Lessons From Olivet

I’ve entitled our message today “Lessons from Olivet,” and I wish to begin by reading Luke 22:39, which is our focal verse. This verse says, “Coming out, He went to the Mount of Olives, as He was accustomed, and His disciples also followed Him.” This morning, I feel led to preach a message about the significance of the Mount of Olives; and as we see in this verse, Jesus was accustomed to spending time there. This shows us that it was a very special place to Him.

In Easton’s Bible Dictionary, it says, “No name in Scripture calls up associations at once so sacred and so pleasing as that of Olivet. The ‘mount’ is so intimately connected with the private and devotional life of the Savior, that we read of it and look at it with feelings of deepest interest and affection. Here, He often sat with His disciples, telling them of wondrous events yet to come, of the destruction of the Holy City; of the sufferings, the persecution, and the final triumph of His followers; [and] here, He gave them the beautiful parables of the ten virgins and the five talents.”(1)

The Mount of Olives is so important to Jesus, that it will also be the place of His return. Concerning endtime prophecy found in the book of Zechariah (see 14:4-5), which speaks about Jesus’ return, John Walvoord says of His coming, “It will begin with the personal appearance of the Messiah when His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, the very place from which He ascended.”(2)

A large amount of Jesus’ time in Jerusalem was spent in and around the Mount of Olives; and all of the accounts follow a sequence of events, one which I’ll emphasize as we go along. But what I want to do is share some of the ways in which the Mount of Olives was an important part of the life of Christ. We will see that it is a place of praise, a place of rest, a place of communion, a place of surrender, a place of blessing, and even a place of retreat – things not only important to Jesus, but vital for believers today.

A Place of Praise (Luke 19:29-30, 35-38)

29 And it came to pass, when He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mountain called Olivet, that He sent two of His disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village opposite you, where as you enter you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Loose it and bring it here . . .” 35 Then they brought him to Jesus. And they threw their own clothes on the colt, and they set Jesus on him. 36 And as He went, many spread their clothes on the road. 37 Then, as He was now drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen, 38 saying: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

First in the sequence of events is the Triumphal Entry, which is what we observe in this passage here. The Mount of Olives is where Jesus was recognized and glorified as the long-awaited Messiah. Note how verse 38 says, “The whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God.” From this passage, our first observation is that the Mount of Olives is “A Place of Praise,” emphasizing the importance of praising the Lord.

So, who is it that should be praising Him? Commentator John Gill says, “The Arabic and Persic versions divide these words, and read, ‘the multitude and the disciples,’ not only the [disciples]; but the whole body of the people that were with Christ.”(3) So, the second thing for us to realize is that it wasn’t just a select few leaders who rejoiced and praised God, but the entire group of believers who were gathered there on that day worshipped and praised the Lord. So, we can’t just leave the worship up to the leaders; we all need to be praising Him!

Verse 37 says that as He was drawing near the descent of the Mount of Olives, they began to praise Him. The descent is where the hill begins dropping off in its elevation. A. T. Robertson says that at the descent “they were going by the southern slope of the Mount of Olives. As they turned down to the city, the grand view stirred the crowd to rapturous enthusiasm. This was the first sight of the city on this route which is soon obscured in the descent.”(4) So, if Jesus was nearing the point where the hill was to descend, then He was actually at the apex (or the peak) of the mount. They began to praise Him at the highest point, which speaks to us about elevating the Lord in worship.