An interesting fact that I picked up on this visit was that some Jews escape to China. Apparently, you didn’t have to have a visa to go to Shanghai (?). I wonder if there are populations of Jews still there–though I would imagine there are.
We ate lunch at the museum and had a fair amount of time to wander around. Some people decided to walk to the Valley of the Communities but I didn’t join them. It sounded neat–a memorial to thousands of Jewish communities that had existed for hundreds of years, but had been wiped out during the holocaust. Even though I’m from Texas, the sun here is just too much for me. The heat isn’t bad, its just the direct sunlight that gets to me.
Our other stop for today was the garden tomb. First we saw Golgatha, where you really can see a skull in the side of the hill. Who knows what 2,000 years have done to the erosion, but I guess its possible it could still look almost the same as in Jesus’ time. The guide gave the scriptural authority for why they believe this place is the true place of the crucifiction. In the ‘valley’ (not really big enough to be called a valley, just to give you an idea of what I’m talking about) next to the hill there was a bus station parking lot, then a roadway, then the city wall. The guide explained that while we picture Christ being crucified at the top of a hill, the believe the cross was by the side of the road (scripture). I think they said that there was an ancient road underneath the modern one, which is another reason they believe this is the place. If you a standing at this spot looking at the hill, then you walk about 100 yards to the left you come to the garden tomb. Here they found evidence of a vineyard (small by US standards) with a winepress. This is a depression cut into the rock with a channel, then a lower vat. The idea is that the grapes would be pressed and the wine would run down into the vat to be collected. This is important because Mary thought that Jesus was the gardener when he appeared to her at the tomb. At the back of the garden, facing the city wall, is a 1st century tomb that has a channel where a stone would have rolled over the opening. We were able to walk in and look; you could see a place where a body would be laid with a stone pillow and a cut-out for the feet. After we finished the tour, we gathered for some praise and worship and communion. Then it was time to head back to the hotel. (Here is a good article by Chuck Missler that lays out some of the scriptural basis of why many believe this is the correct site.)
Can you see the skull?
The tomb is empty!
That says it all.
I too was fascinated by the little-known chapter of the Nazi era when 20,000 Jews fled Hitler to Shanghai. I had to write about this, and did, after researching the subject with books and people here in the U.S. who lived there. The result is an historical novel–Shanghai Legacy–dealing with real-life events of the period, 1938-1945, coupled with a mother/daughter fictional tale of generational clash.
Today, there are about 1500 Jews in Shanghai and a museum, formerly a synagogue.
To learn more, visit my website, http://www.shanghailegacy.com.
Marion Cuba,
author, SHANGHAI LEGACY