Sacrifice as the Passover to the Lord your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the Lord will choose as a dwelling for his Name. Deuteronomy 16:2 After the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70, sacrifices ceased. Well, that’s not entirely true. The Samaritans continue to this day to do one annual sacrifice: the Passover lamb. They did not view Jerusalem as the place to gather but instead Mt. Gerazim about 30 miles north. They used to have a temple there, but it is long gone now. Their calendar doesn’t entirely match the Jewish […]
Author Archive: Brian Johnson
Spring Rains
…I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains… Deuteronomy 11:14 Israel is a land without any major rivers. The majority of its water comes from rain. There is no rain in the summer. In the fall, it starts. The heaviest rains are supposed to be January and February. Then the rains taper off through the spring. Moses spoke of the early (autumn) and latter (spring) rains in Deuteronomy (above). Having the rains come at the right time in the right quantities is important for the crops to grow and mature. This past week […]
Mourning into Dancing
I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow. Jeremiah 31:13b Israeli flags and blue and white are everywhere. Yesterday was Yom Hazikaron (Day of Remembrance), remembering fallen soldiers and terror victims. Today is Yom Haatzmaut (Israel Independence Day). (The Western, Gregorian calendar marks it on May 14 – stay tuned) One of my profs called these celebrations “civil religion”. This year is special because it marks 70 years since the modern state’s birth. It’s interesting how they put these two holidays back-to-back. They are connected. What if Memorial Day was on […]
Remember the Disaster
Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel (Yom HaShoah, literally “Day of the Disaster”). Today we remember the millions who lost their lives in the Holocaust. At 10:00 am, sirens sounded across the country for a minute of silence. People stopped, and cars pulled over (well, they’re supposed to – not many did from our vantage point) and people stood by the side of the road. It’s chilling to think of what sort of atrocities have been committed in this world and what continues (I think of the recent chemical attack in Syria). Pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray […]
Cable Car
JUC, where I’m attending, is situated on the slope of the Hinnom Valley on Mount Zion. In 1948-1967, the West Bank was controlled by Jordan and the green line (the border between Israel and the West Bank) went around Mount Zion, leaving it in Israel but the territory around it in Jordan. This was a problem for Mount Zion, leaving it in a vulnerable position. The Israeli military positioned some troops on the campus (this is before JUC moved in), keeping an eye on the Jordanians. There was a trench to slowly crawl through that went down the valley and […]
Who Touched Me?
Jerusalem has been packed this week. It’s the week of Passover/Unleavened Bread, and the city has swelled with visitors. I mentioned in my last post about witnessing the priestly blessing at the Western Wall. It took some effort to leave, flowing with the crowd like a giant blob oozing its way along the pavement. If you haven’t been here, there’s something you need to understand about Middle Eastern personal space: it doesn’t exist. We weren’t so much shuffling forward as being pushed forward. It was in this context that one in our group reminded us of a story of Jesus […]
Blessed
Twice a year (at Passover and Sukkot) some prominent priests say the priestly blessing over the people at the Western Wall. A group of us went to witness it Monday morning. We got there early and found a good spot near the front. The entire plaza ended up being packed, with many watching from perches around. It began with the morning prayers (all in Hebrew) and ended with the blessing: “Tell Aaron and his sons, ‘This is how you are to bless the Israelites. Say to them: “‘“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his […]
Foolish?
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 Today remembers Jesus’ resurrection. The whole idea of someone rising from the dead sounds like an April Fool’s joke. Who could believe in such a thing? Well, the early disciples of Jesus claimed they saw him afterward and died proclaiming it. No one in his right mind suffers or dies for a lie. I can almost imagine Jesus telling the world, “You thought I was dead for good? April Fool’s! I’m […]
Reclining
The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 Friday evening we had a triclinium meal. A triclinium in the Greco-Roman world […]
Palm Sunday Procession
The next day the great crowd that had come for the festival heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,“Hosanna!”“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Blessed is the king of Israel!”Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written: “Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” John 12:12-15 Today is Palm Sunday. I hiked with my fellow students to walk with the procession down the Mount of Olives into the […]