Today’s The World Around Us will be presented in Arabic and English, with subtitles in Arabic, Aulacese (Vietnamese), Chinese, English, French, German, Hungarian, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Thai.

Welcome, loving viewers, to The World Around Us. Today, we will travel to Palestine and visit some of the historical places associated with the life of Jesus Christ. We begin with the birth of this enlightened Master.

The Gospel of Luke narrates the appearance of angels to some shepherds near Bethlehem: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people."

Now we will go to the church. We can see in the entrance of the church, the angel. We walk together inside the church of Shepherds’ Fields. This is the holy place for the Christians. What's happened here? We can see it in three pictures, describe it here. This is the first picture, when the shepherds saw the angel appear to them and they are afraid.

In the second picture, the shepherds know that Jesus was born and they will be quiet. If you want to know, you come to the picture, and look for it. You see the shepherds, they sit down and are quiet and we see the dog in this picture also, it's quiet.

This is the picture number 3. They told us about the shepherds [who] know that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and this is a greatest happening. And all the people, they are happy and dancing and carrying the olive trees and they will be happy about the birth of Jesus.

The Milk Grotto, officially called Magharet Sitti Mariam, in Bethlehem is a grotto with a Franciscan chapel built on top of it. It is considered sacred because the Holy Family took refuge here before their flight to Egypt, where they stayed for around two years. The first structure on top of the grotto is said to have been built in 285 AD, and the present chapel was built in 1785.

Behind of us we have Milk Grotto Church. Why its name is Milk Grotto Church? Because when Mary and Jesus, they hide here for a while from Herod the Great. Why it’s name Milk Grotto? Where she was giving the milk for her son, Jesus, some of that milk dropped on the floor and changed all the cave to white. After that, their family, they fled to Egypt and they stayed in Egypt for a while.

Most scholars agree that Jesus was born around 4 BC, or slightly earlier, in Bethlehem. However, Mary and John were originally from Nazareth in Galilee and this is where Jesus grew up, apart from the brief stay in Egypt.

The Gospels do not mention about Jesus’ whereabouts from his age 12-30, but it is mentioned that Jesus began his ministry in Palestine when he was around 30 years old. As a spiritual practitioner, Jesus was symbolically baptized by John the Baptist in the River Jordan. The precise place was probably Jordan to the north of the Lake of Genezareth (Galilean Sea).

According to the Bible, John the Baptist was asked: “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

Rising above the Jordan Valley is the summit of the Mount of Temptation. This is where Jesus spent 40 days and 40 nights meditating, about three km northwest of Jericho.

A Biblical account of what happened tells us: “…the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.” All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

We are now on the mountain of Temptation. Here behind me, you can see the monastery. In this place, Jesus Christ stayed 40 nights and days fasting and worshipping God. During his stay here, the Satan tried to seduce him. And he told him in the Bible, “If you are the son of God throw yourself down, down here.”

But Jesus Christ didn’t accept that because he was determined to worship God and be a good man and prophet. In this mountain you see there are some caves. It is believed that Jesus Christ was living here. And then he went to Jericho there. He took a rest under a tree in that area. And then he went to the Jordan River.

We will be back soon to continue in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Please stay tuned to Supreme Master Television.

Welcome back to The World Around Us and our journey to Palestine where we are visiting some of the historical sites which were graced by the great Master Jesus.

The hills known for Jesus’ feeding of 5,000 people with 5 loafs of bread were probably situated around the Lake of Genezareth. The transfiguration of Jesus took place on the Mount Tabor. According to the Bible: “After six days, Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. [..] While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!”

The Gospels state that Jesus came on several occasions to Jerusalem, where he preached in the Temple. He also traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues. Yet, it was Capernaum on the edge of the Galilean Sea in which Jesus made his home during the years of his ministry, as Matthew reports: “Leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum.”

Capernaum was also the place where Jesus performed many of his miracles: He healed the servant of the centurion, and raised a deceased girl back to life, drove an unwanted spirit from a man, cured the paralysis of another, and helped the son of a nobleman miraculously recover. He also healed many others, and “all the city was gathered together at the door.”

However, Jesus always proclaimed that it was not he, but the Father in Heaven, who healed. Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount may have been given on a hill near Capernaum, on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. Today, a twentieth century Roman Catholic chapel called the Church of the Beatitudes rests on its slope to remember Jesus’ eight declarations of blessedness:

“…Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy…”

Jericho is a city in the West Bank located near the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Artifacts have been found dating to 9,000 BC! The Bible states that Jesus Christ passed through Jericho where he healed two blind men and converted a local tax collector named Zacchaeus.

Now we are under the tree of Zacchaeus, we call it in Arabic “Zaccha.” The age of this tree is 2,000 years old. Under this tree, the prophet Jesus, Peace Be Upon Him, took a rest here. When Jesus came here to Jericho and he wanted to go to Jerusalem, he met the clansman, whose name was Zaccha. He met here and he met him in this area.

Now this man, Ziccha, was a very rich man, he had a lot of estates and money. He was very short, he climbed the tree, and he saw the Jesus coming. And he told the clan that Jesus is coming. When Jesus reached the area here, this man invited him to his house, and he had dinner for him. Now after that this man had donated half of his estates to the poor people. Therefore the prophet Jesus called him that “Today, your house has been saved.”

This is the story of the tree. As I told you before, this is one of the most holiest trees in Palestine. We do respect here and we do hope that it lives. Jesus Christ taught this man many things about Christianity and about mercy, and how to be very kind to people and gentle. Therefore, the heart of the clansman gets very weak, and he repents, he becomes a good and righteous man.

The last meal which Jesus shared with his apostles is said to have taken place in what is called today The Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion, just outside of the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem, and is traditionally known as The Upper Room.

After the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives. In the Book of Acts

it is also recorded that Jesus ascended to Heaven from the Mount of Olives, and that one day it will be the Mount of Olives to which he is to return.

There are two more sites that commemorate the great love of Master Jesus for his people and all of humankind. At Golgotha, or the place where Jesus sacrificed his life, there now stands the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

At the place where Jesus is supposed to have ascended to Heaven, the Chapel of Ascension was built.

Today, there are millions of people from around the world who come to retrace the footsteps of Master Jesus in the Holy Land. It is a sacred experience that inspires the pilgrim to follow in his footsteps of selflessness, wisdom, and love.

Please stay tuned for Words of Wisdom, coming up next, after Noteworthy News, here on Supreme Master Television. May peace be with you.