T he vista of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives is breath taking and spiritually exhilarating. Yet this mountainside itself reveals the heights and depths, achievements and tragedies of the Biblical story. Literally the ups and downs, shouts of hallelujah and screams of grief are memorialized. Mount of Olives Travel Journal by Jim Pitts Top left image: The Jerusalem Cross symbolizes the four Gospels or the four directions in which the Word of Christ spread from Jerusalem. Background image: The Mount of Olives overlooks the Temple Mount and the City of Jerusalem.
Transcript
The vista of Jerusalem from theMount of Olives is breath taking and spiritually exhilarating. Yet
this mountainside itself reveals the heightsand depths, achievements and tragedies ofthe Biblical story. Literally the ups anddowns, shouts of hallelujah and screams ofgrief are memorialized.
Mount of OlivesTravel Journal by Jim Pitts
Top left image: The Jerusalem Cross symbolizes the four Gospels or the four directions in which the Word of Christ spread from Jerusalem.Background image: The Mount of Olives overlooks the Temple Mount and the City of Jerusalem.
On this sacred ground: Jesus rode a donkey down the hillside amidst palm wavingcrowds; Jesus withdrew with his disciples to pray in the Garden of Gethsemane.During that long night of agony, he was betrayed, arrested and imprisoned. A holyweek that began with a parade led to Our Saviors’ passion on the cross.
Beginning at the top of the Mount of Olives are the villages of Bethany andBethphage. Bethany has always been a poor community. However, whenever Jesuscame to Jerusalem, this is where He stayed! This is where Jesus served. This is whereMary, Martha, Lazarus - and Simon the Leper - lived!
Bethphage (“House of un-ripe figs”) is the place from which Jesus sent the disciples tofind a donkey and a colt upon which he would ride into Jerusalem. Located on theroad from Jerusalem to Jericho and close to Bethany, it was the limit of a Sabbath-day’s journey from Jerusalem. Here in 1883 the Franciscan Church of Bethphage wasbuilt on the site of a 12th century crusader chapel, which had been built on the foun-dations of a 4th century Byzantine shrine, commemorating the meeting betweenLazarus’ sister Martha and Jesus, after Lazarus had died.
Dominus Flevit Chapel ("The Lord Wept" - Luke 19:37-42) on the Mount of Olivesoverlooks the Temple Mount and the Old City of Jerusalem.
In 1950 the decorations wererestored on an ancient stone depict-ing the meeting between Jesus andMartha; two disciples bringing Jesusan ass and a colt, Lazarus rising fromthe dead, and on the side facing thealtar, a drawing of a crowd of peopleholding palms. Five years later fres-cos were drawn on the walls andceiling of the sanctuary depictingpeople preparing for the procession
Named for the "Our Father" prayer (Latin: Pater Noster), the Church of thePater Noster stands on the traditional sitein Jerusalem where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer.
Ceramic tiled walls along the halls and courtyards of The Church of the Pater Noster commemorate the Lord’s Prayer in more than a hundred languages. “And he said unto them,When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdomcome. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not intotemptation; but deliver us from evil.” (Luke 11:2-4)
and Jesus riding a donkey to theTemple, accompanied by his disci-ples. Today, as in the 12th century,pilgrims hold a Palm Sunday pro-cession which begins at theBethphage Church.
While the Gospels are vague concerning the location of Jesus’ post resurrectionAscension, early Christians honored the Ascension of Christ in a cave on the Mountof Olives. By 384, the place venerating the Ascension moved uphill from the cave.Today the Chapel of the Ascension commemorates where Jesus ascended into heaven.For a nominal fee, visitors are shown in a small round church / mosque a stoneimprinted with what some claim to be the very footprints of Jesus.
On the Mount of Olives is the Church of the Pater Noster (“Our Father”). Traditionassociates a cave here as where Jesus taught his disciples. From a church built here inthe 4th century, two marble slabs were found with the Lord’s Prayer written inHebrew and Greek. The Crusaders rebuilt part of the church, and a new Carmeliteconvent was built in the 19th century. Around the walls and courtyards of theChurch, the “Our Father” is presented in the world’s various languages.
The Church of Dominus Flevit (“the Lord wept”) commemorates Jesus weeping overthe city of Jerusalem. (see Luke 19:41-44). The church is in the shape of a tear dropto symbolize the Lord’s tears. Built on the ruins of a 7th-century church, the westernwindow in Dominus Flevit provides a stunning view of the Temple Mount.
At the foot of the Mount of Olives, in the Garden of Gethsemane, the faithful gatherto pray. Amidst ancient olive trees, they remember that it was here Jesus, after theLast Supper with his disciples, spent the night in prayer before his arrest. Gethsemaneis derived from the Hebrew expression “Gat Shemen” which means olive press, a ref-erence to the abundance of these trees and to the presence of oil presses in the area.
Adjacent to Gethsemane is The Church of All Nations. The name commemorates thecontributions made by many countries to its construction. It is also known as the
A donkey and rider rest on a pilgrimagetrail located on the western slopeof the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.
Basilica of the Agony, in reference to agony Jesus suffered on the eve of His Passion.On this site there was a 4th century Byzantine basilica. Later another church wasbuilt on the site during the Crusader period. Some remnants of the originalByzantine mosaic paving can still be seen inside the church. In front of the altar thereis a large rock, surrounded by a wrought iron crown of thorns, on which Jesus is supposed to have prayed the night before the Passion. There are several mosaics representing Christ in agony being comforted by an angel, the kiss of Judas and thearrest of Jesus.
Since Biblical times, Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives. There are an estimated 150,000 graves on the Mount, including tombs traditionally associatedwith Zechariah and Absalom. On the upper slope, the traditional Tomb of the Prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi? is situated. This cemetery, with its view of the Temple Mount, has become a traditional place for lamenting the Temple’s destruction. ✹
The Church of All Nations, "the Basilica of the Agony," at the foot of the Mount of Olives,enshrines a section of stone in the Garden of Gethsemane that is believed to be where Jesusprayed on the night of his arrest (Matthew 26:36).
