Pastor Andrew in Israel

We went to a bunch of holy sites The dome of the rock, Muslim site.  The Western wall The southern wall, very possible site of Acts 2 baptisms, in the pools that could be used for ritual cleansing before entering the Temple. This is a picture of the blocked off gate, today it would take you under the dome of the rock. Upper room site, conveniently located directly above...  The tomb of King David  Church of the holy sepulchre, containing the final stations of the Cross, jointly run by several church denominations.  People kneeling to see where Jesus died.  Building inside the church covering the tomb of Jesus Look at this painting! Why is it almost completely black? It surely wasn't painted that way, right? The Christian sites were reminders both of the long history of faith and people caring about Jesus deeply, but also of the ways people can get distracted from our relationship with God. Our faith does rest on the work of J...

Today we went to Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran, and the dead sea. Masada is a fortress on a mountain that is a site of great significance to Israel. It was the last stand of a Jewish sect against the Roman empire. The Roman army built a giant earth ramp to get up into the settlement. Ein Gedi if the site where King Saul went into a cave and David cut off part of his robe. This is one of the waterfalls along the stream.  Qumran is the site of a separation Jewish sect. It is most known for the fact that the dead sea scrolls were discovered in the caves outside this settlement. Then we had a float in the Dead Sea. You can't really swim in the Dead Sea because you have to be careful not to get the water on your face. The water is a little slimy and I didn't try the mud.

The cornerstone of the Christian faith is a real Jesus, truly man and truly God, the son of God. He lived a real life and he died a real death. His death took the place of my death and paid the price for my sins. Soldiers took him to a place called the skull and killed him. A follower took him to a nearby tomb and buried him. Three days later he rose and left am empty tomb. The possible place of the skull, where Jesus was crucified. The possible tomb where the body of Jesus was placed. Nearby we had communion and remembered the death of Jesus. What an incredible day.

Jesus once healed a man who sat by the pool  where the spirit of God would stir the waters and heal people. He does this on the Sabbath, which upset the Jewish leaders. They were upset with the man for walking with his mat, and they were upset with Jesus for healing on the Sabbath. Jesus spoke of God's continued work in the world, how He would work as His father works, doing what He sees God do. He did the with of God here, at this pool.

We were able to use a private garden in Gethsemane. We had some time to pay as the disciples prayed, all those years ago. The disciples fell asleep, but Jesus continued to pray. Jesus prayed that the cup would pass him by, that he would be shared the coming death that faced him, but above all that God's will would be done.

Starting at the mount of olives we saw a number of locations from the final days of the life of Jesus. This actually isn't too far from where I was the other day, but this was a more clear view and it was also extremely windy. I'm blaming the wind for how squinty I look. In this photo you can see a Jewish burial ground just behind me at the bottom, then the valley and the wall and the Temple mount with the dome of the rock.

We got to go to Bethlehem and see the cave that is the traditional birth place of Jesus. There are a couple of churches over the cave, and one side had about to hours of waiting, so we went to the other side instead. This meant we didn't see the exact spot that was marked in the cave a free hundred years after Jesus was born, but just the other half of the cave. Here is a view in the cave. It was crowded on this side as well, but no wait. Of course it just looks like a cave with walls in it, but Jesus may have been born in this room, before the walls were there, and then put in the manger on the other side of one wall.

Do you remember what happened when Jesus was arrested before the crucification? You can go read Matthew 26:57 and following, I'll wait. Did you read it? Great! (Or Boo! to my slacker readers) So, you know where they put Jesus after he was arrested?  If you said this room, you are very probably correct. Here is the cell in the house of Caiaphas, the high priest. And do you remember what Peter was doing in the courtyard? That's right, he denied that he knew Jesus, as he slowly backed away from his savior. It is incredible to stand in these places. This is the view overlooking Jerusalem, with the Temple mount on the left and the valley extending in the middle and to the right. I think Bethany is almost in the middle of this picture. You should be able to click for a larger view.

Today we entered Jerusalem. Here is where the Kings of Judah ruled. Here Jesus and the disciples walked. Here Jesus died and rose again. In Jerusalem, even when exact locations aren't known, it's not just that biblical events happened somewhere like this, or in the general area. In Jerusalem everything happened right in this little area, on that hill it this valley or on this road. In the next few days we will be seeing historical sites and we won't have to ask, "I wonder what the people who lived here were like?" Or "what do you think this spot was used for?" Here we will open God's word and read about what happened thousands of years ago where we are standing.

