Israel 2023 Trip: Day 6

We began our day on the southern side of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This took us to the Biblical sight of the High Priest’s house (Caiaphas). As a group, we descended into the “dungeon” where Jesus would have awaited trial. As millions of others throughout the last two millennia have done, we read aloud Psalm 88.

For modern-day Jews, there is no more active “holy sight” than the Western "Wailing" wall. The team not only had the privilege of observing many Jews pray for the “peace of Jerusalem,” but offered their own prayers as well.

There are many “steps” in Jerusalem, but few are as critical as these. This is the path Jesus and the disciples would have taken from the Upper Room to Gethsemane the night prior to His crucifixion; also, they are the steps Peter most likely would have descended after he “denied the Lord three times” (Luke 22:54-62).

There are a few Biblical stories as well known as “David and Goliath.” In 1 Samuel 17, we have the account of David’s victory with “5 smooth stones.” The valley pictured (Elah) was the place he and Goliath faced off and the “Word of the Lord” prevailed.