Out for a stroll...

Matt Davis
9.5.07
Land and Bible

Field Report NT Walk

Am I tired? Well, to be honest, yes. And that’s for good reason. Last night started the adventure that is known as the New Testament walk in Jerusalem. Everyone left the Moshav at 5:30 to go to the Israel Museum which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, a model of Jerusalem c. 70 AD, and other artifacts.
On the way to the museum, we were reviewing our facts about the city of Jerusalem and all of the dates. And Bill was preparing us for what we were about to see. He told us that it was going to be about the size of two tennis courts. I couldn’t really comprehend what that was going to be like so I didn’t think too much on that fact. Well, it was amazing when we approached the model because we came up to it as if we were up on the Mount of Olives, looking down on the temple mount. We have seen other models before, probably about 3 other ones, but this one struck me so much because I really felt that it was more real. I thought on how Jesus walked up the Southern steps up to the temple. I thought about how He was at the pool of Siloam. I thought how he walked the streets and people followed. The unique thing about this model was that it wasn’t so small that you really couldn’t relate to it, but at the same time it made it a lot more manageable than the real thing. Sometimes even though I know the map of Jerusalem, while I’m in the city I feel so dwarfed by the buildings looming over my head.



(This is a 46 picture collage of the model of Jerusalem. Thanks to Darren Wright who gave me the software to blend all of the pictures)

You were able to see clearly the Antonia Fortress guarding the northern entrance to the Temple, and the Citadel on the west side of the city, modern day Jaffa gate. It was clear that the houses on the western hill were definitely more expensive. That whole quarter had the huge houses, theaters, and large wide roads. This model was amazing, and taught me a lot about the lay out and plans of the city.
We then made our way over to the building that houses some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are about 800 scrolls discovered and about a quarter of them were books of the bible. These scrolls are very important because we can use them as a textual critic. One of the best examples is of the book of Isaiah. Of the several copies of Isaiah found there were the minutest of variances, such as a missing “kadosh” (holy) in a Holy, Holy, Holy passage. And we can also compare it to what we have today. And the differences are so small. Meaning that the scribes who wrote it down made it an essential to make everything as perfect as possible. This also means that we have the closest copy of the OT as the people who were living in 100 BC.
Later that night we had a unique opportunity to walk along the western wall of the temple mount. This is all underground beneath the Muslim quarter. We were able to walk on a Roman crafted road, and to see the colossal size of some of the stones used in the foundation of the wall. There was one that was about 500 tons. No crane can lift that currently. We were all pretty tired at this point because in was midnight.
After spending the night in the New City, we started off the day with a walk up on the temple mount itself. The place where the Temple was built. We refreshed our history of the mount as well, noting that Mount Moriah was the place God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and the place where David bought the threshing floor from a Gentile, for Solomon to build (II Chor). Solomon’s Temple which was built in 966 BC lasted until 586 BC when the Babylonians destroyed it. Another was built and then destroyed in 70 AD. Since approximately 700 AD, the Dome of the Rock has stood there as a Muslim monument. It is making a statement in Jerusalem saying that Islam is the last revelation by God through Mohammed His prophet. They wanted to build something that was bigger than the other buildings in the area.
We then “thought upon [God’s] mercy in the midst of His temple”. Praying and thanking God for His mercies so fresh every morning. For the good times and bad. Rejoicing in the fact that He saved us. This was impacting because I was just thinking about when the curtain in the Holy of Holies tore down the center, making a way to God. I was sitting a few hundred feet away from where it used to be, and I was praying to the God who dwelt in that place, where only the high priest could go once a year. It was amazing.
After such an awesome time we went to see the ruins of the southern steps up to, what would have been, two sets of gates into the temple mount in Jesus’ day. And on the steps of ascent, we read some Psalms of ascent. We read Psalm 120-22, 34-35. To be reading that where most likely those same Psalms would have been read is such a privilege. These steps are also, most likely were Peter and John walked up and a lame man asked them for some money, and they said to him that they had no silver or gold but in the name of Yeshua Hameshia, get up and walk! And that’s exactly what he did.
I can tell from only a little over a week here in Israel that my imagination is being sanctified. I can more clearly see what bible stories are made of. I can see the situation that people were in, desperately seeking for a savior. Most people looking for a political savior, but also many actually receiving the priestly savior, who saved their souls and gave them life. Who gave me life.
We also stopped in the Jewish quarter to see some rich parts of town where probably priests lived. This was probably also a similar type house where Jesus was brought to after he was arrested (Luke 22). The courtyard was the scene for when Peter denied Christ. These priestly houses were remarkable, they had intricate mosaics, large rooms, many baths, and antiques. There was found in one of the houses a Babylonian alabaster jar antique. The total square footage was around 6000 sq. ft. So they weren’t really houses, but mansions.
Tired? Yes. But it is totally worth every sore muscle and every drop of sweat. What an amazing opportunity to understand the Bible better.