Mount of Olives

Location

The Mount of Olives is a ridge just east of Jerusalem, separated from the city by the Kidron Valley. It rises to about 2,700 feet above sea level. The Garden of Gethsemane lies on its western slope. From its summit one can see the whole city of Jerusalem and, on a clear day, the Dead Sea and the mountains of Moab beyond.

Biblical importance

The mount is named in Scripture as the place from which David fled weeping when Absalom rebelled (2 Samuel 15:30); as the site of the Zechariah 14 prophecy of the LORD's future coming ('his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives'); and above all as the place of Christ's triumphal entry (Matthew 21), the discourse on the last things (Matthew 24-25), the agony in Gethsemane (Matthew 26), and the ascension (Acts 1:9-12).

Historical timeline

• c. 1000 BC — David flees over the mount, weeping, when Absalom rebels (2 Samuel 15:30).
• c. 520 BC — Zechariah prophesies that the LORD's feet shall stand on this mount (Zechariah 14:4).
• c. AD 30 or 33 (Palm Sunday) — Christ enters Jerusalem from Bethphage on the eastern slope (Matthew 21:1; Luke 19:29).
• Passion Week — The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25); the agony in Gethsemane; the betrayal; the arrest.
• Ascension — 'While they beheld, he was taken up' (Acts 1:9). The angels promise His return in the same manner.
• AD 326 (traditional) — Empress Helena identifies the traditional site of the ascension; the Eleona basilica is founded.
• AD 614 — The Persian invasion damages the Christian churches on the mount.
• Medieval to modern — Successive churches and chapels mark Gethsemane, the ascension, the tomb of Mary, and the Pater Noster (traditional site of the teaching of the Lord's Prayer).

Important biblical events

• 2 Samuel 15:30 (KJV) 'And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered.'
• Zechariah 14:4 (KJV) 'And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives.'
• Matthew 21:1 (KJV) The disciples fetch the colt from Bethphage; Christ rides into Jerusalem.
• Matthew 24-25 (KJV) The Olivet Discourse — the signs of the end, the parables of the ten virgins, the talents, the sheep and the goats.
• Matthew 26:36-46 (KJV) 'Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.'
• Luke 22:39-46 (KJV) 'Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood.'
• Acts 1:9-12 (KJV) The Ascension and the 'sabbath day's journey' back to Jerusalem.

Related People

• Christ Jesus — He prayed here, was betrayed here, ascended here.
• David — He fled weeping over this mount.
• Zechariah — the prophet whose Zechariah 14 words point to this mount.
• The Eleven — witnesses of the ascension.

Connected Places

• Jerusalem — the city the mount overlooks.
• Gethsemane — the garden on its western slope.
• Bethphage and Bethany — the villages on its eastern slope where Christ lodged in Passion Week.

Christian tradition

• The Church of the Ascension (a small octagonal chapel) marks the traditional site of the ascension.
• The Church of All Nations (Basilica of the Agony) stands at Gethsemane, over the rock traditionally identified as the place of the agony.
• The Pater Noster church marks the traditional site of Christ's teaching of the Lord's Prayer — its walls carry that prayer in over 150 languages.
• The Palm Sunday procession is traced along the mount each year.

Household reflection

This is the mount where Christ prayed the great household prayer: 'Not my will, but thine, be done.' Every family that says these words out loud is standing, for a moment, on the Mount of Olives.

Teach the little ones that Christ Himself sweated great drops of blood in prayer for us. There is no fear the children can bring to Him that He has not already borne.

Room connections

Where this entry meets the household in the wider house of CrossAIHub.

• Read (Library) — Read Matthew 26 and Luke 22 together — the two Gospel accounts of the agony.
• Pray (Chapel) — Pray the Our Father slowly on the mount every family recites it — the Pater Noster is 'the prayer of this mountain.'
• Family (Kitchen Table) — On Palm Sunday, bless olive or palm branches at the household door — a small triumphal entry.
• Sing (Choir Room) — Sing 'Ride On, Ride On in Majesty' (Henry Milman, 1827) on Palm Sunday.
• Learn (Workshop) — Study the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24-25) — the Lord's own teaching on the last things.

Further reading

Matthew 21, 24-26 and Luke 19-22 in the KJV.

The Acts of the Apostles 1.

Egeria, Travels (late fourth century) — the earliest pilgrim description of Palm Sunday on the mount.

Elsewhere in the Atlas

• Gethsemane
• Jerusalem
• Golgotha
• Christ Jesus
• David
• Return to the atrium — the Atlas's main room.