15 Mar. Jesus escapes from Jerusalem
"Then he [Jesus] went back across the Jordan River to the place where John had first baptised [at Bethany-beyond-the-Jordan]. Jesus stayed there, and many people came to him and said, 'John never did a miracle, but everything John said about this man is true.' And in that place many believed in Jesus."
"A man named Lazarus was sick. He lived in the town of Bethany [in Judaea], where Mary and his sister Martha lived. (Mary was the woman who later put perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.) Mary's brother was Lazarus, the man who was now sick. So Mary and Martha sent someone to tell Jesus, 'Lord, the one you love is sick.'"
"When Jesus heard this, he said, 'This sickness will not end in death. It is for the glory of God, to bring glory to the Son of God.'"
"Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. But when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. Then Jesus said to his followers, 'Let's go back to Judaea.'"
"The followers said, 'But Teacher, the Jews there tried to stone you to death only a short time ago. Now you want to go back there?'..."
"After Jesus had said this, he added, 'Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep [died], but I am going there to wake him [from death].'"
(John 10:40-11:11)
After attending the Festival of Dedication (Hannukah) late in 29AD, Jesus and his disciples left Jerusalem, followed the road from Jerusalem down to Jericho (featured in the story of the Good Samaritan - in Luke 10:25-37) and crossed the River Jordan, staying near the place where John had baptised Jesus three years earlier (at Bethany, on the east bank of the River Jordan) (see John 1:28).
Crowds of people came to him and many believed that he was the promised 'Messiah' or 'Christ', God's 'anointed one'. They said, "Everything John said about this man is true," remembering that John had said, "Look, the [sacrificial] Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." (John 1:29)
At the beginning of 30AD, Jesus received word that Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus was seriously ill. Lazarus lived at a different Bethany – the Judaean village on the eastern side of the Mount of Olives, about 2 miles / 3 km outside Jerusalem, on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho.
Bethany where Lazarus lived was about 18 miles / 30 km away from Bethany beyond the Jordan – a full day’s journey. But Jesus didn't depart immediately. He delayed leaving “to bring glory to the Son of God.” (John 11:4)
After two days, Jesus and his disciples set off back to Jerusalem, even though the disciples reminded him that the Jews there had tried to stone him just a few weeks earlier.
But Jesus was determined to return to the village of Bethany near Jerusalem, because he knew (through a supernatural word of knowledge) that Lazarus had already died, and Mary and Martha were grieving. He was filled with pity for his friends and said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to wake him [from death]."
Tomorrow, we'll see how Jesus performed another miracle, and the Pharisees were stirred into plotting his death.
The photo shows St John the Baptist church and baptismal site at Bethany beyond the Jordan.
You can read more about Jesus and Lazarus @ https://www.thebiblejourney.org/…/5-jesus…/lazarus-come-out/