Mt of Olives • Separated from the Eastern Hill (the Temple Mount and the City of David) by the Kidron Valley, the Mt. of Olives has always been an important feature in Jerusalem's landscape. • From the 3rd millennium B.C. until the present, this 2900-foot hill has served as one of the main burial grounds for the city. • Old Testament References The hill is first referred in the Bible when King David flees the city (2 Samuel 15: 30). King Solomon erected altars on the hill dedicated to false alien gods. They were later destroyed by King Josiah who "filled it with bones" to prevent future worships. Prophet Zechariah talks about the day of Judgment, with Mount of Olives its epicenter of God's fiery fight against the enemies of Jerusalem. • New Testament References: Pater Noster, the place where according to tradition Jesus taught his disciples the Lords prayer; the tear-shaped church of Dominus Flevit ("the Lord wept") where Jesus wept over the future destruction of the city; Gethsemane (Gat Shemanim) where Jesus was betrayed and arrested.
Garden of Gethsemane • Adjacent to the Church of All Nations is an ancient olive garden. Olive trees do not have rings and so their age can not be precisely determined, but scholars estimate their age to anywhere between one and two thousand years old. • It is unlikely that these trees were here in the time of Christ because of the report that the Romans cut down all the trees in the area in their siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. • The word "Gethsemane" means "oil-press place." suggesting a grove with a cold press for processing olive oil. Oil is a symbol both of the spirit and of understanding. In order to bring forth the liquid (oil) from the olive, an oil press causes great pressure on it. Jesus is the olive root according to Romans 11:16, supporting every olive branch and therefore every olive in the tree. Did he experience pressure in that place? The tremendous pressure upon him can be seen to bring forth liquid in Luke 22.