Israel Tour Day 2—The Mount of Beatitudes

Israel is so beautiful in the springtime!

This morning Chuck spoke to us from Jesus’ marvelous “Sermon on the Mount.” And here’s the best part: we were sitting on the “mount” where Jesus preached it!

There’s something surreal about the real . . . about looking at the “lillies of the field” and the “birds of the air” in the very field and airspace where Christ spoke.

Atop this “Mount of Beatitudes,” the Franciscan Sisters constructed a church of gray cinderblocks and white mortar. The simple chapel has an octagonal shape commemorating the eight beatitudes (see Matt. 5:3-10) and supports a stained dome topped with a cross.

Palm trees, colorful flowerbeds, Saint Augustine grass and plenty of shade make this a tranquil place to overlook the slope and the sea.

In the spring of AD 31, after Passover, Jesus came up this mountain, sat down and began to teach those on the grass before Him. Jesus drew on this setting to illustrate simple truths to His listeners: “Do not be worried about your life . . . Look at the birds of the air . . . Observe how the lilies of the field grow” (Matt. 6:25-26, 28).

Jesus called the people, “You of little faith” (Matt. 6:30), because they sought tomorrow’s needs instead of trusting God to provide today as He saw fit.

The lessons Jesus gave on that gentle slope in Galilee are illustrations we can see in any part of the world—birds, flowers and grass. God’s continual care of these things gives testimony that He will provide for us too.