Mt. Zion vs Mt. Sinai
By Sam Kwon
May 2, 2025
When was your last “mountain top” experience?
On a mountain top, the air is a bit thinner. We are farther away than usual from the hustle and bustle of our daily lives. Closer to the “heavens.” If the sun is shining, all seems well. But if there’s thunder and lightning….
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The followers of Moses, when they came to Mt. Sinai after leaving Egypt, experienced a blazing fire, darkness, gloom, a tempest, the sound of a trump and a voice that made them tremble with fear (Exo 19). There, they were given the Mosaic covenant and its laws which they ultimately could not abide by.
The followers of Jesus, according to the writer of Hebrews, have not come to Mt. Sinai. Instead, they have come to Mt. Zion where angels are gathered and the firstborn are assembled in the presence of God and Jesus. On this mountain top is also the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem (12:18-24). Here, rather than fear, there is a feast. Here, rather than the Mosaic covenant and its laws, they were given a new covenant, mediated by Jesus and his blood, and the Holy Spirit.
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It turns out there are many mountain experiences in the Bible.
We know some like the Israelites at the foot of Mt. Sinai. Or Elijah on Mt. Carmel slaying the prophets of Baal, and then on Mt. Sinai hearing the “still small voice” of God. There’s more. Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice on Mt. Moriah. Jerusalem is on Mt. Zion. Jesus preached his sermon on “the mount.” Jesus was transfigured on a mountain.
Finally, Eden was on a mountain. Gen 2 does not say so. But there are clues!
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The Israelites used to come up to Mt. Zion when they came to the Jerusalem Temple for their feasts, to come into the presence of God through their priestly representatives who offered the blood of the animals as a sacrifice.
And the writer of Hebrews calls us, the followers of Jesus, to come up to Mt. Zion as well except he means the heavenly one to come into the presence of God through Jesus, true high priest, who offered his own blood. And this high priest doesn’t just represent us in the Holy of the Holies while we wait outside the Holy of Holies like the human high priests did. Instead, Jesus presents us to God himself in the Holy of Holies.
On this heavenly Mt. Zion, we find Eden, the new Jerusalem, and God himself who “will wipe away every tear” from our eyes. He says “there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain” on this mountain, garden, city.
What a mountain top experience that will be!
Sam serves as one of the elders at ODPC EC. Please feel free to contact him at sam.kwon@odpcec.org with any questions or comments. Please join him and fellow brothers and sisters for the monthly study of Hebrews by signing up here.
