go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part 3

Keeping the sabbath holy
We arrived early Friday morning, slept a few hours at a hotel in Tel Aviv and then met the group from Holland for lunch. We went to a shopping mall near the hotel but to our surprise we were told that the restaurants and stores would probably start closing around 2 PM. Why? Because the employees had to be able to get home before the start of the sabbath, which is actually called the “Shabbat.”

Perhaps I am woefully ignorant of Jewish culture. I obviously knew that the Jews have the sabbath every Saturday, but I thought there were enough secular Jews and that Israel was a secular enough country that the whole darn country wouldn’t shut down. I was obviously wrong. The Shabbat starts at sundown on Friday, which for us in November meant around 5 PM. And since no one is allowed to do any work after sunset, everybody packs up and goes home a couple of hours before.

Okay, I thought, does that mean we can’t check in at the hotel if we are late? Well, apparently there is enough practical realism to realize that you can’t have a billion-dollar tourism industry if there are no services one day a week. So we could check in at our hotel and we could eat dinner there, because the entire staff were – at least for that day – Arabs.
We decided to eat dinner at the hotel because we were tired and the hotel was some distance from the center of Jerusalem—and most restaurants were closed. Most of the other guests were obviously Jews, and given that they dug into the buffet with zeal, it was obvious that Jews can eat on the Shabbat. However, apparently they can’t prepare food—it has to be prepared ahead of time or be prepared by others.


Jerusalem seen from the Mount of Olives.


After dinner comes the next surprise. We were on the fifth floor so we obviously took the elevator. There were three elevators and when Helen and I came out of the dining room, the middle one had the doors open. We obviously walk in, and before the door closes, two Jewish ladies walk in with three children. They first look at us with disapproving looks while holding the door open, and then finally start talking to us. I could barely understand what they said, but the meaning was clear: This was a special Shabbat elevator and it was for Jews only—and we obviously didn’t fit the bill. They clearly wanted us to get out, but I finally had to ask them to let us out so we didn’t have to step on their children.

So the explanation here is that Jews cannot perform any work on the Shabbat. I had always thought they couldn’t do any work for which they got paid, but it is much more complicated than that. Apparently, eating is not work but preparing food is. Walking is not work, and neither is taking the elevator. However, pushing the button in the elevator IS indeed work. So they have a special Shabbat control that allows the elevator to run automatically and stop at each floor, so people can get to their rooms without pushing any buttons. Apparently unlocking your door and turning the handle is NOT work.

Do I sound like I am making fun of the Jews? Well, this is where my logical mind simply cannot help but ask logical questions. For example, I was told that Jews cannot turn on or off the light on the Shabbat. If they want the light on, it has to be turned on before the start of the Shabbat and left on for 24 hours. Okay, I say, sounds logical, but then what about flushing the toilet? If pushing the light switch is work, is it work to flush? If so, it could be a smelly affair at the end of the Shabbat. Quite frankly, I don’t know the answer to that one, as I couldn’t get myself to ask.


The sun goes down behind the city wall.


The bottom line is that I have a hard time taking this seriously. I mean, we have adult human beings who seriously believe that it will damage their prospect of salvation if they flip a light switch. Yet they can open doors and do certain other things that are okay according to their tradition. I was reminded of Jesus’ words to the scribes and Pharisees, “Ye have made the word of God of no effect by your tradition.” Clearly, tradition is more important than logic.

Now, obviously, I have no problem with people having their own customs in their private homes, but this affects an entire nation, which clearly wants people from all over the world to come in and spend their money—only it has to be on certain terms defined by them. You may say, “Well, what’s wrong with the Jews defining terms in their own country?” And I am not saying there is anything wrong with it, I am merely saying it is peculiar compared to any other country I have been in—and it definitely is funny. As to the concept of the Jews and their own country, let me return to that one later.

go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part 2

Entering Israel
So now on to the trip itself. The first peculiarity we noticed was that we could not find a flight to Israel that did not arrive at 3 or 4 in the morning, which means you are exhausted when you get there and still have to pay for a hotel without getting a full nights sleep. When I asked in the airport, I was told this was for security reasons, but no one seemed to know what the reasons were. I speculate it may be that if someone hijacked a plane, they would not be able to see a particular building to fly into, but I don’t know. I was also told there were some arrivals late afternoon, but perhaps they are only from certain countries? Anyway, it is rather inconvenient.


