Follow the steps of Jesus in The Holyland - 6 March to 17 March 2014
- Details
- Published: Wednesday, 21 May 2014 11:09
- Written by Yii Kie Sing
- Hits: 4391
There is much truth to the Chinese Proverb which says "Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times"
It was indeed an eye opening pilgrimage trip to Israel. Over of a period of 10 days, our group of 27 members led by Rev. Lenita Tiong was able to achieve the objective we set out for ourselves which is to follow the foot steps of Lord Jesus. We were able to witness these holy places from the locations where angel Gabriel announced the conception of Lord Jesus, His birth place in Bethlehem, His childhood village at Nazareth, His places of summons and miracles during his short ministry and the places of his persecution, crucifixion and Ascension.
It was like the Bible coming alive. We visited the church of Annunciation, the place where Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce that she would be the Saviour's mother (Luke 1:26-38).
We saw the birth place of Our Lord Jesus in Bethlehem over which the Church of Nativity was built. The grotto of Nativity with a large star designates the spot where Jesus was born.
(Luke 2:7, Mathews 2:1-11)
We were at Nazareth at the village where Jesus grew up with Virgin Mary and Joseph.
We went to Cana where Lord Jesus performed his first miracle. He turned water into wine at a wedding (John 2: 1-10). We went up on Mt. Tabor where Transfiguration took place
(Mathew 17: 1-5)
We were at Mt. Beatitudes where Lord Jesus gave his famous Sermon on the Mount. (Mathew 5-7)
We were at Tabgha where Jesus performed his miracle of the 5 loaves and 2 fishes.
We went to Mount Hermon at Golan Heights where Peter said to Lord Jesus " Thou are living God" (Mathew16:13-16)
We were at Taberias and Capernum around Lake Galilee, where Lord Jesus did most of his ministry. There he recruited his disciples Peter, Andrew, James, John and Mathew. Lord Jesus did many miracles. He rebuked the winds of the sea (Mark 4:35-41) and walked on water (Mathew 14:25)
Here Lord Jesus preached to the people and healed the sick and performed many miracles.
The highlight of the pilgrimage was the visit to Holy city Jerusalem. This was the place where Lord Jesus stayed during his final days. He taught the masses with the news of salvation. He had many followers but the Jewish leaders did not accept him. They prosecuted him and got the Roman ruler Pontius Pilate to convict and crucified him. We were able to witness the Mount of Olives. Here the Lord Jesus prophesied to his disciples the fall of the Temple (Luke 19: 41-44). After his last supper with his followers, he went to Gethsemane at the foot of the mount to pray. There Judas arrived with a company of officials and soldiers to arrest him at the Garden of Gethsemane. He was finally crucified. (John 18: 1-12) We were at the summit of Mount Olive where Jesus ascended into Heaven (Acts 1: 9-11)
From Mount Olives we could see the majestic view of the old city and the rest of Jerusalem separated by the Kidron Valley. We visited the church of the tomb of the Virgin Mary at its lowest level. We saw the Upper Room, the room of the Last Supper.
The old city of Jerusalem is amazing. The city is surrounded by walls built during different periods of history. There are seven gates entering the city, the Eight Gate, the golden gate had been sealed by muslims years ago. The city is divided into 4 quarters, the Christians quarters, the muslims quarters, the Armenian quarters and the Jewish quarters.
The city of Jerusalem gave us glimpses of the long and turbulent history of the Holyland. We were at the Temple Mount which is the most holy site of Jerusalem. This was believed to be the site of the altar where Abraham nearly sacrificed his son Isaac. We were told by our tour guide that King David built an altar here 3000 BC. First Temple was built by King Soloman (David's son) around 1000 BC. This temple was destroyed by Babylonians. After the Babylonians left, the Persian king allowed the Jews to build the Second temple in 538 BC. King Herod the Great renovated the Second temple in grand style at 37 BC. It was at this time that Lord Jesus visited the Second temple several times. At this place, he stood up against the devil who tested him (Luke 4 :9-13)
In 70 AD, the second temple was destroyed by the Romans after Jewish revolt. During the Byzantine era, some effort was made to restore the Temple. In 638 AD Jerusalem fell to Arab Muslim again. The muslims built the Dome of rock believing it was the site where Prophet Mohammed ascended to heaven. The Golden Dome was erected over the Rock. In AD 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem. The reign of the Crusaders was short lived. The muslims defeated the crusaders in 1187 AD.