In 1 Samuel 35, King Saul and his sons die in battle. The Philistines find their bodies and pin them to the walls of Beth Shan. Today beit shean stands on that place. I saw the ruins from the time of Saul at the top of the hill and the extensive thing of the Roman city that was built in the valley. You can see the staircase going up the hill in the background to the ancient site and all the Roman ruins in between. The Roman ruins would be very similar to towns in the time of Jesus.

In judges chapter 7, Gideon is called to deliver the people of Israel. God says that he has too large of an army, that the people will say their own strength has accomplished this task. Gideon sends many of the army away, but it still left 10,000. That is still to many, so God tells Gideon to go down to the spring of Harod, (not related to the new testament King Herod) and God would sort the army. Behind me you might be able to see where the water bubbles out of the cave. It flows across the plain from here in a little stream. Anyone in the army who kneeled down and stuck their face in the water was sent home. Those who lifted the water in their hands stayed to fight. So with 300 men God defeated Israel's oppressors.

When Jesus was about to start his public ministry, he went down to the Jordan river and was baptized. John the Baptist was preaching that the kingdom of heaven was near, and that the people should come and repent from their sins. When Jesus came to be baptized, John at first refused, understanding that Jesus didn't need to repent. He knew that he should be repenting and Jesus could make John clean. But Jesus insisted and was baptized. As he came out of the water, the spirit of God descended as a dove and God's could came from heaven,  “This is my Son,  whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”   Here I am standing with the Jordan river behind me. This is a place where pilgrims can come and be rebaptized and share in that proclamation of faith and step into the Bible story. A handful of people in our group were baptized here today.

We stopped by and got a tour through one of three Israeli locations for the diamond industry. Jewish people good into the diamond business in part because of a need to escape persecution, which includes selling everything and carrying your wealth in the smallest form that would be worth something wherever you end up. This company originally only dealt with loose stones, but has since started doing consumer sales. Diamonds have drastically increased in value in the past 40 years. Also we were there on a good day because they were running a discount. Plus, you get VAT tax refunded at the airport on any purchases there, which is 17% off the purchase price. Even better, there are no import fees coming into the USA that I will have to worry about, because of a US / Israeli trade agreement. The sales people were very nice and the manager was quite accommodating.

Magdala is a small town, not very far from Capernaum, named for the fish towers it had, which were used to dry and preserve fish from the sea of Galilee. It is possible that this is the city named "magadan" in Matthew 15:39, called magdala in some of the ancient texts, although the translators balance the textual evidence in favor of "magadan" being the correct reading, which could refer to the same or a different place. Mark 8:10 mentions "dalmanutha," which could be from the name "magdala nunayya." The biggest biblical reference is Mary Magdalene, which would mean Mary of magdala, like how Jesus was called a Nazarene. Because of how close this town is to Capernaum, Jesus probably would have had opportunity to speak in the synagogue during his ministry. Ten years ago a hotel excavation discovered a synagogue here from the time of Jesus. It is one of very few synagogue ruins found from the second Temple period. It also includes the oldes...

In Matthew 17, Jesus comes to Capernaum again and those that collect the Temple tax ask Peter if Jesus pays the Temple tax. Peter says "yes, he does." When he comes into the house, it says that Jesus speaks first. I like to imagine him keeping quiet when Peter answered, or maybe he was just waiting inside. In either case, Jesus asks Peter if kings charge tax to their children or to others. Peter says that a long would not tax his own children. Jesus replies (and I'm paraphrasing from "then the children are exempt"): You just saw me transfigured in front of you, with Moses and Elijah beside me. And a bright cloud appeared on me and you heard the voice of God call me His son, whom He loves. And you say that a King wouldn't tax his own son, so why do you think I should pay the Temple tax. But, Jesus says, so as not to cause offense, go and toss your fishing line in the lake and the first fish you find will have a coin in its mouth to pay your tax and mine...

