The 'Garden' of Gethsemane

After eating the Paschal meal with his disciples in Jerusalem (Luke 22:10), Jesus would have set out with them to climb the Mount of Olives to go back to Bethany where they will spend the night.

 JN 18:1 When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and he and his disciples went into it. (John 18:1)

  MK 14:26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

The 'garden' of Gethsemane was not actually a garden but an olive grove.

MK 14:32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death," he said to them. "Stay here and keep watch." 

could these be descendent of the olive trees under which Jesus prayed

 These trees have an appearance of twisting on its trunk as if having suffered from severe agony.

This is a sacred place where a momentous decision was made. Jesus has to make a decision. Obey God the Father which may lead to humiliation, torture and a horrific death, or walk about 10 minutes up the hill and escape into the desert before Judas and the soldiers come for him. I believe that Jesus is truly human, truly God. Yet, at this moment in time, Jesus God incarnate is human having set aside his Godhood. Otherwise if he is also fully God, then there is no decision to be made. It would have been an act rather than a struggle. Jesus struggled until his sweats were his blood.

Despondency in Gethsemane from Alex Tang
 

please read my sermon Despondency in Gethsemane

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Dominus Flevit-the Lord has wept

plaque at entrance to church area

Dominus Flevit Church is a small Fransciscan church located on the upper western slope of the Mount of Olives. Dominus Flevit means "the Lord has wept" and tradition has it that this is the site mentioned in Luke 19:41

   LK 19:37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:

  38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!"

 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!"

 40 "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."
 
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you."

Luke 19: 37-44 (NIV)

The architecture of this church is based on that of a teardrop. The ampulla shaped pillars or 'tear cups' of the church is said to collect the tears of Jesus.The current Dominus Flevit Church was commissioned by the Franciscans and designed by Italian architect Anton Barluzzin. It was build on the site of a 7th century church. It was constructed between 1953-1955, making it one of the newest church in Jerusalem.

Dominus Flevit church

altar inside the church

from the church, a view of the Temple Mount

this would have been the view that Jesus saw that day....

looking north, the walls of the Temple Mount with the Golden Gate and St. Stephen's Gate

Greek Orthodox Church

 During the building of the church, some ancient Jewish tombs were discovered  beneath the earlier church.

to the right of the church, tombs containing ossuaries

ossuaries

possible remains of a Byzanthine church

 more photos here

The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35, when "Jesus wept" over the death of Lazarus. In this site is another record of our Lord crying. This put to rest the fallacy of the maxim 'real men don't cry'. However it brings to the front the questions of when and where have we cried recently. We often cry because of circumstances or problems. How many of us cried like Jesus who when he saw the splendor of the Second Temple and Jerusalem cried because in spite of all the trappings of outward religiosity, these people and the city is doomed for destruction because they have turned away from God.

Jesus cried. Do we cry for the state of our own country? Do we shed tears for a rich country full of natural resources stripped of its resources to the blink of destruction due to her leaders and corrupt officials. Do we cry for the corruption of the rule of law and its failure to protect her citizens? Do we cry for parents whose children were kidnapped and their fate unknown? Do we still possess hearts of compassion that cry for the weak, poor, oppressed and exploited? Do we have tears for those who are spiritually blinded, led on the garden path to eternal damnation? Or are we so desensitized to the human condition, and are so self-centred that we only cry for ourselves?

Let us look at our own heart to see whether we have enough compassion to shed tears.

May God have mercy

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Church of the Lord's Prayer

There are three churches built over three significant caves in Israel. These are the birth cave in Bethlehem (Church of the Nativity), the rock-cut tomb near Golgotha (Church of the Holy Sepulchre), and the cave on the Mount of Olives with which Jesus' ascension is linked. A church was built over this cave by Queen Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine. Over time, this church become closely linked with the place where Jesus taught his disciples the Pater Noster, also known as "Our Father" or the Lord's Prayer. This is the Church of the Pater Noster.

This church contains mosaics of the Lord's Prayer in over 100 languages.

cloister of the Convent of the Pater Noster

LK 11:1 One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, "Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples."

    LK 11:2 He said to them, "When you pray, say:

  " `Father,
  hallowed be your name,
  your kingdom come.

  LK 11:3 Give us each day our daily bread.

  LK 11:4 Forgive us our sins,
    for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
  And lead us not into temptation. ' " (NIV)

Jesus also taught the Lord’s Prayer during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6: 9-13 by the Sea of Galilee.

  MT 6:9 "This, then, is how you should pray:

  " `Our Father in heaven,
  hallowed be your name,

  MT 6:10 your kingdom come,
  your will be done
    on earth as it is in heaven.

