John 19 and 20 are chapters about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Chapter 21 goes back to Galilee – which hasn’t been the focus of much of John’s Gospel.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is a Sayla tree in Israel. Although we don’t know this was the type of thorn used, it would fit with what a “crown of thorns” would do. The thorns are strong and sharp enough to pierce the skin of the scalp and head.
Verse 16 – Notice the nail in the dark heel bone.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – The full foot skeleton is provided to show you what you are looking at. Notice the smaller, darker bone below the full foot skeleton. This was a heel bone discovered from the first century with a nail through it. This person was undoubtedly crucified as Jesus was. The end of the nail was bent (perhaps from hitting a knot when nailing the victim to the cross). So they were unable to remove the nail and buried him with it.
Verse 19 – Notice the likely spot of the Crucifixion.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is the place likely to be the crucifixion spot. If you look closely to the right and left of the “altar” – you will see it is enclosed in glass. That is the “Calvary Rock.” There is a hole beneath the altar with a hole in the glass – where people line up to touch the rock where our Savior died.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – A favored location by pilgrims and a discredited location by archeologists, the Garden Tomb is a great, quiet place to contemplate the beauty and meaning of the resurrection of Jesus.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is the shore of Tabgha – just two miles west of Capernaum and is traditionally known as the place where John 21 took place.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is an aerial view of Tabgha. This is a very popular fishing spot because of seven springs located near the shore that would attract fish. Several of important moments in the life of Jesus and the disciples are believed to have happened here (including the calling of the disciples and the story here in John 21).
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is the Kidron Valley. It isn’t as deep of a valley as it was in Jesus’ day as it has likely been filled in over the last 2000 years. This is the valley Jesus would cross every day from the Mount of Olives to the temple.
Verse 1 – Notice the graves on the Mount of Olives.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is a photo of a section of the Mount of Olives as taken from the Temple Mount. Notice the graves in the lowest part of the photo. Those graves are in the Kidron Valley mentioned in verse 1. Jesus would have walked by these graves on his way to Gethsemane.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is a view of Jerusalem from the tower of David’s Citadel (where Jesus likely was tried before Pilate). Notice the two blue domes on the left. That is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (where Jesus likely died). The gold dome on the right is the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount. The tall tower on the very right side of the photo and on top of the hill is the top of the Mount of Olives.
John 13-15 is a unique section in all of the Gospels. It is the longest section of the Gospels with no movement. All of it takes place in the Upper Room and much of the material is unique only to the Gospel of John. There are no maps or pictures in today’s reading – as all of it takes place in the Upper Room. Read carefully, considering that within 12 to 18 hours, Jesus would be on the cross.
Once again you will see that John’s stories are more focused on Jerusalem than Galilee. Each of these chapters takes place in Jerusalem, although they were likely three different trips to Jerusalem. Chapter 12 is undoubtedly on Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem before his death.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – Jesus used illustrations that people would be familiar with. Shepherds would be a very familiar occupation – so it isn’t surprising that it was a word picture used both by Jesus and the New Testament writers. I often wonder what word pictures Jesus would use in our day. When I read verses 12 and 13, I wonder if Jesus would have contrasted a business owner (who loves his business) versus a minimum wage employee (who can’t wait to get a better paying job).
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is Jerusalem in winter. Jesus came for the Festival of Dedication, which was in December. It doesn’t snow often in December, but it does happen on occasion.
Verse 23 – Notice Solomon’s Colonnade.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – Solomon’s Colonnade was a place used for public gatherings. It is on the east side of the Temple grounds.
Verse 40 – Notice the way to Bethany.
(Click on map to enlarge) – Because it wasn’t yet his time, Jesus once again withdrew from Jerusalem to the other side of the Jordan.
(Click on map to enlarge) – You can see two Bethanys in this map. Lazarus was from the Bethany close to Jerusalem, and Jesus stayed here when visiting Jerusalem.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This would be a typical tomb in the first century. This would be inside a cave and bodies of family members would be wrapped and placed in one of the three burial chambers you see here. After one year when the flesh has gone away, they would gather the bones in burial boxes (ossuaries) and put them on a “shelf” inside the family tomb.
Perhaps one of the biggest differences between the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) and the book of John is how often John locates Jesus in Jerusalem. In the Synoptics, most of the stories of Jesus’ teaching and miracles are in the Galilee region. Until the days before his death, most of the content of those Gospels is around Capernaum. But the book of John is most commonly written about events that happened in Jerusalem, not just the week before his death, but in trips prior to celebrate religious festivals.
(Click on map to enlarge) – This is just another reminder of the travel distance between the Galilee region (where Capernaum was located) and Judea (where Jerusalem was located).
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is a modern photo of Jerusalem with some markings – to give you a better understanding of where some events occurred.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is the Pool of Siloam mentioned here. It is a recent discovery and the steps you see are among the best-preserved 1st century steps ever discovered.
