined up in pairs and sang "Hodu l'Adonai, ki le olam hasdo" (Give thanks to the Lord because His steadfast love is forever) like the Israelites did when the Lord gave victory to them during Jehoshaphat's reign. Previous Entries Frustration on the Temple Mount A trip through Old Testament Jerusalem A walk through the Old City of Jerusalem