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When you plan a trip like this, you need to be flexible. Today is a good example of this. Because of various circumstances I cannot control, my plan to visit the Temple Mount on Day one was bumped to day two, and my plan to visit the Temple Tunnels on day three was also moved to day two. The upshot of this is: we did a lot of things today!

I intentionally planned a day at two major museums, Yad VaShem and the Israeli National Museum. This makes for an easier day of walking after yesterday’s marathon.

One of the most important things I include on my tours of Israel is a visit to Yad VaShem, the Holocaust Museum. Sometimes college age students are not as well informed about the events leading up to the Holocaust. I try to point students into certain directions, especially to the display on the role of anti-Semitic Christianity in the rise of Nazism. This was terrible theology and not at all the teaching of the Bible, yet many Christians justified pure evil by appealing selectively to a few verses badly interpreted. I try to point out the Holocaust began with burning books and slowly indoctrinating people (often at young ages) through propaganda, and I invite them to think about (obvious?) parallels in contemporary American culture.

The Yad VaShem museum is designed to physically represent the descent into the horrors of the Holocaust. The story is told through pictures and film documenting the beginnings of the anti-Jewish attacks in Germany and elsewhere. Many displays have video interviews with survivors which are challenging to watch.

If you visit Yad VaShem, plan on stopping by the museum bookstore just outside the exit of the main museum (not the store near the entrance/exit of the whole complex). This is the only source for Yad VaShem publications and all proceeds go to support the museum. These are often specialized, academic studies of the Shoah (the Hebrew word for the Holocaust). But there are many collections of letters or other personal stories written by survivors. For my last three or four visits the same woman was operating the store. She is so nice and informative and recommended several books to me.

There are three main things to see at the Israel National Museum for biblical studies (the focus of this trip). First is model of Jerusalem in the first century. This model used to be at the Holy Land Hotel but was moved to the Israel Museum. Although someone (like me) might raise a minor objection to nearly every detail of the model, it is extremely helpful for visually seeing the whole city as it might have appeared in the first century.

The second highlight of the museum is the Shrine of the Book, a small museum dedicated to the Dead Sea Scrolls. There are a series of displays illustrating how the scrolls were found and some artifacts from Qumran, but the main room has examples of several types of scrolls found int eh caves at Qumran. These include Scripture (a few panels from the Great Isaiah scroll were on display), several apocryphal books (including the Genesis Apocryphon), and several of examples of the literature created by the Essenes (the Temple Scroll, the Habakkuk Pesher and the Thanksgiving Scroll).

The Shrine of the Book also has a small display for the Aleppo Codex, the oldest Hebrew Bible in book form (just slightly older than the Leningrad Codex). If you visit the Shrine of the Book be sure to go down the stairs and see this display.

The third highlight is the archaeological wing of the museum. This section alone could take several hours to fully digest, we were only able to see some of the highlights. The Tel Dan inscription is on display and there are several inscriptions from the Second Temple. There is a fragment of the warning to Gentiles to stay out of the Jewish section of the temple courts, the so-called Trumpeting Stone which indicated where a priest sounded a trumpet from the Temple Mount, and the Theodotus Inscription.

Tel Dan Inscription

After an unfortunately rushed visit to the museum, we drove to the Dung Gate in order to visit the Temple Mount. I should say, we drove near the Dung Gate; traffic was so bad we got out and walked about a third of a mile along the sidewalk. This was much faster, although probably the most dangerous thing we will do on this trip. It was Bar Mitzvah day, so coming through the Dung Gate we were treated to joyous klezmer music(and it is possible some of my students danced…but just a little).

We were well-prepared to visit the Temple Mount. This means no Bibles or clothing with anything vaguely Christian on it. No one had backpacks that needed to be searched, and everyone dressed as modestly as possible. This eased our entry, although several women still needed to cover up a bit more. Keep these things in mind if you plan to visit the Temple Mount.

Compared to one year ago, there were far more people visiting the Temple Mount. I think this is good since there are many important things to see there. We had enough time to walk up to the Dome of the Rock (although we cannot enter) and stand in the shade and discuss several of the buildings and features. Unfortunately they start moving people out at 2:30 PM. We exited the Cotton Gate, and our guide treated us to tea (or Turkish coffee) from one of the shops.

