Jericho
Mount of Temptation MonasteryNovember 14, 2009
“…I woke up early and got on a bus from my dorm to Damascus Gate and from there to Lazaria (Bethany) and and then took a taxi to Jericho. In Jericho, I found my way to the Temptation Monastery, a monastery towards to top and on the edge of a towering cliff. Across from the monastery are several caves where tradition says Christ stayed during his 40 day fast in the wilderness. When I reached the entrance, the monastery was empty and quiet but I went inside anyways. It was really quite simple and beautiful and unique because of the fact that it is built up against a cliff. Between the cliff side and the monk quarters which lye in a single file is the stone path I walked along. The feeling there was actually a bit depressing and gloomy probably due to the fact that I knew what went on there – monks practicing asceticism self-mortification. I ended up inside a small chapel with two domes and beautiful paintings. I had a short chat (if you can even call it that – we could hardly communicate due to language barriers) with the man who let me in. Eleven o’clock rolled around so I made my way down after getting a bite to eat at the restaurant close by (kind of ironic). The view was incredible with the Dead Sea & Jordan in the background. I could have taken a tram down but it cost 10 NIS so I walked instead, ending up at ‘the lowest place on earth 1300 feet below sea level’ and the oldest architectural dig of the Old City of Jericho. Then I walked to the ruins of Hisham’s Palace (and old Muslim ruler) then made my way back to my dorm arriving about 4pm and exhausted – too exhausted for homework of course…” Jesus fasted for 40 daysIn the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible, Jesus went up into the wilderness “to be with God,” rather than to be tempted of the devil (JST Matthew 4:1). To me this makes sense because the purpose of fasting and prayer is for one to draw nearer to God and discipline both one’s physical and spiritual nature in order to be more in accordance with God’s will. Christ’s purpose was not to be tempted. The temptation was, however, the test that came after His 40 days of fasting and prayer. Looking out upon the Judean wilderness helped give me insight to how secluded Christ really was during those 40 days. It truly would have been a place where he could commune alone with His Father in Heaven and gain the strength that He would need in order to accomplish His great mission, which was to “overcome the world” (John 16:33) and “that the world through him might be saved” (John 3:16-17).
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