Capernaum was the home of Jesus when he started his public ministry. Matthew 4 tells us that when Jesus left Nazareth he moved to Capernaum. Mark 2 says that when Jesus enter Capernaum the people heard he had come home. Jesus came into the synagogue and began to teach and he surprised the people because he spoke as one with authority and could drive out demons. Here I am standing in Capernaum. Behind me you can see the ruins of a fourth century synagogue that was built on the ruins of a synagogue destroyed in the first century, very likely the ones Jesus preached in. Here we stood in the spot where Jesus amazed the crowd and read the scripture. We are told in Mark 1 that he left the synagogue and immediately went into the house of Andrew. This is a picture of the excavated ruins, maybe a hundred yards from the synagogue, of an octagon shaped meeting house built around what may be that very house. It is called the house of Peter, because Andrew's brother was more popula...

When Jesus and his disciples came to Jerusalem, Jesus was first hailed as the Messiah, but by the end of the week Jesus was put to death. At the last supper Peter said even if all others fell away he would stay with Jesus until the end. On the night when Jesus was arrested, Peter denied Christ three times. After the resurrection, Jesus came to Peter and three times asked Peter, "do you love me?" He gave Peter the chance to once again proclaim his loyalty. Just as Peter had denied Christ at the campfire when Jesus was under arrest, now Jesus had come and set a fire and provided breakfast for the disciples and restored Peter to the ministry. This church is set on the site that commemorates the restoration of Peter, and this stone is referred to as "the table of Jesus," the very place where the resurrection Jesus made breakfast for his disciples.

Jesus worked many miracles around the sea of Galilee. One of the most well known is the feeding of the five thousand. Jesus not only spoke to the crowd that gathered around him, He also provided food for them when the disciples said that there was no way they could purchase the food needed. A small child offered up his lunch. Jesus prayed and the disciples distributed the food. A boy gave five fish and two loaves. With that Jesus blessed the multitudes with an unexpected meal. The power of God was made known. What are the five fish and two loaves in your life that God can use to bless the people around you? Here is a view of a church built over the stone where some believe the miraculous meal was set. While it is hard to say this is the exact location, many of these historical sites have a long history of people referring to them and associating them with miracle. We do believe that the stories from the gospels really did happen and that they really did happen at least ...

Jesus saw the crowds and he went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him and he began to teach them. Blessed are the poor, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who mourn... He spoke of the disciples role in society, he spoke of the laws of scripture, he spoke of marriage, anger, about the hearts of men. He spoke of how to give and how to pray and fast and what religious acts really mean. He spoke of storing treasures in heaven and not worrying about what you have on Earth. He said not to judge others, but seek, ask, knock. Come to the narrow gate. Watch out for false prophets. Most controversial, he said that when the kingdom of heaven comes, he will be the one sending away those he didn't know, who didn't do the will of his father God. Perhaps he gestured to the slope and the sea below when he says that anyone who doesn't listen to him is like a man building their house on loose sand, ready to fall at the first storm. You can s...

We stepped off of our 40 meter long tour boat and came to the museum of the so called Jesus boat. This is a boat that was found relatively recently in the sea of Galilee when the water level was unusually low. Here I am standing in front of what I'm sure is a recreation of the boat that was discovered. The original was water logged wood that would collapse if it got dry. The excavation involved keeping the boat wet and digging through the mud by hand because tools would damage the soft wood. This does give an idea of the type of boat that Jesus and his disciples could have used. This one was a small boat, wood held together with Roman nails. Jesus would have spent a lot of time in boats like this, I imagine. Three years hanging around the sea with a bunch of fishermen. A twenty seven foot boat, with Jesus and twelve disciples, maybe others that would come along. A boat like this gives you not very much space, but a lot of time to talk. Jesus could find a little spot to ...

Wednesday morning starts when we take a boat ride on the sea of Galilee. For those in Minnesota, the sea of Galilee is about a third the size of leech lake.  It is in this area that Jesus did much of his ministry and performed many of the miracles. Here I am with my father. We were in a hundred and fifty foot tour boat, and it was a fairly long ride across the lake. We had a warm and calm morning on the water. Here was a second chance to go where Jesus walked. Where we had a call boat ride, Jesus took a pre dawn walk through the wind and waves to the little boat of the disciples. Later we went to the waters edge and I also got try walking on water. Nope! Although, perhaps removing my shoes demonstrated a certain lack of faith.