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| Walkway to Masada |
“He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature.” – Luke 19:3
Do you sometimes fail to see Jesus because of
your “smallness”? Do you feel small because sin has cut you down? Does your
sense of smallness come from feeling unworthy?
Thoughts of “smallness” were prevalent in my
mind on the 10th and last day of our pilgrimage as I gazed at Zaccheus’
sycamore tree. Gazing at it reminded me of how one can stand tall despite being
small – by repenting and turning over a new leaf. The sycamore tree was the first
must-see spot we were brought to in Jericho.
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| Zacchaeus' Sycamore Tree |
Jericho is the land promised to the Israelites.
It is the first city they occupied. Our group had to cross over to Palestine to
visit this oasis in the Judean Desert.
Towering above Jericho is the Mount of
Temptation, the place where Jesus was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-11). Gazing
at the mount, I was intrigued by a structure built on its slopes. We were told
it is the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Temptation. It is built above the cave
believed to be where Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights.
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| Mount of Temptation |
Reflecting on the temptation of Jesus, we were
reminded by our preacher that we fall not because of the situation around us
but by the weakness inside us. Jesus knows who he is that’s why he overcame: He
is the Son of God.
After the mount, we trooped to a building with
a deck to get a good view of Tell Es-Sultan (Sultan’s Hill) or Tel Jericho, a
21-meter-high settlement mound. This UNESCO-nominated archaeological site is
touted to be “the oldest town in the world” as it has its beginnings in the
Neolithic Era. I wished we were down in the site rather than seeing it from a
bird’s eye view as ancient things fascinate me. I like imagining what it would
be like living in those times.
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| Tel Jericho Archaeological Site |
Our last destination for the day and for the
whole pilgrimage more than satisfied my wish to walk through vestiges of the
past. We were taken up by cableway to Masada National Park.
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| Masada Cableway |
There’s another way up to the fortress, the Snake Trail, but considering our group had super senior pilgrims, we opted to take the cableway. It afforded us a view of the Roman Siege Camp and a section of the circumvallation wall.
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| Snake Trail |
Just the view from the walkway to the fortress
was already exhilarating! Walking through the different sections of Masada was
more so.
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| Masada |
Masada (Hebrew for “Fortress”) is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert where Herod the
Great built two palaces on top of a plateau. The scale model of the Northern
Palace showed how impressive it must have been in its time.
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| Scale Model of the Northern Palace |
I enjoyed meandering around the ruins by myself
as walking the uneven terrain was a challenge for Papa who opted to sit with
the other super seniors near the entrance. It gave me time to reflect:
Kings may
be able to build strong fortresses but they will fall eventually. Only the King
of Kings can keep man truly safe from all harm and evil.
After a brief walk through the Masada Museum, we
came to the end of the pilgrimage. It was such a blessing to have the chance to
experience the Holy Land. I count it as grace that Papa’s last international
trip brought him to the land where Jesus came amongst men. As I write this he
is already 93 and it will now be too taxing for him to go gallivanting abroad.
Let me just add a post script to this journey
by gushing about our last night accommodation. We were pampered at the 5-star David
Dead Sea Resort & Spa in Ein Bokek.
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| David Dead Sea Resort & Spa |
Our opulent room had a panoramic view of the
Dead Sea.
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| Our room at the David |
Before our flight the next day, we tested the buoyancy
of the waters of the Dead Sea and rubbed ourselves with its sand for some DIY
spa treatment.
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| Dead Sea at dawn |
I can’t thank the Lord enough for allowing me and my father to be pilgrims to this Holy Land. It is my fervent prayer for peace to reign there that I may walk where Jesus walked once again.
