Jerusalem from St Peter in
Galicantu
"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who
kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather
your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were
not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will
not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'
" (Matthew 23:37-39)
The panoramic view of Jerusalem from St Peter in Galicantu
is simply stunning. To the left is Mount Zion, traditional site of David's tomb,
the Upper Room and the Last Supper. Dominating the view, however, is the south
face of the Temple Mount. The enormity of the foundations for this structure are
staggering, covering an area of about 35 acres, 446 metres from north to south
and 296 metres from east to west. The recently excavated first-century Temple
steps and bricked up archway entrance used by Jesus are still visible today. At
the south east corner, originally 45 metres high above the Kidron valley, stands
what many regard as the pinnacle of the Temple from where Satan tempted Jesus
to throw himself down (Matthew 4:5-7). Behind the Temple area, providing a rich
green backdrop of olive trees, lies the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives.
To the right and lower down, are the excavations of David's City, the Pool of
Siloam and the Valley of Gehenna which joins the Kidron Valley before beginning
its slow winding descent to the Dead Sea.
The site first gained significance as Mount Moriah because
it was here that Abraham was tested over the sacrifice of Isaac (2 Chron. 3:1;
Gen. 22:1-14). David acquired the hill from Araunah the Jebusite in order to offer
a sacrifice to God and save his people (2 Samuel 24:16-25). The privilege of building
the Temple, however, was given to his son Solomon (1 Kings 5). The remains of
the Temple walls seen today are actually the third to be built on the site. The
first was constructed by Solomon, followed by Zerubbabel, and then Herod. These
represent the pre-exilic, post-exilic, and New Testament periods.
The proximity and juxtoposition of the Temple Mount
to the Valley of Gehenna is both sobering and profound. Gehenna is the Greek for
Hinnon and means the 'valley of whining' or 'lamentation'. In the Old Testament
it is the place where children were sacrificed to the pagan deities of Baal and
Molech (2 Kings 16:3; 17:17; 23:10). Not surprisingly perhaps Jesus used the same
emotive place to illustrate the eternal reality of hell (Matthew 5:22, 29; 23:15).
The splendid view of Jerusalem from this hill top encompasses
most of the events which occurred in Holy Week. The Last Supper was probably held
in the Essene Quarter on what is now Mount Zion since the disciples were told
to follow a man carrying a water pot (Mark 14:13-16). As dusk fell that Maundy
Thursday Jesus walked with his disciples over to the Garden of Gethsemane on the
Mount of Olives to pray (Luke 22:39-46). There he was arrested by the Jewish religious
leaders and brought to the House of Caiaphas for interrogation overnight (Luke
22:47-54). Early on Good Friday he was taken to Pilate, probably in the Antonia
Fortress at the north-west corner of the Temple Mount (Luke 23:1-2). After his
trial Jesus was led along what is now known as the Via Dolorosa carrying
his cross to the place of crucifixion which was then outside the city walls (Matthew
27:27-33). After his death our Lord was placed in a new tomb in a garden nearby
(Matthew 27:57-66). Three momentous days later the risen Lord met with the disciples
in the Upper Room again before ascending to heaven before their very eyes from
the Mount of Olives (John 20:19-31). It is to this same spot that many believe
he will return (Acts 1:9-11). This explains the presence of extensive Jewish,
Moslem and Christian cemeteries on the slopes of the Kidron Valley and Mount of
Olives as all three faiths believe the dead will rise first when the Messiah comes.
This scene then is one of stark contrasts. Calvary,
the Mount of Olives and Gehenna. We see in one panoramic view locations associated
with both the way to heaven and the path to hell. It is a scene that sums up the
heart of our historic credal statements as well as the personal choice before
us all. "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to
keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the
LORD your God will bless you... This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses
against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now
choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the
LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him." (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)