Sunday on the Mount of Olives

With so many churches in the area, we have quite the variety to choose from for morning worship here in Jerusalem. But on this Sunday, MB and I chose to attend a service out of doors. Our pastor friend James, a minister in Oregon, invited us to join Kevin and Brad on the Mt. of Olives as he preached a sermon to his congregation via video. Happy to spend a little more time on that side of the city, we hopped in the taxi and zoomed to the other side of town. Upon arrival, James was unable to record clearly because of the overcast sky and wind. So we all sat down on the mount and he just shared with us the message that he would have given to his church.

Starting in Genesis 22 with the story of Abraham and the binding of Isaac on Mt. Moriah (the place of the temple). We traced the significance of the need of sacrifice throughout the Bible, spending much time on the Levitical priests and meanings of the offerings. Many of you already know...on the day of atonement (Yom Kippur), the high priest would bring two goats, one to be sacrificed, the other to be let into the wilderness. The "scapegoat" symbolized the taking away the sins of the people. After determining though lots which goat was to die, the other had a red cord placed upon his head until he was taken outside the city wall and released by a Gentile.

After this discourse, James immediately explained how Jesus, besides being the ultimate sacrifice, was also the ultimate scapegoat. When the people screamed for him to be crucified, they used the same word meaning "take him away." The same phrase was used by John the Baptist when he cried "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of the world." Jesus, his head circled in red blood from the crown of thorns, was taken away out of the city by Gentiles and crucified. The symbolism is so beautiful. The Jews depended on the sacrifices of Yom Kippur to cover their sins for a year. Jesus' sacrifice covers our sins for all eternity.

I want to learn the traditions of the Old Testament Jews. Besides their beauty, all traditions, stories, holy days...everything is made complete in Jesus. We've explained that the changes in geography happen rapidly. A ten minute walk would have taken Jesus straight into the wilderness that night he agonized in Gethsemane. Yet He chose to stay. Jesus died during Passover week, which means that the priests were making sacrifices continually for the people. Supposedly the excess blood would flow into the Kidron, the valley separating the Temple and the Mount of Olives. Jesus might literally have had to walk through that coming and going on the night he was betrayed. He knew what was coming--His own sacrifice.

The worship this morning was powerful. Jerusalem is powerful. Moshe is right. There's a reason why we all come. There's almost a piece of our soul here...for the believers, that piece is our Savior.

--Jenni