A Walk to Bethany — Walter Wilson

We're going to take a walk tonight out to Bethlehem, sitting very far from Jerusalem, just down Dusty Road, beyond the Mount of Olives. My wife and I were there. It was about the third or fourth journey the Lord Jesus took after he came back from the dead.

He went up to the memory of Galilee to see the eleven disciples there, and strangely enough it says when they saw him, some believed and some believed not. When they were looking right at him, close to him, there were some that didn't believe him.

And I think, it's a personal opinion, but I think that those who didn't believe were the ones who were omitted from the Acts of the Apostles. You know, they're not mentioned in the Acts, all of them, and I rather think that those who wouldn't believe in him, when they saw him alive after he died, that God just left him out of his programs for our services, it seems like.

And then you remember he made a trip to see 500 brethren at once. That's far more than we have here. They were all believers, and he went somewhere to see them. It doesn't say where, nor what he did with them, but Paul says he saw them.

Jesus Leads His Disciples to Bethany

And in this journey, he gives us some very interesting readings. Remember, it says in Luke 24, verse 50, Jesus led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. So, let's go out there together and see why he took them out to Bethany.

He could have taken them to Nazareth, because that's where he was raised as a boy. He could have taken them there and showed them the carpentry shop. I went up there to Nazareth and saw what was there.

It seemed to be where he worked. I don't know if this is true or not. He could have taken them down to Bethlehem, where he was born, and showed them the strange things that he saw as a boy, as a little fellow down there.

But he didn't. He could have taken them to Capernaum, a wonderful city where he performs such marvelous miracles. It's all a bunch of rubble and ruin just now, but he could have taken them there. There must have been a reason why he took them to Bethany.

Now, I suggest, if I may, eight reasons for going to that little city. The first one is because that's where he raised Lazarus from the dead. He wanted you and me to know that nobody in the world can give life except the Lord Jesus.

And he could take the worst kind of a case, as Lazarus had been given, he didn't decompose already. And then the Savior came and gave him life. Now, the devil knows that, so he has a lot of substitutes for the Lord Jesus.

But no modern religion that I know of will offer to give life. It just tells dead sinners how to keep from sinking too bad. It tells them what kind of perfume to use. It tells them what kind of flowers to put on.

But, you know, you can take a coffin. I saw a man buried in a $7 ,500 casket. That's what the casket cost, $7 ,500. It had silver-chased mountains, beautiful things. It was covered with orchids, but inside was a dead body.

And that's all religion can do for you. Trim you up nicely on the outside, cover you with perfume, and fix you up. And the devil has lots of those programs, just lots of them. But they leave the sinner absolutely dead in sin.

The Lord isn't teaching us how to make the old man be good. And the Lord Jesus took them out to Bethany so they would see and know and never forget that no one can give life but the Savior. Do you remember in the 4th chapter of John, there was a boy that was dying, and his father came down to Cana from Capernaum.

He asked the father to come up and heal the boy. And the man said, the Lord Jesus said, Unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe, unless you write lots of books. You have to have something explode inside him, or see a light, or have some strange feeling.

And the Savior said, Unless you see signs and wonders, you won't believe. And the dear fellow, his heart was breaking for his boy, he said, Come down, male, my child died. And the Lord Jesus said, Go thy way, thy son liveth.

And you remember the next day when he said his name, the boy was well. And it occurred at the very moment that Jesus had said those words. Now, he's telling us these two stories in the 4th chapter of the boy that was dying, and the 11th chapter of the boy that was dead, so that we would always know that nobody can give us life or sustain life except Christ Jesus.

Now, don't let anybody fool you, beloved. Don't let any religion or religious program give you the idea that you can get God's life, eternal life, because it can't be done. And the Savior took those 11 disciples out there so they would see him, and never forget that there's no substitute for the person the Lord Jesus gives life to a dead soul.

And it doesn't make any difference how bad he smells. It doesn't make any difference how low he gets. It doesn't make any difference how far he's going in his sin. It doesn't make a big difference. The Lord likes to have difficult cases, just like we doctors do.