The city wall and the golden dome of the mosque, called the Dome of the Rock.

We arrived at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, which is a huuuge airport and obviously built to impress. It has a large central hall that has a ceiling like a UFO about to land and huge ramps that you have to walk on to get in and out. There were lots of other arrivals, so long lines for passport control, which took about an hour. Then on to the car rental, which quite frankly asked us more questions and wanted to see more ID than passport control. But the real surprise (and my reason for going into this detail) is the issue of the map.

Okay, so we are at Hertz, which is a world-wide car rental company, which I expected to have the same policies everywhere. Yet in Israel, things are a bit different. First of all, you have to pay more for insurance, you have a $650 deductible which they take off your credit card and the insurance doesn’t cover the tires or anything else on the underside of the car. I knew ahead of time that there are diverging maps of Israel. Some show both the original Israel and all the territory that Israel has occupied since the 1967 war as one area, while others clearly mark the occupied territories that the Palestinians claim as theirs. I had also read ahead of time that the car rental companies would not allow us to drive into the Palestinian territories except on a few major roads.

So the rental agent hands me a map showing no markings of Palestinian areas, and I naturally ask him whether that means I can go anywhere on this map of whether I have to stay out of Palestinian areas. He answers that I cannot go into Palestinian areas, and I naturally ask, “So how will I know where NOT to go when you don’t mark it on the map you are giving me?” His answer came with a very angry voice: “Well, it’s OUR land, so we are not going to mark it!”
I was a bit shocked, but managed to answer back calmly, “Hey, I don’t care about the politics; I just want to know where I can drive in the car you are renting me.” His answer was, “Well, when the soldiers stop you, you will know you can’t go there.” Thanks, that made it a lot easier to plan my trip!

Obviously, this was very early in the morning, so I didn’t really think about it. But the next day I realized it was a rather bizarre episode. First of all, this is an international car rental agency, and I think I have a right to expect professional treatment, which I didn’t get. However, I also started to realize that in Israel there apparently is no way to separate political issues from every other part of life—not even business. This was something I had not expected but which was clearly reinforced later in the trip.

go to Israel to visit the places where Jesus had been, part one

Part of the old city wall, looking East towards the Mount of Olives and the Jewish cemetery.


What I am saying is that I grew up with a very positive attitude toward Jews and Israel. I thought the Jews deserved a homeland, especially because of the Holocaust. I also thought Jews did not consider themselves any different from other people and that the Jews I had seen considered themselves Danes first and Jews second. In other words, I thought being a Jew was primarily a religious thing and that Jews in Denmark were pretty much like the few Catholics in Denmark—a religious group. I really did not even see being a Jew as a matter of race, as Denmark is such a homogenous country that I did not grow up with a sense of racial division. Race simply wasn’t an issue for me and I couldn’t understand how it could be a source of conflict.

I was also very positive toward the state of Israel, and as a teenager I tended to believe that any criticism of Israeli policies was probably anti-semitism, which was a big no-no. Yet when I was 20 I met a man who had been stationed as a UN soldier in Israel. He told me that he had several times been on post at a checkpoint. A truck had driven up from Israeli territory, had stopped a distance from the checkpoint and the driver had run away. When inspected, they found the bed of the truck filled with dead bodies that were deliberately mutilated to make identification difficult (this was before DNA testing). The dead people were Palestinians, killed by the Israelis. He basically made a pretty good case that Jews were no better than other people and that the policies of the state of Israel were by no means infallible. Especially over the past several years, this has caused me to look at Israeli policy with a bit more discerning eyes, and I have begun to see certain patterns. More on this later.

My main point is that I grew up with no sense of discrimination against Jews, and I still don’t have any. Yet I have also come to realize that Jews deserve to be evaluated based on their actions and that they should be held to the same standard as all other human beings. Consequently, the state of Israel should be evaluated by the same standard as any other nation.

If Jesus had teachings for today

Consider that there is a reason why your higher self directed you to this website at this particular stage of your personal path.

The reason is that there is something on the site that your higher self wants you to find.

Consider that your outer mind may not be ready or flexible enough to grasp and accept the knowledge you need. That is why only those with open and flexible minds make progress on the true path.

Consider that when Jesus walked the earth, he was rejected by many because their minds were not open to the teachings he brought forth back then. If Jesus had teachings for today's people, would your outer mind be open to them?