  MT 6:11 Give us today our daily bread.

  MT 6:12 Forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.

  MT 6:13 And lead us not into temptation,
  but deliver us from the evil one. ' (NIV)

the Lord's Prayer in different languages

The Gospel account provides almost no information on the location of Jesus' teaching of the Lord's Prayer, also known as the "Our Father." The 3rd-century Acts of John (ch. 97) mentions the existence of a cave on the Mount of Olives associated with the teaching of Jesus, but not specifically the Lord's Prayer.

the unfinished walls of the church

 The 4th-century Byzantine church has been partially reconstructed

courtyard with mosaic of the Lord's Prayer in different languages

The unroofed church has steps leading down into the cave, which was partially collapsed when discovered in 1910. It is an interesting medley of ancient rock cuttings, concrete supports and marble furnishings. The cave cuts partly into a 1st-century tomb.

This cave is the traditional site on the Mount of Olives where Jesus met his disciples and taught them.

in Braille

links to some of my sermons on the Lord's Prayer

The Rainbow of Prayer (dynamics of actions)

 Praying the Jesus Way (Matt. 6:5-8)

 Acknowledging: Thy kingdom come (Matt. 6:10)

 One Day at a Time (Give us this day)

 Our God Gives (Our Daily Bread)

 Accepting: Thy will be done

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The Beatitudes in Latin (Vulgate)

Stained glass windows at the base of the dome of the Church of the Beatitudes

3 beati pauperes spiritu quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum

  MT 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 beati mites quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram

  MT 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

 

5 beati qui lugent quoniam ipsi consolabuntur

  MT 5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

 

6 beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt iustitiam quoniam ipsi saturabuntur

  MT 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

    for they will be filled.

7 beati misericordes quia ipsi misericordiam consequentur

  MT 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 

8 beati mundo corde quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt

  MT 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 beati pacifici quoniam filii Dei vocabuntur

  MT 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.

10 beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter iustitiam quoniam ipsorum est regnum caelorum

  MT 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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Listening at the Church of the Beatitudes

MT 5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:

  MT 5:3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

  MT 5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

  MT 5:5 Blessed are the meek,  for they will inherit the earth.

  MT 5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

  MT 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

  MT 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

  MT 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons of God.

  MT 5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

    MT 5:11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Church of the Beatitudes is on a small hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee near Tabgha and Capernaum in Israel. It was built on the traditional site of Jesus' delivery of the Sermon on the Mount.

the altar at the centre of the church

beautiful stained glass windows with the words of the Beatitudes

The natural formation of the land near the Sea of Galilee makes a wonderful amphitheater

Apparently if you speak at a certain site in the natural amphitheater, your voice may carry far. Jesus may have sat and preached from a rock such as these above.


    MT 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

    MT 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

My posts on my Holy Land pilgrimage so far

Israel

• Facing our Jerichos (Jericho)
• Why will you climb a tree (a sycamore tree)
• Mount of Temptation
• A good deed remembered (Bet She'an)
• David and Saul at Ein Gedi
• Tel Megiddo
• Water System in Tel Megiddo
• The "Jesus Boat" and the Storms of life
• A Town Cursed by Jesus
• Visiting Nazareth
• Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth
• Inside the Basilica of the Annunciation
• Museum of the Basilica of the Annunciation
• Joseph, father of  Jesus (St. Joseph Church, Nazareth)
• Singing Gloria in Excelsis at the Shepherds' Fields
• Views from the Shepherds' Fields
• The Church of the Nativity
• The Grottos of the Nativity
• St. Catherine Church in Bethlehem
• St. Jerome's Cave
  

Jordan

• Rabbath Ammon
• Mabada
• Mt.Nebo
• Petra

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St. Jerome's Cave

statue of St Jerome in the courtyard of St. Catherine Church

 St Jerome (also known as Hieronymus, the Latin version of Jerome) spent more than 36 years in the Holy Land. He was well-known for his ascetic lifestyle and his passionate involvement in doctrinal controversies such as one with Rufinus and another with the Pelagians.

At his feet is a skull, a symbol of the transience of human existence.

In the caves below the Church of the nativity, St. Jerome spent almost 30 years translating the Scriptures into Greek and Greek into Latin. His translation is known as the Vulgate. He started in 386 AD

Jerome died in 420 and was buried in one of the caves. His body was subsequently moved to Constantinople and then to Rome, where his bones rest today in the Basilica of 
Santa Maria Maggiore.
 

chapel in St. Jerome's Cave

The Chapel of the Holy Innocents. This is said to be the burial place of infants killed by King Herod in his attempt to eliminate the newborn “King of the Jews”.

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