Eight Days that Changed the World – Wednesday
Would you turn, please, first to the gospel written by Luke and chapter 21. Luke chapter 21. Look down at verse 37. And in the daytime, he was teaching in the temple. And at night, he went out and abode in the mount that is called the Mount of Olives. And all the people came early in the morning to him in the temple for to hear him. So this seems to be the Savior’s custom, not staying the evening in Jerusalem, but each day going out at night, at evening to Bethany, to the Mount of Olives. Now, I want to read about two events that did not happen on the Wednesday, but are linked with Bethany. So look at chapter 24, please, in this book, Luke chapter 24, and verse 50.
And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. So you get the picture that the Lord Jesus in the process of blessing them. So with his hands up raised in the proverbial token of blessing from the high priest of Israel, as he’s pronouncing a blessing on the disciples, he is majestically lifted up from them and is taken up into heaven. Verse 52 says, they worshiped him. That’s a remarkable statement. They worshiped Christ and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. You remember that before this, when Jews wanted to worship, they had to go to Jerusalem to worship, but that’s all gone now. They’re worshiping right there on that mount. They worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem. Verse 53 says they were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. Our final readings will be in John, please, in chapter 11. John chapter 11.
And look down at verse 18, John 11 and 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. 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 would ask of God, God will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection of 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 whoso liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world. I’ll skip down, please, to verse 32. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 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 ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him. And some of them said, Could not this man which opened the eyes of the blind have caused that even this man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself, cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh, for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, said I not unto thee that if thou wouldst believe that thou shouldst see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always, but because of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave clothes, And his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, loose him and let him go. Now, in the rest of the chapter, we discover that as a result of this miracle, opposition to the Lord Jesus is going to climax, and they’re going to be determined finally to do away with him. But if you just look down, please, to the opening of chapter 12, just those first three verses .
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. Now, just to give you the time frame, this is something that would have happened on the Saturday of Palm Sunday weekend. So, this has already taken place. We’re just reading things that are related to Bethany. This would have happened on the Saturday, six days before the Passover. Verse three, then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
Tonight, we’re going to consider how the Lord Jesus spent the Wednesday of his last week before his death. This day is variously called Spy Wednesday because of Judas’s behavior, Great Wednesday or Good Wednesday. While we know where the Lord Jesus was, we know absolutely nothing about what happened on Wednesday. That is why I’ve read to you about Bethany, because this is what the Lord Jesus loved. To leave the criticism and the hatred and the plotting of Jerusalem and to go down to a village where he was wholeheartedly welcomed by people who loved him. So that is what we’re going to be looking at this night. Wednesday of this week is like a quiet oasis or maybe more exactly like being in the eye of a storm. It’s a calm, wonderful day where he enjoys a day of quiet repose and of interaction with those dear friends. Bethany is on the eastern slopes of the Mount of Olives. That is the farthest side from Jerusalem. And that 15 furlongs means it’s just about two miles from Jerusalem. And each day, each evening, the Lord Jesus would go out to Bethany with the disciples, and then in the morning would come back to Jerusalem. And now Tuesday, he has done that, as we noted last evening. And now on the Wednesday, we find him staying in Bethlehem, in Bethany.
That is called the village of Lazarus. I’m going to do my best here at this Arabic pronunciation. It is El Arouza Yah, or at times it is called Bethania instead of our Bethany. There were three much loved friends of the Savior who lived there. You know their names, Mary, Martha, and their brother Lazarus. And they lived in a home that was always open to him. And the Lord Jesus loved to be there. Now that Wednesday in the Savior’s life was a dramatic change. From every other day this week. In some ways, it was a dramatic change from every other day in his three plus years of public ministry. He seemed to be constantly serving others, constantly healing, constantly meeting needs, constantly preaching and speaking. But on this day, while we read of mornings when he rose early to pray, and we read of nights when he patiently answered the questions of seekers on this day, there is like a veil of secrecy over it. Because it was just this one day with people that he loved and that loved him, where he was enjoying their company. And so I want you just to think with me about what must have been in his mind.
