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“I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord,” Luke 2:9-10.
It’s the story most have heard since they were children: of the Messiah, born in Bethlehem and sleeping in a manager.
In January, David and Ann Hutto of Orangeburg fulfilled a dream by traveling to the Holy Land to see for themselves where Jesus lived and breathed, where he prayed and ministered to the meek in spirit.
They also saw what Luke wrote about in Chapter 2:11, the spot where Christ was born.
“Your whole life, you’ve heard the stories, you’ve sang the songs and seen the movies,” David said. “But there’s nothing like standing in the spot. Every single preconception that you’ve had, nothing comes close.”
A 10-day tour put the Huttos and their group in the cities of Jericho, Cana and Nazareth, the latter the home of Joseph and Mary, located about 75 miles north of Jerusalem.
“We went to the house where Mary was born in Nazareth,” Ann said. “We saw where the family drew water” from a nearby stream.
In Jerusalem, a stone formation near the Garden Tomb is known as the “place of the skull,” or Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified. Traces of the skull formation are still visible.
“The very survival of it ... it had to be for a reason,” David said. “It’s still there. It hasn’t gone anywhere.”
The pilgrims passed through the same areas Jesus once did. Cave-bearing hills are said to have served as shelter for the Messiah.
“Could I be seeing a cave that Jesus slept in?” Ann said. “Who are we to doubt it?”
The Garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus prayed before his crucifixion, is surrounded by a grove of olive trees, some believed to be nearly 3,000 years old.
Ann said one stop on the tour she particularly wanted to see was the Sea of Galilee, where she would know Jesus preached and prayed. The Sermon on the Mount was given on a nearby hill that overlooks the water.
“I went with the anticipation of seeing something Jesus saw with his own eyes,” Ann said.
The Huttos report that most of the sacred sites, such as the site of Jesus’ crucifixion, are now protected by churches built over the top. Decorated with jewels, gold and precious metals, these structures serve not only as protection but as historical markers.
“Unbelievable, the churches were unbelievable,” David said.
At each of the sites, the typical tourist crowd noise was hushed as visitors were quieted by the reverence of the site, the Huttos said.
On day seven of the pilgrimage, the Huttos visited the very site marked as the birthplace of Jesus – Bethlehem.
The “house of bread,” as Bethlehem is translated, is located about six miles from Jerusalem.
A church built by Constantine in the 4th century marks the location where the Christ child was born.
As described in the New Testament, an area known as the Shepherd’s Field is situated outside the town gates, where the angels once appeared to announce Christ’s birth.
“It’s all very, very simple,” David said. “Everything is as it’s described. All the churches, all of the stuff we saw, nothing was more impressive than that.”
The Huttos say the trip through Jesus’ life was simply illuminating.
“It confirmed what we have been taught all of our lives,” Ann said.
“When you walk in those footsteps, ... it’s a confirmation,” David said. “What it did for me was confirm for me that he really lived, he really walked, he talked. The Bible said he came to earth living among us, and now I’ve seen where he did.”
T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5516.