New Testament
Jerusalem Walk
Today we had the opportunity to
visit the Israel Museum, which included “The Shrine of the Book” which houses The
Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found in 1947. One quarter of the scrolls are from
the Old Testament, while the remainder are sectarian manuscripts, (which show
different aspects of ancient Judaism) and other books from the Second Temple
period. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the OT, translated in
250B.C.
Moreover, we then stepped outside
and viewed a tennis court sized model of Jerusalem in the time of Jesus, which
was minutely described by Josephus. I’ve heard Herod the Great was pretty
terrible, but I didn’t know he murdered not only his wife but also his two
sons. Prof Bill then gave a detailed analysis of the Temple Mount, such as
showing us the court of Gentiles (outer court) where Jesus cleanses the temple
twice. (Jeremiah 7:11 prophecy) If
Gentiles ever entered the Temple they were put to death. Further, Solomon’s
porticos are on the eastern side of the Temple Mount and only priests could use
the Temple Mount gate. Animals were sacrificed in the court of priests.
Somewhat contrary to modern belief, the Ark of the Covenant was not located in
the Temple during Jesus’ time.
Yom Kippur (Day of Prayer) is the
holiest day of the year on the Jewish calendar, and originates from the High
Priest entering the Holy of Holies only one day every year, (but twice on that
day—to offer his own atonement and the peoples’.)
After Jesus came, he became our perfect High Priest who sacrificed himself on
our behalf, so that we could enter “the inner sanctuary.” (i.e. direct access
to God) Hebrews 6:19-20 “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and
secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where
our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest
forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Furthermore, when Jesus cleanses the
temple in John 2:13-22 He makes an audacious claim that he “will raise up this
temple in three days” and is referring to himself, (claiming to be the temple)
and indeed, after three days he was raised up to heaven, and “his
disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and
the word that Jesus had spoken.” Jesus is our temple and high priest, our
advocate to the Father.
We then went to the Ketef Hinnom tombs, southwest of the Old City where
over 1000 precious objects and tiny scrolls were found. One of which featured
the oldest found inscription of the Bible. (Numbers 6:24 –“The Lord bless you
and keep you.”)
Later, we visited near the town of
Bethany and heard awful-sounding Muslim chants and talked about how Jesus
waited for Lazarus to die before going to raise him up from the dead.
Finally, my favorite spot of
Jerusalem was certainly the Mount of Olives and the garden of Gethsemane.
(Paradise = garden in Aramaic, Gethsemane = Olive press) On this mountain marks
one of the most monumental events in history—the betrayal of Jesus with the
kiss of death. (Matthew 26) Before that, Jesus prays and pleads with the Father
(“His soul was exceedingly sorrowful”) and is disappointed in his disciples,
who fall asleep while praying. Also, Jesus gives the Olivet discourse and
predicts the temple will be destroyed before he comes again. We toured the
gardens, hundreds of white tombs and a gorgeous Catholic church (Church of the Agony)
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