Ascent to Jerusalem

A long time ago, ascending from the desert of Jericho to Jerusalem with some friends, we wanted to find some texts from the Bible about the ascent to Jerusalem to accompany our walk. This search was the occasion to discover something I had never noticed before (one learns to read Scripture with one’s feet as well as with one’s head). In the Old Testament, it is quite simple to find texts that express the joy of this walk towards Jerusalem. These are the Psalms of Ascent.

However, in the Gospel, the ascent to Jerusalem is dramatic: “They were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them; they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, "See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death; then they will hand him over to the Gentiles; they will mock him, and spit upon him, and flog him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise again" (Mark 10:32-34). In the Gospel, the ascent to Jerusalem is going up to the passion.

There is however an ascent to Jerusalem that is joyful in the New Testament, it is the episode regarding the disciples of Emmaus. Having left Jerusalem in despair after the death of Jesus, they return hastily in joy after Jesus, who had joined them as they descended, shows himself alive to them. By his passion, death and resurrection, Jesus opens for us the road to Jerusalem.

Ascending to Jerusalem, is ascending to the Temple, the place God chose to place there His name. The purpose of the ascent, according to the texts that regard the pilgrimage feasts, is to meet God in His house, the place one goes to in order to see him and be seen by him. The place of meeting, the maqom, is none other than God Himself, a place we can access with confidence, thanks to Jesus who opens up the road and gives us access to him with confidence (Ephesians 3:12).