The fourth Gospel is very different from the other three. It seems that Matthew and Luke were based on the writings of Mark. John’s book doesn’t seem to use Mark as a source for his writing.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – These are the pools of Bethesda. Frankly, I’ve never quite understood what these pools are about and what they were used for, and I’ve been to this location twice. I look forward to learning more next month. This doesn’t look like any pool I’ve seen. I’m guessing it was a storage place for water, but I don’t know.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is the location where it is believed the feeding of the 5000 took place. Other than the resurrection, this is the only miracle that appears in all four Gospels.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is the Sea of Galilee. A common question is, “How can such a small lake have violent storms that are recorded in the Gospels?” It has to do with the geography and topography of the land surrounding the lake. The Sea of Galilee is in the Rift Valley and is surrounded by high terrain on the east (Golan Heights) and mountains on the northwest side. The combination of the valley, the mountains, and wind can create terrible sailing conditions, even on a lake this small.
The fourth Gospel is very different from the other three. It seems that Matthew and Luke were based on the writings of Mark. John’s book doesn’t seem to use Mark as a source for his writing.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is the Jordan River near Jericho. There are two towns called Bethany. The one is near Jerusalem where Jesus would stay when visiting Jerusalem. The other is Bethany-Beyond-the Jordan; this is where Jesus was baptized and is on the eastern side of the Jordan River.
Verse 28 – Notice the map of Israel.
(Click on map to enlarge) – This shows you where Bethany-Beyond-the-Jordan is located.
(Click on map to enlarge) – This gives the travel of Jesus from the Jordan River to Cana and then to Capernaum (v. 12).
Verse 6 – Notice the pots.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – These are the types of jars found from the 1st century that are likely referred to here.
Verse 11 – Notice the hill.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – The hill in this photo is likely Cana. That hill is called a tel. We will talk a lot about tels in Israel. A tel is layering that happens in ancient cities. Because of a source of water or location to a main road, when a city was destroyed, they tended to build right on top of it – over and over. So it creates a tel.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This gives you an idea of the large open space on the temple grounds that would have plenty of space for the tens of thousands of people who would come for festivals, and also plenty of places for the selling of sacrificial animals and exchanging money for acceptable payment for atonement.
In these final chapters of the book – we read three of the most important moments in human history: The Last Supper (chapter 22), the crucifixion (chapter 23), and the resurrection (chapter 24).
Verse 1 – Notice the salmon line in the map to the Last Supper.
(Click on map to enlarge) – The salmon line shows a potential route taken from Bethany, over the Mount of Olives and to the location of The Last Supper.
Verse 14 – Notice the upper room.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is the traditional location of The Last Supper, but it is not the original building. The Crusaders built this upper room on the traditional location.
Verse 39 – Notice the blue line in the map to the Last Supper.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – Notice the blue line shows a potential route Jesus took to Gethsemane.
Verse 54 – Notice the salmon line on the map from Gethsemane to Calvary.
(Click on map to enlarge) – The salmon line is the potential route from the arrest to the house of the High Priest. Keep this map open when you read chapter 23.
Verse 33 – Notice Golgotha or the Place of the Skull.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is a popular alternative location for the death of Jesus. It isn’t popular with historians and archeologists, but is popular with pilgrims for two reasons: 1) They don’t like the Church of the Holy Sepulcher; this is a more natural and believable setting to our modern eyes and ears, and 2) the rock face kind of looks like a skull.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – We don’t know for sure where the town of Emmaus is, but this road leads to the nearby town of Moza, which is believed to be one of the possibilities for 1st century Emmaus.
In these three chapters, Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and creates much controversy with his teachings, parables, and answers to questions from the religious leaders.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is a sycamore tree along a main road in Jericho. This is the type of tree Zacchaeus climbed. The red and white Kafias that are hanging on the fence are for sale. You will find plenty of people trying to sell you a bit of everything in Israel.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This would be along the route from Jericho to Jerusalem. Several Bible stories happened on this pathway including: King David fleeing Jerusalem from his son (Absalom), King Zedekiah fleeing from the Babylonians, the story of the Good Samaritan, and Jesus’ travels from Jericho to Jerusalem. If we had more time on this trip, I would have loved for us to hike part of this famous trail.
Verse 29 – Notice the Map of Jerusalem.
(Click on map to enlarge) – You’ve seen this map before. But it shows you the pathway Jesus took for his Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, and it shows you Bethany, the place Jesus slept each night while visiting Jerusalem.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is an artistic understanding of the temple courts. Notice the signs leading closer to the temple. Those signs warned Gentiles to go no further.
(Click on photo to enlarge) – This is what the offering boxes looked like in the temple. It wasn’t a coincidence when Jesus accused hypocrites for blowing trumpets when they gave. The photo makes that obvious why he would use that word picture.
Verse 37 – There are a few things to notice in this photo.
(Click on photo to enlarge)
The church you see just on the other side of the road is the Church of All Nations and is next to the Garden of Gethsemane.
Just to the left of that church, you can see a road that leads up the mountain. This is the pathway Jesus would take to get to and from Jerusalem each day.
This verse seems to indicate he slept on the Mount of Olives, yet other passages mention sleeping in Bethany. Bethany is at the base of the Mount of Olives on the other side. To stay on the Mount of Olives or to stay in Bethany are not contradictory.
In these three chapters, Jesus is continuing his journey toward Jerusalem, and chapter 18 ends with him in Jericho, one day’s journey from Jerusalem. These chapters do not contain a lot of geographic information. They are filled with the teachings of Jesus.
Meditations on Israel 