We walked toward the temple from the archeological park. We entered the royal Stoa, or marketplace, which ironically sounds like "store" in a Boston accent. (Thanks Mr. Bell) As you can tell, there were giant stalls for grain or animals, but even bigger were the Herodian stones The smallest one weighed 2.5 tons, or 2500 pounds. That is a large stone. The stones in the road are from the Romans, who pushed them down to destroy the street. We also saw the Mikveh, or ritual bath Yes, I am aware that it is spelled differently on the sign. There are two ways to spell Mikveh. Speaking of nothing in particular, Now might be a good time to mention that this was not where Jesus was turning over the tables, it was the Court of Gentiles - that is part of the reason Jesus was mad. The salesmen were taking over part of the temple to do business (probably dishonestly) in the only place the Gentiles could go. No pics of that particular rock, but it's pretty cool. We walked a little ways past a palace. We then arrived at some steps. These were important steps. It's a little hard to tell, but the steps are in a pattern of wide, short, wide, short. On the wide steps, a Jewish person walking up to the temple would say a Psalm of Ascent. (Psalms 120-134) These are the steps that Jesus walked up. There are drains or channels that were for blood from sacrifices to run down from Temple to Kidron Valley. Lots of blood from the sacrifices, but now Jesus is our perfect sacrifice once and for all. There were also multiple more mikveh (say that 5 times fast). The steps led up to the south gate of the temple. GUYS, JESUS WAS HERE. IT'S SO COOL! AAAAAAaaaaaaand that's a good place to stop. YAY.
Love to All, Laura. “I come here to walk among the past to hear its echoes … I carry its memories for a lifetime.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorThis blog is mainly written by me (Laura Walkendorf,) and also by my parents. Archives
April 2017
Categories |