Then each went to his own home. 8:1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. John 7:53-8:1His activities were divided between the days in the temple and the nights on the Mount of Olives. He was with the people at the temple when they came to hear him, but otherwise segregated, residing at the mount.
Each day Jesus was teaching at the temple, and each evening he went out to spend the night on the hill called the Mount of Olives. 38 and all the people came early in the morning to hear him at the temple. Luke 21:37-38
As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. Matthew 21:1-2 (Also see the similar verses Luke 19:29 and Mark 11:1)Jesus dispatches his two disciples to free the donkey and her colt - two beasts of burden. The number two signifies division.1 The disciples are separated from Jesus and the other disciples so that they can bring the donkey and her colt to Y'shua, who remained wherever he had been on the Mount of Olives. They untie the animals, separating them from their present abode.
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace-but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you." Luke 19:41-44After the donkeys were brought to our Lord, he mounted up and rode toward the city of Jerusalem. A specific place on the Mount of Olives is then mentioned where there might have been a fork in the road or it simply began to descend down the mount. Observe how the people are divided when they get to that place.
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 38 "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" Luke 19:37-39There were many who accepted their King. But, on the other hand, there were those who would not acknowledge the King and humble themselves before him. The distinction made was recorded as taking place near where the road goes down the Mount of Olives. This is probably at the narrow neck or pass between the two pinnacles of the mount, the people were divided in the paramount matter of the identity of the one riding the donkey. He was their King and Messiah!
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."This was the manner of our Lord's separation from his disciples so that they would no longer see him or eat with him, etc. until his return. His coming back that same way from out of heaven to the Mount of Olives is recorded in Zechariah 14:4-5.
On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5 You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.When he is physically rejoined to the Mount of Olives with his feet standing on it, the mount itself will be split in two, with the halves themselves separating from each other. The people who will be there will then be separated from the place as they flee by way of the newly formed valley. This event will follow after the pattern of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah.
Then they returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day's walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:12-14The disciples had just been separated from the Lord because he had ascended into heaven, and now they separate themselves from the Mount of Olives by a distance noted as being a Sabbath day's walk. The symbolism in that degree of separation is striking as we observe that the Sabbath points to the seventh millennium, a time referred to as the Sabbath Day. That is when they will be bodily reunited with the Lord. From that perspective, it's not so much a matter of how far away they went as it is how long it will be. When that appointed time arrives, they will come to the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city. The upper room into which they came upon arrival is itself a symbol of that heavenly city. In the upper room, they all joined together constantly in prayer. Having left the Mount of Olives and upon coming to Jerusalem, there is a change from division and separation to that of unity, conspicuously marking a contrast in themes.
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" 4 Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many. Matthew 24:3-5Deception will mark the time of the end as his coming approaches. Division will occur as many are deceived by the many who come in the name of Jesus Christ. We continue reading in the context about nation rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, the turning away of many from the faith, betraying and hating each other, the love of most growing cold but that those who stand firm to the end will be saved, and even the departure of those who are in Judea as they flee to the mountains. Then we read of the prominent separation as two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Could division be more pronounced?
When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. 31 Then Jesus told them, "This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written: "'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.' Matthew 26:30-31 (Similarly; Mark 14:26. Also see Luke 22:39)Could the association between the Mount of Olives and the theme of separation be made more plain?
The glory of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.If you read the surrounding context, you'll note numerous instances of division. Consider the prophetic application as you read. There is a vast distance to be observed between the rebellious idolaters and those in whom a new spirit is put. As the glory of the Lord went up from within the city of Jerusalem to stop over the Mount of Olives, the Spirit, as we can see now very pointedly, separated itself from that city and temple mount. Also, Ezekiel himself was separated from the people of Jerusalem by the spirit while it was stopped above the Mount of Olives.
What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes 1:9The next account I'm going to expound exhibits such parallels that every one of the other accounts seems to be encompassed in its scope. It is the first place the Mount of Olives is mentioned by name in the Bible so it's actually kind of an introductory overview. I've saved it for last so that we can consider it with the benefit of familiarity with the other accounts. Just as there are many parallels which compare in agreement, there are many contrasts that are no less a teaching tool than those items in accord. Here are the focal verses from the passage.
So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God back to Jerusalem and stayed there. 30 But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up. II Samuel 15:29-30You should read the 15th and 16th chapters to get an idea of what is happening in the surrounding context.
When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine. 2 The king asked Ziba, "Why have you brought these?" Ziba answered, "The donkeys are for the king's household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the desert."The next scriptures I addressed were part of the same event but focused on the response of the people to the king who rode the donkey. Some accepted their king and some rejected him. The congruence between the records on this point is obvious.