Before the Throne of God Above

Music and pictures can say things hard to say in any other way.  This hymn was written in 1863 by Charitie Bancroft. This version by Chris Rice is one of my favorites of all time. My sister Martha shared it with me.

The pictures are mostly from my trip with my friend David to Rome and Israel in May, 2011.  The garden images are most poignant for me as they are from the Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed and asked God to allow the cup of sorrow to pass from him, but then prayed "not my will, but thine", and willingly took on the burden of all our sins.  The Bible says Jesus wept tears of blood, a rare phenomenon which is known to occur under extreme duress.   Further down the hill is also the place where the disciples fell asleep while they were supposed to be keeping watch while He prayed, and where Jesus was betrayed by Judas to the Romans.

The trees in the garden are very large and ancient olive trees, actually some of the most ancient trees on Earth. They have been recently dated by a secular study from the University of California to be over 2000 years old, and would have been saplings in the garden even when Jesus prayed there. They are known as The Silent Witnesses.

The stone pillar toward the end of the video is very likely the same pillar to which Jesus clung when he was lashed by the Romans while being forced to wear a brutal crown of thorns, to mock him as "King of the Jews". It has been preserved over 2000 years and was also validated in a number of investigations. It is now at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of the crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

The picture where David stands in front of the large alter with a life sized crucifix above is the actual site of the crucifixion. Under the alter, there is a small crevice where you can place your hand to touch the stone in the Earth upon which the wooden cross rested. You can see a lady crouching down to touch the spot, which we did too.

The marble slab where David and I placed our hands is the slab on which Jesus' body was prepared for ritual burial, with incense and myrrh.

The beautiful oculus of light toward the end is in the dome of the church, directly above the tomb. This is the same tomb from which he arose the first Easter morning, and from where two of his closest friends, Mary and Martha, ran down rejoicing to tell the still mourning disciples that Jesus was alive again.

Thanks to Sam Salem who showed us Israel, a knowledgeable, patient and humble guide.