Pool of Bethesda: Where Jesus healed the lame man!

When I first went to the Pool of Bethesda on my trip in 2017, we weren't there very long. It was like a pit stop on a cloudy day, and we didn't walk around it. I don't even know if I got pictures! Wow, that's unthinkable.

Since then, I've tried to go twice, but because of covid, the hours changed and it was always closed when I went (it was hard to find the hours online). 

But finally, in the spring I got to go!

As I've learned since being back in Israel, there is SO MUCH MORE to every place we went to on the tour. There just wasn't enough time to do it all.

And, just like every place associated with Jesus, there's a church.

But that wasn't the first church built there, because the brochure the place gave me says that in 422-458 AD, a church was built to commemorate the healing of the paralytic. It extended over the medicinal baths and part of the pools. Some of that basilica still remains today.

So all these ruins inside the pool weren't there in Jesus' day. Last night I watched this message from Gary Hamrick of Cornerstone Chapel in Leesburg, Virginia, and it was SO GOOD! I 100% recommend watching it. 

In it, he says that the pool was bigger than an Olympic pool and at places was 42 feet deep! He also pointed out that John 5 uses the word "multitude" to describe the amount of the people around it, and while that isn't a definite number, the world "multitude" was also used in Mark and Luke to describe the 4,000+ and 5,000+ (respectively) that Jesus fed by multiplying bread and fish. So, it's fair to picture this GIGANTIC pool with thousands lying beside it, waiting for the water to stir so they can be healed. 

Which brings up the idea of Jesus walking through the multitude to find that one man and heal him. Seriously, if you like watching theologically-sound messages, please take the time to watch this one!

By the time of the Persian invasion, around 614, everything was destroyed and left mostly abandoned through the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphs. It wasn't until the Crusades in 1140 that a small monastery was built on the ruins of the 7th century chapel.

Then, the property changed hands again in 1192 after the conquest of Saladin. It became a school for Islamic law until it was abandoned under Ottoman rule and then given as a gift to France after the Crimean War (as Napoleon III helped the Ottomans). And it was given to the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) founded in 1878... and has remained in that ownership until this day. 

So that's a lot of history, and most of it, I don't care about a lot... but I do care about 1 thing: Jesus was here, and He healed here! There is where He healed the paralytic in John 5!!!

As I've talked about before, I am a BIG fan of The Chosen, and I love that this show featured this story in Season 2! It's extra cool watching the episode after having been here... you can literally 'see' it! If you haven't watched the episode, go do it now! And the rest of the show because it is AWESOME!

An alternate site for the Sermon on the Mount?

Back in March, I went with a friend to the Galilee. It was almost time for Shabbat to start as we parked near the lake and scrambled up the hill to this overlook that is marked only by a simple stone with a cross carved into it. 

On the map, this observation point on the north end of the Sea of Galilee is just a dot with a name: Ein Nur. I'd never heard of it until last February, when I discovered the Israeli youtubers Sergio and Rhoda and watched their video on this place. You can watch it here:

Their stuff is pretty good, and I've enjoyed watching their videos. They seem to have solid information. I originally went to the site claiming to be the Mount Beatitudes while on my Bible tour in 2017. It was a beautiful day; I still remember all the butterflies and birds fluttering around the grounds. I had some questions though, but thought it was just my incorrect path of deduction as to where it happened. Like, at the top of the mountain? Why not closer to the water? Where were the people sitting? As Sergio and Rhoda point out in the video, the traditional site is a church that was built in the early 20th century, which was built in the place of a 4th century Byzantine church that had been destroyed.

So, I don't know about all that. Whether or not either site is legit is beyond my capabilities to discern at this moment (maybe one day I can be a tour guide or someone who knows this kind of stuff! How amazing would that be?). Somewhere around there the message happened. Jesus walked those hills around the Galilee so thoroughly that it's likely He stood in both places (assuming Ein Nur wasn't under water, since the lake was higher). 

What I do know is that Jesus was real, the messages He gave were real, and on that Friday evening in March of 2022, while sitting there with the early spring breeze lifting my hair, hearing the birds break the silence of the day already winding down—and the Sabbath to come—there was definitely Shabbat Shalom.

Akko: Exploring the world of the Knights Templars

This is part 2 of a series about Akko. Honestly, we didn't have enough time while we were there to see everything, so I can't wait to go back. That's the great thing about studying here—I can really take my time and savor everything about this incredible country!

As I said last week, Akko is one of the most continuously inhabited cities in the world, dating back to 3,000 BC. And, as with many ancient cities, whenever a civilization came through and conquered one, they built right on top of the old. So there are layers upon layers of archeological treasure there, likely still to be explored!

