By Dr. Randall Smith
Courtesy of Christian Travel Study Programs, Ltd.
“On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. ?Lord,? Martha said to Jesus, ?if you had been here, my brother would not have died?. Jesus said to her, ?Your brother will rise again.? ?Jesus?came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ?Take away the stone,? he said. Then Jesus? called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.”
El-Azariah, an Arabic form of the name Lazarus, is the modern name of the village of Bethany. Jesus came to Bethany time and again to visit his good friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha. He came to Bethany three times in the last six months of his ministry: one time for Hanukkah (John 10), one time for the raising of Lazarus (John 11), and finally for the Passover. Martha served him dinner while Mary anointed the Teacher?s feet with scented oils. This was his last visit to Bethany, on the next day he began the final pilgrimage to Jerusalem. (John 12:1-3).
In the 1950?s Franciscan Fathers built an unusual church atop earlier foundations. They chose to build a church without windows, with the distinct look of a crypt. To recall the “I am the Resurrection and the Life,” saying of Jesus.
© Christian Travel Study Programs, Ltd.
