Three times a year, as prescribed by Moses, faithful pilgrims like Jesus’ family (Luke 2:41) ascended these stairs to enter the Temple. The Temple itself has since been destroyed, but the southern steps can still be walked upon today. It has been suggested that the Christian fulfillment of the Jewish feast of Pentecost may have occurred on these steps, making this the spot where the Church was born (Acts 2).

THE SAME STEPS

One of my favorite experiences while visiting Israel was standing on the same steps where Jesus stood many times! The same steps Joseph and Mary climbed while carrying Jesus after He was born (Luke 2:21-40). The same steps Jesus, at twelve years old, took to get to His Father’s house (Luke 2:42-52). The same steps where Jesus, as an adult, ministered, taught lessons, and spoke parables. The same steps!

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was overcome with emotion when he visited the southern steps in 1994. He told his tour guide: 

“I am more excited stepping on these stones than I was stepping on the moon.”

He then knelt down and kissed the stones where Jesus stood and where the Church was born.

Mankind stepping foot on the moon was an amazing moment in history, but it pales in comparison to Jesus leaving Heaven and stepping on Earth. Even more astounding is that He chose to walk in our steps. If that weren’t incredible enough, He decided to make His entrance as a newborn baby, then had to learn how to walk! 

When Jesus entered our world, He was fully man and fully God. He stepped through every season of the human experience, experiencing all of our unique joys and struggles. In His humanity, He felt all of the pain, struggles, temptations, and sorrows we have each walked through. 

Have you ever felt abandoned or undervalued? The Bible says, Jesus was despised and rejected. Have you ever felt lonely or sad? God’s word says, Jesus was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. Have you ever been falsely accused of something you didn’t do? Jesus understands the frustration and hurt this causes to our sense of self. Have you ever been betrayed by people you thought were your friends? Jesus knows that pain, as He knows every human pain.

He chose to walk in our steps so that He could empathize with our weaknesses and personally relate to us. In His Deity, He was tempted in every way, yet He did not sin, making Him the only One capable of saving us. Unlike the Levitical priests of the Old Testament, who had to continually offer sacrifices for sin, Jesus entered the Most Holy Place once and for all by His own blood. Thus He obtained eternal redemption for all those who had and would ever put their trust in Him for millennia to come (Hebrews 9:12). 

God could have saved us from a distance, but He chose to come near. He entered our world, walked in our steps, died for our sins, and defeated death. Then, as only God can do, He took it a step further and chose to come even closer to His creation. 

Acts 2 tells us on the day of Pentecost, a large crowd gathered to hear the disciples’ message (believed to be on the same steps I walked on my journey) and those who accepted Jesus as the Messiah were baptized. About three thousand followers were added to their number that day. The Church was born as believers were filled with God’s Holy Spirt and became the new, living temple that continues to grow. You can’t get any closer than that!

With this in mind, may we continue to walk in step with the One who chose to walk in ours. 

“Suffering can refine us rather than destroy us because God Himself walks with us in the fire.” -Timothy Keller