This is a huge website, and some of the ideas will go far beyond what you were told in Sunday school or kindergarten. Yet the beginning of all progress is to think beyond one's current mental box.

This website offers you a unique opportunity to go beyond your mental box. Will you go beyond or will you stay where you are comfortable?

When Jesus walked the earth, he talked about those who have ears to hear. Are you among them? Or will you find one of millions of excuses to reject this website before you find the knowledge that will empower you to take a quantum leap forward on your personal path?

Now that you've prayed and committed your life to God through Jesus Christ, what has happened to you?

Let's look at what the Bible has to say:at the Bible has to say:

1.YOU ARE DELIVERED FROM JUDGMENT AFTER DEATH!

Jesus said, "I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved." (John 10:9) And again, "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13) And again, "there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)1)

2.YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!

THE BIBLE SAYS: "But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God." (John 1:12)12)

3.YOU WILL LIVE FOREVER WITH GOD!

THE BIBLE SAYS: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Now that you believe in Jesus Christ, you can say with confidence that you are completely accepted by God and you can now begin to live a life that truly pleases Him.
TRUST WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS

You can be sure that you are saved by trusting what the Bible says and not by trusting your feelings or emotions. Your feelings will change from time to time but God's "undeserved favor" towards you never changes!

THE BIBLE SAYS:

Sheep."My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand" (John 10:27-29).

When Jesus says that "no one is able to snatch you out of God's hand" He really means no one! Not even you can cause God's love toward you to end.

THE FIRST PASSOVER OF JESUS' MINISTRY

During Jesus' first Passover the Jews asked for a sign, and He responded, "`Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.' The Jews therefore said, `It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?' But He was speaking of the temple of His body." (John 2:19-21) These passages are the only scriptural clue to independently establishing the year of Jesus' first Passover.

What did Jesus mean by "temple," how did the Jews interpret His meaning, and what did the Jews mean by "temple?" Understanding each perspective will help to decide the probable starting point of the forty-six years. Then, there is the problem of interpreting the claim of uninspired bystanders that it took forty-six years to build the Temple. Their words are truly reported, but are they speaking truly?

Jesus referred to His own body as naos, a temple or shrine. He was standing in the Court of the Gentiles, near the front of the main Temple. The Jews thought He was referring to that structure, not His body. They thought Jesus was saying that if that Temple were destroyed, He would build it again in three days. They responded to Jesus with His same word, naos, which they claimed had taken forty-six years to build. They confronted Jesus with the impossibility of rebuilding in three days what had taken forty-six years to build. The Jews knew when the Temple had been begun, and they took spiritual and psychological refuge in that knowledge.

Jesus had just driven from the Temple the merchants of sheep and oxen and the moneychangers. He then confronted those selling the doves, and He was then asked by the "Jews" to show a sign. This was probably asked by a Temple scribe and echoed by the crowd that must have gathered. The claim of forty-six years to rebuild the Temple also must have been validated by the crowd. They contrasted the building process of three days against forty-six years and are not likely to have minimized their argument by exaggerating. Under these circumstances the forty-six years should represent a reliable number of years "to build this temple."

THE BIRTH OF JESUS

It appears probable that the conception of Jesus occurred on about March 25, BCE, which coincided with the first appearance of a nova interpreted as the first Star of the Magi. This would place Jesus' birth on about December 25, 5 BCE, the traditional day for Christmas. These dates will be used in the following discussions.

After Jesus' presentation at the Temple on the forty-first day, the holy family returned to Nazareth. Later they returned to Jerusalem for the following Passover. Shortly after this the "Star of Bethlehem," the second supernova of April 24, 4 BCE, led the Magi to Jesus in Bethlehem. Then followed the flight into Egypt and Herod's massacre of the children of Bethlehem. After Herod's death on November 27, 4 BCE the holy family bypassed Jerusalem on their return to Nazareth. A summary of the probable course and dating of these of these and following events will now be considered.

I. Presentation at the Temple

After the birth of Jesus, "when the days of their purification according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought Him up to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord." (Luke 2:22) According to the law of Moses after the birth of a male child a woman is unclean for seven days. On the eighth day the child is circumcised and the mother continues her purification for thirty-three additional days, or forty days total (Lev. 12:2-4). After that, from the forty-first day the child was to be presented at the Temple with a sin offering (Lev. 12:6-8). The forty-first day was February 2, 4 BCE, when Joseph and Mary presented Jesus at the Temple. At that time Simeon and Anna recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah. "And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth." (Luke 2:39) This would have been their first departure from the Bethlehem/Jerusalem area since Jesus was born.

