Today was our first full day within the city walls of Jerusalem.  One thing that struck me as we toured in, around, and even under the current city of Jerusalem, is what an intimidating visit it must have been to come to Jerusalem at the time of Jesus.  This great capital city of the ancient world is perched on top of a mountain.  It was once two mountains separated by a valley which was amazingly filled in with earth when Herod the Great decided to construct the enormous holy building.  This Temple of Jesus’ day was 2 & ½ times the size of the current Muslim Dome of the Rock.  As we walked through the ancient tunnels beneath what is now the Muslim quarter of the city, we viewed portions of the retaining wall of the temple mount, today covered by centuries of foreign occupation and rebuilding.

So, here’s what hit me today. 

I’m glad that we saved the great city of Jerusalem until these last few days of our trip.  We’ve spent most of our time seeing the smaller cities and towns in which Jesus lived and ministered for nearly all his life (Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethsaida, and others).  For instance, the town from which he was from—Nazareth—though it now boasts of nearly 100 thousand people, at the time of Jesus, this meager little mountain town consisted of 500 people stretched over 60 acres.  Jesus exercised his healing ministry and gained his notoriety primarily in the smaller towns which encircled the Sea of Galilee.  Yet, these were ‘country folk’ in comparison with the people of Jerusalem.  Even for us as we came, it was a very different experience driving up the long mountain road to the bold city of Jerusalem after spending most of our time in the more quaint cities in the region of Galilee. 

I keep wondering what this experience must have been like for Jesus when he entered the city just prior to his crucifixion.  The stakes were higher here than they were in and around his home town.  He had challenged and confronted the religious leaders in smaller towns.  But now he was coming to this place—a place which Jewish historian, Josephus, said that until one had seen Jerusalem, one had never seen greatness and beauty.  And yet, Jesus had the same tenacity and resolve that he had anywhere else.  He didn’t shrink back from his pronouncement of judgment on those who rejected him as Messiah.  The one who people took as a ‘country bumpkin’ confounded and astounded his upper crust listeners with his knowledge of the Torah and its meaning within God’s redemptive history.  And this from a fairly young man.  No older than I am now. 

Jesus had integrity.  He acted the same in all situations.  He refused to compromise for what was merely expedient.  It would have been easy to be overwhelmed and shrink back at the greatness of so intimidating a city and it’s people.  And still, he was humble, keeping his mouth shut as his detractors ridiculed and abused him. 

It seems to me that only if he knew his place with his Father could he have had the deep confidence in that sustaining relationship with God, which in turn, allowed him to be dangerously vulnerable.