Apr
29
Mount Olivet: Day 3... but really Day 1
Greetings! It's our second day in Israel, our third day of travel, but really only our first day of pilgrimage. We began at 7:30 after Gina and I finished our morning prayers, which were a bit truncated given our schedule.
Our first stop was Bethpage (בית פגי) on Mt. Olivet. I understand that the name means "House of Unripe Figs." In the Gospel of Mark, the day after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, Jesus passed by a fig tree on the way from Bethpage. Finding no ripe figs on the tree, Jesus cursed the tree. When he and the Apostles pass the next day, they find the tree withered to its roots. It’s an odd story, if taken at face value, because it seems rather petty. However, what we don’t capture is the allusion embedded in the story.
Our first stop was Bethpage (בית פגי) on Mt. Olivet. I understand that the name means "House of Unripe Figs." In the Gospel of Mark, the day after Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, Jesus passed by a fig tree on the way from Bethpage. Finding no ripe figs on the tree, Jesus cursed the tree. When he and the Apostles pass the next day, they find the tree withered to its roots. It’s an odd story, if taken at face value, because it seems rather petty. However, what we don’t capture is the allusion embedded in the story.
