The Mount of Olives is frequently mentioned in the New Testament as part of the route from Jerusalem to Bethany and the place where Jesus stood when he wept over Jerusalem (an event known as Flevit super illam in Latin). ... Jesus ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives according to
Acts 1:9–12:
When he had said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going and they were gazing up towards heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them. They said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.’ Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.
Today the modern buildings adorn the slopes of the Kedron Valley to the right of the Mount of Olives, above you can see an Arab village on the left slope.
There are approx. 150,000 graves from biblical to modern times. There are no issues of falling headstones, they are all laid flat and cemented in place until the family need to break it open to add more bones of deceased family members.
A Jewish cemetery is also located on the slope.
It is custom to add a stone when visiting rather than flowers as this is eternal.
You can only imaging Jesus and his disciples walking, discussing, teaching as they climb the mount and return to Jerusalem. Knowing that you walk in His footsteps and see the sights He saw is very humbling.
Tomb of the Prophets
The walk took us past The Tomb of prophets is a grand monument in the upper Kedron valley (Yehoshafat valley), on the foothills of Mount of Olives, and facing the temple mount. It is cut into the rock and made entirely from that rock. Zechariah’s Tomb - The Tomb of Zechariah (Triangular one) is an ancient stone monument adjacent to the Tomb of Benei Hezir that is considered in Jewish tradition to be the tomb of Zechariah ben Jehoiada. a figure that the Book of Chronicles records to have been stoned: And the Spirit of God came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the Lord, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the Lord, he hath also forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord[1] Benei Hezir family The tomb's inscription reveals that the cave was used by several generations of the Benei Hezir family. As well, it indicates that this was a wealthy family, able to afford a burial cave in the Kidron Valley. In the Hebrew Bible there are two mentions of men with the name of Hezir. One was the founder of the 17th priestly division (1 Chron. 24:15); the other one was among the leaders who set their seal to the covenant with Nehemiah (Neh. 10:20). It is not known if there is a relation between the family buried here and the biblical Hezirs.
Zechariah’s Tomb
Tomb of Absalom (Hebrew: יד אבשלום ,Transl. Yad Avshalom; literally Absalom's Shrine), also called Absalom's Pillar, is an ancient monumental rock-cut tomb with a conical roof located in the Kedron Valley in Jerusalem. Although traditionally ascribed to Absalom, the rebellious son of King David of Israel (circa 1000 BCE), recent scholarship has attributed it to the 1st century CE
Absalom’s Pillar on the right and the Church of St Mary Magdalene at the top
The Church of St Mary Magdalene, a Russian Orthodox Church can just be seen at the top. The church is dedicated to Mary Magdalene, the companion of Jesus. According to the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Mary Magdalene was the first to see Christ after his resurrection
(Mark 16:9). We didn’t visit this church so it will be on my list of places to see on my next visit to Jerusalem. Mark 16:9 Now after he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went out and told those who had been with him, while they were mourning and weeping. But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.
We stopped for a while at the tombs and ate our lunch in the shade of Olive Trees. A very nice setting for us to sit and enjoy the views and have a much needed rest on yet another hot day. I think Mandy and Billy’s lunch was in Clive’s car ……
Once we reached the summit of the mount proof we made it below, you could see for miles across the valley and towards the Old City.
Looking down towards to the Old City
It was hard work and Jesus regularly walked this area every day, amazing. Looking down towards to the Old City you can clearly see the Dome of the Rock and what is called the Golden Gate, this is the gate Jesus will go through when he returns. The gate is where the wall rises on the right and was closed by the Muslims in 810, reopened in 1102 by the Crusaders; it was walled up by Saladin after regaining Jerusalem in 1187. Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent rebuilt it together with the city walls, but walled it up in 1541 and it stayed that way
(Luke 19:37-42)
(Luke 19:37-42)
As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, saying, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”
Matthew 23:37-39
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you, desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
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