After a visit to the Western Wall, we visited the Temple Tunnels. Last year we followed the Great Tunnel route, this year we followed the Great Stone route. When I visited the tunnels in past years, the Great Stone route was the only option. As is implied by the name, this version of the tour starts with a basic orientation and a visit to the massive stone that is the foundation for the retaining wall around the Temple Mount. The route runs along the Western Wall and ends at the Strouthion Pool. Our guide for the visit was extremely passionate and animated in her presentation (and everyone loved her). Both routes are excellent, and to be honest, I am not sure which I prefer.

One advantage to the Great Stone Route is that the tour exits near the Pool of Bethesda. Even though we only had a short visit there, several people in my group thought Bethesda was the highlight of their day. I was able to talk through the story in John 5 and to discuss some of the archaeological features of the pool.

Tomorrow is another busy day, starting early at the Mount of Olives.

The 2023 Grace Christian University Israel/Jordan trip began with a long travel day (all day Monday and Tuesday). We started with a two and a half hour delay out of Chicago, and another hour in Istanbul. With the time change some in the group had been traveling for more than 24 hours straight (and not being able to sleep on a plane makes that feel even longer). This is my eleventh student trip to Israel, and we have an additional six adults joining us. Everyone was able to roll with the unexpected delays with flexibility and good humor. As I have done the past few trips, I began in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Since our hotel is a 10 minute walk from the Garden Tomb, we started our first day in Israel with a visit to this beautiful garden to read the story of the resurrection and reflect on Jesus’s death and burial. Our guide in the Garden Tomb (Mike from Texas) was excellent (as is usual for Garden Tomb guides), especially since he had to negotiate space  between several large groups. After a very nice orientation to the Garden Tomb we celebrated communion.

From the Garden Tomb we walked a short distance to the entrance to the Old City of Jerusalem, the Damascus Gate and on to the the Church of Holy Sepulcher. Our guide took in the “back way” through the Ethioptic church to enter the plaza in front of the church. Most of my group had no idea what Ethiopic Christians were, nor Coptics for that matter. It is always good to expand their knowledge of eastern forms of Christianity.

The Church of Holy Sepulcher is really a collection of churches and chapels on the traditional site of Golgotha and Jesus’s tomb. I took some of the students to Golgotha and had a good discussion of the value of traditions which support the site (some are very good, others are very weak). The line to enter the actual tomb of Jesus was very long so I took the students into the Syrian Chapel. There are usually very few people in the Syrian chapel, but there are two first century tombs in the back of the chapel which are good illustrations of the tomb people are waiting an hour or more to enter.

All things considered, the Holy Sepulcher has a better claim on being the actual location of the crucifixion and location of Jesus’s tomb, but the Garden Tomb is a much better place to actually worship.

We made our way to the Jewish Quarter, stopping at the Broad Wall, which is unfortunately completely covered for some sort of project. The wall likely built in 700 BC by King Hezekiah. We were able to see the Cardo, a small portion of street from the early Byzantine period depicted on the Madaba Map.

After a quick lunch (falafel and water for me) and a stop in Moriah Books (only one book purchased, which demonstrates considerable restrain for me), our guide Ofer suggested something different: A visit to St Mark’s Church. This is a  Syrian Christian church built on the site of John Mark’s home mentioned in Acts 12:12. A group of Christians gathered in the home owned by Mary to pray for Peter when he was arrested by Herod Agrippa. The church claims this was the location of the Upper Room, the Last Supper and the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost. This is a beautiful chapel and more people need to visit it, but I was not able to see any archaeology to support the claims this is the location of the Upper Room. On the other hand, I have not see the archaeology to support the Upper Room most tours visit.

The day was getting late, so we made a short visit to the Citadel neat Jaffa Gate. This site is good for showing the real depth of the Old City of Jerusalem, from Hasmonean times (150BC) to Herodian (first century BC); there are Crusader era fortifications and Ottoman walls. The top of the building offers an excellent view west to the new city of Jerusalem and to the east to see the Dome of the Rock, the Holy Sepulchre, the Mount of Olives, and other major sites in the city. I have usually visit the Citadel early on the first day to give the group an orientation to the Old City, but it was good for the group to see here they had been earlier in the day.

We ended the day by walking  back to the Damascus Gate on the Ramparts. I used to do this with groups before the Citadel was open Since we had to go back to the Damascus Gate anyway, this was an interesting way to get there. By the time we got back to our hotel everyone seemed exhausted (I am told we walked 6.6 miles). But they were also excited for the pool and (more importantly) for the dessert bar at dinner.

Tomorrow we start at Yad VaShem, the Holocaust museum, then on to the Israel Museum and the Western Wall Tunnel tour.