Jerusalem Western wall men praying 17

If you need an illustration of intensive Bible study or prayer, the men and women praying and studying Scripture at the Western Wall might be helpful. When Herod the Great expanded the Temple Mount, the boundaries of the 35-acre (14 hectares) platform were known by their geographic locations. The wall on the western side was, therefore, the “Western Wall.” When the Romans destroyed the Temple and damaged much of the supporting structure, the Western Wall sustained the least amount of damage. For much of the past 2,000 years, Jews have been forbidden from going atop the Temple Mount area, either by their own religious leaders or by the political rulers. That left the area in front of the Western Wall as the site closest to the last Jewish Temple. Today, the Western Wall Plaza is the most sacred place on earth for Jewish people. Men and women are segregated at the wall, but everyone is welcome to pray there. Areas underground are available for men and women to use as study areas. There is also at least one synagogue underground on the western side of the Temple Mount. This is also a place where you might illustrate the conflict Jesus often had with Pharisees. Sometimes Jesus asked them, “Haven’t you read …?” Or he challenged them to, “Go and read …” Like their modern-day counterparts at the Western Wall, the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day had dedicated their lives to reading and memorizing Scripture. For Jesus to suggest that they needed to read the Text would have been a great insult!