Bethany

It's been said that, according to John 14, from what you've read, that faith in Christ will bring us to the abodes, but obedience to Christ will bring the abodes down to us. And that's why he says, if any man, right, keep my, we will make our abode with him. I want to look at a place that that's exactly what happened, that obedience, devotion, love for the Lord Jesus literally brought him to them.

And I want to look at a little place in our New Testament called Bethany. Turn with me to Matthew's Gospel chapter 21. Matthew chapter 21.

I'm not going to speak on every single reference, but the majority of them. And for the sake of time, we'll just move where they are located in Matthew chapter 21. And while Bethany isn't specifically mentioned here, yet it is close in proximity.

And the other gospel references will connect Bethany with this location in Matthew 21, verse 1. And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem and were come to Bethphage unto the Mount of Olives. Now, Bethany would be at the base of the Mount of Olives, would be about two miles from Jerusalem. It says, then sent Jesus to disciples, saying unto them, go into the village over against you, and straightway he shall find an ass tied and a colt with her.

Loose them and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, you shall say, the Lord hath need of them. And straightway he will send them.

All this was done that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet. And then the quotation from the Old Testament and the disciples do that. Now, chapter 26, chapter 26 and verse 6. Now, when Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment and poured it on his head as he sat at meat.

But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, to what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, he said unto them, why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon me. For you have the poor always with you, but me ye have not always.

For in that she hath poured this ointment on my body, she did it for my burial. Verily I say unto you, wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this that this woman hath done be told for memorial of her. Now, let's go over to John's Gospel, chapter 11.

John chapter 11, some scattered readings here. Verse one, now a certain man was sick named Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

Therefore, his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. Now, we know that the Lord Jesus delays four days here and goes. And when he does eventually go, and you remember that they had no way of really contacting each other.

There were no, obviously no cell phones, no telecommunications, nothing. So it would have been hard to wait to see what has happened. They've sent messengers, he's sick.

And yet he delays his coming. So this is all in the background that's happening. Now, it's verse 18.

Now, Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem about 15 furlongs off, and many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary to comfort them concerning their brother. So there are Jews there. There are the two sisters here.

They are comforting. There's sorrow going on. There's this trial going on.

It says, then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him. But Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

But I know that even now whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. And you could almost see Martha, can't you, saying to the Lord Jesus, Lord, I know. I know that whatever you ask of him, pulling him almost to the tomb, right? Come, just go.

Just say the word. Just raise him from the dead. You can do this, whatever you want.

But the Lord Jesus just doesn't, he doesn't move. He just stands there. And it says in verse 23, Jesus saith unto her, thy brother shall rise again.

Can you imagine now hearing that? He's going to rise again. Martha would hear, I know, yes, that's a long time from now. That's the resurrection.

We know that. And the Lord Jesus is, as he always is, speaking very calmly. He never got upset.

He never got flustered. And he says, thy brother shall rise again. Martha say unto them, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection.

At the last day, Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

What a tremendous statement of the expanse of time in different aspects. I am, I am. He's saying to her, I am the eternal one.

Time has no dominion over me. He is the I am that I am. One of the I am sayings.

I am the resurrection. That's a moment of time. Resurrection will occur in a moment of time.

The eternal one is talking to her about something that is going to happen in a moment of time. And then he says, eternal life. That which will last forever.

She's listening. Verse 27. She sayeth unto him, yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, who should come into the world.

And when she had so said, she went her way and called Mary, her sister, secretly saying, the master, no, the teacher. That's what she's saying. The teacher is come and calleth for thee.

Did she get a hold of something there? I think she did. Did she learn something? I think she did. And now she's calling Mary.

And she says, come, he's here. Listen, the teacher has come. He's going to tell us something.

You know what's very interesting? That here in Bethany, what he is going to do is he is not only going to meet Lazarus's need. He's going to meet the need of these two sisters too. He's going to be the teacher for them.

He's going in the moment of their trial and their suffering and their sorrow. He is going to show them something of himself as well. And so this all is happening in Bethany.

Now it says, he calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly and came unto him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met him.

Let's go down to verse 32. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet. It's one of the three times that you will read of Mary falling at his feet.

The first time here, she is falling at his feet to learn. He is the prophet that is going to teach her, to tell her, to communicate. The next time she is going to weep.

It's weeping. And he's going to reveal himself as the priest, the sympathetic one. And then the last time, of course, is in the garden.

