Eid Day 5: Path of Jesus

Well, I finally figured out why I had missed the initial tour.  Apparently Israel is special and runs on its own time, changing the clock back when it feels like it. So, if I'm not mistaken, the time was different from Qatar which was different from Jordan which was different from Israel. I'm not entirely sure why, but whatever.  At least I went on the tour today!

The Dome of the Rock from an Austrian church

Our first stops were at the tomb of King David and the room of the Last Supper.  They are in the same building, as least as far as tradition goes, with the Last Supper being in the upper room and the tomb below.  As I walked in, I heard a Canadian group singing "I Surrender All" and joined in in the last verse. It felt so good to sing hymns again, and it brought me back to when John West used to end his sermons with that song on Sunday nights.

Jesus' tomb

The next place we went was down the Via Dolorosa. Now, I had never heard of the stations before, but we stopped at most of them. In Catholic tradition, there are 14 (I think) stations that have to do with the road to crucifixion.  A handprint here, a miracle there, and certain stops in between that are mentioned in the Gospels.  I didn't understand what a lot of them were, but I stopped to get pictures anyway.  On our way down, we passed a group with a man carrying a cross.  Apparently it is tradition for certain orthodox groups to have someone take the path Jesus took carrying a much lighter cross on wheels to experience the toil.

Candles at Golgotha

Our last sights were at Golgotha and Jesus' tomb.  I thought Golgotha was some giant hill in Jerusalem, and it turns out it's a. really small and b. in the middle of a church! His tomb, too, is several feet away and down a steep flight of stairs! I was not expecting that at all. I definitely got emotional at the site of Jesus' crucifixion, realizing that every sin that has ever been committed and will ever be committed was thrown onto an innocent man in that very spot, and especially that several thousands of those who walk by that sacred place have no idea the magnitude of such an action. My entire group stopped long enough to take a picture and walk on, all of whom (save one) were in Jerusalem just to understand "history."

This small piece of step is very contested because it is unknown whether Armenians or Catholics should be washing it. Is it part of the stairs? Is it part of the platform? They seriously argue over it to this day...

Wailing Wall