Jerusalem from St Peter in Galicantu

"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, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, `Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.' " (Matthew 23:37-39)

The panoramic view of Jerusalem from St Peter in Galicantu is simply stunning. To the left is Mount Zion, traditional site of David's tomb, the Upper Room and the Last Supper. Dominating the view, however, is the south face of the Temple Mount. The enormity of the foundations for this structure are staggering, covering an area of about 35 acres, 446 metres from north to south and 296 metres from east to west. The recently excavated first-century Temple steps and bricked up archway entrance used by Jesus are still visible today. At the south east corner, originally 45 metres high above the Kidron valley, stands what many regard as the pinnacle of the Temple from where Satan tempted Jesus to throw himself down (Matthew 4:5-7). Behind the Temple area, providing a rich green backdrop of olive trees, lies the Kidron Valley and the Mount of Olives. To the right and lower down, are the excavations of David's City, the Pool of Siloam and the Valley of Gehenna which joins the Kidron Valley before beginning its slow winding descent to the Dead Sea.

The site first gained significance as Mount Moriah because it was here that Abraham was tested over the sacrifice of Isaac (2 Chron. 3:1; Gen. 22:1-14). David acquired the hill from Araunah the Jebusite in order to offer a sacrifice to God and save his people (2 Samuel 24:16-25). The privilege of building the Temple, however, was given to his son Solomon (1 Kings 5). The remains of the Temple walls seen today are actually the third to be built on the site. The first was constructed by Solomon, followed by Zerubbabel, and then Herod. These represent the pre-exilic, post-exilic, and New Testament periods.

The proximity and juxtoposition of the Temple Mount to the Valley of Gehenna is both sobering and profound. Gehenna is the Greek for Hinnon and means the 'valley of whining' or 'lamentation'. In the Old Testament it is the place where children were sacrificed to the pagan deities of Baal and Molech (2 Kings 16:3; 17:17; 23:10). Not surprisingly perhaps Jesus used the same emotive place to illustrate the eternal reality of hell (Matthew 5:22, 29; 23:15).

The splendid view of Jerusalem from this hill top encompasses most of the events which occurred in Holy Week. The Last Supper was probably held in the Essene Quarter on what is now Mount Zion since the disciples were told to follow a man carrying a water pot (Mark 14:13-16). As dusk fell that Maundy Thursday Jesus walked with his disciples over to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives to pray (Luke 22:39-46). There he was arrested by the Jewish religious leaders and brought to the House of Caiaphas for interrogation overnight (Luke 22:47-54). Early on Good Friday he was taken to Pilate, probably in the Antonia Fortress at the north-west corner of the Temple Mount (Luke 23:1-2). After his trial Jesus was led along what is now known as the Via Dolorosa carrying his cross to the place of crucifixion which was then outside the city walls (Matthew 27:27-33). After his death our Lord was placed in a new tomb in a garden nearby (Matthew 27:57-66). Three momentous days later the risen Lord met with the disciples in the Upper Room again before ascending to heaven before their very eyes from the Mount of Olives (John 20:19-31). It is to this same spot that many believe he will return (Acts 1:9-11). This explains the presence of extensive Jewish, Moslem and Christian cemeteries on the slopes of the Kidron Valley and Mount of Olives as all three faiths believe the dead will rise first when the Messiah comes.

This scene then is one of stark contrasts. Calvary, the Mount of Olives and Gehenna. We see in one panoramic view locations associated with both the way to heaven and the path to hell. It is a scene that sums up the heart of our historic credal statements as well as the personal choice before us all. "See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you... This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him." (Deuteronomy 30:15-20)