The Fifth Gospel

FRIDAY, MARCH 07, 2008
We arrived in Tel Aviv before sunset after a long flight from Atlanta via Phoenix. We left on Thursday at 2:10 pm Phoenix time and arrived Friday at 5:30 pm. All 27 people in our group are excited about the upcoming week. Our tour guide is a believer! He says the Holy Land is called "The Fifth Gospel" - the first four you read, the fifth you experience. This would become a true statement!

(Side note: His term for restrooms... "Coffee Out.")

SATURDAY, MARCH 08, 2008
We went to four places today: Caesarea, Mt. Carmel, Megiddo, and Nazareth.

There isn't a whole lot left to see in the site of Caesarea anymore, though its history is fascinating. Herod the Great, so named not because he was a wonderful leader but because he built an awful lot, built it up from a relatively nondescript outpost to a large city complete with a large outdoor theater and circus. Herod built the palace out into the bay, using essentially cement to build on.
Caesarea is where the first recorded Gentile convert lived: Cornelius. See Acts 10:1.

Our next stop was Mt. Carmel, where Elijah put 450 prophets of Baal to the test. This was a beautiful mountain with a great view of the Valley of Megiddo.
Megiddo is a location of immense archeological importance as well. In the 1920's, the University of Chicago instituted a dig so effective that to this day, the results of other digs in Israel are compared to the artifacts and structures of Megiddo. Megiddo appears to have been a place of Canaanite worship as far back as 3000-4000 B.C.

One of the most remarkable features of Megiddo is a tunnel underneath the bedrock. Built to get water in event of a siege, it was actually dug from both ends and met in the middle.

Our last stop of the day was Nazareth... for lunch, Nazareth Village, and to go see the Church of the Annunciation.
We went to the Nazareth Village. It was a recreation of what Nazareth would have looked like at the time of Jesus. It was interesting to see the houses, synagogue, wine press, along with people in period costumes acting as backdrops for this experience.

After our tour we headed to our hotel in Tiberias on the Lake of Galilee. We would be at Tiberias for two nights.

SUNDAY, MARCH 09, 2008
Today was an extremely full day. The following are the different places we went:
Mount of the Beatitudes. This is where Jesus delivered His most famous sermon in Matthew 5-7. Our guide pointed out that the way the hills and valleys are situated, it is possible for a speaker, without the aid of any technology whatever, to speak loudly enough for thousands to hear him. There's a church now on the top of the mountain. We had a short reading of some of the passages from Matthew 5-7 and then we had time to go off by ourselves to read the words of Jesus from the same place where it was originally spoken!
Capernaum. Jesus also did some 75% of His ministry in and around Capernaum. He called all of His disciples from this area. The synagogue in Capernaum in which Jesus taught no longer exists, but a synagogue built in the 4th Century over the site of the old one is still partially standing. The best feature of Capernaum is the remains of St. Peter's house. An octagonal church was built over the site to help preserve it from any further decay, though it is not completely sealed off. But the plaster with which it was covered is still visible in places. It was the first house church or Journey Group!

Sea of Galilee. We went out on a boat to the middle of the lake and had a short service. We also watched one of the boat operators demonstrate how they fished in Jesus' day. They hoisted the American flag since we were from America, and played The Star Spangled Banner.
Jesus Boat. After getting back on shore we went to see The Jesus Boat. This boat was found in the Sea of Galilee far beneath the mud. It has been dated to about 2,000 years ago. The wood would apparently turn to dust as soon as it dried out, so they had to wet it constantly on the way out. It was sealed in foam until it could be preserved later.

Church of the Primacy of St. Peter. This was on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Scripture doesn't say exactly where Jesus had his conversation with Peter but this church commemorates Jesus' conversation with Peter in John 21.

Golan Heights. We then drove by fields cordoned off with signs saying "DANGER: MINES", tanks actually on the move, abandoned villages (from the 6-Day War), and pulverized bunkers. We stopped in a Druze village in the Golan Heights for lunch. We went this way in order to go to Ceasarea Philippi.


Ceasarea Philippi - Temple of Pan. Ceasarea Philippi is situated at one of the three sources of the Jordan River, and the ancient Temple of Pan (a pagan temple) was situated here as well. The spring used to come from the mouth of a cave there, but when Herod the Great built a temple to Caesar Augustus, the construction rerouted the flow to where the water comes out from a different location. Very little of the Temple of Pan remains, but it is still possible to see where the different statues were placed in the side of the cliff.

