So next we walked down from the top of the Mount of Olives along the road of the triumphal entry. Scary road. One car width and STEEP. Let me tell you, the drivers here are crazy and are not afraid to use their horns. Our bus driver Hasim included. We love that guy, he’s a great driver and has not hit one thing despite incredibly tight corners for such a huge vehicle. It’s seriously impressive. Anyhow, we walked down it, like I said, steep, and hard on the ole knees.
About half way down, we stopped at another church called Dominus Flevit.
This is a church that honors the scripture that talks about one of the places Jesus wept. Here is where he looked back and Jerusalem, and wept for her as it says in a couple of the Gospels, one spot is Luke 13:34. The church was closed when we arrived, but opened just in time for us to peek in for a bit. We had a devotion here, so of course I’m balling. From this vantage point, pastor pointed out, you can see the Garden of Gethsemane right below, the gate that the soldiers who would arrest Him came from, and the ease with which Jesus could have fled from them and went over the side of the Mount of Olives to Bethany to his friend Lazarus’ house and disappeared. It would have been so easy. But He didn’t. He allowed Himself to be arrested. It was so easy to see from this spot. Now, back to Luke 13. Jesus wished He could gather His chicks like a mother hen, and this is the art on the altar of the church.
Very neat church, designed to look like a teardrop.
And the inside like tears running down.
Ok…as we continue down the Mount of Olives, we reach the Garden of Gethsemane. Keep in mind…at this point, we haven’t even had lunch yet.