The Mount of Olives

"When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:37-38)

The Mount of Olives is actually a ridge of hills running from north to south for about 4 kilometres to the east of Jerusalem and parallel to the deep ravine of the Kidron Valley. As the name suggests, the hillsides were once covered with dense olive groves. To the east lie the villages of Bethpage and Bethany and beyond them, the Judean wilderness and the Jordan Valley. The barren hills of Moab and the Dead Sea are also visible from this strategic vantage point. For this reason it was known as Jerusalem's watchtower.

The northern end became known as Mount Scopus, meaning "lookout" because the Roman general Titus used it for his headquarters during the fateful siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Until the time of Christ, the Mount of Olives had been heavily wooded with many olive trees. These were, however, cut down and used for battering rams and siege machines by the Romans when they destroyed the city. At the southern end where the Kidron Valley merges with the Valley of Hinnon it is called the Mount of Corruption. Here, where previously the Israelites had worshipped God (2 Samuel 15:30-32), and may have fulfilled the purification ceremony of the red heifer (Numbers 19), king Solomon built "high places" for "Ashtoreth the vile goddess of the Sidonians, for Chemosh the vile god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the people of Ammon." (2 Kings 23:13) These were later desecrated by king Josiah who covered the sites with human bones and cut down the Asherah poles to purify the religious practices of Israel (2 Chronicles 34:1-7). Subsequently the Mount of Olives is associated with the departure of the shekinah glory of God from the Temple as a sign of Israel's impending exile (Ezekiel 10:18; 11:23)

Parallels between Old and New Testament events which occurred on the Mount of Olives are significant. In the time of Nehemiah, for example, following their return from captivity in Babylon, the Israelites probably gathered branches from the olive trees here, as well as palm branches, to make booths to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Nehemiah 8:15). On what became known as Palm Sunday, the disciples of Jesus similarly gathered branches from the Mount of Olives with which to greet their king as he entered Jerusalem.

Jesus was not the first king of Israel to weep over Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. When Absalom rebelled against his father David, the deposed king fled the city, his feet bare and head covered in shame. As he looked back over Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives he wept (2 Samuel 15:30-32), even acknowledging that Shimei's curse on him may have been from God (2 Samuel 16:5-10). Centuries later the Lord Jesus would also weep over Jerusalem from this spot knowing that within days they would call for his crucifixion, rejecting God's way of peace and reconciliation. Jesus would willingly be cursed in their place but they refused. In tears, Jesus foretold the consequent destruction of Jerusalem as the result of God's judgement upon Israel (Luke 19:41-44).

During the last week of his life Jesus spent much time with his disciples on the Mount of Olives (Mark 13:3-37; Luke 21:37; 22:39). With its dense foliage and cool evening breezes perhaps it reminded him of Galilee, providing a welcome retreat from the tension of the overcrowded city. Repudiating their mistaken belief that he was still going to restore a physical kingdom to Israel, Jesus commanded them instead to leave Jerusalem and become his witnesses taking the gospel to the whole world. From the Mount of Olives, the Lord physically ascended to heaven, angels promising he would return in the same way (Acts 1:6-12). Zechariah had previously predicted this, indicating that when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to judge the earth, it will be to the Mount of Olives. This dramatic event will be marked by a radical change to the topography of the Mount of Olives. "On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south" (Zechariah 14:4).

Its easy to be a Christian on Palm Sunday when the sun is shining and we are surrounded by many others worshipping the Lord. It is not so easy on Maundy Thursday when it is dark, we are alone or the future uncertain. Then it is time to remember that it is but a short distance from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane. Before being a place of resurrection and ascension it was first a place of denial and rejection. Ironically the word "witness" comes from the same word as "martyr". For many Christians to be a witness for Christ literally means being a martyr also. Jesus calls us to both (Mark 8:34-38; Acts 1:8-9) and to identify with Paul when he said "for me to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21).