Because he was the only one who knew what was coming. The disciples did not. No one else understood that there was a storm into which he was going to descend at a place called Calvary and where he was going to lay down his life. He knew everything. They knew nothing, but he knew exactly who the man was that would slap him, the man who was called an officer that stood by. He knew the name of the centurion who would oversee his crucifixion. He knew the name of each of the soldiers who would pound the nails into his hands and feet. He knew everything. They knew nothing.
And this day, the Savior who was about on Thursday to enter into the storm of hatred is enjoying being with those he loves. So what I want to notice with you is, first of all, going to Bethany, which is what the Lord Jesus did apparently every day of the week, going to Bethany, and then finally leaving from Bethany as he did more than 40 days after his resurrection. We just read in Luke chapter 21 that the Lord left the city at evening and went to Bethany. Apparently, he never spent a night in the city until the evening of his capture in the Garden of Gethsemane. So to grasp a fuller picture, it will help us to look at these past scenes, because Bethany was a place of rest. Though the Lord Jesus was the creator, the eternal son of the father, he was also a man. He was a man with sinless, unclouded emotions. And we can only imagine the joy he had at being with his friends. Bethany was a place of respect. Bethany was a place of love. Whenever he arrived in Bethany, his friends welcomed him, particularly Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. Bethany was a place of resurrection.
It’s here that he had displayed his power. You remember that in his public ministry, the first public miracle that he did was at a wedding. And his last public miracle was at a funeral. And the power that he displayed outside his friend’s sepulcher at Bethany must be considered his greatest miracle, raising a man who had been dead for four days. Such was his love for that family in Bethany that he raised Lazarus. Notice this, please. He raised Lazarus, even though he knew that that would be the trigger. That would be what would accelerate the purposes of those wicked people up in Jerusalem to reject him and to put him to death. John 11 and 35, of course, that shortest verse in the Bible gives us a glimpse into his heart when it says that Jesus wept. But Bethany was also a place of revelation, wasn’t it? Because the raising of Lazarus had manifested or displayed his glory. So just now focus with me for a moment on these three friends of his. Lazarus experienced his life-giving work. Lazarus was dead, and the Lord Jesus gave him life. So Lazarus experienced his life-giving work. But you see, as to our spiritual condition, the Bible says this about us, that we are dead in our sins.
Obviously, I’m the only one up here tonight, but when I’m speaking in the gospel, it often amazes me that I can see people who are saved and see reactions on their faces and where they are touched and where things are resonating with them and where they are responding. And right beside them could be somebody, a son or a daughter or a friend who is not saved. And it’s all a blank. It’s all as if there’s nothing important being said at all. It is because prior to a person’s conversion.
We are spiritually unresponsive, like a dead person, callous, like a corpse, no response to the things of God because a person does not have eternal life. And the Bible says that that life that you need is called eternal life, that we were dead in trespasses and sins, and that the moment that a person turns to the Lord Jesus and receives Christ, he receives eternal life. You remember that one of the descriptions of the Lord Jesus is that he is the life. I am the way, the truth, and the life. And you remember in his epistle, John says, this is the eternal life. And so receiving Christ brings to a human being eternal life. But prior to that, we are dead in our sins.
It is only the Bible that explains to us the great puzzle why human beings can be marked by such intelligence, creativity, and heights of altruism, and yet at the same time be guilty of such depths of selfishness and violence and brutality. How is that possible? We’re not talking about two different kinds of human beings. We’re not talking about some people that are really cruel and some people that are really kind, but as Solzhenitsyn said, we see evil in every heart, every one of us. It is because we were made in the image of God, but sin came in and destroyed that link with the living God and we are dead in our sins. It is the Bible and only the Bible that provides the logical and correct answer with what is wrong with us. Sin has rendered you and me as dead and lifeless and unresponsive as Lazarus in his tomb. But Lazarus was helpless as well, wasn’t he?
