Mountaintop Moments: When Heaven Touched Earth
“The Mount of Olives: Suffering and Victory”
Acts 1:9-12 “After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him.10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 ‘Men of Galilee,’ they said, ‘why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!’ 12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, a distance of half a mile.'”
It’s hard to read a book of the Bible without encountering a mountain.
On Mount Moriah Abraham offered Isaac.
On Mt. Sinai God spoke to Moses out of the burning bush and later on the same mountain gave him the 10 commandments.
On Mt. Carmel Elijah challenged all the prophets of Baal and God sent fire down to consume the sacrifice.
Over and over again we read of Mount Zion called the very dwelling place of God.
And the greatest sermon ever preached is called the “Sermon on the….”
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And what God did on these mountains carries a message for us today.
Now this time we’re going to look at one you will all recognize–the Mt. of Olives.
The Mount of Olives is one of the most fascinating mountains in Scripture and plays a big part in God’s plan of redemption, and last days prophecies.
The Mount of Olives is located to the east of the city of Jerusalem.
The highest peak is 2,684 feet (about half a mile high) and offers a beautiful view of Old Jerusalem.
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The Mount of Olives got its name from the olive groves that lined the hillside.
To this day you can visit an olive tree on the hillside that is over 2,000 years old!
The Mt. of Olives has also been called “The Mount of Anointment” because the oil from its olives was used in the anointing of Kings.
It is very likely that Jesus knelt under the covering of olive trees as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, which was also located on the Mount of Olives.
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Understandably, many Jewish people throughout history have requested to be buried on the Mount of Olives.
They believe according to Bible prophecies that “On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives…”–Zech 14:4
So those buried there believe they will have a front-row seat to the returning Messiah!
To this day, you can see many graves lining the hillside!
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The Mt of Olives reaches way back in Bible history.
A thousand years before Christ, King David was forced out of Jerusalem and rejected as King by his own son, Absalom.
We’re told in 2 Samuel 15:23 that he left Jerusalem, crossed the Kidron Valley, and made his way up the Mount of Olives.
As David climbed the mountain, He wept and mourned over the betrayal he was experiencing, and also for His own sinfulness (2 Samuel 15:30).
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Then a thousand years later, the Mount of Olives became central to the life of the Lord Jesus.
We see Him teaching on the Mount of Olives, and He often went there to pray.
Uncannily, just like David, He was rejected in Jerusalem after His triumphal entry, crossed the Kidron Valley as David had done, and climbed the Mount of Olives the day before His betrayal and arrest.
He wept, prayed, and mourned, not over His own sinfulness but over OUR sinfulness as He considered the cross before Him (Luke 22).
Later, after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus gathered His disciples together and while they watched, ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:11).
We don’t know how fast His ascent took place, but we know it was slow enough for the disciples to watch Him disappear into the clouds, but quick enough that it was soon over.
As they watched Him, two angels appeared to the amazed disciples and told them:
“This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”–Acts 1:11
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So, how and why does the Mount of Olives matter to us today?
FIRST,
I. The Mount of Olives is a place of fulfilled prophecies
Several prophecies about Jesus were fulfilled there.
–The triumphal entry predicted in the Old Testament, took place there.
Jesus rode into Jerusalem, where the Mt of Olives forms a ridge running along the east side.
He rode in on the back of a donkey per the Prophet Zechariah’s prediction:
Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey…”
–Jesus taught from the Mount of Olives, where He prophesied His second coming (Matthew 24-25).
–The betrayal and abandonment of Jesus that was prophesied in the Old Testament happened on the Mount of Olives:
Psalm 41:9 “Even my own familiar friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me.”
And Zechariah even predicted the amount of money Judas would betray Him for:
“If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages…so they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver…So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.”–11:11-13
This was perfectly fulfilled by Judas, “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned…brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders…and threw down the pieces of silver in the temple…”–Matt 27:3-5
And as we’ve already mentioned, Jesus’s ascension took place from the Mt of Olives after His resurrection (Acts 1:9-12).
He ascended into heaven leaving the disciples with the prophetic promise that He would return to the very same place!
These fulfilled prophecies prove that we can trust Scripture!
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SECOND,
II. The Mount of Olives was a place of prayer
After the last supper, Scripture tells us that, “Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives” (Luke 22:29).
The phrase, “As usual” shows us that the Mount of Olives was a place Jesus often went to pray.
It was a place where God’s Son poured out His heart to God the Father.
–If Jesus had special places where He went to pray and commune with the Father, it makes sense that you and I need a place of prayer, a ‘war room’!
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THIRD,
III. The Mount of Olives is a place of hope!
Jesus promised His disciples as He ascended into heaven that He would return.
The hope of His return is called “the blessed hope.”
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed!”–Rom 8:18
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FOURTH,
IV. The Mount of Olives is a place of redemption
Jesus suffered not only on the cross but also in the garden of Gethsemane.
As He wrestled with what lay ahead, the price for our sin hung heavy on Him (Luke 22:39-45).
Luke 22:39-44 “Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed…and He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed…and being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling to the ground.”
There in the Garden on the mountain was a prayer of great suffering and yet, we see the glory of redemption unfold.
The beauty of the forgiveness of our sins.
The Mount of Olives reminds us that Christ has paid the price for our redemption.
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FIFTH,
V. The Mount of Olives is a place of victory
Just as Jesus rose from the dead and ultimately ascended into heaven, the prophet Zechariah reminds us that, one day, Christ’s
“…feet will stand on the Mount of Olives…” (Zechariah 14:4),
And on that day “the LORD will be king over all the earth” (Zechariah 14:9).
Our king, the Lord Jesus, will return just as He said to rule over all of heaven and earth.