He…
Lived the life you should be living
Died the death you should have coming
Is pleased to give you credit for both

For the skeptic, the Bible writers constantly hang the biblical narrative on an historical matrix of time and geography.  It is one of the many reasons I am a believer.  However, it dawned on me two years ago, that though I have a reasonable knowledge of the gospels, I really didn’t have a clue how to place that narrative in its historical context.  At the time, I was especially interested in the trials of Jesus in the hours leading up to the crucifixion.  Where did the High Priest live?  Where was Pilate living?  For that matter, where was Golgotha?

Since June of 2019, I have been working on a project to recreate Jerusalem as it was in the Messiah’s last days there.  I am using 3D modeling and animation software like that used by Pixar and Disney.

This image is the first of many (I hope).  It is unique in that I have never been able to find an image that puts the crucifixion in the context of Jerusalem as it would have been seen from the hill Golgotha.  I have tried to factor in as many historical brush strokes as possible.  The scene is looking almost due east.  The Fortress Antonia is seen in the background left to center.  The back of the temple is seen in the background lower right.  Mount Olives is seen in the far background.  The top of the western city wall (averaging 39 feet high – the equivalent of a three story building) snakes along the bottom of the frame.  Parts of the northern wall can be seen in the background lower far left.  A few of the columns in Solomon’s Portico can be seen on the east side of the temple court area.