Walking Where Jesus Walked

A view of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. (Photo/iStock)

Salvation Army officers who toured the Holy Land came back with lasting memories and now see the Bible through different eyes.

Lt. Colonel Raphael Jackson found himself humming the hymn “I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked” during a 10-day trip to the Holy Land in 2023 with other Salvation Army officers: I walked today where Jesus walked, in days of long ago / I wandered down each path He knew, with reverent step and slow.

“I’m a child of New York City, born in the Bronx, and I would never have thought that I would have the privilege to walk where Jesus walked,” Jackson said. “And I got to do it with other brothers and sisters.”

The place that had the greatest impact, he said, was the tomb in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Many believe that this church contains both the site of Jesus’ crucifixion and the empty tomb.

“When I stepped into the tomb and saw the place where Jesus died for me, it was a very profound time for me,” he said. “It was a time of blessings.”

He shared communion with others at a nearby site called the Garden Tomb, which is also a possible location for Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection.

Another awe-inspiring highlight for Lt. Colonel Raphael was the Garden of Gethsemane, where he could look across the valley and see the city of Jerusalem. He was also extremely moved by the Via Dolorosa, the path along which Jesus carried the Cross to Golgotha and His crucifixion.

“To experience the commonness of this road,” he said, “at the same time knowing the sacredness of what happened, that Jesus did that for me, was beyond words.”

Sensing the Spirit

Lt. Colonel Sandra Jackson, who is married to Lt. Colonel Raphael, said, “There are some who say the Holy Land tour is speculation about whether Jesus actually walked here or there, but that didn’t matter to me. What mattered to me was that we were in the place, and we were in His presence.”

The exact locations of the ancient sites may be debated, but she chose to look at the larger picture.

The cracker and juice used by Captain Wendy Senior for communion at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. The Salvation Army officers who went to the Holy Land in 2023 called the journey life-changing.
(Photo/Courtesy of Captain Wendy Senior)

“I’m not a history buff,” she said. “I appreciate people who can quote times and dates and events, but for me I’m more of a feeling person. It was more important to have been where He was than to worry about the confirmation about whether this was actually the spot.”

Captain Giovanny Guerrero called the trip a one-of-a-kind experience. Regardless of the site, he felt the Holy Spirit’s presence, but especially in the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

“When I went around the area, I felt something out of the ordinary,” he said. “I felt a peace and a sense of belonging. You realize it’s a sacred place. Amazing things took place here. I can tell you that was a pivotal moment for me.”

The Holy City

Sometimes it didn’t have to be a significant location for him to feel that way, Captain Giovanny said. Even a simple road would affect him.

“There were little things that might not mean much to others, but when you’re there, you really have to put yourself in history,” he said.

For example, Captain Giovanny enjoyed a quiet moment on a hill overlooking Jerusalem and recalled Matthew 23:37: “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, and you were not willing.”

“Jesus was seeing more than the walls. He was seeing not only people who were living there at that moment, but those who were going to live there,” he said. “He saw us. He saw me.”

Masada, the mountaintop fort overlooking the Dead Sea that was the final holdout of Jewish rebels against the Romans, also had an impact. Captain Giovanny had read about Masada, but seeing it opened his eyes.

“All I could think was ‘if the rocks could speak.’”

A thorny realization

Even the smallest things sometimes made a surprisingly big impression.

For Captain Giovanny’s wife, Major Ester Guerrero, it was the size of the thorns her tour guides said were the kind that made up the crown the Roman soldiers forced upon Jesus’ head. These weren’t your typical rosebush variety, but much larger, pointier, and sharper than she had expected.

“It reminds us how much the Lord suffered for each one of us,” she said. “It was amazing and powerful knowing He was there. We know that it was many, many, many years ago, but knowing that He still walks with us wherever we are makes it more special.”

Detail of Encounter by Daniel Cariola. This painting of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment and was immediately healed of a 12-year issue of blood had a profound impact on the Salvation Army officers who saw it in the city of Magdala, the home of Mary Magdalene. (Photo/Courtesy of Lt. Colonel Sandra Jackson)

Several officers also mentioned the city of Magdala, the hometown of Mary Magdalene. Major Ester was touched by a painting in the town depicting the woman from Matthew 9 who had been bleeding for 12 years. According to the Scripture, she was immediately healed just by touching the hem of Jesus’ garment.

“That was super powerful for me,” Major Ester said, “knowing the Lord’s presence and that she just touched a little part of the garment and was healed. That teaches us how to have faith no matter the circumstances. God is incredible and wonderful.”

The group stopped to gaze at the painting, and it was a meaningful moment for them all, according to Captain Giovanny.

“Just knowing she was there gave us a sense of reality,” he said. “We dwell not on the person, but in the experience that person had with the Savior. It hits you hard and makes you wish you had that opportunity. But we do have that opportunity because we can read it and experience it as we experience God’s call even in our days.”

The Bible comes alive

The whole trip was a blessing in Captain Wendy Senior’s eyes, and she still tears up looking at the photos. A first-century village that depicted how Jesus would have lived touched her deeply, as did Magdala, Caesarea, a house where the Apostle Peter possibly lived, and a road from Jerusalem to Galilee that Jesus might have used.

“Every single spot, all you could think was ‘this is where Moses was and this is where Jesus walked and hung out.’ The whole trip was massively impressive, and it took a long time to digest everything we absorbed,” Captain Wendy said.

“All these things we read in Scripture came to life. That blew my mind. It was very prominent in our thinking: This is scriptural. I think a lot now when I read, ‘Hey, I was there!’”

The Edicule shrine inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem contains what is believed to be the site of Jesus’ resurrection and empty tomb. (Photo/iStock)

Those who made the journey say they will never read the Bible the same way again. They now view it through new eyes.

“It brought Scripture to me in a whole new light because it was connecting dots I wasn’t connecting before,” said Lt. Colonel Sandra. “So much of what we saw was still an Old Testament world.”

Going to Israel has helped Major Ester prepare sermons and devotionals.

“I can say, ‘I was there. I saw that.’ I can show pictures. I relate more to the stories because they’re a part of me now,” she said. “It’s more meaningful to me because I understand. It was a powerful place knowing Jesus walked through this land.”

Similarly, Captain Giovanny said having seen the Negev Desert allows him to share that experience.

“Now when I stand up in any pulpit and I talk about a desert, I know what a desert is,” he said. “When you talk about Israel and the gates of Jerusalem and the city, you can talk with a sense of security because you were there.”

Moving forward

While the group still basked in the memories of their trip, on October 7, just eight days after their return to the United States, Israel found itself at war after a series of attacks by Hamas. Lt. Colonel Raphael remembered seeing armed troops in Israel, and it evoked memories of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“We came back and everything went crazy,” he said. “It was another hard lesson that as a human race we still have so far to go.”

Lt. Colonel Sandra said there was a sense of foreboding among their guides even during the tour, which was sponsored by the USA Eastern Territory’s Education Department led by Major Lydia Pearson.

“Isn’t that like what Jesus faced in that week before the Cross? I’m sure that in His humanity there was foreboding, knowing what had to be done and certainly not wanting it,” she said. “Yet He moved forward anyway. That still resonates with me.”