One of the coolest things we did was walk through the underground tunnels and the world of the Knights Templars. We were literally walking the streets, looking at homes, seeing the hospital, church, and the great hall—all underground! 

And there was one place where they dug past the foundation and found the remains of a building of the civilization before the Crusaders! 

The tour itself was very interactive. There was translation available in many different languages, as well as signs written in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. It was everything from looking at artifacts to walking the tunnels and rooms, watching video reels projected onto stone walls, even playing games just like the ones people of the time would have played. 

It was SO COOL and made this history nerd SO HAPPY!

If you are ever in Northern Israel, I highly recommend a day at Akko. Or more than one. I know I will need to go back!

Exploring Akko

So, I have some BIG NEWS that I haven't posted about on here yet:

One month ago, I moved to Israel!

AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm here studying Hebrew and learning all about the culture, language, and everything else I can about this beautiful country. 

I still have some previously written posts that are scheduled for the future, which is good because learning to live in a new country (while also learning the language!) is a lot! But I hope to post as often as I can about new places I see and explore. 

For example, I went to Akko last week. 

Mentioned in the Bible as both Acre in Judges 1:31 and as Ptolemais in Acts 21:7, Akko sits on part of the only natural harbor in the entire Mediterranean, and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world—dating back to 3,000 BC! 

Paul and Luke were there, because in Acts 21:7, Luke says: "We continued our voyage from Tyre and landed at Ptolemais, where we greeted the brothers and sisters and stayed with them for a day".

WOW!!! What an incredible history!!! (Can you imagine Paul and Luke sailing up to here?!?)

The city itself lies within the ancient boundaries given to the tribe of Asher, and since then, nation upon nation, from the Persians to the Greeks, the Hasmoneans, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Ottomans, the British, etc conquered and then lived in Akko, which is now an Arab village. Marco Polo sailed to the Orient from here. In the 12th and 13th centuries AD, it was the capital of the Crusader kingdom. 

One of the coolest things we did was walk through underground tunnels and into an entire city that is now mostly underground. It was from the time of the Templar Knights, and it was so cool (and this post is getting so long), that I will continue it next week. 

Stay tuned for the tour of the Knights Hall and Templars' Tunnel!

BIG NEWS from Israel! (I'm going in July!)

Last week was a BIG week in Israel!

First, Naftali Bennett was officially sworn in as the new Prime Minister, after Netanyahu's historic 12-years of service. 

PM Bennett represents a coalition government, made up of parties from left, right, and center. It's the first of its kind to be in power. He will hold the PM position for 2 years and 3 months, and then Yair Lapid will be PM for the same amount of time.

Second, Gaza announced a new Prime Minister as well. Their new premier is Issam al-Da'alis, and he was also sworn in on Sunday.

Third, on June 15, Israel officially lifted all mask mandates for both inside and outside. Now, the only people who have to wear them are either traveling on planes, on their way to quarantine, or people in long-term care facilities.

But, the biggest news for me, was that ISRAEL IS OPENING TO FOREIGN TOURISTS JULY 1!!!!

Which brings me to MY big news- I'm going to Israel! As of the date I'm writing this post, I'm still looking at tickets, but I know it will happen sometime next month! Remember how my trip for April 2020 was cancelled? I'm so thankful that it has worked out for this year, and I cannot wait to get there and explore this incredible, amazing Land and culture!

Chosen by Lisa Tawn Bergren

Last week, I re-read a beloved series from the 1990s, the Full Circle Series by Lisa Tawn Bergren. It's a fun series because each book is set in an incredibly picturesque (and adventurous!) location, and the main characters of each novel are loosely connected to each other (a relative, friend, or roommate of the heroine/hero of the previous book... hence, a full circle). 

Even though I've read this series many times, I'd forgotten the setting of book 5: Israel!

(it has a different cover on Amazon, but this is the cover I have)

Like I said, I'd completely forgotten about this book! But in addition to describing so many places I visited on my first trip to Israel, it reminded me of A Chosen People novels by Robert Whitlow and all I've been reading about the conflict and dynamics of Israel and Palestine. Like Hana in A Chosen People, the main character is a Christian Palestinian woman, and she has one of the most fascinating jobs (to me!) ever: a biblical archeologist!

For me, it's all so incredible to explore, but the dynamics of a Palastinian Christian biblical archeologist- WOW!

So if you've ever wanted to join to a dig (at the Temple Mount!) in the heart of Jerusalem (#goals), and have an incredible adventure, all while exploring the culture and issues and modern day Israel, this is definitely the book for you!

