I recently went on my second pilgrimage to the Promised Land. My first pilgrimage was about 10 years ago.

I urge everyone to make this pilgrimage at least once in their life.

The words that come to my mind are “Come and see.”

These words appear again and again in the Scriptures.

Sometimes early believers such as Andrew and Nathanael came and saw Jesus. (John 1:39; John 11:34-35) (see my blogs “Come and See the Promised Land: Where Jesus Stayed” and “Come and See the Promised Land: Jesus of Nazareth”.)

And sometimes Jesus came and saw people.

Sometimes the result of Jesus coming and seeing someone was good.

For example, Jesus was a good friend of the siblings Lazarus, Mary and Martha. He often stayed at their house outside Jerusalem around the Mount of Olives. (Luke 10:38-42; John 11:17-18; Mark 11:1).

Lazarus died. Jesus arrived a few days afterwards. He comforted Mary and Martha. (John 11:1-33).

“‘Where have you laid him?’ he asked. ‘Come and see, Lord,’ they replied.

Jesus wept.” (John 11:34).

Jesus “called in a loud voice, ‘Lazarus, come out!” (John 11:43). And Lazarus came out of his tomb. (John 11:44).

Is there a part of your life that is “dead”? Jesus will come and see. He will weep. He will bring that part of your life back to life.

Why?

Because Jesus is the Good Shepherd who comes to see us so that we can have life, and have it to the full! (John 10:10-11).

Unfortunately, people don’t always live happily ever after when Jesus comes to see them.

Why?

People don’t always want to be good friends of Jesus.

People don’t always joyfully praise God for all the miracles they’ve seen in their lives and in our world.

People don’t always say, “Blessed is Jesus, who comes in the name of the LORD.” (Luke 19:38; Psalm 118:26).

People don’t always say, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest.” (Luke 19:38).

On the first Palm Sunday, a crowd of disciples joyfully praised Jesus in these ways “[w]hen he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives.” (Luke 19:37).

What kinds of miracles were they praising Jesus for? The kinds of miracles (literal and figurative) that Jesus pointed to as proof that he was the Messiah:

“The blind receive sight,

       the lame walk,

those who have leprosy are cleansed,

       the deaf hear,

the dead are raised,

       and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.”

(Luke 7:22)

These miracles by Jesus parallel the passages about the Messiah by Isaiah that Jesus said he fulfilled when he preached at his hometown synagogue in Nazareth. (Luke 4:17-21). In response, the hometown crowd found fault with Jesus. Indeed, they even  tried to kill him by throwing him off the cliff! (Luke 4:22-30).

On Palm Sunday, some people—the Pharisees—were finding fault with Jesus as he began riding a colt down the steep side (almost a cliff) of the Mount of Olives that overlooks Jerusalem.

The view from that side of the Mount of Olives is the famous sight of the Temple Mount and the golden Dome of the Rock. Countless people (including our group of pilgrims) have their picture taken with this view of Jerusalem, the Temple Mount, and the Dome of the Rock in the background.

As Jesus rode a colt to Jerusalem, there wasn’t a Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount.

Instead, Jesus saw the stunning Second Jewish Temple. Construction of this replacement for Solomon’s Temple began when some of the Jews returned from the Babylonian Exile. This was about 500 years before Jesus was born.

Herod the Great (who ruled when Jesus was born and who met with the Wise Men who were seeking the Baby Jesus) spent decades vastly increasing the size and magnificence of the Second Temple (John 2:20). This was about the only good thing this wicked, paranoid king ever did! (Matthew 2:16).

During our pilgrimage, we walked along a road that went down the Mount of Olives. We don’t know exactly where Jesus rode down the Mount of Olives on his way to the Temple on Palm Sunday. But I can definitely say that the way down the Mount of Olives is very steep!

It’s an example of how a pilgrimage to the Promised Land helps bring Bible stories to life. Makes them more real.

One of those Bible stories is about Nathaniel. He became one of the first to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. But before that, Nathanael’s first reaction was to find fault with Jesus. When he heard that Jesus was from Nazareth, Nathanael scoffed: “Nazareth! Can any good thing come from there?” (John 1:46) (This Bible story is described in my blog “Come and See the Promised Land: Jesus of Nazareth”).

