Evening star., 1921-03-05
BY REV. HUGH r. STEVENSON.

DA NV. HUN II. SIEt ENSON.
Over against the dark background
OF the plot against the life of the
Lord Jesus Matthew has painted the
bright picture of the Master among
His friends in Bethany. During the
period of Christs public ministry, he
had no place that He could call home,
but when the shadows of the cross
deepened He found among His friends
In Bethany where He loved to be.
the blessings of the home life 1t
was there with Lazarus, the TREND
whom He loved and for whom He
had risked His life in response to the
message that Mary and Martha had
sent Him, and his two sisters, who
appreciated all that the Master had
done in restoring their brother Laza-
rus from the grave. that Jesus found
the seclusion, sympathy and strength
that comes to all in the environment
Of the home, life.
When the Lord arrived with His
disciples at Bethany on the way to
attend the passover feast. His friends
prepared for Him supper at the
home Of Simon. the leper. who prob
ably had been healed of his leprosy
by the Master. If he had not been
cured. none OF those who partook
ceremonially clean. In the attempts
to establish "A relationship between
simon and the family of Lazarus
Martha and Mary, some have sug-
Eested that the leper was the father
OF the three. while others surmise
from the fac; that Martha waited
upon the table as IL she were the
hostess. that Simon was her husband
There is no evidence that he was
anything more than neighbor. and
that the village people who had wit
messed Christ's marvellous power in
restoring Lazarus had combined 10
give the Lo-d a community testi-
monial ~ affection. Matthew intro
duces this event out of its chrono-
logical order. so that he NAV reveal
the motive that prompted the Mas
fer's betrayal by the traitor The
feast took place as JOHN saws. six
DAYS before the feast. while the per-
tidy OF Judas occurred two days be-
fore the passover.
Christ had reCo-rized as He faced
Jerusalem. thu He w"s approaching
! the cross. When thnv c-athe~od
around tn" table on trrt mr,rorable
night in the house ~ Sirrou. the len
ar. who was probai,'v q trophv of the
Saviors grace and power 10 mr.
take OF the sinp'A r,eal. which the
Masters friends bad prnpared for
Him and His disciples the atroos-
=.
Jesus knew what was before Him.
The disciples half shared His fore
bodings. Lazarus. who was also q
living witness to the Masters nowar
was an honored guest that night He
attracted the muititud"S by The won
der of his resurrection from the
grave and by the new intellectual
and spiritual outlook that his unioue
experience had given him. He
not only attracted men hy virtue of
what the Lord had done fo- him but
. he also inspired them with faith in
the Master. This resulted in q dis
cussion by the Sanhedrin. which was
I, the supreme court OF the Jews as To
how they could suhtlety take and
put Jesus TO death. The chief priest.
lAnnas. the hereditary high priest and
jhis son-in-law. Caiaphas. the acting
Thigh priest. also determined that
lazarus. through whose influence
(many were believing in Jesus, should
suffer a similar fate for his LOYALTY
sand love. They were alarmed az the
growing popularity of Jesus. which
Threatened their position. prestige
land power. and in their Judgment the
livery foundations of their national
land religious life. They had tried
levery other form of opposition. so
ithey determined now to kill the Mas
ter.
Jesus, in that quiet home in Beth.
any. surrounded by His friends. knew
that the end. which He had seen in
the distance at His baptism. which
He had revealed to Sicodemus. which
had been the theme Of His conver.
sation with Moses and Elijah, ard
which He had tried to make clea,
upon more than one occasion TO His
disciples. was rapidly approaching =
He knew not only the atoning valI,
of His death. but the awful Grim.
by which il would be accomplished
The agony OF Gethsemane was over
shadowing Him. He realized thai
within a week He would be betrayet
by one Of His disciples. abandonec
by all of them. illegally condemned
and be crucified. While He calmly
recognized the approaching darkness
that would follow from carrying ou
the organized opposition's program
to destroy Him. yet He was com
forted by and appreciated the con
suming love OF Mary. who anointet
Him beforehand for the buryiug
upon the night preceding His tri
umphaI entrance into Jerusalem.
Twice during the Lords ministr,
He war anointrd by woman. Ono
in the early days of His ministry II