Jerusalem: 2000years Of History In One Day

By Emmanuel Bello

If I thought passing the night in Bethlehem and in an “inn” very close to the birth place of Jesus Christ was spiritually uplifting, today’s experience eclipsed it. But last night was actually something else. The thought of that “First Noel” brought Christmas back in living colors. Imageries of that Manger, just a few meters away from my bedroom, the 3 wise men, and the First Family floated into my dreams.

That was the birth of Jesus. Today brought me face to face with the passion of Christ. While Bethlehem symbolizes the freshness and innocence of life, Jerusalem paints the pains and conflict of adulthood.

Nadim started off the day by regaling us with the various angles of the Jerusalem mystique: the histories of its subjugation at different eras, the religions that shaped the place and the cultural melting point which makes it one of the most mysterious places on Earth. Its art, politics, wars, and walls are all the stuffs of blockbuster narratives across the centuries.

He skillfully narrowed all of that to what concerns us the pilgrims. He said Jerusalem means a lot to the Christian in his journey of faith. The next hours were to not only confirm this but also strengthen that assertion.

Our first port of call was the amazing Mount Olivet where Jesus Christ dropped the Lord’s Prayer. A very spiritual place, you can not help but kneel in those hallowed grounds and say the prayers. Standing there today on those craggy hills and saying, “Our father who art in heaven…” hit differently from when we started reciting and memorizing those iconic lines from childhood.

Rolling down from Mount Olives, we literally followed Jesus Christ through His harrowing story of trial, death, and resurrection. With the old Jerusalem in all its radiance behind him, Nadim delved into the stories we have all heard from our early days. Only that today, listening to him and seeing those places in real time, made it feel like one was also around when these events actually happened.

Like a time traveler, you are transported into the days of the Gospels. You are speechless as you followed the pathways Jesus took, the Garden of Gethsemane where His humanity took over and the 14 Stations of the Cross, where you practically partake in His epic suffering and death.

The walk through those stations has to be the highlight for a pilgrim. It is probably only rivaled by the unearthly feeling one gets at the Wailing Wall. Wearing the skull cap and praying at the King Solomon temple is now the enduring poster image of the pilgrimage.

But for me, walking through the tribulations of Jesus Christ and getting to see Golgotha up close took this experience further than the norm. And when I entered the cold Tomb of The Christ today, I believe I had a divine encounter. Seeing that tomb, falling on ones knees and laying where His body once laid is an experience one can not easily recover from.