The Mount of Olives was a small hill, a short journey from Jerusalem. It was named as such because it had an olive grove. The location had a clear view of the city1 and thus served as a good place from which to make pronouncements about the city (compare Luke 19:41–44). It seems then as if the location was a pragmatic choice. There may, however, also be a theological motif. According to Zechariah 14:4, when the Lord comes at the end of the age to battle and judge, his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives. Now Jesus Christ bids his apostles to go to the nations with glad tidings of salvation. Jesus ascends from the same Mount to which he will come again to judge.2
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.