You can buy it here on Amazon (Oh, and while reading the whole series will give you the #fullcircleeffect, you don't necessarily have to read the other books in the series to read this one- although I do recommend them all... ESPECIALLY book 4. Don't get me started on that one!)!

April 2020 trip to Israel is cancelled

Oh, Friends...

To use a Biblical metaphor... the writing has been on the wall for a while, but I have been holding against all hope that somehow I'd still be able to go to Israel in April.

Now, the fact that I was to land in Tel Aviv on April 1 feels like sick irony (April Fool's Day) instead of a cool turn of events (it being 3 years to the day since I left in 2017).

I'm speaking, of course, of what's going on with the coronavirus, or 'Rona. As I write this, we have no idea what all is going to happen. We are watching countries close their borders and order their citizens in strict quarantines (Italy and China). At this point, Israel has said that anyone coming needs to immediately go into a 14 day quarantine... and my trip was only for 13 days. In fact, my flight with El Al Airlines was cancelled. (Edit: March 20, 2020 - As of today, Israel is having a mandatory 7-day quarantine for all citizens. They can only leave their homes to go to the store or for medical care).

This is obviously a big deal, and the loss of life is not insignificant. So much is being impacted by this pandemic that it is both fascinating and terrifying (at times)—economy, trade, industry, etc... not to mention day-to-day life. So, I'm not minimizing that at all. But at the moment, I honestly feel sick at heart.

To say this is a great disappointment is not an exaggeration. Ever since I learned I'd be going back to Israel for this short trip, I've been dreaming of each moment... planning new (to me) places to explore and things to learn. I've even started learning Hebrew! I've envisioned attending a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb with thousands of Christians from around the world, wade through Hezekiah's Tunnels, climb David's Tower, attend the Wailing Wall on Passover... and of course, explore Petra. Even though I pray I can go back in the future, it isn't the same.

We're all facing disappointment with something right now, I know (as well as many different emotions). This is one of mine... definitely the biggest one. What Solomon said in Proverbs 13:12 is so true:

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

Discovery at Magdala

So, while I was in Israel in 2017, I learned something very interesting about the land itself.

Because there are so many unexplored archaeological sites (and many that no one knows about because they are buried so deep), people will just randomly stumble on ancient artifacts. When that happens, everything shuts down and they need to call in officials. When people buy property, they can build on the land, but anything found in the land (or under the earth) belongs to Israel. It's like how in Texas you can buy property and own land, but not own the mineral rights (so if you find oil, it's not yours').

In fact, my tour guide had a friend in that very predicament. He bought property to build a house, and when they started, the remains of a Philistine settlement were found. So the friend had to stop construction while archaeologists moved in. Fast forward many years later and everything has been excavated and the friend finally has his house—on top of a museum of Philistine artifacts. 😂

Something similar happened at Magdala a few years ago. In 2009, Fr Juan Solana purchased land in Magdala, Israel, in order to build a guesthouse for pilgrims. During the mandatory archaeological testing, they discovered something amazing—the remains of "the only first century synagogue on the Sea of Galilee – one of only seven synagogues from this period in the world – along with the archaeological remains of the 2,000 year-old city of Magdala" (quote and photo from here).

In Israel, there are 4 kinds of places: places with no official record of Jesus officially being there, places where Jesus was in the area so it likely could be where you were standing, places where we know it happened either "here" or "there", and places where we know without a fact that Jesus was there.

The discovery of the synagogue is the latter—with a certainty we can say that Jesus was here, and likely taught in this very synagogue. WOW!

When I was there in 2017, this location wasn't available for me to visit. It is, however, open to the public. Needless to say, it's now on my list! Maybe on my trip in March? That would be awesome!

BIG NEWS!!!

Hi, Everyone! I'm starting the year off with AMAZING NEWS!!!!

I'm going back to Israel! I'll be there March 31-April 13, 2020, and to say that I'm excited is a HUGE understatement. I CAN'T WAIT!!!

And it's so fun, because not only will I arrive 3 years to the day that I left Israel in 2017, but this time I'll be able to spend Passover in Jerusalem! Y'all know exactly where I'll be on Easter Sunday!

And... since the Saturday of Passover weekend is the Sabbath, and all the big sites will be closed... I'm going to take a day trip to Jordan to explore Petra! AHHH!!! That's something I didn't get to do last time and I am SOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!

He is Risen!

“He is not here; He is risen, just as He said. Come see the place where He lay.” Matthew 28:6

Have a wonderful Easter!


📷from the Garden Tomb, 2017 #bestdayever

He is Risen!

“He is not here; He is risen, just as He said. Come see the place where He lay.” Matthew 28:6

Have a wonderful Easter!