Jordan River. Our last stop in a very full day was the Jordan River. Several people from our group decided to get baptized in what was very cold water. The Jordan River experience was a great celebration for those who had the desire to be baptized in a cold and somewhat dirty river.

We closed the day by having a St. Peter’s Fish dinner (including the head and tail) at a local restaurant.

MONDAY, MARCH 10, 2008
Bet Shea'an. This is one of the biggest archeological finds in all of Israel. It was level ground before archeologists started digging. Bet Shea'an was the capital of the decapolis, and had an estimated population at its peak of some 50,000 people. An earthquake destroyed the city during the Byzantine era.

West Bank. This is occupied by Palestinians. We went this was so we could see the place where the oldest city was located- Jericho. We also saw the Mountain of Temptation. This was a stop that people could buy fruit and local glass from an Arab shop.
After lunch we headed for the Dead Sea for our hotel on the south end of the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea. This is the lowest place on earth! The salinity of the sea is about 33% and you don’t want to stay in the water more than 15 minutes at a time because it can start to burn your skin, but it is also what keeps you from sinking. It was awesome to be able to float without trying. You would expect the water to be really salty and gritty, but it was not. After being in the water we took advantage of the great spa at the hotel to relax and rejuvenate after a busy few days.

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2008
Our first stop today was Masada. We rode a cable car to the top of the mountain. It was a great view. This is the location where zealots held off a Roman attack for over three years in this mountain top fortress. When it became plain that the Romans would breach the fortress the 963 people committed mass suicide rather than submit to slavery. We were told that the Israeli children are taught a phrase about Masada- “Never forget, never forgive”.

Our second stop was at Qumran. This is the location of finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea scrolls were first written and found some 1900 years later. They found all the books of the Old Testament except Ruth.
Bethlehem. We entered Palestinian territory again since Bethlehem is now in their control, and they don't allow Israeli citizens to cross the boundary. In fact, there are signs that say so. Our guide, who is actually an Israeli, had to go sit back with us in the bus so as not to draw needless attention to him self.
Our first stop was at a shop is owned by a Palestinian Christian; while we were gathered around to meet him, he asked us a favor, and then had instructions for shopping. He said that he realizes there will be no peace in this region until the Prince of Peace returns, but the U.S. and others were getting ready to try to hammer out a peace agreement between the Palestinians and Israel... and he asked us to pray that God would give wisdom to those involved in that process. Then he went on with a welcome to his store and give instructions for shopping.
The other stop we made in Bethlehem was the Church of the Nativity. It is the oldest Christian church in the world. It's a beautiful church but very different than what you would picture. We also saw the church that they hold the Christmas Eve mass that is live from Bethlehem.
Shepherd’s Field. This was the place the angles came to the shepherd’s to announce the birth of Christ. We explored the caves that were around this place. It was great to use our imagination as we explored the fields and caves to think of the shepherd’s receiving the news of the birth of Jesus.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 2008
Our first stop was the Israel Museum and the Shrine of the Book. The Shrine of the Book is dedicated to the Qumran scrolls. This was also the location of a great display of what Jerusalem would have looked like in the time of Christ. The model is huge and gives you a great overview of where things are at.

Gethsemane, Church of All Nations. The Church of All Nations adjoins the Garden of Gethsemane. Originally a Franciscan monastery, the church was funded by many different nations. The official seals of several nations appear on the ceiling on the inside of the church. We had a short devotion and spent time in a private part of the garden for reflection and prayer. This was a good time to reflect and pray at the place that Jesus prayed before his betrayal. After the garden we went to an overlook of the city of Jerusalem with the golden dome in the background. There was a guy with a camel who showed up to take pictures on his camel. This is also where we took a group photo with the Old City in the background. The Jerusalem Archaeological Park. This is at the southwestern Corner of the Wall and we entered through the Dung Gate. We explored the wall and some of the stones used to build the wall weigh up to 400 tons. The coolest thing about this place was we stood on the bedrock by a gate that is now closed, but Jesus would have walked through. This is the one place we know that Jesus walked!

Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.
The museum was very difficult to go through because of the horrible history of the death of over six million Jews. This museum goes through in detail the accounts of how this happened starting from the end of World War I and the rise of Hitler. It was not something I would want to view again but it was something everyone who visits should see.

THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008
This was the a walking tour day. We were dropped off in the old city at 8:30 am and then picked up at 3:30 pm. The following are the places that we went:

Dome of the Rock. This is the blue, golden-domed mosque of the Jerusalem skyline. It was very beautiful up close to view this. Until about eight years ago, anyone could go in. After the clash between Arabs and Israelis when Sharon showed up at the mosque with a bunch of armed men, it is now open only to Arabs or Muslims. This is the exact spot that the Jews plan to build the third temple sometime in the future. This will cause a few problems!
St. Anne's Church. This church was all about Mary but it is named after Mary's mother Hannah. It was built in the 12th Century (1131-1138 A.D.) to replace an even older Byzantine church. The church has two particular characteristics: 1) It is adjacent to the Pool of Bethesda, and 2) its windows are made of translucent alabaster. Jesus healing the paralytic without him going down into the water is significant. There was a Roman temple to the god of healing there, and Jesus wanted to make it clear that it was He Who healed the man, not the pool or the god of healing that the Romans worshiped.
We sang Amazing Grace in this church and the acoustics were amazing!

Via Dolorosa. Yes, we walked it. And it probably looks much the same as it did when Jesus was carrying His cross to Golgotha. Church of the Condemnation. This chapel is Station 1 of the Cross. It was presumably built over the place where Jesus was first officially condemned.

Church of the Flagellation. This chapel is Station 2 of the Cross. Just across the way from Station 1 on the same property, this is built over where Jesus was scourged.
Church of the Holy Sepulchre. One word: amazing. For a couple of reasons. 1) The church, though a bit on the gaudy side as Orthodox churches are prone to be, the church is nonetheless impressive both because of its size and the complexity of its design, being built around two natural formations of significance. 2) This church houses what apparently even some Protestant scholars are coming to believe what is most likely the site of Jesus' crucifixion and burial both. I personally don’t believe this is the site.
St. Mark's Church (Syrian Orthodox). This is the church our guide attends. It is built over what there is apparently strong archaeological evidence for is the room where the Holy Spirit came on the disciples at Pentecost. A lady who worked there sang the Lord's Prayer for us in Aramaic.
Upper Room. This is the room that is believed that the disciples had the last supper together.

Wailing Wall or Western Wall & Tunnels. This was our last stop of the day. They are so busy that our scheduled tour was at 12:00 midnight! There were several interesting things about this visit. Number one, men and women had to go in different entrances. Number two, women could pray at the western wall, but only separated by a partition from the men. Number three, in one of the tunnels, an orthodox Jew shielded his eyes on our side as he passed. At first I had half a mind to get offended on behalf of our group until I realized what he was doing... shielding his eyes from the women in our group!

The tunnels themselves are archaeological digs under the Old City, in part to learn more about the city in the time of Herod (much of which is still available under ground level). They had a solid stone more than 40 feet in length, and weighing over 400 tons. It is the largest and heaviest single stone ever moved by man as far as anyone knows. They are digging everywhere under the wall. I think they are looking for the Ark of the Covenant.
FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2008
Temple Institute. This is a place designed to show all the implements that are being made in getting ready for the Third Temple. The guide explained how they don't know yet exactly how they're going to get the Temple but they want to have everything ready for when construction starts.
All of the things made out of gold, silver, gold-covered acacia wood, etc. as instructed in the Torah are all being done the same way now. They have already made 74 of the 96 things for the temple.

House of Caiaphas. This is the place Jesus underwent the first of several courts. Underneath the site is a place believed to be the remains of a prison, where Jesus was probably held at some point in their deliberations. The place was dry and dark. We read Psalm 88 because this could have been the prayer of Jesus. It was powerful.

Garden Tomb. This is the other site besides the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where there is archaeological evidence suggesting where Jesus was buried. We viewed the skull of the rock and the empty tomb. With all the evidence found, including a water cistern to supply water, I believe this is the correct location for Christ’s death and resurrection.



SATURDAY, MARCH 15, 2008
Today we checked out of our hotel in the late morning. For those wanting one last shopping spree they were able to go to the Old City. The rest of the group hung around the hotel and relaxed. I was up all night with food poisoning. It was not a pretty sight.
After checking out of the hotel we headed to Jaffa for a look at that city and for our going-away dinner at Abu-Nassar Hinnawi, an apparently famous restaurant. After dinner we headed to Tel Aviv to fly out.
On the way to the airport, Nader our guide shared his hope that he has helped make the Gospel come alive for us in a new way and hoped that we would be different people going back than when we first arrived.
The trip home was a long one. 13 hours from Tel Aviv to Atlanta and then another 4 hours to Phoenix. From the time we arrived at the airport in Tel Aviv to when we touched down in Phoenix it was almost a 24 hour journey.
It is good to be back in the US, but I look forward to the day when I can return and take Pepper with me because I missed her so much! I can truly say that I did experience the “fifth gospel”!