Where to Lay His Head

"Every man went home; and Jesus went to the Mount of Olives" (John 7:53, 8:1).

This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. After a hard journey, all men long to get home. There the table is set, the fire burns in the hearth, the wife waits. That day, they all went home, each to his own house, but the Lord of the universe, the creator of all things, had nowhere to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). He went to the Mount of Olives.

How many times did this happen in his thirty-three years? It may be argued that, in tropical climates, summer nights are pleasant and allow for overnight stays in the open air. Yes, but how many freezing nights have also surprised you outdoors? At midnight, the temperature may still be pleasant, but at dawn?

But that is nothing beside the cold of silence. Only his Father alone, from heaven, attended to every sigh of his heart. Oh, what loneliness and helplessness! Oh, beloved Master! The most worthy of men lived as an outcast, as a reprobate among men. There on the mountain there was no place for delight; there was no hand to caress his weary brow.

How many days of walking without rest ended thus. How many sleepless nights of watching, so that the next morning he could bring a fresh word of comfort and forgiveness to the afflicted. Yes, because the next morning the adulterous woman had to be forgiven and freed from death; the fierce onslaught of the scribes and Pharisees had to be resisted; the legalistic and condemning spirit had to be stopped.

This is one of the saddest verses in the Bible. For we love our home too much and too often seek its refuge and comfort. For many times the Beloved has come to us with his head full of the dew of the night, has knocked at our door, and spoken sweet words (Cant. 5:2, Rev. 3:20). He has told us to accompany him out there, for tomorrow there will be Pharisees to arrest and adulteresses in need of forgiveness.

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