The Mount of Olives from the Jericho Road
This view was taken by our artist after his return from Jericho on Friday, April 26, 1894. We have left Bethany. We shall soon turn around the brow of Olivet and see the Holy City before us. The lofty dome of the Russian church crowns the summit of Olivet. After the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his visit to the temple Jesus returned to Bethany. The next morning as He went into the city again He pronounced a ban upon the fig tree, and it withered. Having cleansed the temple, He returned to Bethany. This, if our chronology be correct, was on Friday, March 31, A. D. 30. On Saturday, the 1st of April, He was anointed by Mary; on Sunday, April 2nd, He entered triumphantly into Jerusalem, visited the temple and returned to Bethany. It was on Monday, April 3rd, that the barren fig tree was cursed and the temple cleansed, and on Friday, April 4th, that the fig tree was found withered on the Mount of Olives. Let us move on toward the Holy City. Cities may be laid in ruins, but the mountains stand fast forever. Olivet, with its chalky rocks and dotted with olive trees, stands unchanged. The same beautiful view greets the eye of the modern traveler as he rounds the shoulder of Olivet. The supreme interest of the road from Jericho is that it was trod by our blessed Lord when He came up to Jerusalem for the last time, passing the Mount of Olives, at the base of which He was to bow in anguish, and from whose eastern slope He was to ascend to heaven.
Comments