February 15, Site #3

THE MODEL OF JERUSALEM
What Jerusalem looked like in the day of Jesus. It is located at the Holyland Hotel.

Psalm 122:1-9 (the importance of Jerusalem)
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
Our feet are standing within your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem—built as a city that is bound firmly together.
To it the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
For there the thrones for judgment were set up, the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.
Peace be within your walls, and security within your towers.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek your good.

EIN KAREN
This picturesque village west of Jerusalem was once called Beth Haccherem (Jeremiah 6:1). The New Testament describes it as a “city of Judah” (Luke 1:39-40) It is where Zachariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist lived (Luke 1:5-25, 57-80). Zachariah was a priest, but not all priests lived in Jerusalem. It was to Ein Karen that Mary went when she found out she was pregnant (Luke 1:39-56). There are many churches in Ein Karen, including the Church of St. John the Baptist and the Church of the Visitation.

Luke 1:39-56 (the Magnificat)
In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.