EXPLORING THE HOLY LAND
Greetings in the Wonderful Name of Jesus Christ!
One of my major roles as a pastor is teaching. And one of the favourite topics is The Life of Jesus. As Jesus’ life is laid out chronologically, I realise how wisely and strategically He spent His time on earth. In order to help my audience gain decent understanding, I use visual aides such as maps and photos. This month I paid a 9-day visit to the Holy Land.
Visiting the biblical places in Israel
I flew from London to meet with my travel-mates, four German guys from Hope Stuttgart, at Tel Aviv. Since we wanted to maximise our time, we hired a car and moved around from the Southern region of Judea to the Northern area of Galilee and from the Eastern part to the West Coast, covering most, if not all, the major sites, especially those in the Gospels.
I have a mixed feeling about this land. I was stunned by the skyrocketing cost of living. The food prices are comparable to or even higher than that in London. Can you believe it? I was fascinated by its rich history, diversified culture and exotic landscapes. In such a tiny area, Israel is influenced by Jewish and Islamic cultures. Its incredible landscape varies from rugged hills, arid deserts, most saline sea with no possibility of life, to green pastures and fertile lands.
Walking in the Old city of Jerusalem 
Our first destination was Jerusalem. Smaller than one square kilometre, the old city of Jerusalem in encircling walls divides vaguely into four quarters, the largest of which is occupied by the Muslims.
The others are Christian, Jewish and Armenian Quarters. We roamed around the city through narrow alleys, full of souvenir shops, to visit important sites. Though it was not during any Jewish festival or Christian day, we bumped into some religious processions along Via Dolorosa, traditionally believed to be walked by Jesus on his way to the Golgotha.
It is amazing to see members of different Christian denominations rival to claim their ownership over the sites believed to have been associated with Jesus. One of them was the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a traditional site of Jesus’ crucifixion, burial and resurrection. Its custody is divided among Armenians, Greeks, Copts, Roman Catholics, Ethiopians and Syrians.
Mount of Olives, Bethlehem, Caesarea
Almost everywhere we went, we heard people-shop keepers, local tour guides, restaurant waiters, taxi driver-called us “My friends”, inviting us to buy their products or services. Most of the shops put no price tags on their products. We had no idea how much they should cost.
One thing that is fascinating about Israel is that one can still see the lifestyle of people as in the Bible times. On the Mount of Olives, we came across a boy riding on a donkey on the modern-day street.
On a hillside of Bethlehem, we saw a shepherd tending a flock. We visited two major residential sites of Herod the Great, the king who ordered a massacre of babies under two years of age in Bethlehem. The first was his mighty fortress on the top of the plateau of Masada, and his majestic seaside palace at Caesarea. Having seen the remains of those imposing architectures, I could grasp the personality of this king much better. Being paranoid of being overpowered, he was so shaken when he heard about a new born king of the Jews.
The Dead Sea is a natural wonder 
Apart from the rich history and culture, Israel boasts its remarkable nature. The Dead Sea is truly a natural wonder. Lying beyond 400 metres below the sea level, it is the lowest spot on the earth surface.
I will never forget the Ein Gedi National Park by the Dead Sea where exotic flora and fauna existed alongside refreshing waterfalls in the midst of the dry land. When pursued by King Saul, David was perhaps hiding somewhere around there.
We spent a few days in Galilee, the region where most of Jesus’ extensive ministries occurred. The journey from the Dead Sea of the South to the Sea of Galilee of the North lasted only three hours by car. As we entered Galiee, we realised that we had driven through the Palestinian West Bank as we were asked to go through an extremely strict security check.
Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, Nazareth 
Our first sight of the Sea of Galilee was a vast serene lake with a rainbow over it. Despite being called sea, it is in fact a body of fresh water surrounded by hills.
It was somewhere on these hills that Jesus delivered His famous Sermons on the Mount. We visited some significant sites on its North-eastern rim such as Capernaum, a new home of Jesus after He left Nazareth. We spent the last few days of our trip in Nazareth, Akko and Old Jaffa.
The impression I have got about Israel cannot be expressed fully through words. It has made a great impact on my life. It has changed the way I read the Bible. Now I pay more attention to the details of biblical stories that I might overlook in the past. Now I could make sense of what I had heard, learned and taught. There is much more to learn from this land and I hope one day I can go back to visit it again.
In Christ,
Pastor Prakich
Hope Europe churches website
