Jerusalem Walking Tour - Part 1

Our second day touring in Jerusalem was scheduled with a Palestian Christian named Tanas who would be our guide on an all day walking tour. Unfortunately it was rainy and cold, but we did our best to manage and stay warm with the limited clothing we possessed. We took a taxi up the Mount of Olives where we met Tanas and viewed the Ascension Chapel, which is believed to be where Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after His resurrection. This chapel contained what is believed to be His footprint and was originally erected by Constantine. Today it is managed by the Islamic Sect of Jerusalem.

Believed to contain Jesus' footprint from his Ascension (Acts 1:9-11)

Not far from there is the Church of Pater Noster where it is believed that Jesus taught his disciples The Lord's Prayer in a cave-like-grotto under the current church. This prayer is written in over 150 languages and they continue to add more today. The kids had fun finding this prayer translated in all of the languages spoken of countries we've visited as well as finding it in Lingala, the language spoken in the Democratic Republic of Congo where our daughter was born, which as far as we know isn't really a written language.

Cave area believed to be where Jesus taught His disciples to pray (Luke 11:1-4)

The Lord's Prayer in English

The Lord's Prayer in Vietnamese

Language spoken in Swaziland

The Our Father in Lingala which is spoken in Congo

We continued further down the road which is believed to be the very road which Jesus followed as He triumphantly entered Jerusalem on a donkey the week before his crucifixion. We stopped to visit the Church of Dominos Flevit. This church was constructed by an Italian architect and the whole structure resembles a tear drop. This church is built on what is believed to be the location where Jesus wept as He prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem (Luke 19:28-44). We learned that in the days of Jesus, when men were away from home, the women had bottles that they collected their tears in, and the amount of tears collected symbolized how much they loved their traveling husband!

Tear-drop-shaped church where Jesus wept over the future destruction of Jerusalem.
There is a vessel on top of the left column to symbolize a jar collecting tears.

The altar mosaic of the rooster represents Jesus's comparison of his desire to gather
Jerusalem under His wing like a hen does her chicks (Luke 13:34)

We continued down the Palm Sunday road and stopped at the Tomb of the Prophets where Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi were buried along with their disciples. This was an interesting place as it was not very well marked and not really much of a tourist attraction. It's a dark cavern and we were given lit candles to carry as we walked through and viewed the ancient tombs. It was very simple, just as we can imagine these holy men would have wanted it.

Trying to stay warm as we walked the Palm Sunday road in the rain and wind.

Kids in front of Zechariah's tomb

Next we continued down the road to the Garden of Gethsemane, a place Jesus frequented for prayer, and the Church of All Nations where the events of Luke 22:1-53 play out. The Church of All Nations is beside the garden and is built over the rock that is believed to be the rock Jesus prayed over in agony before He was betrayed and crucified. There is a small fence guarding the large stone inside the church, and above it is a beautiful mosaic depicting Jesus praying in the garden. It was moving to be at this place, having just experienced Holy Week and discussing what it must have been like for Jesus to pray here. As we walked in the Garden of Gethsemane, our guide described a unique possible perspective of Judas Iscariot, the only one of Jesus's 12 apostles not from Galilee, who might have been so disillusioned expecting Jesus to be a victorious king, that he made a deal with the chief priests thinking it would force Jesus into battle to prove Himself, only to backfire when Peter used his sword to defend Jesus who then healed the man's ear and allowed Himself to be arrested. This theory pushes the idea that Judas was not all that bad of a guy but just did not understand the true purpose of Christ, like so many of the Jewish culture in that time, and was trying to force the events to meet his expectations - ever do that yourself? Of course the Bible tells us at the beginning of Luke 22 that Satan entered the heart of Judas, but our guide's perspective is just one of the many interesting insights shared with us by people raised and surrounded daily by these Holy Lands, and it is good to contemplate. Seeing these lands and imagining what life might have been like in the days of the prophets, David, and Jesus adds depth to our understanding of Scripture. Another interesting observation is the use of palm branches to wave for Jesus when there were so many olive trees nearby and olive tree branches are much easier to cut than palm fronds.

Beautiful mosaic depicting Jesus praying and asking God to remove this cup from Him

Rock believed to be where Jesus prayed so intensely that His sweat was like drops of blood (Luke 22:44)

Inside the Church of All Nations are different sections of the ceiling devoted to various nations.
The seal in the bottom right corner is for the USA

Olive tree in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Tracing all the way back to Noah's ark
and dove returning with an olive branch, these trees are a symbol of peace.

A thorn bush believed to be the same type that Jesus's
crown of thorns was made from (Matthew 27:28-29)

Panoramic view of the Garden of Gethsemane - some believe these 8 ancient
trees were here during Jesus's time, but it is most likely that they are descendants of trees from that time

Nearby the Garden of Gethsemane is the Tomb of Mary. While the New Testament does not mention details of Mary's death or burial, tradition has it that this cave is the place where she is buried. Interestingly, there is also a small opening that is thought to possibly being the place where Joseph, Jesus's earthly father, is buried. Mom, having grown up Catholic, found the preservation and importance of this and a couple of other places commemorating Mary to be interesting, as would any mother who has compassion and desires the best for her children, treasuring so many things in her heart. Meanwhile, the kids found it interesting as Mom reflected on her youth as an altar girl in Catholic mass.

Believed to be the area where Mary the mother of Jesus was buried

By this time of our tour we were all getting quite hungry and looking forward to sitting down and warming up a bit, so we headed towards some lunch options.

View from the Church of All Nations over the city of Jerusalem and Dome of the Rock