By Barry Britnell
Synopsis: The tomb of Lazarus may be difficult to visit, but if you can get there, it can teach you life’s most important lesson.
I love leading Bible study tours to Israel. I love helping my travelers understand the land better and how it relates to Scripture. Probably one of the hardest jobs is deciding what to see. With so much to see in Israel, I have to be very selective about how to spend our time. Unfortunately, there are a few places that we cannot regularly visit. One of those places is Bethany.
The town of Bethany sits on the southeastern slope of the Mount of Olives. In the book of John, we learn that the city was about two miles from Jerusalem (John 11:18). Jesus would often visit this city. Not only did He have friends who lived there, but its location allowed Him to be close to Jerusalem, while being far enough away from the crowds to relax.
Today, visiting the town of Bethany is not as easy as one might think. Theoretically, if you were standing on the top of the Mount of Olives, you should be able to walk east a few minutes and arrive in the city. Unfortunately, because of political turmoil, a protective barrier wall was built just outside the city of Bethany in 2004. That wall has turned the simple 10-minute walk from the Mount of Olives into a complicated 40-minute bus ride. Consequently, as tourism dropped off, economic growth in the city has been curtailed.
In John 11, we read the touching story of Jesus traveling to the town of Bethany to visit His friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. Sadly, Lazarus had passed away a few days before Jesus’s arrival. Being overcome with grief, sharing in Mary’s sense of loss, Jesus wept (v. 35). Then our Lord raised His friend from the dead, saying, “Lazarus, come forth” (vs. 43)!
In 2017, I traveled to Bethany as part of a trip with the Appian Media team. We went there to film a scene for our Following the Messiah video series at the tomb of Lazarus.
To access the tomb, we had to walk several minutes before coming to a rock opening under a nondescript metallic sign that simply said, “Lazarus Tomb.” Entering the opening, we descended a couple dozen uneven steps to a small outer room perhaps six feet across. In the bottom of the floor were three small steps. By descending those steps and crawling on our knees for several feet, we entered a small rock-encased inner chamber. Tradition holds that the outer room was the vestibule with the inner chamber being the actual burial room, which contained the body of Lazarus.
There is probably no way to prove conclusively if this site is the actual location of the events recorded in John 11. Even if it is authentic, the rooms and the area around the tomb would have been changed over the centuries. Therefore, it currently looks nothing like what it would have during the time of Jesus.
So, why bring all of this up? Well, think about the irony. If you travel to Bethany today and ask to see the tomb of Lazarus, no one asks you if you want to see his final tomb. They automatically know that you are asking about his first tomb. If you ask to be taken to his final tomb, no one knows where it is located. Everyone who has already died has a final tomb, or a place that contains their earthly remains. However, Lazarus was special. He had a first tomb, and he had a final tomb.
What was the difference between these two tombs? Simple. The difference was Jesus.
Lazarus’ first tomb was his final tomb until Jesus came to Bethany and raised him from the dead. Subsequently, Lazarus would need another final tomb. A tomb that would be eventually forgotten in history because it did not have what the first tomb had: Jesus.
What is the lesson we can learn from the arduous journey into Bethany to see the tomb of Lazarus? In every aspect of life. . . and even in death. . . Jesus is what makes all the difference.
Image-1 Caption: Entrance to the tomb of Lazarus in Bethany
Image-2 Caption: Stairway to Vestibule
Image-3 Caption: Inner Chamber
