This morning our first stop was at the Garden Tomb. We had a place reserved to have communion there. Scholars are divided between this location and the area under the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Where Jesus was crucified and buried for a short period of time becomes a non issue when we realize that we serve a risen living Savior, something no other religion can say.
This picture shows what many say is the resemblence of a skull. The garden is really a nice place and one that inspires you to seek to get closer to God. The people that work here say that no one knows for sure where the place that Jesus was crucified and buried is located, but they give some logical points why this area should be considered.
This is the tomb that could have been used for Jesus.
Susie is entering. Notice the sign on the door.
Behind the iron bars is the place the bodies could have been laid.
Part of the Garden area.
Joe and Polly in the Garden
Dale and Susie
Jan and Mike
Doris
Dale leading in Communion
Does this mean that the Stairs are holy or the people that use them?
There is a church on every place that has any remote connection to the Bible.
This beautiful flower was seen in many locations around Jerusalem.
We left the garden and headed for the town of Bethlehem, which is about 10 miles south of Jerusalem. Bethlehem is in the West Bank and our guide, being a Jew could not go in. He arranged for an Arab Christian (Greek Orthodox) guide to take us into Bethlehem. We drove to a meeting point and got out of our van and into his. After our tour of Bethlehem we came back to the same area and changed vans again. Interesting situation!
Our Arab guide was named Sam. He said we could call him Uncle Sam. He had lived in Florida for many years but had to come back to Israel to help take care of his elderly mother. He spoke English very well and was a good guide. He took us to a local restaurant where we had lunch.
Doris is getting a Shawarma. It's a bread pocket filled with various vegetables and chicken. It was very good.
Mike is holding one so you can understand a little better what they are.
Slices of chicken are layered on a spitt and shaved off as needed.
We asked to be taken to the traditional area where the shepherds involved in the birth of Jesus might have been. He was happy to do so and guess what we found? A church. After looking at the church we walked some paths where we were supposed to see the shepherds' fields. This did not look anything like what we where shown the last time I was in Israel. Win some, lose some and some get rained out.
We went next to the Church of the Nativity, the traditional birthplace of Jesus.
Jan is standing at the entrance to the church. They say the reason for the low door was to keep camels from coming into the church.
Some of our group looking down into the original floor of the church.
This is a statue of Jerome (ca. 340-420), whose full name was Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus, and is best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into
Latin. Jerome's edition, the
Vulgate, is still the official biblical text of the Roman Catholic Church. We asked why the skull at his feet. Our guide said that his superiors told him that if he did not get the translation finished he would be like that skull. Ancient motivation.
This is the spot that Jesus was supposed to have been born.
We saw this KFC sign on the way from the Church of the Nativity to a place we could buy products made in Bethlehem. Sam said that it had just been opened for about 2 months.
This is what you see when you go out the front door of the place we were shopping in. You see part of the 30 foot concrete fence that has been installed around much of the West Bank. Many people say that Israel is terrible for putting up this fence. Some statistics show as high as 90% reduction in suicide bombers and terrorist acts since the fence has been installed. If this information is taken into consideration it gives pretty good justification for what Israel has done.
The olive wood store where we shopped.
This was an interesting art piece, the Lord's Supper with his disciples made entirely out of olive wood.
After the transfer back to Moti's van we traveled back to Jerusalem and some wanted to go back to Old Town to do a little more shopping. We then went to the hotel and had dinner and started packing.
We leave from the hotel at 8:15 in the morning and will tour all day. Moti will take us to the airport late in the day. Our plane leaves at 12:40 am on Saturday. We are scheduled to arrive in Little Rock a little after noon Saturday.
No blog tomorrow.
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