Baptism
The 2015 Charis Bible College Alumni and Friends Tour to Israel took our congenial group of fiftytwo pilgrims through all the major historical sites of the Holy Land. Our guide Nasser constantly reminded us, everything we saw, touched, and ate during our ten days in Israel was “holy.” However, different sites held special significance for each member of the tour. For some, the Roman city of Caesarea – where Paul so elegantly defended his faith before Felix, Festus, and Agrippa and where Cornelius was the first Gentile to receive the gospel – stood out as a highlight. For others, the ruins of Megiddo – where the final conflict of the ages will be played out as Christ will defeat the diabolical forces of the Antichrist – will forever be indelibly etched into their memories. The Galilee – where Jesus did so many miracles including multiplying the fish and loaves, setting Legion free from a host of demons, and healing so many who were oppressed with every form of sickness and where He gave the Sermon on the Mount – will always hold a special place of warmth and encouragement in their hearts. Of course, Masada – where the last hold-out Jews committed suicide rather than surrender to the Romans – cannot be easily forgotten; nor can the Yad Vashem that memorializes the horrors of the Holocaust and the bravery of the Jews who endured it. But we all will agree that walking through the streets of Old Jerusalem – along the very path that Jesus followed as He was taken from the Garden of Gethsemane, to Caiaphas’ house where He spent the night in the dungeon, then to the Antonia Fortress where He stood trial before Pilate and was mercilessly flogged, and finally to the Golgotha where He was crucified and buried – had to be the absolute highlight of the trip. And the communion within steps of the empty tomb – where Jesus rose from the dead declaring ultimate victory over the every power of evil -made the whole trip worth it!
