From Zion. To Dung. To Lion.

Day 1: Jerusalem

The next day, we walked the entire old city wall- and thru every gate today: over 15,000 steps, 7 miles, and 30 flights of stairs. As we walked through the Zion Gate, I wanted to stop and look at the pockmarks on the walls outside of the gate. They’ve never repaired  the gate due to wanting to memorialize the revolt that happened in 1948. But instead of standing and taking it in, we had almost to dash through not to be run over by the miniature cars forcing their way through the crowd. We were honked at and almost hit, and so to avoid another tragedy, we walked as quickly as possible- to the sidewalk inside the city. The view from here was excellent, and as Professor Jack explained, when gesturing behind us, the Upper Room was located close to the Zion Gate, and  therefore, Jesus would have looked out at a similar view at some point.

We walked hurriedly through the Dung Gate to make our way to overlook the old City of David. So, behind a fence, on an overgrown outcrop full of trash, our professor gestured broadly to the ruins below. I began to admire how our professor always seemed to find locations out of the way of the usual tourist hubs and where we could fully listen and ask questions.

Accounts in the Bible began to solidify in my mind- from what I had imagined to its ACTUAL reality. It’s legit mind-blowing. For example, I had no idea that the south side of the Mount of Olives was still a cemetery. Tombs line the white limestone hillside. We walked through the Lion’s Gate, where we later visited the Church  of the Flagellation and the Church of the Condemnation, where Jesus could have possibly been beaten and then given the cross to carry. As I gazed at the ornate tile floor and the gorgeous stained windows, my heart was taken aback. Not by the beauty of the place but by the thought that Jesus had been here. Whether or not this was the exact location of where Jesus was beaten does not matter to me. What matters is that it happened here, inside the city walls of Jerusalem.

The smells in the air of Jerusalem are floral, spicy, and sweet. There are constant bird songs... ones that I recognize and ones that are brand new. The bustle and commotion in the streets, as well as the quietness that somehow permeates amid the noise, are all new sounds that, as I stay, are becoming more and more familiar.

I’ve heard people say that the Bible comes entirely alive when they visit the Holy Land- but like Dr. Paul Wright stated, “The Bible is already living and active. You just become more alive to it.” And if this is what it means to come alive to Scripture- I’m all about it. As we walked through our final gate for the day, tears pricked my eyes. To start at the Zion Gate, walk back outside the Old City through the Dung Gate, and enter back into Jerusalem through the Lion Gate, I realized that this is what we do when we come to Christ. We acknowledge Him as Lord, realize and repent of all of the dung in our life, and then enter back into Jerusalem for celebration through the Lion of Judah, Jesus.