Friday, July 11, 2008

Israel Day 6: Palace of Caiaphas & Pilate's Judgment Hall

From Gethsemane, we went to the Palace of Caiaphas, the High Priest. Before going in, we ate lunch in the small rock garden. More pita, this time with chicken.

"Late that night, Jesus was betrayed, arrested and taken to Caiaphas, the High Priest. The incarceration and interrogation was not an official trial. Both were illegal under the circumstances. This church is built over rooms, two thousand years old, where prisoners were held. Holes in the rock walls were used to tie their hands and feet for scourging. This basement dungeon reminds us that Caiaphas and some powerful Elders conspired to trap Jesus by His own words. Under the Roman political system, the Jewish priests were not to carry out executions except for Temple violations. So they bound Him and led Him away to Pontius Pilate the governor." Daniel Rona, Memory Book of the Holy Land, p. 73

This church, again, not overly gaudy, but reverent was built over the ruins. I remarked to our guide that regardless of this being a place where awful things happened to the Savior, it felt so much more holy and sacred than the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Why was that? He responded: "Because Christ was actually here." Okay. I get it now. There is archaeology. There is history. There is tradition. There is the spirit. All four work together to help work through the mass of chaos surrounding the battle for actual locations of significant events.

Christ was lowered into a pit here. He was scourged. Even though the acts were violent, He fulfilled His holy mission.

The next stop for us was the Pontius Pilate judgment Hall located at the Antonia Fortress in the Old City along the famous Via Delarosa.

"At the Antonia Fortress, Pontius Pilate, who at first did not wan to bother with the case, quickly realized a potential political gain. Repeatedly he brought Jesus forth, beaten, intimidated and crowned with thorns, and taunted the priests with his release. Maddened by Pilate's reluctance to favor them with an execution, they cried out, "Away with him, crucify him." Pilate said, "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar." The political gain was achieved, (the priests, after all, did publicly acclaim Caesar to be their king.) "Then delivered he him to be crucified." (John 18: 28-40, 19: 1-17) Daniel Rona, Memory Book of the Holy Land, p. 73

The hall is larger than I expected. It is pretty short. This pencil drawing with the multiple arches is the closest thing I found to what it really looks like. Here we are reading the account from the scriptures in the actual hall.

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