We don't get anything good if somebody comes to us with a headache. We want something real to take care of. And if we have a real disease and we see that case get well, then we have something to talk about.

That's our only Savior. The worse they are, the better he likes it. And he gives instantaneous healing. And he took those 11 men out so they would never forget, and always remember that he only can give life, life eternal, God's own life that fits us for heaven.

Christ in the Christian Home

And so he took them there where he raised Lazarus from the grave. The second one was out there that a girl named Martha received Jesus into her home. And he wanted these disciples to remember and never forget that he loved to be taken into the home.

And there wouldn't be any divorces if he was there. There wouldn't be any quarreling and fussing if he was there. He brings peace and joy and love. And all the things that make a home hungry, he does it.

When he comes in, the trouble is out. You know, when the sun sets, the sin comes up. And sadly in the home, when the sin is out, then trouble is in. And he took them out to this destiny to see that woman that took Jesus in.

And it says, Martha invited him into her home. Now, beyond that, he's telling us that. He wants us to let Christ rule and reign in the home, and be sovereign in the home. So we pray together, and sing together, and work together, and serve together, and go to church together, and go to Sunday school together, and do everything along with our lovely Lord.

And he wanted them to never forget that the home to be a godly home must have Christ there. That happened at Bethany. She took Jesus in, and godly quantity. We don't read much that she did. It just says in the 12th chapter, she served.

And that's a wonderful thing, beloved, because in the 11th chapter, the Lord reproved her, you remember. Martha, Martha, you're kindred about much serving. But she didn't take offense like we do. She didn't take offense at all, because in the 12th chapter, when they had a peace, it says, and Martha served.

Now, she's been like somebody that I know. She'd say, yeah, get somebody else. I'm not going to serve anyone. They brought me out, and I'm through. But that didn't happen. This precious woman took Jesus in, because he was there.

She accepted the reproof and the rebuke, and by the grace of God, they had a home for Christ. That's another reason he took Martha, so he had domestic felicity. He was giving us a prescription for a happy home.

Take him into the home, and then prepare something for him, as Martha did. She prepared the supper for him. Mary helped her, because it says that Mary also sat at Jesus' feet. That is, in addition to helping in the kitchen, she was out there sitting at his feet learning something from him.

And so he took the 11 men out to see what would happen in a home where the Savior was invited in. That's the second reason. You know, she was taking him to King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. I remember I sat down in a seat that had been occupied once by one of our presidents.

Boy, I felt good all over. I sat where the big chief sat. And then I sat in the very seat where J. Pierpont Morgan, Sr., that great moneymaker. I sat in his seat one time. But I didn't feel any richer.

I just felt happier that I could sit where he sat once. Now, remember, when you're taking in the Lord Jesus, you're taking in the King of Kings. He walked with him. The story is told of a man that went to borrow some money from J. Pierpont Morgan.

He went and borrowed $100 ,000, and Morgan took it in. He knew this. He was president of a bank up in New York City. And so Mr. Morgan asked him about the sheep. He was raising sheep, they thought. And how his child was.

He heard one of his children was sick. He talked about the family. And then he said, by the way, I want to introduce you to some of our other bankers. So he went to Wall Street, the Irving Trust Company, and introduced him to the president of that.

And then he took him up to the Fulton Street corner and introduced him to the president of Fulton Bank. And then over to the City National Bank and introduced him to four bank presidents. And then when his arms were hit, he went back to his office.

And the man said, but how about that $100 ,000 I want to borrow from you? Well, he said, any of those fellows will interview you now. See? He was walking with somebody, a modern somebody. And that showed that he had confidence in him.

Now, he walked with our lovely Lord. We invited him into our home. And we have the King of Kings and Lord of Lords there, the Prince of Peace. And the Lord of that, that's the reason we don't get him from heaven, because he dwells there.

And then he's a chief musician. Do you remember in the midst of the congregation the right thing plays underneath? He's a leader of the congregation singing in heaven. You put him in, and you have the musicians that sing in the dark and give songs in the night.

And they would sing as I saw a woman sing two weeks ago. She weighed 510 pounds. And she was helpless from her hips down. And I went to see her thinking I'd take some comfort from her. I was like carrying coats in Newcastle.

