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| Dominus Flevit |
This beautiful church, shaped like a teardrop, is on the Mount of Olives, on the "Palm Sunday Road". It is believed to be the location where Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem at the start of his final week. In Luke 19:41-42, we read "As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes."
Just beside the church is found a tree full of thorns. After his arrest, a crown of thorns was placed on Jesus' head. The thorns on this tree were several inches long and very sharp. It is hard to imagine how painful this would have been.
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| The city of Jerusalem, viewed from the Palm Sunday Road just below Dominus Flevit. |
A huge Jewish cemetery lies beside the Palm Sunday Road. Some of the gravesites there are thousands of years old; it is believed that King David's son Absolom is one of the notables buried there. For Jews, it is a truly holy site; it is believed that the dead here will be first to be raised when the Messiah comes. According to this web site, "Among the many legends surrounding this sacred mountain, it is said that in the End of Days people will tunnel underground from all over the world to rise up here."
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