One of the highlights of the Holy Land Tour is visiting the empty tomb in the Garden. I'm also including a link to a previous blog I wrote about the empty tomb.


Click here to read more about the empty tomb and the mercy seat.
http://www.evcsj.org/blogs/2009/04/mercy-seat-and-empty-tomb.html

Because He lives!
Pastor Tim

When you visit the Mount of Olives you realize that there is a 3,000 year old cemetery as you descend. That cemetery would have been there when Jesus made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The Bible says in Luke 19:39-40, Some Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"
"I tell you", Jesus replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
What stones will cry out? The following video contains my answer to that question. Have a blessed Holy Week!

There were three languages prevalent in Jesus' time: Aramaic, Greek and Latin. We know Jesus spoke Aramaic, which was the Native language of His day. He probably spoke Greek and maybe some Latin as well. Actually, I believe Jesus could have spoken any language He wanted to. On our recent trip to Israel, I learned that there was an ancient language called Syriac Aramaic. The owner of the store we were visiting claims that this was the language that Jesus spoke. Many others have claimed this throughout the centuries as well. In this video, our host quotes the Lord's Prayer in Syriac Aramaic. Perhaps this is exactly the way Jesus would have spoke it.
The language that Jesus spoke may be controversial, but there is no disputing He understands every language.

The Via Dolorosa or "Way of Suffering", winds along the narrow streets of Jerusalem's Old City. This is the traditional route that many believe Jesus followed bearing His cross from Pilate's Judgement Hall in the Antonia to Calvary Hill. There are 14 stations along this route. Some of them are not recorded in the Bible but come from Church tradition. This video does not show all 14 stations but hopefully it gives you a sense of this sacred route. We start at Ecce Homo Convent and end at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The stations include:
1)Jesus is condemned - John 18:28
2) Jesus takes up the cross - John 19:1,16
3)Jesus fall under the weight of the cross the first time (no Biblical reference)
4) Jesus meets His mother (no Biblical reference)
5) Simon, the Cyrene, forced to carry the cross - Mark 15:21
6)Veronica wipes Jesus face (no Biblical reference)
7)Jesus fall the second time (no Biblical reference)
8) Jesus consoles the women of Jerusalem - Luke 23:28
9)Jesus falls a third time (no Biblical reference)
10)Jesus is stripped of his garments - John 19:23
11) Jesus is nailed to the cross - John 19:17
12)Jesus dies on the cross -Matthew 27:50
13) Jesus is taken down from the cross - Luke 25:53
14) Jesus is laid in a tomb - Matthew 27:59 (Stations 10 through 14 are all in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre).

Here's a video of the teaching I did on the Sea of Galilee. What a great spot to visit in Israel. I hope all of us can find rest even when we go through storms.

This video was shot while we were walking the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem. The Old City only covers 220 acres or 1 square kilometer. It has 11 gates, but only 7 are open: Jaffa, Lions (St. Stephens), Zion, Dung, Herod's, Damascus or Shechem and the New Gate. The Old City is divided into 4 quarters the Jewish, the Christian, the Armenian and the Muslim quarter. While we were walking the streets I couldn't help but remember how Jesus wept over this City. Jesus lamented,"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing" (Matthew 23:37).

The term "wailing" is actually a nickname for this sacred place in Jerusalem. Apparently, passers by would see the Jews praying at this wall with such intensity, that the term wailing best described what they saw. Actually, the "wailing wall" is the Western Wall. It's the part of the 2nd Temple (Herod's temple), that can seen above ground. It's one of the most visited spots in Jerusalem. People come from all around the world to pray here and to leave messages in the cracks of the wall.
I want to share two videos in this post. The first video is a reading from 2 Chronicles 6 when Solomon dedicates the Temple to God. The second video is an upclose look at the wall.
Finally, I'm so glad that we can "approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need" (Heb. 4:16). With Jesus Christ residing in the temple of our body, we can pray anywhere and have the confidence that God hears us!