February 4 was Sabbath (Shabbat to the Hebrew speakers) in Jerusalem. We started out the day with worship service and communion at the Garden Tomb, as mentioned in the previous blog. After that we were done with the formal part of our tour. Since the afternoon was free I led the group to the top of the Mount of Olives in a section full of olive trees and stone walls just the right height for sitting. Before us was the Old City with the sun shimmering off the golden dome of the Dome of the Rock monument to Abraham’s sacrifice of his son. We reveled in the atmosphere of a place Jesus could have used to give his eschatological sermon (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21).

How is it that food never tastes better than when eaten outdoors after a strenuous hike? My wife and I had purchased Arab sesame bread the day before. It is thin like French bagguettes. Google "sesame bread Jerusalem" and look for the type that is about a half meter (foot and a half) long and maybe six inches (15 centimeters) wide shaped like an oval doughnut. The man gave us the loaf along with a little packet of herbs and spices he mixed himself and called "zatan." I bought a whole pound of the green powder from him. Awesome!

After lunch we made our way down the Mount of Olives and along the Kidron Valley with Dave Ellis, a retired pastor who visits these places frequently. We passed the tombs of Absalom (actually built almost a thousand years later than Absalom) and Beni Hezir and the entrance to Hezekiah’s tunnel to the Pool of Siloam. We pondered the blind man’s hike in John 9 from the temple gates to find healing at the pool, almost a mile in length. Then we went over the crest of a hill and saw smoke rising from the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna in Hebrew and the source of the concept of hell). The smoke is not typical of the place today (it was typical in biblical times as garbage was burned there) but it made a nice setting for a picture.

I took a small group back through Jerusalem, stopping at Schindler’s grave, the spot of the Lord’s Supper and the Western Wall as the sun was beginning to set on a special Sabbath day. Just think, lunch on the Mount of Olives on Sabbath! Doesn’t get any better than that!

I’m sorry it took so long to post this. I lost connection the last few days of the trip and life took over when I returned home. I do hope to post one or two more reflections before I close this series.