Israel – Day Five

Today was all about the footsteps of Jesus.We left our hotel at 7:30 this morning and went to the Mount of Olives. This was moving for me. While there are many sites that are in doubt, there is no doubt about the Mount of Olives. It is still covered with Olive Trees (it was a grove in Jesus’ time), some that are still being harvested. Jesus spent a lot of time here. When he visited Jerusalem, Luke tells us that he would spend the days in the city and then retreat to this place in the evening to sleep. What a joy it was to be there and pray.We then walked along the same path that Jesus would have on Palm Sunday. The path that we took has been there for 3,000 years. It was certainly the way that Jesus took when he rode the donkey foul and was welcomed into the city by crowds with palm branches and shouts of “Hosanna!”We visited the Garden of Gethsemane, also not in doubt. There are three trees in the Garden that were there when Jesus prayed all night before his betrayal. We read the account together and were reminded of God’s love for us. He didn’t have to go through with it. I don’t think I would have. But He is the God of all love. He did!We then went into the old city and walked the traditional Via Delorosa ("The Way of Suffering”) also called The Way of The Cross. This was the traditional path that Jesus took from his final trial to his crucifixion. While it is only based on tradition and it’s certainly not the actual route (the streets in Jesus’ time would have been 15 feet below the surface we walked on), but the age of the buildings and narrowness of the market-lined streets brought a vivid view to us as to what it would have been like.We ended the day with a fascinating tour of old Jerusalem, viewing stones as old as Nehemiah’s wall, and many portions of the wall and Temple foundation that were there in Jesus’ day. We spent time at the Wailing Wall, and I put on a yarmulke and went to the wall to pray that Israel would recognize Jesus as the Messiah and that peace would come to the land through him. Before getting back on the bus, we walked on the very steps that  led to the Temple that were there in Jesus’ day. As many times as he went to the Temple, it's quite probably that he ascended and descended these very steps. Again, I can’t describe what that felt like to walk where he walked.But my lesson was this: It’s one thing to walk in Jesus’ footsteps 2,000 years after the fact in a physical way. But it matters far more to him and his kingdom work that I walk in his steps in daily life. I fail at that so miserable.But he has left his pathway clear. We do not need archeologists to find or verify his way. We need only his Word. His way is visible, it is possible, and it is profitable.“Thank you Jesus for the steps you have left for us to follow. Help us to stay in your path and represent you well to this lost world."