Go Beyond

O Little Town of Bethlehem is one of the most beloved and well-known Christmas carols. The carol was written by Phillips Brooks, an Episcopalian priest from Philadelphia. Brooks visited Bethlehem in 1865 and wrote the words to the carol three years later for the children of his church to sing at their annual Christmas program. Today, Brooks’ carol is enjoyed by people all over the world.

Bethlehem was known as “the city of David” (Luke 2:4). The name Bethlehem means “house of bread” and is located only a few miles from Jerusalem. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Micah prophesied that the Messiah, a descendant of David, would be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). Because of its significance in the biblical narrative, our students spent a day exploring Bethlehem on our recent trip to the Holy Land.

The Church of the Nativity | The Church of the Nativity was built over the cave that tradition marks as the birthplace of Jesus. Guests must enter the church through a very low door called the Door of Humility. This door was created in Ottoman times to force even the most important visitor to bow low as he entered this holy place.

We reviewed the story of Jesus’ birth at the Church of the Nativity. The traditional site of His birthplace is enshrined in the grotto beneath the choir area of the church. Jesus was not born in this building but in the cave it enshrines, a place where animals were once kept. “But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son…” (Gal. 4:4) who “emptied Himself” (Phil. 2:7) and was born in the most unlikely of places and laid “in a manger,” a feeding trough for animals (Luke 2:7)



The Shepherds’ Field | The good news of Jesus’ birth was first announced to poor Jewish shepherds (Luke 2:8-10). This is significant because shepherds in Jesus’ day were regarded as social outcasts and were among the most scorned individuals. Their work made them ceremonially unclean and kept them from participating in the religious life of the community.

While visiting the site of the Shepherds’ Field in Bethlehem, our guide reminded us that God chose ordinary shepherds, not priests or kings, to be the first to hear the news of His Son’s birth. And, common shepherds would be the first to welcome Jesus — the Lamb of God. These ordinary men could not keep silent about what they had seen and heard and unwittingly became the world’s first evangelists. Their first priority after seeing Jesus was to spread the news about Him. We should do the same.

The Herodium | The Herodium is a fortress-palace built by Herod on top of the highest real estate in the area. We hiked to the top of the hill to look at the ruins of this once-great palace. The Herodium is an active archaeological site where workers are painstakingly working to peel back the layers of history.

At the time of Jesus’ birth, the Herodium was one of the largest and most luxurious palaces in the world. Herod spared no expense to build the biggest and the best on the highest mountain so that the world would know there is a Herod. Today, the Herodium and all of Herod’s palaces and fortresses lie in ruins. Herod is remembered as the megalomaniac who became paranoid and killed many people, including babies (Matt. 2:16-18), in an effort to maintain his power.

Herod had wealth and lavish palaces in which to dine and sleep, but Jesus had “no place to lay His head” (Matt. 8:20). Jesus did not leave a legacy of palaces or architectural accomplishments. Instead, He left something much more lasting. And, what Herod the Great feared (Matt. 2:3) came to pass. The baby born in Bethlehem beneath the shadow of his palace became a greater king than him and changed the world forever.

Masada is one of the signature must-see sites while visiting the Holy Land. Our students visited this imposing mountain fortress that rises 1500 feet above the level of the Dead Sea. This place has an interesting but sad history, one that has led the Jews to resolve that Masada will never fall again.

When Jerusalem fell to the Romans in AD 70, 960 people followed a Jewish patriot named Eliezer Ben Yair to this rock plateau. Herod the Great had earlier recognized the strategic significance and built an impressive “bug-out” palace at the top — just in case. It was a seemingly impregnable site.

The Roman army besieged Masada for two years and reached the top only after building an impressive earthen ramp. When the end was near, the patriots atop Masada chose to take their own lives. And, to make a statement, they left all of their food stores and water in place to show the Romans that they could have continued to survive. They chose instead to die as free people rather than face slavery at the hands of their enemies.

From Masada we made our way to the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on the planet. This super-salty lake lies 1,300 feet below sea level in the Jordan Rift Valley between the Wilderness of Judah to the West and the mountains of Moab to the East. Absolutely nothing lives in the Dead Sea – no fish or seaweed or plants of any kind. That’s why it’s called the Dead Sea. Water flows in but it does not flow out.

Our students had an opportunity to float in the mineral-rich but slimyish water of the Dead Sea. Later in the evening we considered how the Dead Sea can serve as a metaphor for those who take in Bible nutrition but never burn off the calories. Taking in truth but never applying it leads to a dead spiritual life that benefits no one.

