Jewish History and Jesus' Last Days

On this morning we headed off to the Jerusalem Museum to see a small scale model of Ancient Jerusalem. Soon after we were bused off to another location to see fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls, including portions of the Psalms and the book of Daniel. Next we were taken to Israel's Holocaust Memorial where we saw hundreds of names inscribed on walls in a rock labyrinth commemorating the loss of entire communities of Jews around Europe, Russia, Africa, and the Middle East during WWII. We also solemnly walked through the museum where we recounted the horrible details of the Holocaust and WWII. I was most stunned by learning about the events and conditions of the world leading up to this era.

Today we also took time to visit The House of Caiaphas where Jesus was held prior to His trial.
we stood in two caves, one used as a stable for animals and another - simply a rock pit with one small hole at the top, which Jesus would have been lowered through after being beaten. We remembered how Jesus had stayed in this place because of our sins, but it was because of God's love and forgiveness for us that He willingly did so.




























A stop was also made at the Upper Room where Jesus had The Last Supper with His Disciples and we went to a church resting over where it is believed Mary, the mother of Jesus, may have lived and died after His ascension. There is another location in Ephesus which is the other traditional site, depending on if she stayed in Jerusalem or traveled with John the Disciple.