Then you'll read about, or in that resurrection scene where there'll be worship and adoration as the king and so on. So there are three times you can trace those out yourself where she falls at his feet. And it says here, Lord, verse 32, if thou had been here, my brother had not died.

Same thing that Martha said. You think they talked to one another? Think so. When Jesus, therefore, saw her weeping and the Jews also weeping, which came with her, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled and said, where have you laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

Jesus wept. And of course, we know what happens. Let's go down to verse 43.

And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes. He's coming forth with grave clothes.

What a contrast to the Lord Jesus who left his behind. He's never going to need his again. Lazarus is going to need his again.

But not the Lord Jesus. He arises in resurrection power. And so it says, he comes forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes.

And his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, loose him. That's exactly what he said to the disciples about the colt, wasn't it, in Bethany? Loose him.

A little bit different here. This is for life. For the colt, it was for service.

Loose him and let him go. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary and had seen the things which Jesus did believed on him. Chapter 12, verse 1. Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany.

This is just before. Now six days, we were reading about moments before he died. Now here is six days before he's going to die.

Where does he go? Bethany. Why does he resort there? Because there was a home for him there. There was a place where they loved him.

Where they cared for him. Where he was at home in Bethany. He had left his home.

Was going to talk to the disciples as we were hearing about going back to his home. But there is a little place. A little oasis.

In a world that had rejected him. Where they loved him. And he loved them.

There are very few individuals in our Bible, before I keep reading, that it specifically says. I know it says God so loved the world. But there are very few that it says he specifically loved them.

He loved Mary. And Martha. And Lazarus.

The rich young ruler. Beholding him. He loved him.

But these people evidently were. They had a special place for him. And it says here.

Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany. Where Lazarus was. Which had been dead.

Whom he raised from the dead. There they made him a supper. And Martha served.

But Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. You want a beautiful picture of the epistle to the Ephesians? It's right here. It says here that Lazarus had been dead.

Made alive. You hath he quickened. Who were dead.

Made alive. It says they made him a supper. There was activity there.

There was service. We were saved. Why? Created to be his workmanship.

That we might produce good works. Not saved by good works. But unto good works.

And here they are serving. And then it says they sat at the table with him. Seated with him in the heavenlies.

What a little picture. A beautiful of the Ephesian epistle. Let's go over to Luke 24 for a final reading.

Luke 24 verse 50. And he led them out as far as to Bethany. And he lifted up his hands and blessed them.

It came to pass while he blessed them. He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy.

And were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. Bethany.

It's a beautiful name, isn't it? Some of you have named your children that. There's almost a fragrance to the name. The various meanings of the name itself.

You know that any time you read a word in your Bible. If you don't know it, you'll know it now. That the word Beth has house of connotation attached to it.

So this is house of something. The exact meaning, it's been given several meanings. Some say house of ripe figs.

House of dates. House of response. There's a number of different meanings.

All of those really though are captured in this place called Bethany. A house of ripe figs, right? In contrast to the fig tree where the Lord Jesus cursed. Because there was no fruit on it.

There was fruit in Bethany. House of response. There was no response from those around him.

But there was a response in Bethany. Today, it's interesting. At this time, it was a place that was hustling and bustling.

Two miles from Jerusalem. Large and in charge. Jerusalem, the city of the king.

Never held him. 11 times in our Bible and only in the Gospels. Bethany has captured his heart.

He goes there. He finds these two sisters and a brother. It's on the east bank of the Jordan River.

It's near to the base of the Mount of Olives. It's a place where death occurred. And it was challenged.

Triumphed over. It was a place of arrivals and departures. It was a place of food and a family and of funerals.

It was a place of testimony and fragrance. Two towns are associated with his leaving this earth. Jerusalem.

Jerusalem, the place where he was crucified. This place, he was surrounded by those that hated him. Bethany, he is surrounded by those that love him.

It's interesting, too, that when you come to this place of Bethany, he led them out as far as to Bethany. And they watch him ascend. It's a special place.

I want you to think of just a number of things. Because in a very real way, too, this place of Bethany also pictures for us, as you read your Bible, in a little bit, the place of his rejection of those around. It's kind of where we are as his people in Bethany.

I want you to think that it was the place of life, first of all. It was the place of life. And so I'm going to look at John 11 first.

