2 Samuel 15

“David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. Each of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.” 2 Samuel 15:30 (HCSB)

Israel’s rightful king has been rejected, and he plods up the Mount of Olives, weeping. Admittedly, David is suffering for his sins, but he is still the king, and nobody enjoys seeing the Lord’s anointed being deposed by “the people’s choice,”…even if it is the king’s son.

This would not be the last time we see such a scene. The “Descendant of David” (the rightful king according to 2 Samuel 7:12-16) will be seen on the Mount of Olives.

“Now He came near the path down the Mount of Olives, and the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:” Luke 19:37 (HCSB)

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus evokes images of both Absalom and David, with the Mount of Olives as a backdrop. We think of Absalom because the people of Jerusalem celebrated Jesus’ arrival just as they celebrated Absalom’s. To them, Jesus would be the candidate of the people, the One who would hear their cases against the Roman and Sadducee oppression and judge their oppressors. They wanted Jesus to fit their agendas.

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in Heaven and glory in the highest Heaven! And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, ‘Teacher, rebuke your disciples.’ But He answered and said to them, ‘I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.’” Luke 19:38-40 (NKJV)

Note that this was the same crowd who, once their vision for leadership became blurred, chose Barabbas!

We think of David when we read of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, not so much over his rejection as the doom of those who have rejected Him.

“As He approached and saw the city; He wept over it, saying, ‘If you knew this day what would bring peace – but now is hidden from your eyes. For the days will come on you when your enemies will build an embankment against you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave one stone on another in you, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44 (HCSB)

It is possible to believe you are clinging to Jesus in a saving way, yet all the while be clinging to the “wrong” Jesus. Jesus spoke of this very dilemma: Matthew 7:21-29. Make sure the Jesus you claim to follow is the Jesus of the Bible, not one who has been altered by man’s imagination. The best way to be sure is to read the Bible.