Messianic Moments: Report from Israel #6

By Janice Beurling

Shalom! Yesterday morning, we visited the Israel Museum here in Jerusalem. I was disappointed that the current renovations there won’t be completed until later this summer. This meant we could only view the outdoor model of ancient Jerusalem and the Shrine of the Book. But these two things ARE worth seeing.

I first saw the model of Jerusalem in 1998 when it was still located on a small hotel property on a hill outside Jerusalem. I was amazed at the detail and accuracy of the construction. It was originally built on the grounds of the Holyland Hotel - at that time about as close as Jewish people could get to the Old City of Jerusalem. It depicts the city of Jerusalem just prior to the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. When I was last here in 2008, I was shocked and delighted to find that the entire model had been moved and rebuilt on the grounds of the Israel Museum.

The 1:50 scale model measures about 2000 square meters. It is remarkably accurate and helps one put into perspective the placement of various Jerusalem locations as they are mentioned in scripture.

We also visited the Shrine of the Book where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display. This was a wonderful follow-up to our visit to Qumran the day before. (Actually, it was good to be able to go inside; this morning we’ve had several heavy rain storms.)

In the afternoon, we headed to the Mount Zion area again, this time to visit the Church of St. Peter in Gallicantu. Mom, Dad and I visited this church on our first visits to Israel in 1975 and 1974 respectively. The church is a traditional site of Caiaphas’ House and is said to be built over the dungeon-like cave where Yeshua (Jesus) may have been held the night He was betrayed. This spot would therefore also be the location of Peter’s denials of Yeshua.

We toured the basement levels of the church where the dungeons (or perhaps cisterns) are located. They are certainly gloomy and would have been cold and damp that Passover night. However, the outside the church is beautifully terraced and landscaped and has a great view of the Temple Mount area of the Old City and of the Mount of Olives. But the most meaningful area includes the Roman-built steps that rise from the valley below and lead toward the Temple Mount. These may have been the very steps Yeshua walked as they led Him to Caiaphas. Krista was very moved by this location. She said, “I was brought to tears by the thought that Jesus actually walked those steps ahead of me. And that it’s all real!”

Today we went to Caesarea Maritima. This remarkable ruined city is located on the coast about halfway between Tel Aviv and Haifa -- only a 1½ hour drive from our apartment. It was a hot, sunny day , but the cool breeze off the Mediterranean Sea was completely refreshing. It was even a bit cool in the shade when we had our lunch on a patio overlooking the harbour.

Caesarea is one of the best archaeological sites to visit in Israel. I had been there before with a tour group, but only to the Roman theatre. Today, we wandered about the ruins, trotted down the hippodrome and moseyed along the promenade to our hearts’ content.

The tremendous city of Caesarea was built by Herod the Great. He named it after Augustus Caesar. It took 12 years to build, but was considered one of the great cities of the day. It was a more Roman or Hellenistic city than Jewish and saw some terrible things in later years (massacres, etc.). But it also saw some tremendously exciting things. For example, it was in Caesarea that Gentiles first came to faith in Yeshua.

“Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually” (Acts 10:1).

You remember the story … the Lord speaks to both Cornelius and Peter, bringing them together in Caesarea. Peter shares the Good News with them and Cornelius’ entire household comes to faith.

As we enjoyed our lunch by the ancient harbour, we also remembered that it was from this very location that Paul was sent to Rome to be tried before Caesar.

So much history! Mom was overwhelmed by the size of Caesarea and her buildings. She said, “You could never visualize the size of the ruins from a picture or by someone telling you about it. It is so vast!”

Afterward, we drove a short distance away (a couple of kilometres) and parked at the aqueduct. This incredible piece of engineering supplied Caesarea with water, delivering it all the way from Mount Carmel. By the time we reached this point we were tired and hot, but Krista wanted most of all to dip her feet in the Mediterranean. We purchased some ice cream on the beach and headed back to the car to eat it. After licking up the last delicious drops, Dad tried to start the car. Click. Click. Click.

He tried again. Click. Click. Click.

These cars all start by entering a four-digit code before turning on the key so, of course, we asked him if he was using the right numbers. He tried again. Click. Click. Click.

We all looked at each other in dismay. What would we do? Although the aqueduct is hardly in the wilderness, it isn’t in a heavily built-up area; there were no phones or people of authority about. Also, it was about 2:30 or 3:00 pm on a Friday -- everything had started to close up for Shabbat. What would we do?!?

Dad got out of the car and started speaking with some local people. One thought our starter motor was shot. Another thought it was the battery. Dad thought it was the alternator. Finally, a lovely Russian-Israeli couple pulled their car up to ours and hauled out their booster cables. We left the cables attached for nearly 30 minutes before our engine would even turn over. At last the car started and we didn’t stop it again until we pulled into our parking spot at the apartment in Jerusalem.

There was some fierce praying going on that afternoon! While we were boosting the car, Dad also called our friend at the Air Force, Dov. He was able to connect with the car rental company, arrange for a repairman to come to our apartment that night (he ended up changing the battery) and get the car company to agree to give us a different car on Sunday. We were so grateful for his help! And we were so very grateful for the help of the couple who gave us a boost at the aqueduct.

Krista said they were angels. At the very least, they kept us from sleeping on the beach!

Shalom, shalom.

Here are some of the photos Krista and I took in the last two days (click for larger):

Views of the model of ancient Jerusalem at the Israel Museum.

A sarcophagus at the Israel Museum.

Mom and Krista buy the most wonderful sunflower seed bread at the bakery located under our apartment.

We laugh every time we see this particular sign.

This older Orthodox man drove his little cart by us in heavy traffic. He continued to weave in and out of the cars, into the oncoming traffic lane -- an amazing, but common, disregard for the rules of the road!