by Pastor Patrick Cho
Today was probably the most brutal day of walking so far during the trip. At times, I didn’t think I was going to make it! When we got back to the hotel, John and I took our showers and went straight to sleep. I was so exhausted, I didn’t even want to wash up. Only after considering how dirty we were from the day’s events, I thought it would be a good idea to get cleaned up. I’m sure John is thankful for that decision.
We began the day earlier than usual because we wanted to get over to the Temple Mount before it opened. Even though we got there fairly early, there was still a pretty long line. I don’t think anyone in the group cared because we were so excited to be there. The Temple Mount is where Solomon originally built the Temple. The Dome of the Rock, which is a decorative, non-functioning, Islamic mosque, sits on the likely spot where the Temple used to be.
Solomon built the Temple on Mt. Moriah, which is the location where Abraham was asked to offer up his son Isaac (Gen. 22:2). You would normally think that Abraham did this off in the far wilderness, but it would have been fairly close to the Canaanite settlement of Jebus. It was on Mt. Moriah where David built the altar at the threshing floor of Araunah (2 Sam. 24:11-25). And it was this city of Jebus that David eventually captured and renamed Jerusalem because it was never taken during the days of Joshua and the Judges of Israel (1 Chron. 11:1-9; 2 Sam. 5:6-12; cf. Josh. 15:63; Judg. 1:21; 19:10-12).
So, it was cool being on the Temple Mount considering all the historical significance of the place. I tried to imagine the Temple sitting there with its golden walls, beams, and doors. I imagined the priests walking through their daily routines of worship and sacrifice. It was amazing to consider that this was the place where the Shekinah (Heb. for “dwelling” or “resting”) Glory of the Lord rested on the Ark of the Covenant, and where He met with the people.
No Jews are allowed to go up to the Temple Mount, because they are not sure where the Holy of Holies used to be. They don’t want to accidentally step on holy ground and incur the wrath of God. The area is run by Jordanians today and is the site of three Islamic mosques. On Muslim holy days, apparently the entire area is covered with worshipping Muslims around the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the functioning mosque on the Mount.
From the Temple Mount, we headed to the Wohl Museum, which is an excavated area that is now a museum. It shows an area of homes that belonged to the aristocratic and wealthy inhabitants of Jerusalem during the days of Jesus. These would be fine homes even with some of today’s standards of fine living. Some of the buildings had Mosaic tiled floors and ornately decorated walls. It certainly was not the living place of common people. It was fascinating to see how many mikva’ot (or ceremonial cleansing pools) there were in the place. Dr. Grisanti explained that this was the kind of residence for the priests of the Temple who gained great wealth through their corrupt practices of selling animals for sacrifice in the Temple.
We went next to the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, which is wrapped around the Southern perimeter of the Temple Mount. It is here that you can see the foundation stones of Herod’s Temple and the devastating damage caused by the Romans in the destruction of the Temple (70 A.D.). You can see where the Romans threw giant stones down to the street level below leaving the Temple in ruins. They quite literally did not leave one stone upon another, thus fulfilling Christ’s prophecy to His disciples (Matt. 24:1-2). Even the concrete below the wall is shattered in places where the giant stones fell.
From the Jerusalem Archaeological Park, we headed into the City of David area south of the Temple Mount and walked through Hezekiah’s tunnel (2 Chron. 32:30; 2 Kings 20:20). Hezekiah originally dug this tunnel in anticipation of an Assyrian attack on the city by Sennacherib. It not only channels water from the upper Gihon Spring to the Siloam Pool on the southernmost end of the city, but it also would have been served as a secret escape route in case of an attack. The tunnel was very cramped and the water at times came up to the thighs, but Dr. Grisanti said it was a must-do activity for our time in Jerusalem. There was also a water shaft inside the tunnel where Joab possibly snuck into Jebus to originally conquer the city for David (cf. 2 Sam. 5:8).
At the end of the tunnel, we ended up at the area of the Siloam Pool where Jesus healed the man who was born blind (John 9). This was a massive pool that is still mostly not excavated because most of it lies underneath a Greek Orthodox Church. Dr. Grisanti taught a lesson from John 9 and helped us to consider the importance of that healing in the ministry of Christ and sovereignty of God. When we were done at the tunnel, we looked forward to the long uphill climb back to the hotel. But instead of taking the main roads and pathways, we climbed up an ancient drainage route that leads straight up to the Temple Mount. It isn’t used as a drainage sewer anymore, but it is scary to think of all the things that would have travelled through there in Jesus’ time (i.e., water, blood, and whatever else from the Temple sacrifices).
The walks in the tunnels are what made the day so intense, besides the brisk pace that we have been trying to keep up throughout the hills of the city. Parts of the tunnels were low so that we needed to stoop in order to move forward. Needless to say, we were dirty, sweaty, and gross by the end of the day, so showers were necessary. But so was sleep.