Frank Viola - Gods Favorite Place on Earth

GODS FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH

Published by David C Cook

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. (Public Domain.). NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright 1960, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org.). NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NIV 2011 are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. NLT are taken from the Holy Bible , New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. GW taken from GODS WORD, 1995 Gods Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group. WE taken from THE JESUS BOOK - The Bible in Worldwide English. Copyright SOON Educational Publications, Derby DE65 6BN, UK. Used by permission.

LCCN 2013933125

ISBN 978-0-7814-0590-4

eISBN 978-1-4347-0558-7

2013 Frank Viola

Published in association with the literary agency of Daniel Literary Group, Nashville, TN 37215.

The Team: Alex Field, Amy Konyndyk, Nick Lee, Caitlyn Carlson, Karen Athen

Cover Design: Amy Konyndyk

Cover Image: David Roberts, Historical Picture Archive/CORBIS

First Edition 2013

Narratives anchor people to a unified vision. May this book give you a unified vision that will govern the rest of your life.

Contents

INTRODUCING AN AMAZING VILLAGE

In every generation, Christians face the same challengesnamely doubt, discouragement, fear, guilt, division, rejection, and the struggle against consumerism and complacency.

The Gospels narrate the incredible story of Jesus earthly life. Yet there is a story within this narrative thats often missed. And to my mind, its the greatest story never tolda narrative within the narrative.

That narrative is the story of Jesus repeated visits to the little village of Bethany.

When we extract the story of Bethany from the four Gospels and trace the footsteps of our Lord there, a beautiful saga emerges. This saga speaks to the challenges of doubt, discouragement, fear, guilt, division, rejection, consumerism, and spiritual apathy. Challenges we all face as believers.

My object in this book is to tell the story of Bethany and bring its powerful message to life. The reason? Because that narrative changed my life. And Im hopeful that it will change yours also.

This book is a work of biblical narrative. The Gospels give us the meat of the story of Bethany, but Ive filled in the details by creating dialogue, action, and atmosphere. These details add color and texture to the story. They transform the story into vivid 3D Technicolor, unearthing uncommon insights from the biblical text.

Note that Ive drawn the creative details from first-century history. As such, they are fully consistent with the biblical record and New Testament scholarship.

Even so, this isnt a scholarly work. As a result, different possibilities derived from the biblical data are deliberately left out. My narration is according to what I consider to be the best research available.

According to the Gospels, four main characters lived in Bethany: Martha; her sister, Mary; and their brother, Lazarus. A person named Simon the leper also lived there.

Some people may think that Jerusalem is Gods favorite place on earth. And in a sense they are correct. Jerusalem is central in the Bible. It is where God put His name and where He chose to presence Himself in the temple.

When Jesus arrived on the scene, however, the holy city of Jerusalem became something that God never intended. And it rejected its Savior. So much so that it crucified Him. The tears of Jesus over Jerusalem, therefore, were not tears of satisfaction and joy. They were tears of sorrow for rejecting its Messiah. In the following pages I will demonstrate that the place where Jesus ChristGod incarnatewas happiest, the most satisfied, and felt most at home was Bethany. It is in this sense that I am using the phrase favorite place.

In the pages that follow, Lazarus will tell the story in six parts. Following each frame of the story, a walking it out section will practically apply some of the crucial points of the narrative that bear on our lives today. The book concludes with a talking it over section to help guide discussions for churches and small groups.

As you read the incomparable story of Jesus in Bethany, I expect the profound significance of what our Lord did in this village to come to life for you. And when you are finished, I hope you will discover the meaning of Gods favorite place on earth.

FACTS ABOUT BETHANY

Bethany was a tiny village a little less than two miles (three kilometers) east of Jerusalem. It was located on the southeastern slopes of the Mount of Olives.

Opposite Bethany was the garden of Gethsemane. Gethsemane, which means olive press, was located on the western slopes of the Mount of Olives.

Bethany was full of palm trees, almond trees, olive trees, pomegranate trees, and fig trees. The shade of those trees offered a welcome retreat for tired and wearied travelers.

During the six days preceding His crucifixion, Jesus visited Jerusalem in the daytime and retreated to Bethany to spend the night. He spent the last six nights of His earthly life in Bethany, where He found refuge, repose, safety, acceptance, and peace.

The precise meaning of Bethany is unclear. Some believe it means house of the poor. Others suggest it means house of the afflicted. Others say it means house of dates. Still others believe it means house of figs. In this book, we will use the last definition. You will understand why later.

Jesus especially loved three people in Bethany: Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Lazarus and his two sisters were dear to our Lord, likely drawing the warmest feelings from His heart.