Scripture: John 11 v 1 - 4: "Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby."
At the time Jesus heard this news He was living just over the Jordan River, near where John used to baptize people. He did not immediately leave for Bethany but waited another two days until He knew that Lazarus was dead.
Because Bethany was less than 2 miles from Jerusalem, the disciples were alarmed that Jesus said they were going there, a place where they had threatened to stone Him, a place of danger.
First He went to Bethany, where He raised Lazarus back to life, who had been dead for four days. This miracle brought many Jews to believe in Him, as well as some Greeks.
John 12 v 20 - 23: "And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast:
21 The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying, Sir, we would see Jesus.
22 Philip cometh and telleth Andrew: and again Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified."
This was an unexpected answer.......The Greeks seek You.....My hour has come to be glorified. These Greeks were the first Gentiles (non-Jews) to seek to believe in Jesus and it was a signal from His Father that the reason why He had come to Earth was to die for our sins, Jew and Gentile, Greek, Arab, American, Russian, Chinese, for all the inhabitants of Earth, dead, alive or still to be born.
The resurrection of Lazarus was a legal precedent to His own coming Resurrection. Satan owns this world, compliments of Adam and Eve's submission to him in Eden. And an unholy mess he has made of it and counting. He is obsessed with laws and for God to "intrude" upon his domain He must go the legal route.
The first legal precedent was when Abraham obeyed God and offered Isaac, his son, on the altar and at the last moment God substituted a ram. This allowed God to offer His Son as a substitute for us, our eternal death was taken by Jesus so we could have life.
After His crucifixion He followed the thief into Paradise, Abraham's Bosom, where the dead believers waited for this day. While He was there He thoroughly beat up Satan and hung the sins, laws and eternal death in the lake of fire, around his scrawny neck.
Jesus, and His nervous disciples, went the short road to Jerusalem where He had no good news for the Pharisees, the religious leaders of the Jews, or for the money-lenders who exchanged currencies into temple coins for buying doves for sacrifice in the Temple, at exorbitant rates of exchange. They and their money went flying down the steps as Jesus roared with anger that they had turned a house of prayer into a merchandise opportunity.
Perhaps this is why so many churches today have had their candlesticks removed, i.e. the anointing of holiness has been cut off, because they are becoming rich and lazy on the tithes, offerings and sales of books, DVD's and other merchandise in shops attached to their churches, while the poor suffer. Some churches have their own ATM's in their foyers. They will definitely get the "I never knew you" response when they least want to hear it.
If we have a vibrant personal relationship with Jesus we would seek to emulate Him, His ministry, His way of dealing with sinners, His way of dealing with those who desecrate places set apart for worship. When our pride, arrogance and self-justification prevents us from admitting our serious misjudgments of things precious to Him there will be equally serious consequences. The lack of repentance leads to trouble.
I don't want to keep beating this drum but I have my orders and the urgency He demands. He does not want to lose anyone He died for but there are many who are the blind leading the blind. He says strong delusion will be sent upon them to believe the lies they spout because the door to Heaven cannot open for them.
If you do not think we are well into the last days before the Rapture, Tribulation, Armageddon, Return of Jesus to Earth, then please ignore me. I cannot ignore what He is telling me and what He insists I share with you. He knows how the quality of life on this planet is deteriorating. He knows the Communists of this world are agents of Satan, and they rule with an iron fist.
He knows the Antichrist is already here waiting in the wings for the restraints to be removed, that is when the Christians are caught up into the sky above Earth to be with Jesus forever. That's when Satan enters into a man as he did into Judas at the Last Supper, to betray Jesus. He has rebuilt the Temple in Jerusalem and now he enters the Holy of Holies and declares himself God the Messiah, and demands worship.
The Jews immediately have their eyes opened and flee to Jordan. Armageddon starts and Jesus returns in great wrath to destroy the imposter and all his evil armies, and to rescue Israel, His Bride, from their enemies.
On the very last page of the Bible, the very last chapter, long after the Rapture, are these victorious words.
Revelation 22 v 17: "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely."
On the road to Jerusalem Jesus finds an ass and rides it triumphantly into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, so called because the people of that city cried Hosanna to the King and spread palm fronds on the road to honour Him.
He was not resurrected the following Sunday to honour the Roman goddess, Oestre, worshipped as Easter. Chocolate eggs, rabbits and chickens are her symbols and detract from the mighty miracle of Jesus rising from the dead to be alive forever more. He is our Passover Lamb and it is far more worthy to have a Last Supper Seder and Feast of Passover to honour His memory, than play games with a Roman goddess. We have been blessed these many years because we keep this Feast, a Christian Passover which includes Communion.
There are so many things in the Jewish Passover ceremony that point to Jesus including His death and resurrection, the stripes and holes in the matzos, unleavened bread, that point to those who will weep when they look upon Him who was pierced. I recommend it to every Christian.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, there is so much beauty still to be seen in Your Word and the precious journey Your Son made from Heaven to the Cross, the Tomb, to Abraham's Bosom, back through Earth with all the dead saints visibly walking around Jerusalem on their way to You. We are living in this time when many are being deceived, Lord open our eyes to truth and let us honour You without the carnal activities of those who are blinded by wealth. In Jesus' name. Amen.