The Second Temple and the Western Wall

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, in Book 15, Chapter 11 of Antiquities of the Jews, King Herod the Great, in an effort to curry favor with the Jews, dismantled the original foundation stones of the Temple (Ezra 3:8) and rebuilt the Temple on a new, raised foundation. He increased its height by 60 cubits, […]

The Cursed Fig Tree

Matthew 21:19 – “Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, ‘May you never bear fruit again!’ Immediately the tree withered.” The fig tree has the largest leaves of any tree in Canaan. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and […]

Ein Gedi

Ein Gedi is a name composed of two Hebrew words: “Ein” meaning spring, and “Gedi” meaning kid or goat. So, Ein Gedi means “Spring of the Kid.” It is located on the western shore of the Dead Sea, with a dramatic elevation drop of over 600 meters from the Judean Desert (200m above sea level) […]

The Pharisees

The Pharisees were one of the two major sects of Judaism and the strictest of them all. They believed in Jehovah and urged people to obey the Law. However, they were rigid and stuck to tradition, believing that the interpretations of the Law by their ancestors had the same authority as God’s own interpretation. The […]

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

Matthew 21:12-13 – “Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. ‘It is written,’ he said to them, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a […]

Hosanna

When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, the people who went ahead of Him and followed Him were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11:9-10) “Hosanna” (Hebrew: הושענא) is a term used in […]

Bethphage

Matthew 21:1 – “As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives…” Bethphage means “house of unripe figs.” It was a place Jesus passed through on Nisan 9, 33 AD, on his way to Jerusalem. In Matthew 21, Jesus sent two disciples from Bethphage to a village across from them to […]

Rebellious Jerusalem

Luke 13:34-35 – “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not […]

Strain Out a Gnat, Swallow a Camel

Matthew 23:23-24 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a […]

Salvation

Literally, salvation means to be rescued from various adversities, such as affliction, illness, danger, or natural disaster. In the Bible, the original Hebrew and Greek words for “salvation” carry meanings of “rescue,” “deliverance from death,” and “healing.” In the New Testament, salvation is most often used to mean the forgiveness of sins, reconciliation with God, […]