Mount Olivet 

When Jesus was 13 years old, his parents took him to Jerusalem for the first time. When he first saw the Mount of Olives from a distance, Joseph told him that Jerusalem lay just beyond, which thrilled Jesus with anticipation. As they traveled up the mount’s eastern slopes, they stopped in the little town of Bethany, where Jesus met Lazarus and his sisters Mary and Martha for the first time, becoming lifelong friends. Continuing to Jerusalem, they finally reached the summit of the Mount. As he stood on the Mount of Olives, Jesus could see the great city in all its glory from its great height. The sight of the temple filled his heart with awe and excitement.

During the three days Jesus spent on his own among the temple elders, he stayed at Bethany, on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives, with Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. He could view Jerusalem from its heights on his way back into the city each day, and he mused in sadness over the spiritual poverty that he had found thus far in the great city.

When Jesus and his parents were leaving Jerusalem, following their discovery of him among the temple elders, Jesus paused on the crest of Mount Olivet once more and declared: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, and the people thereof, what slaves you are – subservient to the Roman yoke and victims of your own traditions – but I will return to cleanse yonder temple and deliver my people from this bondage!"

On Palm Sunday, April 2, 30 CE, Jesus entered Jerusalem to the hosannas of the crowds. But on the way there from Bethany, one of the places most beloved by Jesus, his party paused on the summit of Mount Olivet, where he could once again take in that sweeping view of Jerusalem. It was here that Jesus, with tears in his voice, sadly exclaimed: "O Jerusalem, if you had only known, even you, at least in this your day, the things which belong to your peace and which you could so freely have had! But now, these glories are about to be hidden from your eyes. You are about to reject the Son of Peace and turn your backs upon the gospel of salvation. The days will soon come upon you wherein your enemies will cast a trench around you and lay siege to you on every side; they shall utterly destroy you, insomuch that not one stone shall be left upon another. And all this shall befall you because you knew not the time of your divine visitation. You are about to reject the gift of God, and all men will reject you."

On Tuesday, April 4, 30 CE, Jesus established a private camp for himself and the apostles on property belonging to Simon of Bethany so they could be closer to Jerusalem. The exact location of this camp was a carefully guarded secret; this Gethsemane camp and its surrounding environs were the scene of Jesus’ last free days on earth.

As the apostolic party was on the way up Mount Olivet to the Gethsemane camp this Tuesday night, they could see the city gleaming in the setting sun from their vantage point. Later, in the light of the full moon, Jesus foretold the destruction of Jerusalem. Before they made their way to their camp, Jesus told the apostles of his future return to earth; he added the parable of the talents in answer to their questions about what they should do while waiting for his return.

On the way down Mount Olivet to Jerusalem on Thursday, April 6, Jesus and the apostles stopped for a while, and Jesus told them all that was to happen in the next few days. After the last supper that evening, Jesus spent his time of loneliness and anguish in a ravine above the Gethsemane camp, where he had often gone to pray and meditate.

When Jesus was arrested at the olive press at the entrance to Gethsemane Park, he was taken to the palace of Annas, which was nearby on Mount Olivet.

Jesus appeared to his brother James in the garden of the Bethany home of Lazarus on the eastern slope of Mount Olivet in his second resurrection appearance. Shortly thereafter, his third appearance was to Jesus’ earth family and others inside the Bethany home.

Jesus’ last appearance on earth was on Thursday morning, May 18, 30 CE, to the apostles. He led them from the upper room to a spot about two-thirds of the way up the slopes of Mount Olivet, where he said his last words and vanished from their sight.