She was the happiest woman I've seen in many a year. She was just as radiant as me. I hadn't been out of bed for years. I don't know how long. And so terribly heavy. And yet a beautiful singer. You never want to meet.

Singing and worshiping. She had Christ in the home. She brought Him in one day, and He gave songs in the night. When you'd think she'd be complaining, she was singing. I have friends in Kansas City. I never say, how are you?

They'll tell me for an hour. And when you're bringing the Savior in, He dries the tears. You invite Him into the home, beloved. And you'll be surprised at the blessing He brings into the home among the children.

Your children will fight. I don't know how your children are, but we thought our children were going to be angels. Well, they were, but not exactly the right color. We had some trouble with them. And when our children would fight, we'd make them kiss each other.

Now, you try that. They'd rather take a lie than kiss each other. It was just easy. We had to go out of the house sometimes to save our own lives. I mean, I was a little, to see them do it. But when you bring the Savior in, it's wonderful what happens.

Worship Over Mere Religious Service

And He takes somehow the bitterness out of life, and enables you to rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him. The next evening we went out there, and there was a worshiper out there, Mary. And He took these eleven disciples out to show that He'd rather have worship than service.

For Martha was busy in the kitchen, and Mary was sitting in the parlor with Jesus. And Christ said, Mary hath chosen that good part that shall not be taken away from her. He wants to be loved. I wonder how much time any of us spend loving the Lord.

We sing it. We sing that beautiful song, I Love Him. You know, love does something to your heart. It makes you jump up and down when you get in love. You act like a fool quite often. You haven't got any sense when you're in love with somebody.

And that love for our lovely Lord makes you do crazy things sometimes. But He wants to be loved and worshiped and honored. Do you remember in John 4, 23, we that worship the Father must worship Him in spirit and in truth, for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.

Now, the next verse is always the same. God is the Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. And that isn't what it says at all. That's what our version says. What we're saying is God is the Spirit, and they that worship Him, the Holy Spirit, must worship Him just like they worship the Father, in spirit and in truth.

The Spirit is worshiped, and He worships His God. And I wonder if we do. Worship is the pouring out of the heart and soul to the Lord just for what He is, not begging Him for something, not asking Him for something, not showing no gratitude for something.

That isn't worship. You do that for everybody. I did that tonight when I was eating with the rest of them. I gave thanks to the girl that waited on me, and the lady waiting on me at the counter. I thanked her, but I wasn't worshiping her.

Thanksgiving isn't worship at all. Worship is pouring out your heart to Him because you love Him and because of who He is and what He is. And you'll find in the first chapter of Hebrews and the first chapter of Colossians and the first chapter of Revelation, worship.

In those three chapters, they're worshiping, worshiping, worshiping the blessed Lord. The blind man fell at His feet and worshiped Him. The leper fell at His feet. Christ hadn't done a thing for him yet.

It says He fell at His feet and worshiped Him. He adored Him. And so the Lord Jesus took these eleven men out to Bethany so they would learn that He wants to be loved and worshiped more than He wants service.

You can hire servicers. We don't need to be seeking for servants. We need to be seeking for worshipers. That's what it says. That's why He can get ten worshipers. There's lots of them. The words are full of them.

He was working for the Lord, but not many worshipers. And we go to prayer and prayer, and we thank Him for this beautiful day, and then God wants to give me, give me, give me, and do this and do this and give me this and do this.

And that isn't worship at all. But we ought to learn, beloved, the art, which is the lost art, of worshiping our Lord, pouring out the heart to Him in devotion and love because of who He is. And He wants that.

The Father seeketh us to worship Him, and in the next chapter He's seeking worshipers for the Holy Spirit. And then there's a leper out there in Bethany, Simon the leper. And the Lord Jesus, 13 to 18, may not see him.

Christ Cleanses the Defilement of Sin

So if we remember and never forget that only Christ can put away leprosy or sin. It's a type of sin in its defiling influence. There are other types of sin, but this one is in its defiling influence. The drunkard defiles those in his home and those that he surrounds, and other types of sin that defile people and defile things.

