“And every man wen to their own house, but Jesus went to Mount of Olives.” (John 7:53-8:1 NIV)
As we follow along in the gospels, we see that Jesus visited the Mount of Olives often. The evening of his betrayal certainly wasn’t His first time in Gethsemane; it was a habit of His, developed over three full years of journeying into Jerusalem. We tend to think of Gethsemane as a prayerful, contemplative place, perhaps even peaceful, but I wonder if it wasn’t more of a spiritual battlefield.
When we visited Israel last year, our guide often stopped to orient us geographically, typically with regard to the Temple. For me, this brought new perspective and significance to long familiar passages. Judea is hilly, if not mountainous. Two distinct elevations are prominent in the city: the Temple Mount and the Mount of Olives. They face each other as dualing brothers: the Temple Mount built up by Herod, obvious and imposing with it’s rising smoke. The Temple Mount stands in opposition, hiding it’s cast-outs under ancient olive branches; shading and sustaining. What lies between these two mountains? A great impasse; a graveyard for the dead.
Our guide explained that Jesus often retreated to the Mount of Olives because the Pharisees would not follow Him there. They would not risk defiling their perceived holiness by traipsing through a cemetery. The Mount of Olives was Jesus’ ‘safe’ spot in a thousand day game of tag with the religious leadership.
It’s interesting to me, that the Son of God, who created heaven and earth, had no home.
“Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” (Luke 9:58 NIV)
Instead, Jesus perched on the Mount of Olives, with a perfect view of the Temple; the singular structure on earth designed to be a dusty copy of it’s heavenly origins.
“They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and a shadow of what it is in heaven.” (Hebrews 5:8 NIV)
I wonder if Jesus retreated to the olive orchard regularly to remind Himself of who He was and where He was from.
“But I am an like an olive tree planted in the house of the Lord: I trust in God’s unfailing love forever.” (Psalm 52:8 NIV)
I wonder if Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives and surveyed the Temple; homesick for heaven. So close, but still so far from home.
“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of Him who sent me.” (John 6:38 NIV)
I can picture Jesus, bent over in prayer, pouring His heart out over the city from His garden vantage point. I think He went there often to refocus on His mission, to solidify His commitment to Kingdom agenda. Somehow Jesus let his homesickness for heaven fuel His fervor for ministry.
I wonder, where is your Mount of Olives? Where can you go to do battle between what you know and what you see? What strengthens your Kingdom resolve? How do you regain God’s perspective on your day to day doings?
We can cave to homesickness, you know. We can allow it to cripple our hearts to the point of inaction. We can set out from ministry and feel sorry for ourselves. Or we can leverage our heartsick to accomplish Kingdom mission.
Lord, may we find our own Mount of Olives. Guide us to a place that affords a new perspective. Give us a Kingdom vantage point, where we can start to see things not as they are, but as they should be – as they will be – when it is on earth as it is in heaven. Ignite our homesickness for a rightful reality; let it burn as fuel for our souls. Set our hearts and minds and hands to Kingdom business as we await Your return and the restoration of all things. Amen.