What struck me in this tour of Israel was the word incarnation. The Gospel of John reads, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14). It “became” sarx, the word for “flesh.” God became one of us. That is what we believe about Jesus. In this one man we see God.
That’s awesome Scot. Beautiful reflection. My visit there impacted my preaching every Sunday for over two years, and often still does, especially when teaching The Gospels course. For me, it was the Temple Mount that hit the most tangibly for some reason. I think I always had kind of a “flannel graph” or cartoon version of the biblical stories in my head, but my word…when you get the Temple Mount, all that goes out the window. It’s just so…BIG. Also: Israel was much more beautiful than I anticipated for sone reason.
Due to security concerns, we were unable to go up to the Temple Mount this year. That was unfortunate for those who had never been on the Temple Mount before.
This is a beautiful description! I’m sitting in Jerusalem now after coming from Nazareth, a city I have lived in for 10 years and love deeply. Thank you for visiting and for sharing your stories.
"This reflection is not romantic but about the ruggedness of the Christian confession that God became man and met us eye-level in Jesus." I love that, God meeting us eye-level in Jesus. Your words (and photos) brought me right back to those places where I would stop and marvel that I was seeing what Jesus would have seen.
That’s awesome Scot. Beautiful reflection. My visit there impacted my preaching every Sunday for over two years, and often still does, especially when teaching The Gospels course. For me, it was the Temple Mount that hit the most tangibly for some reason. I think I always had kind of a “flannel graph” or cartoon version of the biblical stories in my head, but my word…when you get the Temple Mount, all that goes out the window. It’s just so…BIG. Also: Israel was much more beautiful than I anticipated for sone reason.
Due to security concerns, we were unable to go up to the Temple Mount this year. That was unfortunate for those who had never been on the Temple Mount before.
This is a beautiful description! I’m sitting in Jerusalem now after coming from Nazareth, a city I have lived in for 10 years and love deeply. Thank you for visiting and for sharing your stories.
So enjoyed this read. How it must grip a Jesus follower to walk there.
"This reflection is not romantic but about the ruggedness of the Christian confession that God became man and met us eye-level in Jesus." I love that, God meeting us eye-level in Jesus. Your words (and photos) brought me right back to those places where I would stop and marvel that I was seeing what Jesus would have seen.
Great attention to the mundane so that we think concretely.