And the man's just defiling influence. Now, the Lord Jesus took to the march to see Simon the leper. He opened his house too for the Savior. That's one of the marches, beloved, that a man saves. He invites the Lord Jesus to rule and reign in his heart.

He loves to be with Him. And a woman came there, you remember, with the alabaster box of ointment. And there in that home was that leper. These eleven men could see a man that had been cleansed of his leprosy by the Lord Jesus.

There's a leprosy of anger. Someone was telling me today about a friend that's always flying off the handle, as they say. It's hard to say anything to that friend. He gets mad at everybody and everything.

And everybody's wrong, and he's against the world, and you can see it in his face. Then there are others that are stinking, plenty stinking. He stopped me in front of the church one time before the service to change a dime.

That's right, right in front of the church. I could see he had plenty of stuff on that was good. I think in some churches the young people have the feathers that are squeezed off the eagle. He wanted them to see, these eleven men, to see what Simon would do after the Lord Jesus had cleansed himself away.

So divine demands my heart. I heard him singing at a Bible conference. I heard him singing. Rabbi Simon the Leper. That dear man had been saved from his leprosy, and no one else could do it. And he opened his house and took in the Lord Jesus and took in this poor woman who brought her alabaster box.

And so as he took them out to Bethany, he wanted these eleven men to know that we ought to be very, very grateful and thankful and worship the God who heals us from our leprosy that's so vile that we can't go into heaven with it.

Not with a spot, not with a particle. That's the reason he puts our sins in a bag so he has them all there. And overlooks none of them. And saves us by his grace and blots out every sin. I remember one time going to see a confederate soldier.

Nobody knew who he was. He lived in a town in southern Missouri. And I was told that nobody could reach him. No preacher could reach him. And so I was asked to go see him. He was a white haired fellow about 85 years old.

And tall, erect, straight. And he wouldn't tell me what his trouble was. He wouldn't tell anybody what his trouble was, but he wouldn't get saved and he wouldn't go to church. And finally I went to him and I said, no, I'm a medical student.

And when I try to help people, I try to find out what's wrong. And if they don't tell me what's wrong, I can't help them. You tell me what's wrong. Well, let me tell you. I was a sharpshooter in the confederate army.

And I was out in front of the forest, at the edge of the forest. And then there was an opening and on the other side was another wood. And the Union boys were there. And I was supposed to kill anybody who came in sight.

And a young fellow came on, a very young fellow. A Union boy with a gun over his shoulder. And he was a sentry walking up and down in the moonlight. And I was supposed to kill him. And I said, well, that would be murder.

He wasn't in the battle. That would be murder if I kill him. But he didn't know. I said, if I don't, they'll report me. And I'll be shot myself. So he said, I took him in there. I shot him and killed him.

And when he fell, he fell face up in that moonlight. Just a fine young fellow. And I knew he had a mother at home praying for him. And a father praying for him. And a preacher praying for him. But I took the number off his neck and took his gun and turned it in.

And listen, young fellow. I committed the unpardonable sin. And God will not pardon me. God will not forgive me. It is plain murder. And you know what I looked for? I looked for verses that had the word all in them.

Colossians 2 .13. Having forgiven you all iniquities. Did you notice that word, mister? All. All iniquities. And then I told him, Acts 2 .13 .38 and 39. Do you know not even therefore men and brethren that through this man is preached unto you?

The forgiveness of sins. And by him. Now listen, mister. All that believe. Are justified from all things. From which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Did you notice that word all? Tell me, mister.

How does that leave out? How does that omit? He stood there. He sat there in his chair in his home. I went to him in his cottage. First thing I saw was tears coming down his cheek. He said, read that verse to me again.

And I read it to him again slowly. By him all that believe are justified from all things. From which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. He didn't answer me. He just dropped down on his knees.

He said, Lord Jesus, if I'd have known this many years ago, I'd have lived a different life. Nobody told me you'd forgive that sin. And the Lord transformed that dear fellow. That's the reason Jesus took him out to Bethany.

Remember? And never forget that there isn't any sin that he can't put away. Except the unpardonable sin, of course. The sin against the Holy Spirit. I've never seen that once in my long life. I saw one man do that.