The Lord Jesus goes to the tomb of Lazarus. He delays his coming. So it is the place of... I'm going to put two words together.

It's the place of life, and it's also the place of learning. Because the Lord Jesus was going to teach them something in the midst of their trials, their sorrow, their suffering, in the midst of their loss. They were going to get back far more than they would ever lose.

They were going to learn. And so he comes to them, and he's going to teach them. You know, some of the greatest lessons that you will learn in your life, if you learn them, will be in the midst of trial.

They'll not be in the good times. They'll not be in the times where things are going easy and smoothly, and you just waltz through life and move through because you're really not... you're not pressed. You're not pressured.

You're not at extremity. But the deepest lessons you will learn, particularly from God, but lessons in life as well, but bring God into all of them, is in times of sorrow, trial, suffering, and loss. And so I think it's very significant that at Bethany, as the Lord Jesus appears, and he... Martha is trying to tell him to come and raise... You can do whatever you want.

She has missed the point, and then he begins to teach her. I am the resurrection and the life. He says, do you believe this? And she takes her limited Old Testament knowledge of a general resurrection, and the Lord Jesus reveals to her New Testament knowledge now, the revelation, and what does he do? He does what every great lesson that will be learned includes.

He brings himself into it, Christ. Don't leave Christ out of the lessons that God wants you to learn. And so he goes to the tomb and he says... He raises Lazarus from the dead, and for the sake of time, there's a lot more we can go through on this.

Why the delay of four days? That there was an absolute assurance that Lazarus was really dead. In fact, it's interesting today, Bethany, just as an aside, is a very untidy town. It's a very... It's kind of a low-class type of a town.

It's not very well kept. But you know what it bears the marks of? El Azarea. It's called El Azarea today.

You know what it means? The place of Lazarus. That what happened there that day, not only linked with Christ, but what Christ did to this man, Lazarus, left a name stamped on that place, El Azarea. He goes to the tomb and he says now, as he stands there, Lazarus, come forth.

And Lazarus came forth wearing the grave clothes. I don't know how. I've tried to picture this.

I don't know how. One man, I remember hearing one preacher, he actually says that the body kind of floated, levitated out of the tomb. I don't think so.

But then what's the opposite to that? I'm sorry not to be ludicrous, but did he come out kind of popping like this? I don't know. It doesn't say. Maybe you have an answer, William.

You can tell me later. He shook his head. Good.

Okay. But whatever it was, the point of that is this. The Lord Jesus, in raising Lazarus from the dead, does what only he can do.

But then he tells them to do what they can do. Anybody could have unwrapped the grave clothes, but only one person could have given life. So my point in that is this.

Learning from Bethany, there are things that once we see the Lord work in the lives of people, let's come along and then do what we can do. Let's not hinder them. Let's not say, can you imagine if the people there that day would have looked at Lazarus and saying, well, you think he would have stripped the grave clothes off of him? I mean, he gave him life.

Let's see what he'll do now. Maybe it was Lazarus's fault he died. You know, who knows? We're not told.

We're just told he died. Well, he's the one who died. Let him get out of this one.

You know, we can be so like that. Rather than coming on. And this was a command from the Lord.

This wasn't a people now that just sympathize with Lazarus as he's in the grave clothes. The Lord is telling them what to do. Loose him.

Loose him. And let him go. There are things that we can do ourselves as well.

When it comes to the woman in John four getting life, what does it say? The woman then left her water pot. There are things that we need to do ourselves too. Once we get life, there are maybe habits.

There are maybe involvements. There are associations. There are things that need to be left behind.

But there are also things dear brother and sister that you need to help others with. Let's not miss those opportunities. They are abundant in Bethany.

And that's where we are today in a little picture in Bethany. I want you to think too as well. It was the place when we come to.

Well, to loosing with the cult. When it comes to that cult there. Can you imagine that this little cult actually finds a place in scripture? He'd never been ridden by anyone.

He's brought there. Actually, the Bible says that he was at the place where two ways met. And so the Lord Jesus tells in this place of loosing.

He says that he has plans for this cult basically. And so what he said to Lazarus, loose him in terms of life given. Now he is saying about this cult, loose him.

What has impressed me about this is this. He says bring him to me as well. And he's going to ride on him.

You know what's interesting to me? Matthew is the only gospel that says it. The scripture was fulfilled. Because Matthew is a gospel if you read over and over and over again of the verification of the one who was the promised Messiah to the Jew.

