Israel - Reflection #28 - Antonia Fortress

This is a model of Jerusalem, the temple and Antonia Fortress

The Antonia Fortress, located in the upper right northwest corner of the Temple area, is the start of Jesus' walk to the cross. The amount of pain inflicted on Jesus at this particular spot, for you and I, would have killed most men. 

'Some of the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into their headquarters

and called out the entire regiment. They stripped him and put a

scarlet robe on him. They wove thorn branches into a crown and

put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand

as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted,

“Hail! King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and grabbed the

stick and struck him on the head with it. When they were finally

tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes

on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified. Along the

way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from

Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. And

they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of

the Skull”). The soldiers gave Jesus wine mixed with bitter gall,

but when he had tasted it, he refused to drink it. ' Matthew 27:27-34. https://my.bible.com/bible/116/MAT.27.27-34

In my mind, I have always imagined the streets much wider than they were and all the streets of Jerusalem were crowded, filled with shops, vendors, and merchants of all types. I tried to catch the flavor of this modern marketplace in my photos. I don't know this for sure, but my guess is that ancient Jerusalem was much the same. It was Passover, so the city would have been packed with pilgrims. To think of Jesus carrying the cross after being beaten for nearly a half-mile, uphill, to Golgotha on these narrow streets, filled with people, brings deep sadness to my heart. The physical pain, the public humiliation he suffered, not because he did anything wrong, but because he loved me, brings tears to my eyes. 

As we walked these streets and saw the hustle and bustle of activity, I had a deep sense of sadness that most of these people, most of the merchants, most of the locals, and many of the visitors that walk these streets every day completely miss the impact of where they are and the power of what happened here. Although, it does not suprise me. I have Christian friends that have accepted Jesus and don't live thinking about the significance of this event and the part we played in causing this pain and suffering. Knowing WE were the cause of Jesus' pain and suffering, his ultimate death on the cross should change us. Our lives every day should be lived thinking about him walking these streets to his death. 

'Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that
weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment
from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for
our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be
whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep,
have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. ' Isaiah 53:4-6. https://my.bible.com/bible/116/ISA.53.4-6

Under the modern city are the original streets, possibly walked by Jesus!

Although it is difficult to see, this stone has a game, (the circle in the lower right) that would have been used for gambling, or casting lots as indicated in Matthew 27:35 - "After they nailed him to the cross, the soldiers gambled for his clothing by throwing dice. "

The narrow streets of Jerusalem were packed with people, vendors, and the market!