After Jesus had been taken by the temple guards to the home of Caiaphas for the mock trial that would happen there, it is believed that Jesus was taken to the basement of the home while the counsel made a plan to do Him in. In the Psalms and in Zechariah there are messianic verses about being alone in a pit while He would wait to die. This pit was a cistern in Caiaphas’ basement. The picture is from the floor of the cistern looking up through the hole they used to lower Jesus in and then take Him out. You might be able to see a Byzantine era cross carved on the side of the hole. He would have been waiting here after His disciples had abandoned Him, and His back had been beaten with sharp reeds, splashed with salt water, and then covered with olive oil. All of this before the Romans ever got to see Him. The last picture is the floor inside Antonio’s Fortress at the Temple mount. This is the actual floor layer where Jesus would have been beaten by the Roman soldiers. As we stood on this spot, away from the crowds, in the silence of the moment, it was easy to imagine the scene from the Passion of the Christ when Jesus was beaten, had His beard ripped out, and was mocked by the Roman soldiers. His blood was spilled on this stone floor, and all along the path to Calvary. Why did He do it? He did it so that you and I could be redeemed from the penalty of our sin. He did it because He loves us. He did it for His Father in Heaven to restore the fallen creation. Jesus is coming again to receive His reward for what He has done to save us. He will come in the air with His bride, and make His true triumphal entry- and if you are a true believer, you will be there too.
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