Field Study Updates.. the first of many.

On Saturday we had our third Field Study. Seeing as I haven't even given a synopsis on the first two, I think I should do that before I get too behind on that. :-)

The first two were centered around Jerusalem itself. The first being in the Old City, and the second having to do with "Biblical Jerusalem" (when we visited the City of David and the Temple mount, among other things). Because my writings on these are so long. (sorry) I think I will make them into 3 separate posts. So here goes. First one's first.


Old City Walk ( 1 February 2009 )
The first weekend here, we took a walk through the Old City of Jerusalem. Our school is located on the Western Hill of Jerusalem, where I drew the blue star on the topographical map. We walked around the Church of the Dormition (right next to our campus) and down into the site of the Cenacle, or the Upper room, where Jesus supposedly celebrated His last Passover Seder with His disciples, and also where the Holy Spirit came down at Pentecost. This is also the alleged site of King David’s tomb. From what we know about King David and his time, this is probably not the site of his tomb. The reason it is cited here is because it is supposed to be on “Mt. Zion”. Yet in David’s time, Mt. Zion was the Temple Mount. The city of Jerusalem wasn’t even on the Western hill when David was alive. His city is situated on the Eastern Hill. This site may not even be the site of the Upper room or Pentecost. But for the sake of tradition and having a piece of ground (and building) to claim, the church will concede to calling it those things.

Next, we walked down to the cardo. This is the main street that runs North-South through the Old city. The Romans built it when they occupied the land. It was a wide stone street (as you can see in the sketch) with shops on either side. Some of these large, arch-shaped shops were found in the Old City, still in place.

From there, we walked down to an overlook, where we had a nice view of the Central Valley, the Temple Mount, and the Mount of Olives. We could also see, just barely, the Hills of Moab. If it were a clear day, you would definitely be able to see them.

Our last historical stop of the day was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This is (one of the two) site of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Although there are two sites that claim this history, for many reasons, this seems to be the one that is more legitimate. According to the Bible and other texts, Jesus would have been crucified outside of the city walls. Many people use this to say that the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is not the correct place. However, at the time of Jesus, the city walls were in a different location than they are today. At that time, this spot would have indeed been outside of the city. Being inside of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was kind of anti-climactic. I have now seen the place that Jesus died—it’s on the second floor of a church. That’s not exactly what I had in mind. Maybe I’ll have to go back on my own and visit, to get a fuller sense of the place. Maybe my mind will have to suffice.

We ended that day by going on the rooftop of some shops and looking round the tops of the city. That day we got a good overview of the city, and I was able to see how tight the city is, and how confusing it can be.As Psalm 122:1-4 says, “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’ Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem! Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together, to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord.”