Mensa Otabil - Jesus Goes to Bethany (10/21/2025)
We’re close to Easter, so I’m going to use this week and the week after to deal with the Easter event. We start with John’s Gospel, chapter 12, and verse 1. Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had been dead and whom he had raised from the dead.
The Gospel of John pays a lot of attention to the last week of the life of Jesus Christ-his actions, the places he went, the words he spoke, the prayers he prayed-and so there is a lot to glean from the Gospel of John regarding the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The chapter dates the events happening from this chapter to the last six days before the Passover, that is, before the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was fully aware of what was ahead of him; he was aware of the betrayal, his suffering, his crucifixion, his death, and his resurrection. He knew all of it, and so he went to Bethany to pay a visit to Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha.
Now, why did Jesus have to go to Bethany? The Scriptures don’t tell us why, but could it be that he was foreshadowing what was going to happen to him? Because Lazarus had been dead and had resurrected, Jesus is foreshadowing, saying, " I’m also going to die, and I will resurrect.» So this visit to Bethany and to the home of Lazarus and his sisters is very crucial to what Jesus is communicating about his own death and resurrection. The passage also talks about the Passover, so everything is about the Passover here. What was the Passover? It was a feast commemorating the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. If you remember the story well, God delivered Israel from Egypt, and on the night of their final deliverance, there was the Passover. On that day, God told the children of Israel to apply the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, and every family was to hide indoors. When the blood was on top of the doors, they would be spared death.
So Passover commemorates the sacrificing of a lamb, the application of the blood, and the redemption of Israel. All of this tells us about what is about to happen. On the night of Passover, there is salvation, there is deliverance, but it all comes because a lamb or an animal is killed, and its blood provides the safety and the security for God’s people. In verse 1, God helps us to focus on the events about to happen, and if we look at the picture, there is going to be a Passover that will end up in redemption. The first Passover redeemed Israel as a nation, but this particular Passover is going to redeem the whole world, and those who come to safety in Christ-just as they had to do in times past-need to come to Christ, and his blood will cover and provide salvation.
Then we also see that from the story of Lazarus, there is going to be a death, and there will be a resurrection. So that’s how John chapter 12 opens to us, and we will continue tomorrow. Let us pray. Say with me: «Heavenly Father, you are my life. Thank you for sending your Son to give me life. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.» Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.