Matthew 10:38

This past Sunday was another free day and I went on quite the pilgrimage! I ventured to the Old City with two of the guys from the program, Dax and Seth, to visit the Via Dolorosa. 

Aren't the street signs amazing here with the Hebrew, Arabic and English?!

 So the Via Dolorosa is thought to be the path that Christ walked while carrying the cross, on the way to His crucifixion. There are 14 different stations (or stops) that take you through the events of that fateful day. It was a powerful experience to think of all that Christ endured on that day. 

 Before we began we also found the Pool of Bethesda! That was pretty sweet!!!
 Check out this amazing Bible video depicting Christ healing a man at the Pool of Bethesda

 This wall was the beginning and depicted the 14 stations.

This is from the Church of the Flagellation. 

The Prison cell of Christ

An Armenian Church representing Christ falling under the weight under the cross.

I loved this picture because you see all the people with their own cross.

Where Christ fell and rested His hand. 

Dax, Seth and I at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. 

The Stone of Anointing 

The Rock of Calvary

The blood of Christ

The Tomb of Christ

It really was an amazing experience to walk this path and think about Christ! But you may notice that I said this last picture was the tomb of Christ... but in my last post I went to the Garden Tomb which is the tomb of Christ! So how are there two tombs????? That is the big question.....
These are the two locations that are commemorated as the burial place of our Savior. The fact of the matter is that we aren't sure where Christ was buried but these are thought to be possible options. Personally I prefer the Garden Tomb but I love to go to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as well. In reference to the Garden Tomb, President Hinckley once said, "Just outside the walls of Jerusalem, in this place or somewhere nearby, was the tomb of Jesus of Arimathea where the body of the Lord was interred." The exact location is the NOT important part but the event that occur is what matter and what our focus should be.

"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for HE IS RISEN, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay."- Matthew 28:5-6