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.

And so, on our pilgrimage to the Promised Land, we came and saw glorious moments in the life of Israel and of Jesus. But we also came and saw tragic moments in the life of Israel and of Jesus.

When we walked on top of the Temple Mount, we remembered the glories of the Temple.

When Solomon was building the Temple, “the word of the LORD came to Solomon: ‘. . . . I will live among the Israelites and will not abandon my people Israel.’” (1 Kings 6:13).

When Solomon dedicated the Temple, he said, “May [the LORD our God] turn our hearts to him . . . . so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.” (1 Kings 8:58-60).

When we overlooked the Sea of Galilee, we remembered the glories of Jesus preaching his Sermon on the Mount.

But when we saw the heaps of ruined stones left by the Romans after they destroyed the Temple, we remembered the sufferings in the story of Israel, a suffering servant.

And when we saw the place where Jesus was crucified, we remembered the sufferings in the story of Jesus, the Suffering Servant.

Centuries before the crucifixion of Jesus, the Prophet Isaiah foresaw these sufferings of the Suffering Servant.

In words that captured the agonies of crucifixion, Isaiah wrote that the Suffering Servant would say:

“I offered my back to those who beat me,

     my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;

I did not hide my face

     from mocking and spitting.”

(Isaiah 50:6)

Centuries before the crucifixion of Jesus, Psalm 22 captured the agonies of crucifixion:

“All who see me mock me;

     they hurl insults, shaking their heads. . . . . .

I am poured out like water,

     and all my bones are out of joint. . . . .

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,

     and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; . . . .

All my bones are on display;

     people stare and gloat over me.

(Psalm 22:7,14-15,17)

Nevertheless, despite his sufferings, Jesus is triumphing!

During my pilgrimages, the triumph of Jesus is obvious because of the immense crowds flocking to see the place of his crucifixion in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

On my first pilgrimage, I waited about an hour for a few moments to kneel at the place where Jesus hung on the Cross. Devoted followers of Jesus were there from every corner of the globe, and speaking diverse languages (Acts 2:1-11; Matthew 28:18-20).

We were all united by our faith in Jesus Christ—the Suffering Servant foreseen by the Prophet Isaiah. We knew that:

Surely he took up our pain

     and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

     stricken by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

     he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

     and by his wounds we are healed.

We all like sheep have gone astray,

     each of us has turned to our own way;

and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:4-6).

The blessing of Psalm 22 for the Suffering Servant—Jesus—was coming true all around me:

All the ends of the earth

     will remember and turn to the LORD,

and all the families of the nations

     will bow down before him,

for dominion belongs to the LORD

     and he rules over the nations.

(Psalm 22:27-28).

Symbolically, Jesus is the Temple. (John 2:19-23).

Hence, Jesus is the One who lives among the Israelites and will not abandon his people Israel. Furthermore, the LORD has made Jesus a light to non-Jews so that the salvation of the LORD may reach to the ends of the earth.

Jesus is the One who turns hearts to the LORD so that Israel and all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.

This triumph of Jesus—the Suffering Servant—that was foreseen by the Prophet Isaiah was coming true all around me. As Isaiah foresaw:

In the last days

the mountain of the LORD’s temple will be established

     as the highest of the mountains;

it will be exalted above the hills,

     and all nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,

     to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways,

     so that we may walk in his paths.”

(Isaiah 2:1-4)

And now the LORD says—

. . . “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant

     to restore the tribes of Israel . . .

I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,

     that my salvation may reach

     to the ends of the earth . . .:

Kings will serve you and stand up,

     princes will see you and bow down,

because of the LORD, who is faithful,

     to the Holy One of Israel,

     who has chosen you.”

(Isaiah 49:5-7).

I was privileged and humbled to bow at the place where the Chosen One—the Suffering Servant, Jesus—suffered, as I was surrounded by throngs from all Humanity who also came to bow down and learn his ways so that we may walk in his paths.

And so, I experienced how a pilgrimage to the Promised Land brings Bible prophecies to life. Makes them real.

QUESTIONS TO THINK ABOUT

In what ways has Israel been a suffering servant?

In what ways was Jesus the Suffering Servant?

In what ways is Jesus the Temple, symbolically?

In what ways are the sufferings of Jesus causing all of the ends of the earth to remember him (Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) and to turn to the LORD?

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”, “Come and See the Promised Land: Jesus of Nazareth”, “Come and See the Promised Land: Jesus Weeping”, and “Come and See the Promised Land: Jesus Praying”.

For related ideas, please read the portions of my book Hoping in the LORD that discuss the arrest, trials, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, pages 208-333.

For related ideas about 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”.