What could he do to reverse his condition? What could Lazarus do to give himself life? The human race has accomplished some remarkable things. The ship just took off right now to go to the moon. So the human race has done some remarkable things. But when you come to the Bible, there is a list of things that we can’t do. Allow me just to mention a couple of them. The Bible says we can’t redeem ourselves. The Bible says that we can’t please God. Psalm 22 says we can’t keep alive our own souls. And we are reminded that we cannot go to heaven if we die in our sins. The Christian author Lee Strobel tells about two times that he was in grave danger. He was just a boy, just about the age of you fellas here on the front row. And there was a fire in his basement in the house where he lived. And he was down there.
And as the smoke began to thicken, He was becoming disoriented. He was starting to choke. He couldn’t see where the stairs were. And he said, all of a sudden, there was a faint light that flashed from above. And he heard a voice, is anybody down here? And it was a policeman. And he said, he could never have gotten out of that basement if that man hadn’t come. And he said, the policeman was right there. And he said, I stumbled over to him. and that man took me in his arms and he brought me out of that fire. I was helpless, he said. I would have perished. I needed somebody to come and deliver me from that death. But I’ll give you his words because he said there was another time. And he said, I was as helpless as that. I faced my sins, I could not save myself and I found out that Christ could and would if I trusted him. So as helpless as a dead man lying in his sepulcher, that’s the picture of us spiritually. I’m going to stop for a moment because I don’t want that to go over the head of those who are younger here.
When I sat listening to the gospel, as a little boy, I was absolutely certain I knew how to be saved. And I was absolutely certain that it had something to do with me. I knew Jesus had died for me, but I kind of figured out that what God was waiting was for me to do something to make that good for me. He was watching me and I was supposed to take the right steps or do the right thing or say the right words. I didn’t know what it was, but I was certain that I had something to do with my salvation. And I remember the night when I understood that I was absolutely helpless. And the picture of that man lying in his sepulcher is a wonderful illustration, of how absolutely helpless we are. But one more thing, Lazarus was hopeless. Take the Lord Jesus out of the picture, and there’s no hope for Lazarus. He’s not coming back. His sisters aren’t going to joyfully wrap their arms around him and walk home with him and ask him what paradise was like. It’s hopeless. The only one who could meet his dire need was the Lord Jesus. His sisters loved him, but they weren’t going to be able to do anything. Apart from the Savior.
Lazarus’ condition was hopeless. Do you know that that is a word used about you and me? That in Ephesians chapter two, Paul says that we were without God and without Christ and without hope, hopeless in the world. And so again, when we look at this man, we are reminded of how hopeless the condition is. What happens, what happens when a sinner meets Christ is as dramatic a change, if not more so, as when the Lord Jesus said, Lazarus come forth and a dead man came out of his sepulcher. It is the savior who imparts new life to a sinner. And when that new life comes into a human being, that person’s life is changed. One man was preaching in the open air before he was saved. He had been an alcoholic and he was preaching now the gospel and talking about, the grace of God, saving somebody like him. And a passerby just stopped for a moment and to heckle the man, he shouted out, you’re dreaming. And the man’s little girl was there. And she said, that’s my dad.
And if he’s dreaming, please don’t wake him up because the change has been just wonderful. See, don’t wake him up. You know what she meant? She knew the nights he would stumble home drunk and violent. She knew how the money was being spent on drink. She knew what the family was going through. And then she saw what God had done, what Christ had done, what new life had done. And she said, if he’s dreaming, please don’t wake him up. Don’t wake him up. There is a change comes into the life of a human being when that person receives Christ, that eternal life. Do you have a moment like that? Do you have a moment like that? Are you still on the broad way? Are you still dead in your sins? Are you still in danger of perishing? Or is there a moment in your life when just as the Lord Jesus spoke life to Lazarus, he brought eternal life to you.
