Mount Zion Church of the Dormition & Tomb of King David & Room of the Last Supper

1. Mount ZionChurch of the Dormition & Tomb of King David & Room of the Last Supper

2. 1 Kings 2:1-4, 10-12 When David’s time to die drew near, he charged his son Solomon, saying: 2‘I am about to go the way of all the earth. Be strong, be courageous, 3and keep the charge of the Lord your God, walking in his ways and keeping his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all that you do and wherever you turn. 4Then the Lord will establish his word that he spoke concerning me: “If your heirs take heed to their way, to walk before me in faithfulness with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail you a successor on the throne of Israel.” 10 Then David slept with his ancestors, and was buried in the city of David. 11The time that David reigned over Israel was forty years; he reigned for seven years in Hebron, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem. 12So Solomon sat on the throne of his father David; and his kingdom was firmly established.

3. Bible Study • What was David’s instruction to Solomon? • Verse 4 speaks of a conditional promise of the Lord to David. How is this promise conditional, ie. what does it depend upon in order to be fulfilled? • What does it mean to “be strong, be courageous and keep the charge of the Lord your God” (v2)? What does this look like today? • Where was David buried?

4. The entrance to the complex of King David's traditional tomb and the place of the Last supper. The wall on the right is part of the Dormition Abbey

5. A sculpture of King David playing the Harp is located near the entrance to the site

6. Tomb of King DavidDespite this site's long association with King David, it is highly unlikely that this is actually his burial place. It is mostly likely that David was buried under the hill of the original Mt. Zion, east of the City of David. Yet this is one of the most revered of the Jewish Holy places, particularly from 1948 to 1967 when Western Wall was off limits to Jews in the Jordanian held territory, this tomb was a stand-in main centre of pilgrimage.

7. There were separate rooms for women an men to go into to pray at the tomb of King David. This is the entrance to the woman’s prayer room

10. Passover/The Last Supper Compare and Contrast • Mark 14:-12-26 • Matthew 26:17-30 • Luke 22:7-23 Read Together • John 13:1-30

11. Mark 14:-12-26 12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, his disciples said to him, ‘Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?’ 13So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, 14and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, “The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” 15He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.’ 16So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal. 17 When it was evening, he came with the twelve. 18And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.’ 19They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, ‘Surely, not I?’ 20He said to them, ‘It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me. 21For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.’ 22 While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take; this is my body.’ 23Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. 24He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’

12. Bible Study What festival time were Jesus and the disciples celebrating? What is the significance of the Last Supper? What does it mean that Jesus blood is a new covenant? What significance does Holy Communion have on your life of faith? How is John’s telling of this story different from the others?

14. Room of the Last SupperAlso known as Coenaculum (Latin for Dining hall or Cenacle (derived from cena, latin for supper) This is also believed to be the place where the disciples received the Holy Spirit on the Pentecost and started speaking in foreign tongues (Acts 2)

15. The original building was the site of the first Christian church, but was destroyed twice before bing rebuilt in its current form by the Crusaders. In the Middle Ages the Franciscans acquired the building, but were later expelled by the Turks, who also expelled Jews from visiting King David’s tomb located in the room below.

16. The Southern Wall bears the niche hollowed by the Muslims as a mihrab (a prayer alcove indicating the direction of Mecca) when they converted the chapel into a mosque 1524.

18. The door to the Room of Last Supper has picture depicted the Last Supper

19. The Church of DormitionTradition holds that this is where Mary Mother of Jesus lived after the death of her son and where she finally fell into eternal sleep

20. tThe interior design of the church was based on Charlemagne’s chapel at Aix-la Chapelle. It is decorated with a mosaic of Mary and the child Jesus. We did not actually go inside this church so these pictures were found online

21. The current church and monastery was constructed in 1906 and is owned by the German Benedictine order.

22. During the 1948 and 1967 wars the chruch was used as a strategic outpost by Israeli soldiers and was damaged in the crossfire of several battles.

23. There is a cherry-wood and ivory statue of the sleeping Mary in the crypt.