The beautiful green and tranquil Valley of Hinnom, used for picnics, rock climbing, and concerts, hides a hideous past! Here, children were sacrificed with fire to the pagan god Moloch. And, here, Judas Iscariot hanged himself. Not far away, on the eastern slope of Mt. Zion, a golden rooster sits on top of a black cross, with it's own dark story to tell!

THE FIELD OF BLOOD
One day, using my iphone's gps instead of a map, I walked outside Jerusalem in an attempt to locate the place where it's believed Judas Iscariot hung himself . The gps took me down into the valley, past the Pool of Siloam, then up a hill where I could see the Hinnom Valley.

It’s not easy to find something good to say about the Hinnom Valley. During the 1st Temple period, Jews that left their faith sacrificed their children with fire to the pagan god Moloch. This was the place Judas Iscariot hanged himself after betraying Christ in Gethsemane. This now picturesque Hinnon Valley is the location of "The Field of Blood".

 According to a Bible passage, after Judas betrayed Christ with a kiss in the Garden of Gethsemane, in regret he threw the 30 pieces of silver he had been paid at the feet of the chief priests and elders in the Temple. They could not return it to the treasury because it was "blood money". So, they bought a 'potter's field' to bury foreigners in. This is the same place where Judas is believed to have hanged himself, called "The Field of Blood" .

Today, there is a Greek Orthodox Monastery built on the spot of the hanging. It sits on the hillside overlooking the Hinnom Valley. It's honeycombed with burial caves and tombs, some of them holding the bones of pilgrims of past centuries who came to Jerusalem but did not survive to make the journey home.

The monastery was closed when I arrived, so I could only see it from the outside and view the Field of Blood around it.
 
THE CHURCH OF ST PETER
The Church of St Peter is built on a sheer hillside on Mt Zion's eastern slope. High on the roof, a golden rooster sits on top of a black cross. It's a somber reminder of how Peter denied knowing Jesus, not once, but 3 times.

 
The church is built over the ruins of a Byzantine basilica. This is believed to be the site of the high priest Caiaphas' house and where Jesus was jailed after His arrest.

 
Peter's denial took place in the courtyard where there are statues representing the rooster, the woman who questioned Peter, and a Roman soldier . 

 
The church has 4 levels to it, the upper church, middle church, guardroom and dungeon. This is an amazing church!

 
The upper church has a huge cross-shaped window in brilliant colors on the ceiling. Large murals cover the walls, and paintings of various biblical events hang around the room. 

 
Downstairs the middle church, depicts St Peter’s denial, his repentance and his reconciliation with Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Galilee after the Resurrection.

 
The lower level is a dungeon with a guardroom and a prisoner’s cell, both cut into the bedrock. The guardroom has things in the walls used to attach the prisoners chains to. The stone pillars have holes that would have been used to fasten a prisoner’s hands and feet when he was flogged.

 
The prisoner’s cell is where Christ might have spent the night before he was crucified . It has become known as “Christ’s Prison”.

 
The only way to the bottle-necked cell was through a shaft from above, so the prisoner would have been lowered and raised by means of a rope harness.

 
Excavations have found ancient stone stairs Jesus would probably have walked on with His disciples on their way from the Last Supper to Gethsemane. And it would have been by this route that Jesus was brought under guard to the high priest’s house by the Roman soldiers after Judas betrayed Him in Gethsemane.

 
SCRIPTURE:
Child sacrifice in the Hinnom Valley: 2 Chronicles 33:6
Child sacrifice condemned by God: Jeremiah 7:30-32
Jesus refers to the unquenchable fire of Gehenna: Mark 10:43
The purchase of the Field of Blood: Matthew 27:3-10
Peter denies Jesus: Matthew 26:69-75

 
NEXT: "JESUS WALKS TO CALVARY"