That's the only one. The disciples need to learn that. Because, and we need to learn. There are a lot of God-fearing people who live in misery, not knowing that there's forgiveness for this evil that thou mayest be feared.

And so they go and confess the same thing over and over and over again. And the very first time, it tells you, and you've locked it out. And they don't need to drag it up and remind them of it all the time.

Total Devotion to Christ

And then there's another one. That's the sin of ingratitude. Then there's a woman who bought the alabaster box. I like that. Now, that is not Mary. Mary anointed his feet. This woman anointed his head.

Mary anointed him six days before the Passover. It says so. This woman anointed him two days before the Passover. It's an entirely different case. And she bought her alabaster box. Now, the alabaster box was the girl's hook chest.

She saved that until she found the man to whom she was given life. Then she bought that box and broke it at his feet. And that's telling her, telling him, that she is willing to belong to him forever.

And when she saw Jesus and heard about Jesus, he won her heart. And she went home, got this alabaster box out of her cupboard somewhere, and brought it to him. She knew he was the one. And kneeling there in the house of Simon the leper, not in the house of Lazarus, nor Martha, in a different house entirely, in the house of the leper, she broke that alabaster box at his feet.

And thus she told him he could have her God beloved, or just believe him as a savior at the end of the journey. That isn't what he wants. His disciples out there say they would know and never forget, and always remember to learn from him.

He wants to be our savior. He'd save us from a lot of trouble if we'd let him do it. But here are the women who worshiped him and gave herself to him, and he wanted his disciples to see that and know that, so they wouldn't be satisfied just with profession.

Now the reason, one reason I think that there are so many fatalities in those who profess to be saved is because we don't take him. We want him to do something for us, but we don't want the one who does it.

And the Lord wanted these eleven disciples to remember and never forget that the Savior wants ourselves, our love, our devotion, that's what men get married for, and women, the one he chose. Of course, sometimes you're married for money, you're so desperate and you always know he wished he could eat her up, and after you marry her he wished he had.

Let's remember that our Lord wants us, and he wants us to give us all a blessing of him and his fellowship. The evangelist, I think I mentioned to you after we saw a young man, thought it was the finest thing in the world.

He said, well, don't you think salvation is the finest thing in the world? And the boy said, no it isn't. He kept company with the man who saved me. We're not satisfied with a wedding, that's over. We're not satisfied with the one we got in the wedding.

And the Lord wants us, by his grace, to remember that he wants us, and he took these eleven men out there so that they would remember and never forget that he wants to be worshipped and loved and trusted, not a banker, not to get something from him all the time, but to have himself.

Christ as Comforter in Grief

And then there's another reason. There was a disappointment out of Bethany. He was out there one night, and by the way, there's only one time in the Bible that Jesus stayed in Jerusalem at night. That's when he stayed with Nicodemus.

That's the only record. He seemed to always go out every day up to some other place to pray, and usually to Bethany. And so this time he went out to Bethany and spent the night. And in the morning, all those things he'd done so much for, forgotten.

And it says that he went into Jerusalem in the eleventh chapter of Mark. He was hungry and saw a fig tree and thought he might get something to eat there. But he got the same treatment from the fig tree he did from the post.

Didn't get a thing. You ask your husband whether he got anything in your heart today. What did you give him today? I know we prayed, but probably we asked for something. Didn't we go and give him something, a way of loving, adoring?

Gave him nothing, and he went without breakfast to go back to Jerusalem. I tried to experience one time in Western City. I went there to preach. They didn't invite me to come. I got off at the gate there and had to stay around there quite a while until 930.

Then I went up to the church. And I went in, sat down, and nobody spoke to me. And nobody gave me a handbook. It was a Sunday school hour. And the folks went to the classes, but Bethany was sitting out there alone in the auditorium.

And then after Sunday school was over, the folks, most of them went home. You know, the reason children go home after Sunday school is because the preacher don't make it interesting for the kids. He has a long faith and gives out hymn number 21, omitting verse 3.