📷from the Garden Tomb, 2017 #bestdayever

What an incredible trip!

I hope you enjoyed this journey with me to Jerusalem! It was fun for me to relive the trip and all that I learned. 

Israel is a beautiful country and I highly recommend visiting. I'd love to go back! In fact, I really hope I can someday. I saw so much, but there's still so much I didn't see (or even things I forgot). My trip might be over, but I want to keep learning as much as I can. Maybe one day I can even learn Hebrew!

The Isaiah Scroll

The final day of our trip was a free day. My friend and I went to a local shopping area, as well as to the Israel Museum to see the Isaiah scroll. 

It was so neat to see the oldest remaining whole Isaiah scroll—1000 years older than any others' previously found!

The museum also had a model of the Second Temple, which was pretty cool to see!

Via Dolorosa

The Via Dolorosa, or "Way of Suffering", is the traditional path believed to have been taken by Jesus to the cross in the Catholic faith.

Along the way are 14 stations where it's believed certain things happened as depicted in the Bible, like Simon of Cyrene picking up the cross, or where Jesus stopped and talked with Mary.

In addition to going to the Garden Tomb and seeing the possible location of Calvary nearby, we walked the Via Dolorosa to experience this as well. There were different churches along the way, and the road wound through a particularly crowded section of the city. We walked single file through a market in the narrow streets until we reached the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Included in this church were the locations where it is also believed Jesus was beaten, crucified, buried, and then rose again. It was dark, crowded, and difficult to see, and I personally didn't experience the same peace and confirmation as I felt in the Garden. In addition, there are some pretty valid arguments of this location being inside the city walls at the time. However, it was still beautiful to see this place of worship.

The View from the Mount of Olives

The view from the Mount of Olives is beautiful. From the top, you can see down into the Kidron Valley and back up into Jerusalem. We know that this is the road Jesus took when entering the city on a donkey on Palm Sunday. It's also a road lined with important landmarks, like old cemetery, where the first person buried was Absalom, David's son.

Walking down this road, I couldn't help thinking of Jesus and how He wept for Jerusalem as He entered that final time. And, I can't help but notice the sealed gate and the cemetery in front of it.

See, the Bible says that when Jesus returns to stand on this earth, He will first set foot on the Mount of Olives. He'll have to pass through both a cemetery (unclean for a Jew) and a sealed gate in order to get to the Temple Mount. 

Something tells me that won't be a problem.

The Jerusalem Cross

The Jerusalem cross is a beautiful symbol found throughout Israel.

Formed by one giant cross and then 4 smaller crosses in each "quadrant", it symbolized the good news of Jesus reaching all corners of the earth—north, south, east, and west.

This particular image is from a piece of pottery in the courtyard of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

The Construction of the Temple

Going down into the tunnels below the Temple Mount was amazing - and a little bit claustrophobic.

I already shared my favorite part of that trip here. My second favorite part was learning about the construction itself. The deeper we went, we were able to see the difference between the stones. The ones further down were larger, more like bedrock, chiseled with much simpler tools.

(you can see above where the bedrock from the 1st Temple was joined with the stones from the second Temple)

The higher we travelled, including walking outside to the Western Wall, we were able to see how the stones were more square or rectangular in shape, constructed with more "modern" tools. The ones closest to the ground level (they continue even lower) are so large they weigh several tons.

The Wailing Wall

After entering Jerusalem, we went straight to the Temple Mount, where we spent time at the Wailing Wall. Originally part of the Second Temple (constructed by Herod), this is the closest remaining portion to the old Temple.

Herod's Temple was destroyed in AD 70, and ever since then, Jews from around the world have visited in efforts to be as close to the old Temple as possible.

There are two sections, one for women and one for men. You can approach the wall and and place a written prayer into the cracks. 

After placing my own prayer request in the cracks, I joined my group for a tour of the underground tunnels. 

The Secret of the Date Palm

As we headed south towards the Dead Sea, we saw many groves for date palms along the road—miles and miles of orderly lines of beautiful, stately palm trees growing... in the desert.

My tour guide explained to us two very interesting things: 1st - about the process of drip irrigation and 2nd, a really interesting phenomenon that was discovered upon the date palms growing in the region of the Dead Sea. It turns out that the salt in the ground actually make the fruit sweeter.

Needless to say, I've added a little bit of salt to my fruits and vegetables ever since. 

The View from Mount Scopus

Entering Jerusalem for the first time was one of the most incredible experiences. We rode up the mountain and suddenly our tour guide started playing an old hymn.

Suddenly, there it was—the beautiful limestone city of Jerusalem.