Jerusalem – The Old City

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Jerusalem is the capital of Israel with over 800,000 inhabitants, making it the largest city in Israel.

All of the Israeli government institutes are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset (Israeli parliament), the residences of the Prime Minister and President and the Supreme Court.

Jerusalem is holy to three religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

The Old City of Jerusalem is very small – one kilometer in length and width. It is surrounded by walls built by the Ottomans in the 16’th century and it contains four quarters – Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian.

From the middle of 19th century new quarters of the city were built around the old city, which today constitute the vast majority of city

In 1981, The Jerusalem walls were added, along with the Old City of Jerusalem, to the UNESCO world Heritage Site List.

John 5:1-13 The Healing at the Pool

1 Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. 

Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.

Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

 

One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” 

At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. 

 

St. Anne church commemorates the place where according to the tradition stood the house of Anne and Joachim parents of Virgin Mary

1st station – Jesus is condemned to death

Matthew 27:11-26

11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

 

John 19:16

16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

2nd station – flagellation and Imposing of the Cross

John 19:1-3, 16-17

1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 

The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe

and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

 

16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 

17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).

3rd station – Jesus falls the first time

4th station – Jesus meets his mother

5th station – Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carrying the cross

Luke 23:26

26 As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

6th station – Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

7th station – Jesus falls the second time

8th station – Jesus meets the daughters of Jerusalem

Luke 23:27-29

27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 

28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 

29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 

9th station – Jesus falls the third time

Luke 23:27-29

27 A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him. 

28 Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. 

29 For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ 

10th station – Jesus is stripped from his garments

Luke 23:34

34 And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

11th station – Jesus is nailed to the cross

Matthew 27:33-37

33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 

34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 

35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 

36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.

37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.

12th station – Jesus dies on the cross

Matthew 27:45-50

45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 

46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 

49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

13th station – Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to his mother

Matthew 27:57-60

57 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. 

58 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. 

59 Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 

60 and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away.

14th station – Jesus is laid in the tomb. Jesus is resurrected

Luke 24:1-6

On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. 

They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, 

but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. 

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? 

He is not here; he has risen! 

Of the four retaining walls of Temple mount, the western one is considered to be closest to the former Temple and holy of holies, which makes it the most sacred site recognized by Judaism outside the Temple Mount itself (The place of god’s presence).

For many generations Jews have gathered here to lament for the loss of their Temple.

Luke 2:22-24

22 When the time came for the purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord

23 (as it is written in the Law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord”),

24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: “a pair of doves or two young pigeons.”

 

Luke 2:41-49

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it.

 

46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”

 

Mark 11:15-17

15 On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves,16 and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 17 And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”