Matthew is the gospel to the Jew. So you will read that over and over again. But I think what touched me as I thought of this little cult.

And just coming in. Bringing in the Lord Jesus into that city. That by him bearing the Savior on his back in testimony.

He is actually fulfilling scripture. So is the Lord Jesus. But he was too.

You know what? Just let me apply this. This was uniquely done and it was a one off. But as you and I bear the Lord Jesus in testimony.

And the only way we will be able to do that is as we submit to him. And the cult. Remember no one had ever written on this cult.

Right? No one had ever written on him. He had never submitted to anyone else. But now the Lord Jesus is on him.

And he's riding in. And this little cult is just taking the Lord of the universe into the city. He's fulfilling scripture.

You know what? As you and I bear him in testimony. We too are fulfilling scripture. Not prophetically.

But practically and personally. We are fulfilling scripture. We are bearing him.

We are bringing him. We are carrying him. Isn't that what we do? When we meet together.

When you live before the world. You're bearing him in testimony. Let me ask you something.

A question. Everybody here. What's the last tract you gave to someone? Last gospel tract you gave to someone? I remember one conference.

You mentioned Murray. I remember this one preacher. I won't say who it was.

He had a bunch of tracts in his pocket. And they were all dog-eared. And Murray said you must have had them in your pocket for quite a while.

He said why don't you give them out? Okay. Sometimes we, you know, we'll even keep tracts in our pocket or in our car. But we don't give them out.

Oh, I forgot. Oh, you go through a drive-thru. I could have given that.

Oh, I forgot. You know what we're doing? We're bearing him in testimony. We're moving through this world.

When we come together as an assembly. This is not for us. This is for him.

We're bearing him in testimony. The assembly is a little picture of Bethany. Our lives are a little picture of Bethany.

Our homes are a little picture of Bethany. And so husbands and wives, fathers and mothers and children. We're bearing him in testimony.

I know that's a little bit of a way off of application. But I just thought of that little cult. And the place of loosing, place of learning, the place of life.

I want you to think of the place of loving. It says that at Bethany, that was where the woman broke that alabaster box on. It's love, devotion.

Now, I'm going to deviate from my L's here for a moment. If you're writing down, you can write them down. But it's a place of vindication as well.

Because Bethany isn't just some soft little hovel, you know, where there's just kind of a softness and a warmth. And they're just... No, no, no. It was at Bethany where the Lord Jesus vindicated this woman.

In fact, there were two people, two. Two individuals that the Lord, the fact that they're in the word of God for this point proves something to us. First of all, maybe you missed it, but it said it was in the house of Simon the leper.

You think he still had leprosy? I don't think so. Not then. Why would all these people congregate in the house of a man who's a leper? It's obviously testimony to the Lord's work.

And here he is now. They're in the house of Simon the leper. So he's being vindicated and he's having a supper.

But then there's this woman that comes in and she breaks the alabaster box. There's a great correlation between the beginning of this chapter in Bethany where this woman breaks this box and the end of the chapter, morally, where the Lord Jesus breaks the bread. She is showing her devotion.

He is showing his devotion. But what he is going to do for that woman is this, his disciples. Now, another gospel tells us it was Judas.

Now, Judas likely incited the others. You know, evil company corrupts good morals, good manners, right? We like to spread good things, but you can spread bad things as well. What are you? What am I? When it comes to encouragement, when it comes to exhorting one another, and so much the more as we see the day approaching, do you encourage one another or do you incite? Do you spread what is wrong? It says that the disciples, his own disciples.

Now, remember, three years had passed. They had seen everything. They knew the opposition of the world against their Lord.

They knew the hatred of the religious leaders against Christ. And here is one woman and she's trying to do something that's good for the Lord Jesus and they have a problem with it. Can you imagine? They said, this could have been sold, given to the poor.

When did you men care about the poor before? When was there such a concern about social justice and things like that now? And now all of a sudden, here she's doing this for the Lord. You know what the Lord does? He says, leave her alone. He says, you leave her alone.

She has done what she could. You know what that tells me as well? By saying she has done what she could, the Lord Jesus is actually defending her actions on an individual level. He's saying that when you do, when you do something in devotion to me, I recognize it, I will defend it, and I will reward it.

And it doesn't matter if even others who are his disciples find fault with it. Because that can often happen. We've been hearing about carnal.

