Passion Week in the Holy LandSýnishorn

Palm Sunday

What difference can a narrow road make?

The steep descent of the Mount of Olives that faces Jerusalem follows a narrow road with high walls on either side. The high wall to the right encloses the grounds of the Dominus Flevit Church. The small chapel and its Latin name memorialize the moment “the Lord wept” over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), and the roof of the chapel resembles the shape of an inverted teardrop. Inside the church, the altar on the right has a large window that frames the city of Jerusalem. The window has decorative wrought iron bars that depict elements of Jesus’ Passion Week—a cup, thorns, and a cross. The capstone above the window has a stone relief of Jesus riding a donkey with His face in His hands—weeping.

Staring out the window with the iron cross in it, we can see the city over which the Lord wept. Looking out the window is like gazing through a porthole of time. We cannot see Jerusalem without also seeing the cross. Neither could Jesus when He rode down the Mount of Olives on Palm Sunday.

Leaving the high walls of the Dominus Flevit Church, we cross the steep road to see another high wall on the other side. Behind this wall lies a vast Jewish graveyard—the largest in the world. Literally thousands of white tombs on the hillside give testimony to the Jewish belief that the Messiah has not yet come—and the hope that when He does, “His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives” (Zechariah 14:4). Those buried there hope to stand first in line for a blessing.

Although the Messiah will indeed raise all people from these graves, not everyone resurrected will rejoice in His presence (Daniel 12:2; Revelation 20:11–15). Where our physical bodies rest does not affect our salvation. Rather, Jesus’ words to Nicodemus remain God’s standard for entrance into His kingdom: “You must be born again” (John 3:7).

The two high walls on either side of the road that descends the Mount of Olives offer a summary of what Jesus would find in people’s hearts during His Passion Week. On one side, the high wall around the Jewish cemetery guards the hope that the Messiah will come one day. On the other side, the wall around the Dominus Flevit Church guards the belief that He has already come—but was rejected.

Only a narrow, steep road separates these two walls. But the distance between them is eternal.