Mount of Olives

The Chapel of the Ascension, on top of the Mount of Olives, is an altogether plain structure, as you can see. A rather welcome change after some of the ostentatious sites we've visited. Jesus, though God, was a fairly humble fellow. So this mount is where he left the disciples to return to his Father, and where, if we understand the prophet Zechariah correctly, he will return: Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. (Zech 14:3,4)

Originally, this structure intentionally had no dome -- in order to signify the ascension. When the area was conquered by Saladin, he spared the site and converted it to a mosque. So as not to endorse Christian theology, he closed the top: kind of hard for Jesus to ascend to heaven if he keeps hitting his head on the dome.

The shot of the temple mount is from the Mount of Olives, showing the geography that Jesus traversed in his final hours.

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Safe & Secure

It was hard not to feel safe in Jerusalem.

Here the tables were turned a little. One of our pastors, Ben, who is from Jamaica but pastoring in New York, is asked by IDF soldiers to pose with them. 

Unless the Lord builds the house,

its builders labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchmen stand guard in vain.

(Psalm 127:1 - A Song of Ascents)

First View of the Holy City

We make the long drive up to Jerusalem. When they talk about "going up to Jerusalem" it makes a whole lot more sense to me now. It's a 4000 foot climb from the lowest point on earth to the most significant city on earth. No wonder there is a whole section in the psalms titled "Songs of Ascents" (Psalms 120-134) which recount going up to Jerusalem and the temple to worship God.

After going through a checkpoint with armed guards, we arive in the Holy City.



We drive up to Mt Scopus and this is the gorgeous scene before us:

Our guide breaks out the wine and leads us through a brief ceremony performed when one arrives in the Holy City. Kind of like communion. But no bread, and definitely no Jesus. Though when I look at the famous city for the first time, I can't help but think primarily of Him. We say a few Hebrew phrases. And look out on the city with awe.

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which cannot be shaken but endures forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people
both now and forevermore.
(Psalm 125:1,2 - A song of Ascents)

The Six Day War Restores the Western Wall of the Temple to Jews

IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) capture the temple area:

"Israeli officials flooded the city. It was a pilgrimage. Even the most worldly spoke of it in religious terms--how they stood before the Wall, which was covered in flowers, which was breathing, soft like skin, which was bleeding, wet with tears. A mad moment at the end of a mad age. Yitzhak Rabin wrote a prayer on a piece of paper and shoved it between the stones. Whoever does this is talking to history, worshipping the past. 'It was the peak of my life,' he said. 'For years I secretly harbored the dream that I might play a role in restoring the Western Wall to the Jewish people. Now that dream had come true, and I wondered why I, of all men, should be so privileged.' He gave a speech:

The sacrifices of our comrades have not been in vain. The countless generations of Jews murdered, martyred and massacred for the sake of Jerusalem say to you, Comfort yet, our people, console the mothers and fathers whose sacrifices have brought about redemption. - Rich Cohen, Israel is Real, 268.

I rejoiced with those who said to me,

'Let us go up to the house of the Lord.'

Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.

Jerusalem is built like a city

that is closely compacted together.

That is where the tribes go up,

the tribes of the Lord,

to praise the name of the Lord

according to the statutes given to Israel.

There the thrones for judgment stand,

the thrones of the house of David.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

'May those who love you be secure.

May there be peace within your walls

and security within your citadels.'

For the sake of my brothers and my friends,

I will say, 'Peace be within you.'

For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek your prosperity.

- Psalm 122 - A Song of Ascents

Could This Have Saved Jesus?

"Jesus, we're not very impressed by these grandiose claims and megalomaniac tendencies of yours!"

[Luke 4:16 ff: He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read... 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me...to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind...to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.' Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.']

"Jesus, we're going to let you off with a warning this time. But the court does require you to join a fine organization that helps troubled boys like you straighten out their lives. Turns them into good citizens. It's called the Y.M.C.A.: the Young Men's Christian Association. We're confident that it will do you a lot of good and stop you from getting into any more trouble....  By the way, does anyone know what 'Christian' means?"

Bonus: From Crete to Tel Aviv

The last few hours of the flight were spectacular, and I'm not being poetic. I had a window seat and could see the outlines in sparkling lights of many of the Greek islands. As the golden glow of dawn sped up, we passed by Crete and I could see the island's outline of Paphos (see photo), where Paul was in Acts 13 (my phone speller wanted to default from Paphos to pathos then phosphate). I think of the expression, "He's such a Cretan" and ponder Paul's statement in Titus 1:12: "Even one of their own prophets has said, 'Cretans are always liars, evil brutes, lazy gluttons.' " Hmm. Anyway, this glimpse out the window is a bonus as I'm not on a "Journeys of Paul" tour.

Seeing the long, straight coast of Israel in the early morning light for the very first time was deeply moving for me. And clearly for the ultra-Orthodox who put on shawls and strapped the little square leathered boxes of phylacteries to their foreheads. One of them went up our aisle, congratulating his kinsmen in Hebrew. "Are you Jewish?" he asked me. I kind of felt like I got the runner-up prize when I told him no: "Welcome to Israel [anyway]."

The capitol, Tel Aviv, looked spectacular as we came in to land. A great mix of the old and the new.

Who's The Happy Chappy?

This is the day. . . that the Lord has made, and that the plane will fly. I'm rejoicing in it.

I picked a pillow with a sizeable indentation in it (they say Einstein had a large brain). But in the morning I don't feel any smarter and just have really bad hair. I feel better at breakfast, though, when I see a photo of JFK and Bobby that was taken just feet from me. I am in the presence of greatness. And history.

Soon seven or eight decades of history will become millennia in another land they call Holy.

(Last night started listening to Jerry Bridges' classic, "The Pursuit of Holiness." Might still be available for free download at christianaudio.com)

Today's Isaiah reading: "Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. . . there will be a time when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. The people who walk in darkness will see a great light--a light that will shine on all who live in the land where death casts its shadow" (Is 9:1-2 NLT).

Holy and gracious God, you have rescued me, a gentile, from darkness. Your son is the light of the world. May He be that for increasing numbers of your chosen people, for the glory of your name. Amen.

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Jerusalem Now City of Peace!

Um, I guess we're not quite there yet. But this is the hope (and promise) of the prophet Isaiah in my reading from chapter 2 this morning (in the brand new NIV 2010 version, if you're wondering):

 ¹ This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
 ² In the last days
   the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established
   as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
   and all nations will stream to it.
 ³ Many peoples will come and say,
   “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
   to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
   so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
   the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
⁴ He will judge between the nations
   and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
   and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
   nor will they train for war anymore.
 ⁵ Come, descendants of Jacob,
   let us walk in the light of the LORD.