Jesus died outside the gate. The High Priest carried the blood of animals into the Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies were burned outside the camp. And so Jesus also suffered outside the city gate to make the people holy through His blood. Jews associate holiness and purity with places. God’s presence is the reason why the Israelites had a concept of holy ground. They removed the unclean things and people outside of the city. Today, the Jewish burial ground is outside the city of Jerusalem and has been a custom from biblical times. Jesus considered the temple a den of robbers because He knew that He embodied holiness and that the temple would never be the same after His sacrificial death on the cross. There is so much that I do not understand in God’s word (and this is scratching the surface) but Jesus always had a reason for everything. Holiness is no longer attached to places but to people. I’ve always wondered why a trip to the Holy Land does not excite me. I’m sure the Sea of Galilee is lovely but, to me, a sea of lovely faces praising our God and Savior is enough. If you do get to visit, be sure to go outside the gate.
