“Awestruck” is the way many describe their feeling at the Western Wall, the last remnant of the Jerusalem Temple Jesus knew, destroyed 2,000 years ago by the Romans.
The sight of crowds at prayer here inspires many visitors to send up a prayer of their own, in the spirit of King Solomon’s petition that God hear everyone at this sacred place (1 Kings 8:41-43).
The rest of the wall’s 1,455 feet await you at the nearby Western Wall Tunnel. A fascinating moving model reminds you of a Passover pilgrimage of the child Jesus (Luke 2:46); you will see where Peter healed a beggar (Acts 3:7) and where Jesus confronted the merchants and money-changers (John 2:3-6; Matt. 21:12-13).
The tunnels are those that have been created by numerous arches side-by-side supporting staircases going from the city to the Temple Mount. In ancient times there was a shallow valley called the Tyropaean running along the Western side of the Temple Mount (now filled in due to constant demolition and rebuilding) that separated the rich Herodian quarter from the Temple, and it was the need to bridge this that cause the arches to be built. These pathways still hold up the streets today, and the tunnel goes directly underneath the Muslim quarter.
As you walk through the tunnel along the ancient wall, you can pause opposite the Holies of Holies, see a pavement built by Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:21) and the foundations of the Praetorium (Matt. 27:27). This is a not-to-be-missed combination of the historical and spiritual that is unique, and yet so typical of the Holy City.