From the Dead Sea we made our way to the oasis of En Gedi. This is the place where David hid when he was fleeing from Saul (1 Samuel 23:29). We hiked through the Crags of the Wild Goats where Saul took three thousand men to look for David and his men (1 Samuel 24:1-2).

At the end of our hike we stopped at a beautiful waterfall tumbling down the canyon wall. Unlike the water in the Dead Sea, this was living water – cold and refreshing. This water does not disappoint. On our hike out of the canyon, we stopped to watch Ibex drinking from the streams of En Gedi — and reflected on David’s words, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for Thee, O God” (Psalm 42:1).

One of our students remarked that prior to coming to the Holy Land, she had always read the Bible in black and white, “For the first time,” she said, “I am seeing the Bible in color.” That is one of the benefits of making a pilgrimage to the place where our biblical worldview unfolded. My prayer is that our students will always long for God even as “the deer pants for the water brooks.”

Jerusalem is one of the most important places in the world. Jews, Christians, and Muslims all regard this ancient city as a sacred site. Our students spent two days exploring Jerusalem — from the narrow and crowded streets of the Via Dolorosa to the tunnels that lead to ongoing archeological work beneath the city.

The Temple Mount | The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. The Old Testament book of 2 Chronicles identifies this location as Mount Moriah (3:1), the place where Abraham had been willing to offer Isaac (Gen. 22:1-14).

Solomon built the first Temple at this site (2 Chron. 2–6). Centuries later Herod enlarged the Temple platform and made the Jerusalem Temple bigger and better than ever. Herod’s project was finally completed in 60 AD but was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

The Dome of the Rock was erected near the site of the Jewish Temple in the 7th century AD. This mosque, with its golden dome, is perhaps the most prominent feature of Jerusalem’s low skyline.

It was at this place that God said to Abraham, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac…” (Genesis 22:2). This is the first time in Scripture that the word “love” is used — not in the context of a man’s love for a woman but a father’s love for a son.

Garden of Gethsemane | The olive trees at the Garden of Gethsemane are old — so old, in fact, that they may actually date back to the time of Jesus. The Garden of Gethsemane is the place where Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss and where Peter cut off the right ear of Malchus, the slave of the high priest.

The name Gethsemane is derived from the Hebrew words “gat” (a place for pressing) and “shemanim” (oils). The Greek word “thilipsis” means great pressure and describes the point when olives were crushed by a heavy millstone, squeezing the olive oil out of the pulp.

Jesus was under such intense pressure at Gethsemane that “His sweat became like drops of blood” (Luke 22:44). Soon after the hour of His betrayal, Jesus would feel the full weight of the sins of the world as He hung on a cross.

The Place of Crucifixion and Burial | We visited both the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Garden Tomb Site with its skull–looking hill nearby. It was interesting to learn about both sites. And regardless of whether you regard one as the more likely place where Jesus was crucified and buried, the fact remains “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

One of the best parts of our time in Jerusalem was observing the Lord’s Supper at the Garden Tomb. We sang, read the account of the Last Supper, and took time to reflect on our personal lives and walk with Christ.

Hezekiah’sTunnel | Seven-hundred years before Jesus, King Hezekiah prepared Judah to face the threat of Sennacherib’s Assyrian army. Hezekiah took practical measures to safeguard Jerusalem’s water supply (2 Kings 20:20 and 2 Chron. 32:30) because without water they would not survive the seige.

Hezekiah’s workmen created a tunnel by chiseling through solid rock, at points more than 140 feet underground. One team started at the Spring of Gihon in the Kidron Valley outside Jerusalem. The other team started on the Western ridge of Jerusalem. The two groups met in the middle — an amazing feat of engineering. 

Armed with flashlights, our students waded through the entire distance of Hezekiah’s tunnel. Every chisel mark etched in to the walls of the tunnel is a reminder of a people who did something hard in order to survive what seemed like an insurmountable threat.

Via Dolorosa | Via Dolorosa is a Latin term that means the “way of suffering.” This street in the old city of Jerusalem is believed to be the path Jesus walked in the way to the crucifixion. Today, this path is lined with vendors and choked with people — both locals and pilgrims. It was a humbling experience to follow this path to the place where Jesus was crucified. Every painful step He took on the Via Dolorosa led him closer to facing an excruciating death for the sins of the world.

