“Jesus and the Mountains”

Recently, my wife, daughter, and I hiked portions of Black Rock Mountain state park in Mountain City, Georgia, located in Rabun County. Named for its various cliffs of dark-colored rock, this place is the highest state park in Georgia with an altitude of 3,640 feet. 

Haze obscured the scenic overlooks on this particular Saturday, but on a clear day you can see into Tennessee, North and South Carolina from one spot. Several hiking trails led us by beautiful wildflowers, rushing mountain streams, and small waterfalls. Thankfully, bears, bobcats, and snakes stayed undetected. 

Hiking is great exercise, but viewing the mountains is therapeutic. Connecting with God’s beautiful creation, hearing the sound of cold rushing water splashing across the rocks, experiencing the tranquil, quiet forest, unplugging briefly from our normal pace – there’s nothing like a mountain getaway (unless it’s a beach outing!).

Naturalist John Muir said, “Climb the mountains and get their good things. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of autumn.”

According to the gospels, Jesus spent time around or on mountains. In fact, some of His most meaningful ministry moments happened on mountains. For example, an “exceedingly high mountain” was part of His temptation experience in the wilderness before Jesus began His ministry (Matthew 4:8-10). 

When Jesus launched His ministry, one of His first teaching opportunities was on a mountain (Matthew 5:1), where He taught the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matthew 5-7). I’ve visited this beautiful spot on the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee in Israel. The Church of the Beatitudes rests on the summit almost 600 feet above the Sea of Galilee, not exactly north Georgia mountain size, but considered a “mount” regardless.

Mark 3 records Jesus “went up on a mountain” to appoint His twelve apostles. Luke 6:12-16 records Jesus went to the mountain and prayed all night before naming these disciples as apostles. 

On other occasions Jesus pulled away from the press of the crowds and demands of ministry and retreated to the mountain to find solitude and to pray. After feeding the 5,000 (Mark 6:30-44), Jesus sent the multitudes away and departed to the mountain to pray (6:46). Other passages point out Jesus often withdrew to “lonely places,” including spending time in the wilderness, on the sea, walking by the seashore, and in the Garden of Gethsemane.

If Jesus needed to take time to withdraw, then how much more do we? If Jesus needed to still Himself and pray, how much more do we?

In Matthew 15:29-31, Jesus “went up on the mountain and sat down there.” Great multitudes came to Him and brought people with various physical ailments. This mountain became a place of healing as Jesus restored their health, making the blind to see, the lame to walk, and the mute to speak. 

Three gospel writers record Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17, Mark 9, Luke 9). Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain and was transfigured. Right before their eyes, the deity of Jesus was revealed to them and shone from within so that His appearance was radiant. 

Luke wrote Jesus went up on the mountain to pray, and as He prayed, His face’s appearance was altered, and His robe became white and glistening (Luke 9:29). 

Charles Spurgeon wrote, “While in prayer, the splendor of the Lord shone out. His face, lit up with its own inner glory, became a sun . . . It was a marvelous unveiling of the hidden nature of the Lord Jesus.”

Jesus had a true mountaintop experience.

Mountains are good for inspiration, but real life is lived out in the valley below. Hurting people are found below the mountain (Mark 9:14-18). Our time up above prepares us for the opportunities for ministry we discover in the valley.

Jesus’ ultimate mountain encounter took place at Calvary. The site is more like a hill than a mountain. In the minds of many songwriters, the hill became Mount Calvary, the pinnacle of Jesus’ ministry. For example, Avis B. Christianson wrote:

“Up Calv’ry’s mountain, one blessed morn

Walked Christ my Savior, weary and worn.”

On that “mountain,” Jesus fulfilled the purpose for which He came, dying on the cross for sinners as our Blessed Redeemer. Thanks be to God!(David Chancey lives in Fayetteville, Georgia, and serves as transitional pastor at Eagles Landing at Griffin, Griffin, Georgia. Check out his other writings, including his books, at wwwdavidchancey.com).