Visiting Bethany (part 1)

Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still in the place where Martha had come out to meet Him. – John 11:30 (NET)

In the time of Jesus, when the emperor (the Caesar) came to pay a visit to a town or a city within a colony or province, his visit was referred to as a “parousia.” When this visit would be made, the emperor would not simply enter into the town or city un-announced. This would be unthinkable, especially in light of the Caesar-cult (worship of Caesar as a divine being) that was so prevalent in the first century. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the Caesar would be lauded in grand fashion. After all, the man making this visit was the most powerful man in the world, and would be afforded as much honor as possible. Not only would this honoring be expected, but also demanded. To effect this, quite apart from Caesar simply entering into the city by himself, or with nothing more than his imperial entourage, a large group from the city would go out to meet him while he was still outside or at some distance from their city, while all inside the city would be preparing themselves, in a conformity (for some) that was most likely under the threat of physical pain or even death, to receive the emperor with acclamation and with reverence.

The selected and special group from the city, upon greeting the Caesar, quite naturally, would return to the city with him, celebrating his entrance into yet another place in which he reigned and had dominion. This would seem to be an entirely appropriate reception for the one that, beginning with the emperor Augustus, is referred to as “Lord” (the lord of the world who claimed allegiance and loyalty from his subjects throughout the whole of his empire), whose birthday was referred to as “evangelion” or “good news,” who is referred to as the “son of god” and “savior,” and who was thought of as the one who had finally brought peace and order into a chaotic world.

Having provided that basic bit of information, we now move to the eleventh chapter of the Gospel of John, and the story of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead. In it, we see some interesting elements and something of a “parousia” by Jesus as well. The first thing to notice, though we do not find this out immediately, is that after He had remained in the place where He was for two days after hearing that Lazarus (the one He loved) was sick (John 11:6), upon finally reaching the town of Bethany, Jesus did not immediately go into the village. He did not go straight to the tomb or to the house of Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha. Instead, curiously, He stopped outside the village. Does this not seem a bit strange? It does indeed. It does so because we know the full story, and because we know the full story, and the way the story ends, with Lazarus being raised from the dead, we know that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters.

In fact, as the story begins, Jesus’ love for this family was immediately evident, as we read that the two sisters went to the trouble of sending a message to Jesus that Lazarus was sick. Coupled with Jesus’ not immediately rushing to the aid of His friend, this stopping outside of Bethany and not even going into the town seems doubly strange. If it seems a bit perplexing to us at this moment, we can probably imagine that it was every bit as frustrating for these two sisters of Lazarus in that day as well, and that their fellow villagers were struck by the oddity of this occurrence. Not only that, but in small, tight-knit communities, as Bethany no doubt was, not only would the entire village know that Lazarus was sick, they would know that Lazarus had died, they would know that a message had been sent to Jesus informing Him of the sickness, they would know that Jesus did not respond by coming to Bethany with all rapidity, and they would now know that when Jesus did finally make His way to Bethany, that He stayed just outside the town, forcing the grieving sisters to come out to Him. They would know all of these things in the larger context of the hope of Mary and Martha, which we see manifested in their urgent message to Jesus about Lazarus’ sickness and their words to Him when they finally see Him (a hope that was eventually vindicated by their brother’s raising), that had been spurred by the healings and other miraculous occurrences that had marked Jesus’ ministry.