For the past year, Kingsland’s high school seniors have studied apologetics in their respective Sunday night Life Groups. This is part of our strategy to raise biblically literate students capable of intelligently articulating their biblical world view. These students are culminating their year of study on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

We arrived in Israel on Friday evening and have been on the move ever since. We’ve only got a few days so we are not wasting any time. Our students have already enjoyed two full days of touring and study. What I had hoped would happen in the lives of our students is indeed happening — they are gaining new insights into the biblical narrative as a result of being onsite.

Capernaum | We started our tour in the place Jesus chose as His base of operations when He began His ministry. The ruins here tell a story. Homes were built around a common courtyard known as an insula. When a male child married, he added a room to the family insula. When the room was ready, his father gave him permission to bring his bride home.

Jesus used the image of the insula in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many rooms … I am going there to prepare a place for you.” And then one day, when the Father says all is ready (see Matt. 24:36), Jesus “will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:3).

The Jordan River | The Jordan River figures prominently in the biblical narrative. Our students learned about the Jordan by rafting down the river. This gave them new insight into various biblical stories that happened around this renowned river. On our second day, many of our students and sponsors chose to reaffirm their commitment to Jesus by being baptized in the Jordan.

Sea of Galilee | We enjoyed two nights at kibbutz on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus performed the vast majority of His ministry in and around this well-known lake. We took a boat ride on the lake where we enjoyed a panoramic view of the places where Jesus taught and performed so many miracles. This geographical context gave our students insight into the movement of Jesus from place to place.

Caesarea Philippi | Caesarea Philippi was a pagan city built by Herod Phillip, a son of Herod the Great. This city was a religious center where people worshiped the Canaanite god Baal. Later, a shrine there was dedicated to the Greek half-man and half-goat god Pan. Worshipers expressed their devotion to Baal and later to Pan without moral restraint.

One of the most interesting things about Caesarea Philippi is the cave that is located there. At the time of Jesus, pagans believed that caves were a door to the underworld — or the gates of Hades. Jesus took His disciples to Caesarea Philippi, a place that represented the worst evils of the day. It was there that Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah (Mat. 16:13-16). In this context Jesus said to His disciples, “…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it” (Matt. 16:18).

Beth Sh’ean | We visited the only city of the Decapolis located west of the Jordan River. The ruins of Beth She’an are a compelling advertisement for Hellenism — a people-centered worldview that glorified human knowledge, accomplishment, and experience. The heroes in Beth She’an were athletes, entertainers, and thinkers. So, it wasn’t too difficult to imagine what life must have been like in this impressive place. Sadly, God got edged out by all of the personalities and stuff that made life very comfortable in this ancient city.

Mount of Temptation | The temptation of Jesus is one of the best know stories in the gospels. Actually seeing the arid and unbearably hard place where Jesus fasted and prayed put this story into eye-opening perspective. Temptation often comes when we are in a weakened or vulnerable state. Like Jesus, we can resist the evil one by properly understanding and applying the Scriptures.

Jericho | Jericho is the oldest continuously inhabited city on the planet. For 10,000 years, people have called Jericho home. Zaccheus, a citizen of Jericho, had a life-changing encounter with Jesus. Jesus did what no self-respecting religious leader of his day would ever do — He entered into the home of this tax-collector. As a result of this compelling act of grace, Zaccheus opened his heart to the truth and his life was changed. We too should be people filled with the grace that enables us to love people in need and ready to share the truth that transforms lives.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death | Not far from Jericho is a hard place known as the valley of the shadow of death. In that valley is the St. George Monastery. The monks who live there are deeply devoted to God but personally disconnected from a hurting world. This site provided us the opportunity to consider how to best engage the world as Christ-followers. Like the monks in the monastery, we must develop our inner spiritual life. But, we must go beyond that by being the hands and feet of Jesus in a messy world.

A Big Mitzvah | One final thing. As we were leaving the baptismal site at the Jordan River, a woman approached our guide and tearfully asked if he knew of a pastor who could baptize her and her children. She was from Colombia and had been planning her pilgrimage for six years only to face the prospect of not having anyone to baptize her and her two kids. Even though we were about to depart, I agreed to take the time to perform the baptism. She was beyond grateful.

Afterwards, another guide turned to me and said, “You have performed a big mitzvah” — referring to the charitable act I had performed. Although, the Hebrew word mitzvah does not mean “a good deed” in that sense, I understood what she was trying to say. This became a teachable moment to talk with our students about the people God puts in our path and to not see those people as interruptions but rather as divine appointments.