I want you to think about Martha because Martha heard his soul-assuring words. When we think about Martha, we’re thinking about what the Lord Jesus said. It was to Martha that the Lord Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whoso lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this? You see, it is his word that brings life. Remember now, Martha stood outside of the sepulcher of her brother and watched and listened to the Lord Jesus bring her brother back to life.
With his word. Nothing else. His spoken word. See, you have to understand that when it comes to us, the highest authority that we can reach is that when a man speaks, people carry out what he commands. So if a king says, have him to prison, he doesn’t suddenly disappear here and then materialize in a prison cell. No, the word has to be carried out by other human beings. That’s the highest authority we have.
There’s an authority higher than that. Do you know what it is? That when God speaks, it happens. He doesn’t need somebody to carry out what he’s saying. And so here, a dead man is brought back to life. Let me ask you, what would you have used? What would you have used to bring Lazarus back to life? If they rolled away the stone and you were standing out there and Martha and Mary said, please bring my brother back to life, what would you have done? You couldn’t have done a thing. But all the Lord Jesus needs to do is speak the word because that’s the authority and power of his word. You and I, we live in a world of death. And yet the Lord Jesus tells us how we can have life. This is what he said. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hears my word and believes God that sent me has everlasting life, shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death unto life. He was stressing the importance of hearing his word. Do you remember on one occasion when he said, he that has ears to hear, let him hear.
He that has ears to hear. Not everybody seems to have ears to hear. The Lord Jesus is talking about people who are searching for truth. They have ears to hear. And centuries ago, Isaiah the prophet said, hear, listen, hear, and your soul will live. There is a way that you can listen to God tonight. There is a way that you can listen to the gospel tonight. That will bring life to your soul. There was a man named Dawson Trotman. He would become very famous for his gospel work, but as a young man, he was just a lost sinner.
But he saw, when he was a young teenager, he saw a contest for memorizing Bible verses. And it challenged him. So he began to memorize Bible verses just to win the contest. And years later, not many, many years later, but years later, he was walking down the street. And into his mind came a verse he had memorized. I just quoted it for you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hears my word and believes God that sent me has everlasting life. And he thought to himself, I have no idea. I have no idea what everlasting life is. And he just actually spoke out to God. And he said, God, I don’t know what it is, but I want it. I want to have it.
And the spirit of God brought another Bible verse into his mind that he had memorized. As many as receive Christ, to them he gives the power to become the sons of God. And right there on that sidewalk, Dawson Trotman trusted Christ. He received him because the Bible was saying, receive him and you will have everlasting life. You’ll be born again. You will be a child of God. In other words, it was the word of God, just the authority and power of the word of God that brought life to Dawson Trotman, that brought life to Lazarus. And that will bring life to you. And of course, the words of Christ brought joy. We don’t only live in a world of death. We live in a world of sorrow.
The word of Christ filled the hearts of these people with joy. His word turned a grief-filled funeral in John chapter 11 into a joyous celebration in John chapter 12. Joy is an integral part of Christianity. Let me repeat that. Joy is part and parcel of this wonderful gospel and Christianity. That’s why the angels announced that they were bringing good tidings of great, joy, which shall be to all people. That’s why David described the joy of God’s salvation. And when a sinner is saved, God rejoices. The Lord Jesus rejoices. Heaven rejoices. The sinner who is saved rejoices. And saved people who hear about it rejoice because Christianity brings joy to the heart of a sinner who trusts the Lord Jesus. But of course, we live in a world marked by hopelessness, and I want you to notice that Christ’s words brought hope. The words to Martha assured her of a future resurrection and of hope for the present as well. And people who know the Lord Jesus, and some of them are sitting all around you tonight.