Some people find fault both with Jesus and with people who praise Jesus.

On that first Palm Sunday, a whole crowd of people “began joyfully to praise God in loud voices”. (Luke 19:37-38).

But some people—the Pharisees—scoffed. They said to Jesus: “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”. (Luke 19:39).

“‘I tell you,’ he replied, ‘if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.’” (Luke 19:40).

During our pilgrimage, we saw multitudes of stones everywhere in the Promised Land, including on the Mount of Olives.

As I stumbled over stone after stone, the various statements that Jesus made about stones made more sense to me than they ever did before—whether Jesus was talking about stones that make us stumble (Matthew 21:42-44, drawing upon Isaiah 8:13-15) or about stones that cry out to praise Jesus (Luke 19:40).

It’s another example of how a pilgrimage to the Promised Land helps bring Bible stories to life. Makes them more real.

Another such example came as we sat quietly and respectfully in a church overlooking Jerusalem and its Church of the Holy Sepulcher where the crucifixion, burial and resurrection of Jesus took place.

It is a Roman Catholic Church called “Dominus Flevit” (“the Lord Wept”) located halfway down the Mount of Olives. The church was designed by the famous Italian architect, Antonio Barlicci.

The church is shaped like a teardrop. Behind the altar is a large window through which we meditated about Jesus weeping as he overlooked the Temple Mount and all of Jerusalem on that First Palm Sunday.

As described in the Gospel of Luke: As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it! (Luke 19:41).

Jesus said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:42).

Instead of finding peace, Jerusalem would find destruction!

In a description reminiscent of the destruction of the First Temple and of Jerusalem by the Babylonians almost 600 years before, Jesus foresaw the destruction of this Second Temple and of Jerusalem by the Romans—an event that literally happened 40 years later when the Romans defeated the Great Revolt of the Jews around 70 A.D.

Jesus warned:

The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you. (Luke 19:43-44).

We need to recognize the times in our lives when God comes to us—the times when Jesus comes to see us.

We need to be good friends of Jesus—just as Lazarus, Mary and Martha were. Then, Jesus will call us forth from whatever “tombs” darken our days. (John 11:43-44). Then, Jesus will come and give us lives that we enjoy fully! (John 10:10).

When Jesus comes to see you, don’t look for faults. Welcome him! Praise him!

Don’t look for faults in Jesus. And don’t look for faults in people who praise Jesus. (Matthew 7:1-5).

Don’t be a scoffer!

Don’t choose the broad path that leads to destruction. (Matthew 7:13-14).

Choose the narrow, steep path that leads to life. (Matthew 7:13-14).

Be a good friend of Jesus.

Watch out for stones that make you stumble.

Watch miracles!

Welcome your good friend, Jesus. Thank him for coming to see you.

Praise Jesus for his many miracles.

Ask Jesus to give you the Spirit of the LORD who Jesus embodies.

Follow the Way of Jesus.

How?

By literally and figuratively:

giving sight to the blind,

       enabling the lame to walk,

cleansing people from whatever plagues them,

       enabling the deaf to hear,

enabling people to have life, and to enjoy life fully,

       and proclaiming good news to the poor.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

When has Jesus come to see you?

Did you welcome him as a friend?

Or scoff at Jesus and those who praise him?

READ MORE

For other blogs arising from my pilgrimage to the Promised Land, please read my blogs “The Immense, Towering Rock Overcomes the ‘Gates of Hell’”, “Moving the Temple Mount”, “Come and See the Promised Land: Desolations”, “Come and See the Promised Land: A Place of Abundance”, “Come and See the Promised Land: Where Jesus Stayed”, and “Come and See the Promised Land: Jesus of Nazareth”.

To learn more about building the Temple, please read my blogs “Building the Temple—Moses”, “Building the Temple—David”, “Building the Temple—Isaiah”, “Building the Temple—Herod the Great”, “Building the Temple—Jesus”, “Building the Temple—Paul”, “Building the Temple—Peter”, and “Building the Temple—The Word”.