Jerusalem: The Garden Tomb

The probable location of Golgotha, or Skull Hill.  The current location of a bus station, and on top of the hill; an Arab Cemetery.  I was amazed to find how close this was to Jesus Christ's burial tomb.  It fits the description mentioned in the scriptures of being outside the walls of the city and near a road.  This hill was easily seen by those travelling on the road to Damascus, I believe. 

This is what it looked like about 100 years ago.  

Joseph of Arimathaea was a secret desciple of Christ and also a member of the Sanhedrin, or a senetor.  He was very weathly and had a garden outside the walls of the city. In John 19:41 it says "Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid." laid Jesus "in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock" (Matthew 27:60)

I was amazed at how close the tomb was to Golgotha.  This was the most incredible place to be.  We were blessed to have almost the whole place to ourselves.  It was very quiet and wonderfully peaceful. 

He lives!

Almost immediately after we went to the Garden Tomb we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  This is the site that the Catholic Church believes to be the site of Golgotha and the tomb. 

I couldn't believe the stark difference between here and the Garden Tomb we had just left.  This Basilica was filled with people, it was huge, and extremely ornate. 

Not only the way it looked, but just the overall feeling was different, to me. 

Apparently the LDS Church has not outwardly said either place to be of validity, and I have learned that it really doesn't matter.  In my personal opinion, the Garden Tomb seemed to be a legitimate location, but if not, it couldn't matter less to me.  It is important to me to know what happened, not where it happened.  Christ atoned for our sins, was crucified, died, and rose again in all glory, reunited with his body.  He was the only one who could save us from our sins, and how eternally grateful am I that He went through it all. 

I could appreciate this church for the mere incredible architecture.

Jerusalem: Temple Mount

The view from our rooftop hostel. Good morning Jerusalem!

Home Sweet Rooftop. We slept under the stars on this hostel rooftop along with people from around the world. 

The religious tension is so thick within the walls of the Old City.   I have never been anywhere like it.  There are so many different kinds of people with such strong religious beliefs.

The Western Wailing Wall.  Jewish people come here to pray because it is a remnant of the ancient wall that surrounded the ancient Jewish temple.

We kinda broke the law according to the Chief Rabbi and the Torah. 

This is inside the temple mount.  Some left over pillars from some ancient time period. 

Can you imagine the time it would take to chisel this?

Dome of the Rock!

No touching on the temple mount! You will get yelled at.  See, you can clearly fit a Quran between us. 

Can you tell I was keeping my distance?
 The middle guy is someone we know from church and randomly saw him and his friend here.  

The Pool of Bethesda.  This was one of my favorite parts of Jerusalem because it was so easy for me to picture Christ here.  This site is believed to be the place Jesus healed the lame man who had waited so long to be healed.  It was believed then that an angel would come down and trouble the water and whoever was first in the water after it was troubled would be healed of whatever ailment they had.  

John 5: 2-9

2 Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep market a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.

 3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

 4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.

 5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.

 6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?

 7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.

 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.

Ben Yahuda Street

I love markets! (they call them souks 'round here)

Fun nightlife on Ben Yahuda Street

There were musicians all along the street.  We probably saw at least 7 street performers. 

Zakki! Yummy! This ice cream was to die for! 

We saw all sorts of people in Jerusalem.  We especially liked these cute twinners.

Here are some video links:

Jewish Rockers

Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives

Abu Ibrahim was telling us that before the '67 War he and his family would go to Jerusalem as a quick day trip.  It only took an hour to get there.  Unfortunately,  that is not the case today.  The border crossing was very stressful and thorough.  When we got to the Israeli side they asked me if I had another passport.  She didn't look like she believed me when I told her I didn't and must have stamped my passport with 'watch out for this one,' because when Michael got through security with no problems, they stopped me, took me into a room and searched me very thoroughly with a scanner.   Thankfully we got through it okay and quicker than some.  The whole process from leaving our house to getting to Jerusalem took about 5 hours. 

But it was worth it.  The Old City was awe-inspiring.  

The bus dropped us off just outside the old city wall near the Damascus Gate.  We walked for a little bit with a Marine that we met at the border.  He gave us a couple tips and then we picked a gate and walked in.  Did I mention that we were 'winging' this whole trip.  We had no reservations to stay anywhere or anything.  Thankfully, Michael's friend Teren is an expert on Jerusalem and he gave us an outline of things to do and places to see.  We walked around for a while till we came to a hostel we thought looked good.  We had heard of it before and it had good reviews.   We slept on the rooftop, which turned out to be pretty fun. 

This one's for Kimmel :)  There were tractors all over this maze of a city.  

Eating shawerma Jerusalem-style at a place called Michael's.  Of course we had to stop there.

Delicious fresh squeezed OJ.

This wall was built by Suleiman the Magnificent in 1538.  The larger stones underneath are remnants of Herod's wall.

Part of the Mount of Olives

This basilica built between 1919 and 1924 is named the Church of All Nations. 

These olive trees are considered what is left of the Garden of Gethsemane.  They fit the description of being outside the city of Jerusalem and at the foot of the Mount of Olives.  The Mount of Olives isn't huge, so even if this few hundred meter square garden isn't the exact location of our Savior's Atonement, it couldn't have been much more than a stone's throw away.

Scientists estimate olive trees can live from one to two thousand years old, though they have no rings to be able to determine an exact date.  Some people believe there to be '8 silent witnesses' or 8 olive trees still in this area that saw Christ's suffering, but it is unlikely because of the report that Romans chopped down all the trees in the area during their siege of Jerusalem in AD 70.

An incredible talk by Bruce R. McConkie entitled The Purifying Power of Gethsemane

At the entrance of the Garden of Gethsemane there is a quote by Eusebius of Caesarea that says, "Gethsemane, a place where the Savior prayed before the passion..."

President Joseph Fielding Smith (1876–1972) 

“We speak of the passion of Jesus Christ. A great many people have an idea that when he was on the cross, and nails were driven into his hands and feet, that was his great suffering. His great suffering was before he ever was placed upon the cross. It was in the Garden of Gethsemane that the blood oozed from the pores of his body: ‘Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink’ [D&C 19:18].

“That was not when he was on the cross; that was in the garden. That is where he bled from every pore in his body.

“Now I cannot comprehend that pain. I have suffered pain, you have suffered pain, and sometimes it has been quite severe; but I cannot comprehend pain, which is mental anguish more than physical, that would cause the blood, like sweat, to come out upon the body. It was something terrible, something terrific; so we can understand why he would cry unto his Father:

“‘If it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt’ [Matt. 26:39]” (Doctrines of Salvation, comp. Bruce R. McConkie, 3 vols. [1954–56], 1:130).