People who know the Lord Jesus are not looking out with bleak despair at a world that seems to be plunging into deeper and deeper problems. We are aware that the Lord Jesus is coming and that we are going to be in heaven with him forever. And amidst the world’s darkening skies and troubled seas, the assurance of a home in heaven anchors our souls as we realize that the coming of the Lord is drawing near. It’s his word. It’s his word that brought hope into that situation.
But notice, please, Lazarus had another sister, Mary. And Mary recognized the heart-captivating worth of the Lord Jesus. And in that house in Bethany, we read that Lazarus sat with the Lord, conversing with him. It would have been wonderful to eavesdrop on that conversation, wouldn’t it? A man who had just come back from heaven and a man who had left heaven to die on a cross. They were discussing. Martha was serving, but Mary showed her appreciation for him by bringing that ointment and anointing him. Now, all of that and all that I’m telling you is in stark contrast to how he was viewed and treated in Jerusalem. What a contrast between what the religious leaders in the city thought of him, and a village that loved the Lord Jesus and welcomed him. There’s a contrast.
Between heaven and earth, because heaven has received them, as we’ll note in just a moment, and earth has still rejected them. They can have a ton of religions and religious holidays and festivals and all of that, but the one thing the world really does not want, the world really does not want is Christ. But in Bethany, he was welcomed. So all of this presents us with these questions. Have you, Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? Have you experienced his life-giving work where you’ve rested on Calvary, on what Jesus did on the cross and you received everlasting life? Have you taken in his soul-assuring word and the reason why you know you will be in heaven and not in hell is because of the word of Christ? Have you come to understand his worth because he is the savior who can give you eternal life, who can assure you of a place in heaven, who can fill your life here with joy and meaning and significance. And so I would say how wise for a human being to trust such a Savior.
Finally, and very briefly, I want you to skip ahead in thought probably about 43 days from what we have just been talking about. And I want you to look at the Savior’s return to heaven. He left from Bethany. He led them out as far as to Bethany. And while he blessed them, he was parted from them. So it reminds us of his unique place. The Lord Jesus is on his father’s throne. His father is going to give the Savior his own throne in Jerusalem. But just now he is on his father’s throne. And as the disciples preached, the heavens must receive him. They had to receive him back in heaven. It was the absolute right thing for the Savior. Earth rejected him and continues to do so. Heaven has received him and enthroned him and will eternally honor him. So once more, please allow me to ask you, which of those two attitudes is yours?
Are you like heaven? You’ve received Christ. You’ve honored him. Or are you like this world that has cast him out and put him on a cross? There’s no middle ground. There’s no middle ground. By the time the meeting is done this evening, you will either have received Christ and the eternal life he gives, or once more, you will have rejected him. And that, of course, is in your hands. But heaven received him. And it reminds us of his unique power. The word of God says that the Lord Jesus is able to save to the uttermost. And it says he is able to subdue all things. And you are either going to experience his power, his ability to save, or his ability to subdue. People who trust him, they realize his ability to save. He’s become their savior. People who still resist God and rebel against God and refuse the Lord Jesus, will one day learn about his power to subdue. But how much he wishes to save you, this is why he came. This is why he died. This is why he’s sending the message of salvation to you. This was the whole purpose.
Behind his coming from heaven. The father sent the son to be the savior of the world and Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. So let me ask you the question that the Lord asked Martha on that memorable day.
The Lord Jesus went to the cross to die for sinners. He said, it is finished, and he bowed his head. He was buried, and on the third day he rose again, and he is able to save any sinner who will trust in him. Believest thou this? Do you believe that? Do you believe on Christ? Do you believe in the Savior? Will you trust him today by trusting his word? That’s how a sinner receives Christ. He receives the word of Christ. And if you’ll do that tonight, here’s God’s promise. Here’s the Savior’s promise. Here’s the Bible’s promise. The person who comes to me, the Lord Jesus said, I will in no wise cast out. If you are willing to receive Christ tonight, he will receive you and you will go home saved for eternity. Thank you for listening.
Filed under: Gospel Series, higgins-eugene