The carnal will find fault with what you do spiritually. Carnal believers will look at you when you seek to obey God out of devotion and in love for Christ in what you do. In personal sacrifice, personal obedience, personal holiness.

Whether it's the way you act, the way you dress, the way you talk, you're friends, whether the things you deny, the things you push aside, or the acts you do of devotion makes you understand this. You will be a target. But remember this.

In Bethany, the Lord Jesus says, leave her alone. I've seen it. I know it.

And you make sure he knows it. He recognizes it and he rewards it. It was the place there of vindication.

For the sake of time, I'm just going to move to my last one. It was the place, it was the place of leaving, the place of leaving. Yes, we saw it as the place of all of these other things.

Lodging, there was a home for him. There was a place for him. Actually, just before I leave this, let me just say one thing.

I see a lot of young ones here, a lot of young folks. You live in homes. I don't think there's anybody homeless here.

You live in homes, but you will one day, Lord willing, establish your own home. Bethany was a place where the Lord Jesus was welcome. Not only welcome as the Lord, not only welcome as that, but welcome in terms of hospitality.

Welcome in terms of an open home. Wonderful thing. And it's becoming more and more a lost art.

Hospitality, open homes. Don't think your home, you know what? Don't think your house has to be spick and span clean for people to come over. I can't, I can't have people.

My house isn't clean, especially for women. Some women, that's a problem. Don't let that happen.

Remember, it's the company. And so Bethany was open that way. But now he takes them as far, it says, as Bethany.

He led them out. He took them as far as Bethany. It's interesting here.

It says he led them. The idea here is now he ascends up. It's a picture, as Luke does present of the perfect man, but he's the priest.

He raises his hands in priestly benediction. He's going to ascend up. It's interesting.

And what he is doing now is he is focusing their attention on not only himself, but I think if we can end this session, there'll be room for one more speaker. But I want to bring us back to the beginning where Brother William brought us. He's focusing our attention on heaven.

He's focusing their attention on he's going, but he's going to come back. And he led them out as far as to Bethany. If it does mean house of response, that's a tremendous place.

And what he did for them, he's now doing for us. And he's directing our attention away from one world to another. I hope and pray that what we do, what I need to do, I can tell you this personally, is especially with things that are going on so much right now.

I mean, elections, politics, things. The country is in such a place of turmoil. People are thinking, what's going to happen? Who's going to be elected? I won't say I don't care.

That would be wrong. But I would say I'm not going to let it get me into a frenzy. But we can be so focused on here.

And so caught up and spend more time looking at the news and reading about what's happening and what's not happening that we neglect our Bibles. We neglect fellowship one with another. We're focused on things that will not sanctify us, that will not edify us.

He led them out as far as to Bethany. But even though he goes away, it says they were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. You know, I can make an application this way.

In the beginning of John's gospel, he spoke of the temple of his body. 1 Corinthians 6 tells us about the temple of our bodies. You know what would be an interesting thing? If we were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.

He led them out, made their attention, the focus upward on him. It was 1982. Not too far from here.

It was in Madison, Wisconsin. And in 1982 in Badger Stadium, it was packed. There were 62,000 rabid Badger fans.

And they were there. And the University of Wisconsin fans had come to see their team take on MSU, the Spartans. MSU had the better team.

But what seemed odd was that as the score became more lopsided and MSU was gaining and winning, there were bursts of applause that came out. People in the crowd, the 60,000, all of a sudden, Wisconsin fans, they would start clapping. And yet MSU was winning.

The score was being more and more lopsided. You say, well, why was that happening? Well, I'll tell you why. Because a little ways away, 70 miles, the Milwaukee Brewers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Brewers, were beating the St. Louis Cardinals in game three of the World Series, which was a much bigger thing, the World Series, than a football game here at college level.

And there were fans that had little transistor radios, and they were listening. And they were hearing the score. And as the Brewers were beating them, they would all erupt in applause.

You know what was happening? They were focusing their attention on something that was happening somewhere else rather than what was right in front of them. And they were applauding it. That's what Bethany does for us.

That's what the Lord wants to do for us in this conference. He wants to take our attention off what might just be right in front of us and live and focus in such a way that we'll not lose sight of what's beyond. Of what's in the future and bring that truth into the present and respond in learning, in lodging, in loving, in loosing, in living.

God help us to spend a little time in Bethany.