The Mount Of Olives In Jerusalem

by David Padfield

 

On the night of our Lord's betrayal He left the city of Jerusalem, probably passing through the Golden Gate, and crossed the Kidron Valley and entered the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36; John 18:1). It was here that His sweat became as great drops of blood, and where Judas Iscariot betrayed Him with a kiss.

The Garden of Gethsemane is located on the Mount of Olives. The word Gethsemane means "olive press." In this quiet garden today you will find twelve enormous olive trees still capable of bearing fruit. The roots of these trees date back to the time of Christ.

Within the garden today is the Church of All Nations, which was designed by architect Antonio Barluzzi, and dedicated in 1924.

For more than 2,000 years Jews have been buried on the Mount of Olives to await the coming of the Messiah and His kingdom. It is sad to think that when the Messiah was here in the first century, "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11).