He Was At Bethany

Day 67: Mark 14:1-21

“And while he was at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining at table, a woman came with an alabaster flask of ointment of pure nard, very costly, and she broke the flask and poured it over his head.” - Mark 14:3 ESV

Jesus spent a lot of nights in Bethany, which was also the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus (see John 11). It was a short two-mile journey from Jerusalem, which made it a perfect getaway from the drama surrounding him in Jerusalem. Even though it was downhill running from here to the cross on Friday, Jesus made time for meaningful meals with others.

Some commentators believe that Simon could have been a former leper that Jesus had healed. Otherwise, it would have made them ceremonially unclean for the Passover meal they were about to share.

If Jesus, even in this distressing time, could make time for rich fellowship with friends, shouldn't we? It could probably be argued that this is when we need meals with friends most.

Do you have a group of Christian friends that you can count on for encouragement as Jesus did with those in Bethany? If not, why? Many things in this life are just too big to deal with in isolation. We need this biblical fellowship.

This quote by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Life Together) drives home our need for other Jesus followers in our lives:

“The Christian, however, must bear the burden of a brother. He must suffer and endure the brother. It is only when he is a burden that another person is really a brother and not merely an object to be manipulated. The burden of men was so heavy for God Himself that He had to endure the Cross. God verily bore the burden of men in the body of Jesus Christ. But He bore them as a mother carries her child, as a shepherd enfolds the lost lamb that has been found. God took men upon Himself and they weighted Him to the ground, but God remained with them and they with God. In bearing with men God maintained fellowship with them. It was the law of Christ that was fulfilled in the Cross. And Christians must share in this law.”