We also visited the Western wall or the Wailing Wall. This is the significant place in the Holy land. It is one of the most holy shrines for the Jews. The wall is a remnant of the second Temple. Many pilgrims journey here from all over the world to pray and make their wishes. Men & women worship separately according to the Orthodox Jewish practice.
The 10 days journey through the Holyland also gave us glimpses of the historical past of the Promised Land. I was particularly fascinated by the ruins of the ancient palace of the Roman Rulers at Caesarea at the Mediterranean sea coast. I noticed that Caesarea figures prominently in many chapters in the Acts of the Apostles (the book our cell group is reading presently).
Apostle Peter shared the Gospel with Cornelius, a Roman centurion who became the first gentile convert (Acts 10:44-48). I was impressed with the remains of the Theatre, Amphitheatre, the hypodrome and the market place.
I was also impressed by the archaeological findings of the Tel Megiddo. The Mount provides some knowledge of the many people who occupied the site over several thousand years.
The journey through Jordan and the Holyland reminded me of the Greatness of God. His creation of some of the geographical formations in this part of the world is just magnificent. The view of the red barren sandstone mountain and gorges in Petra was breath taking. The landscape was made more grand by the presence of the Library and the Monastry, which are architecture carved out from the stone.
The underground springs from the foot of Mount Hermon at Golan Heights gush out from nowhere and the clear, clean water forms streams, the Dan, the Snir and Hermon, which flow into the sea of Galilee and the Jordon river and finally into the Dead sea.
The Great Rift Valley which begins at Syria passed through the Holyland to form the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. It continues into the Gulf of Eden, the Red Sea, a few Eastern African countries and ends up in Mozambique. The valley traverses 5000 kilometers of mountains and seas.
The Dead Sea which is more than a thousand feet below sea level is another wonder of the world. The rich minerals of the sea provide human being with many natural remedies. All these are only possible because of God's creation.
The most heart touching part of the visit to the Holyland was the Tour of the Via Dolorosa (Way of the Cross). It was a cold rainy day with temperature less than 10 degree C. The way was a mile long from Antonio Fortress to Golgotta, crucifixion site of the Lord Jesus. Throughout the journey of the 14 stations, we felt the gruesome suffering of the Lord where he was mocked and stripped and had to wear a crown of thorns and carried his own cross. He fell 3 times on the way and finally crucified. His mother Mary was there along the way and saw him suffering. There was nothing she could do to help him. All these sufferings were for the sake of all of us, to save us from sins.
Another memorable event of the trip was when we visited Bethany beyond Jordan where Rev. Lenita led us in renewing our baptism with the water of the Jordan River. I felt a new person after that. I was equally excited when we were at Cana where Rev. Lenita renewed our marriage vows. This took me down my memory lane 41 years ago when I married my wife.
The only regrettable thing I feel for the pilgrimage trip is the segregation of the people of the Holyland. The Jews, the Arabs, Christians and Muslims are all divided, even among their own groups. This is human weaknesses of ego, insensitivity and selfishness which God surely does want us to have.
I pray for the wisdom of God to prevail over the human prejudices, to inspire values of tolerance and love to all people so that there will be peace in the Holy Land.
I also pray that the same value will be instilled in all politicians in the world so that the world will be a more peaceful place to live.
We owe our thanks to Rev. Lenita for giving us spiritual guidance through the journey and Chee May and Joyce for planning and making the trip possible.