II. The Visit of the Magi

What brought the Holy Family to be again in Bethlehem for the later visit of the Magi? "His parents used to go to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover." (Luke 2:41) This means that they returned several months later for that feast. In 4 BCE, the Passover and following Feast of Unleavened Bread was observed April 11 to April 18. It would appear that after the Feast they went to Bethlehem. This may have been to visit relatives or friends made earlier at the time of Jesus' birth. It may have also been with the intent of possibly relocating their home to the town of Joseph's ancestry. They were in Bethlehem shortly after the Passover.

Then "magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, `where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east, and we have come to worship Him." (Matt. 2:1-2) Herod "secretly called the magi, and ascertained from them the time the star appeared." (Matt. 2:7) He sent them to look for the Messiah in Bethlehem and to report back to him. The following morning as the Magi left Jerusalem they again saw "the star, which they had seen in the east." (Matt. 2:9) This supernova appeared high in the sky over Bethlehem, the Star of Bethlehem. It was just before sunrise in the early morning of April 24, 4 BCE. On that day the Magi presented their gifts to Jesus. The prior night they were "warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod." (Matt. 2:12) The afternoon of April 24 they left by another route.

It is probable that Herod sent spies to Bethlehem that day. The local people probably gave them little information, but the spies would have reported to Herod the disappearance of the Magi.

During the evening of April 24 "an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, `Arise and take the child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy Him." (Matt. 2:13) That night they left for Egypt. When Joseph and his family crossed the Wadi El Arish, about a three-day journey from Bethlehem or Jerusalem, they entered Egyptian territory. They were beyond Herod's jurisdiction. They would have gone to the town of Rhinokalura, modern El Arish. They may have remained in that area or made the additional journey of about a week to the Egyptian delta.

In the early morning hours of April 25 Herod's assassins entered Bethlehem and the surrounding area. They killed all the male children who were two years or younger. The two years were based on the Magi's report of the first Star to Herod, "according to the time which he had ascertained from the magi." (Matt. 2:16) The earlier nova had appeared a little over a year earlier, and the two years were Herod's safety margin. Based on population estimates, the number killed was probably no more than twenty to twenty-five children.1 The Messiah was gone, secretly on the way to Egypt.

Possible historical support for the killing of the children is found in a passage by Macrobius (Saturnalia II 4:2), written about 400 CE: "when he heard that among the boys up to two years old whom Herod king of the Jews ordered to be killed in Syria Herod's own son was also killed."2 The report is a bit mixed and may only be based on a knowledge of Christian teachings. However, the killing of the children of Bethlehem would have preceded by six months Herod's killing of his son, Antipater, five days before his own death, as in the sequence of Macrobius.

III. The Death of Herod the Great

Herod's kingdom was in a state of discontent. Shortly before the Passover there had been the sedition of Matthias. He and his followers were burned alive on the night of the eclipse, March 13, 4 BCE. Herod was in terrible health, and with that incident and the following Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem, he then left Jerusalem. He was never to return.

On November 27, 4 BCE Herod the Great died. God told Joseph in a dream that Herod was dead, and the Holy Family returned to Galilee (Matt. 2:19-23). Joseph knew of Herod's death before the news travelled to Egypt. Presumably they would have left quickly. Soon after this the Holy Family returned from Egypt, bypassed Jerusalem, and returned to Nazareth by December.

IV. Jesus' Twelfth Year

The Holy Family always went to Jerusalem for the Passover, "and when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast." (Luke 2:42) Based on prior conclusions, this would have been the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread from March 30 to April 6 of 9 CE. The last day of the Feast was a Saturday, and the caravan for Galilee would not have left until the following morning. At the end of the first day Joseph and Mary could not find Jesus. They returned to Jerusalem, and "after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them, and asking them questions." (Luke 2:46) That day was likely Tuesday, April 9, 9 CE, the third inclusive day from when Jesus was found missing.3

V. Conclusion

Based on the conception of Jesus having occurred on March 25, 5 BCE, coupled with the Magi's first star, or nova, it is possible to lay out a likely chronology for the early years of Jesus that satisfies Scriptural, historical and astronomical considerations.