And then he has a lot of wrong faith stuff and preliminaries, ad libitum, ad nauseum. And then the children get nothing. Well, I sat there, and folks began to come in for the service. And they came, passed right by me, finally in front of me, got ahold of me.

Nobody gave me a handbook. And then the service began. They sang hymn number 21, omitting verse 3. And then somebody played a violin solo that nobody in hell on earth could understand. And then the audience played something that nobody knew.

And then they gave the announcements about the renewal of the Ladies' Aid Society. And after quite a while, the preachers said that we were supposed to have a visiting preacher. I wonder if a gentleman has arrived anywhere.

So I kind of stuck my elbow up a little bit. And, oh, the gentleman is here. Would you kindly come to the platform? So I went up and preached. He spoke to me when I came on the platform. But at the end of the service, he went somewhere.

I don't know where he went. I never saw him anymore. And nobody else spoke to me. So I went back to the depot and got my dinner and walked around town all afternoon until the night service. You know, but I would retreat through the same way.

These men were taken down to Bethany to see that he wasn't hungry in Jerusalem. And then again for that group of actors, they died the tears of Mary and Martha. And the Savior took these men out there so they would know that only he is the Comforter.

He sent the Holy Spirit to comfort us. And human beings can't do it somehow. I know we try to do it. We do our best. We put our arm around one that's grieving and share the sorrow, but he has to do it.

And he didn't want them manufacturing other ways of doing it. Bring them to the Savior. Bring them to the Lord Jesus, the shepherd of the sheep, who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. He wants them to remember and never forget that he dries the tears, mends the broken heart.

Remember he said he came to bind up the broken heart and to heal a wounded heart and to mend that which is broken? He came to do it. And he wanted these disciples to remember it and never forget it because it's so easy to dry other things.

Some people try carbolic acid. Some people try drugs. Some jump in the lake. It'd be so much sweeter and easier to go back to him because he bears our griefs and carries our sorrows. And then it was there that they learned that they had to do something about helping the person.

Guiding Young Believers Into Spiritual Maturity

Wear the stone away, said Jesus. And then when Lazarus came out, he said to them, take off his daily clothes. Now, I don't know if you've seen a mummy, but I unwrapped a mummy once over in Detroit. He was buried 1 ,200 years before Christ.

And it took me an hour to unwrap his head. The bandage was about three inches wide or four inches. And that bandage was so tough. Now, mind you, I couldn't tear it. I had to reach in my pocket and get out my scissors.

I carry a pair of scissors, old friend. Well, I don't carry that before. But I carry these scissors. And I took these scissors out to cut a place to start unwrapping that mummy. That cloth had been buried 3 ,100 years.

And you send your shirts for laundering. You don't need any shirts to come up with. They knew how to make cloth. And he said, you take the wrapping cloth. I wonder if we do that with our converts in our church.

They get saved and don't know a thing about God or the Bible. Do we take off the daily clothes for them? Help them to walk? I don't know how that man got out. Because he was wrapped. I'm telling you, the way they wrapped him, he couldn't touch.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't speak. Hundreds of yards of wrapping laundry came out. The Lord Jesus said the word and then gave the enabling. Then he said, you unwrap him. You loose him and let him go.

Not each one of us. You ought to approach the scriptures and teach us on yours. How to be experts at telling a young person how to grow in grace. How to get along with God. How to learn the Bible. How to read the Bible.

How to study the Bible. How to learn the things of God. We older ones ought to be experts at it. Many wouldn't. And he said, you take the daily clothes off. So he took these eleven men out there to show them they too must look after their converts.

And after they got into the world, take care of them. Meet their needs. Show them how to grow in grace. Teach them the things of God. Teach them how to be devoted Christians and loving Christians and intelligent Christians.

So he took these men out to get the last lessons before he went back to doing. I hope we shall learn these lessons ourselves. Go out to Bethany in your hearts' affections and learn these eight lessons.

Beloved, you will thank God all through eternity if you learn them. Let us pray. Blessed be the Holy Spirit. Since thou hast come from the Lord Jesus and from the Father to teach us, we're looking for thee to do it.

We expect thee to do it. And to impress upon our hearts and souls these wonderful truths. For the glory of Jesus' name. Amen.