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Day 4

Jesus Transforms

What is it about mountains and the spiritual life? Mountains are named more than five hundred times in the Bible!

When you tour Israel, you quickly learn that the Holy Land isn’t the same as it was in Jesus’ days. Cities are built on top of cities, and every year there are major archaeological discoveries in Jerusalem. Much of where Jesus walked is now underground because of civilizations raising the topography of the city, and historians and theologians debate the accuracy of sites. But in most cases, the mountains are for sure. Although the terrain has changed, the mountains remain. 

I walked on Mount Moriah, now called the Temple Mount, where Abraham offered Isaac to God (Genesis 22). I saw Mount Gilboa, where Saul and his sons were killed (1 Samuel 31). I stood on Mount Carmel, where Elijah called down fire from heaven (1 Kings 18:20–38). I sat on a rock on the mountain where Jesus taught the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–12), and I stood on the Mount of Olives, which overlooks Jerusalem, where Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9–12). 

When Jesus came to earth the first time, he changed everything. He altered history and heads of government. He changed geography and generations. He didn’t just change the laws; he fulfilled them. He didn’t come to make bad people good; he came to make dead people alive. He exposed and revealed people’s hearts; he pushed and prodded with parables; he shocked and surprised by doing the miraculous. 

The incredible news is that, all these thousands of years later, he’s now changing us. I was reminded at every historical mountain that Jesus was killed because he was changing everything, and it terrified the people of his time. Everything stays the same without him, but nothing is the same with Jesus.

How has Jesus—who changed everything—changed you? How is he continuing to change you through your mountain experiences?