I used to work at a prayer house in the city center of Jerusalem on the 20th floor with a 360° view of the city. On a clear day you could see past the hills of Jerusalem to the country of Jordan (166 KM away). Every morning I would pray in one of the private prayer rooms with a million-shekel view of the Mount of Olives, sitting quietly and humbly, not making too much noise or drawing any attention.
“What an unremarkable mountain. Why here?” I would think to myself. It’s just a ridge of mountains that look more like hills in the vast Judean desert filled with more mountains that look just like it. It’s not the Swiss Alps, Mt. Everest, or Mt. Fuji, but a dusty ant hill covered with tombstones.
Why was Jesus’ favorite “quiet time spot” a forgettable-looking mountain amongst the bugs and dust of the dry Israeli heat?
It was also where He was betrayed, the place of His ascension into the clouds of heaven, and where He will return and even destroy as He...
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10 responses to “The Mount of Olives: Backdrop to the Greatest Love Story Ever Told”
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Beautiful!
The love of Jesus is amazing! So hard for us to grasp…but amazing!
We await, with anticipation, the Day when He will stand on that Mount again.
Yes!! Very true. He will come one day ????
Maybe the link is more with the olive tree than the mount. Olives feed the menorah, Zech 4:3. Gethsemane is an olive press, Jesus life was squeezed out of Him. He taught on the mount of Olives. The dove brought an olive branch, Gen 8:11. God offers his peace to men but will they receive it? He left as an olive branch from God, He returns for those who accepted Him. Israel and probably the earth undergoes the biggest transformation since Noah. There are many other references to olives.
Wow disciple, what great perspective. There are so many reasons and aspects to why and that is certainly a beautiful one!
Just loved this imaginative narration, well done, truly brought to light glimpse of His love to all.
Thank you so very much for your feedback and encouragement! Have a wonderful day ????
Beautifully, passionately, movingly told.
Hey Stan, thank you so much!
Thank you, Oriel, for your writing. “The Greatest Love Story Ever Told” so beautifully depicts the Mt. of Olives. While I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mt. of Olives, I realize the powerful strength it represents as the place where the Lord Jesus prayed to His Father, “..not My will, but Yours be done”.
I remember reading Jesus’ prayer in Luke 22:42, and being overcome with the emotion of the physical cost the Lord Jesus would endure for our redemption. I remember asking Him if somehow my love for Him could reach back to that time to strengthen Him. I was simply expressing my love, but somehow the most powerful sensation of His love and strength poured through me, bowing me before Him with tears of thanksgiving.
Thank you so much for sharing this powerful truth from the land of Israel. May God abundantly bless you in every way!
Lois, your soft heart and love towards Gods is beautiful and I’m happy God has a friend in you. Thank you for sharing that beautiful story. I’m sure of it made me emotional it must have melted God’s heart right off! ✨