Footprints of the Savior: Part 3

The Mount of Olives isn’t just a hill outside Jerusalem. It’s a place where the life of Jesus comes into sharp focus, where prayer gets real, tears are shed, prophecy is spoken, suffering begins in Gethsemane, and the sky opens at the Ascension. We walk through Olivet as a “mount of prayer” and listen for what it teaches us about quiet communion with the Father when religion feels loud, busy, and empty.

Then we cross the ridge into Bethany, the village where Christ is welcomed when the world has no room for Him. We talk about the moments that make Bethany unforgettable: fellowship around a supper, priestly compassion in shared grief, and the simple beauty of a home centered on the presence of the Savior. From Martha serving, to Lazarus sitting in silent communion, to Mary worshiping with costly love, we see a practical pattern for Christian discipleship that isn’t hurried or fake.

We also sit with the hard part: Bethany as a “house of sorrow,” where waiting hurts and God’s timing doesn’t make sense yet. And we don’t miss the hope, because Olivet holds a promise that still steadies believers today: “This same Jesus will come again.” If you want Bible teaching that ties places in the Gospels to spiritual life right now, this message is for you.

Subscribe for more, share this with a friend, and leave a review to help others find the broadcast. What part of Olivet or Bethany do you want your life to reflect most?

Church Website — BibleBaptistDeLand.com

Ministry Website — JamesWKnox.org 

YouTube Channel — YouTube.com/JamesWKnoxSermons

Sermon Audio — SermonAudio.com/BibleBaptistDeLand

Web Store — Store.JamesWKnox.org

Transcript

Welcome And Series Context

SPEAKER_01 0:08

All right. Hello, hello, hello, hello. Thank you so very much for that kind word of introduction. Thank you for tuning in today to the Preaching of the Cross Radio Broadcast, a 30-minute program originating at the Bible Baptist Church of Deland, Florida, the United States of America, and sponsored by Bible-believing Christians on different radio stations in different parts of the world, so that you can hear the wonderful, glorious message that God has recorded in the Bible regarding his beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, great and wonderful as he is. We could talk about him, we could praise him, we could worship him, we could speak of his exploits from now until the end of time and never exhaust all there is to say about the glory of Christ Jesus. We've been uh begun, we've begun a series of uh broadcasts, a series of studies or lessons, if you will, entitled The Footprints of the Savior. We've been looking at the various places that are prominent in the life of the Lord Jesus Christ and their spiritual implication and meaning, the things that we learn from them. We've talked about Bethlehem, where he was born, and Nazareth, where he was raised. We've talked about Cana of Galilee, where he performed his first miracle, and of Sikar, where he first went outside the boundaries of the nation of Israel, went outside the region round about Jerusalem, and went to a Samaritan woman and proclaimed to her the glorious gospel that he was indeed the Christ, the Son of the living God, the Savior of the world that had

Why Olivet Matters Spiritually

SPEAKER_01 1:39

come. Now, on the broadcast today, we want to talk to you about Olivet, and we want to talk to you about Bethany. Olivet and Bethany, and we hope and pray that you listen very carefully, and God will bless your heart through the broadcast today. It was Robert Murray McShane of Scotland who said, If there is any place on earth where the physical scenery helps to an appreciation of divine things, it is the Mount of Olives. Olivet is saturated with tender memories of the Lord Jesus. It is wet with his tears, and sanctified by his footprints, perhaps more than any other part of Israel. The Mount of Olives is mentioned only twice in the Old Testament by name, though there are other allusions to it. In 2 Samuel 15, it is associated with a weeping nation and a rejected King David. In Zechariah chapter 14, it is associated also with a weeping people as the king, the son of David, returns to be vindicated. Other kings had made Olivet a mount of offense, with their high places and idolatrous groves. When Jesus came he made it a mountain of prayer, of priesthood, and of

Olivet As A Mount Of Prayer

SPEAKER_01 2:48

prophecy. He made it a mount of passion, of power, and of promise. How often the Lord Jesus Christ prayed here, in the shelter and solitude of its olive gardens, how often he communed with heaven. The Bible says in Luke twenty two, thirty nine, as he was wont, it was a regular, common practice with Jesus to come to this place to pray. The Bible says in John 18 2 that Jesus oft times resorted thither. Here within the sight of Jerusalem, with all its noise and bustle, he found quiet. Here with but a valley between him and the Temple Mount, he found true sanctuary, and while in the bustling city the Orthodox offered their repetitious prayers, he conversed in silence with the Father. He found solace here from the empty, barren ritual of the nation's ceremonials, and while the city chanted on he engaged in true intercession on the mount above the town. He made Olivet indeed a mount of prayer. On the farther side of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem was Bethany. What evenings of fellowship were enjoyed here? It was there they made him a supper. It was there that Mary sat at his feet. But it was there at Bethany on the eastern slope of Olivet that they had seen his tears. Jesus wept on Olivet. They had sat at the feet of the teacher here, and they had knelt at the feet of the compassionate priest. Here at Bethany he had shared their sorrow. They had fellowship with him in divine things, and he had entered into their human sorrows. He had communicated heaven's joy to them, and its comfort in their sadness. This was real priestly ministry. He had made Olivet a mount of priesthood.

Bethany Fellowship And Priestly Tears

SPEAKER_01 4:35

You know, before leaving earth our Lord gave two great final discourses. One of these was given to his own, to his disciples, in the upper room. This little company was the nucleus of a new church which he was to build, and in the upper room he spake most privately and personally to them. The other discourse was given on this Mount of Olives. We have come to call it the Olivet Discourse. Here Jesus Christ is speaking to the same little group, but our Lord is not now addressing them as the nucleus of the prospective church. He speaks to them here as the remnant of the nation, and the discourse is full of instruction for a remnant which will be after the church has been raptured home. And how beautiful that our Lord chose Olivet for the delivery of this great prophetic outline. Olivet, to which David had resorted when he too had been rejected, and a usurper had taken his throne. Olivet, to which Messiah will return one day in power and glory. This Olivet he chose as the platform from which to outline the future. He made Olivet the Mount of Prophe, if you will. But you know, soon after that prophecy, the mount was to see the beginnings of his passion. Here on Olivet was Gethsemane. Gethsemane, the olive press. And why so named? Let angels guess. In the agony of the garden he assessed all the consequences of the sin of that first garden, Eden. Gethsemane is shrouded in mystery. It is the antechamber, if you will, to Golgotha. It defies exposition, and we just have to withdraw. We can't there's no way that we can comprehend what went on in that garden of Gethsemane on this mountain of Olivet as Jesus prayed. Here on Olivet's western brow in the light of a Passover moon, they come with lanterns and torches and weapons to inaugurate a night of suffering that would reach to the noonday darkness of Calvary, and into the further mystery of the hours of sin bearing. Garden of gloom appalling, wherein is sore amaze, earthward in anguish falling, prostrate the Savior praise, praise in exceeding sorrow, praise to the ground, bowed low, facing the dread tomorrow, dark with unfathomed woe. The Mount of Olives had become his mount of passion. And some weeks later he led them to Olivet again. Jesus was leaving earth. He was returning to the Father, as if reluctant to leave that place where loving hearts had made room for him, the Bible says he led them out as far as the Bethany. From that spot Jerusalem was hidden. The ceremonies continued. The incantations and chants still resounded in the city, but on the other side of the hill a great wonder was about to be enacted. The Lord Jesus Christ lifts his hands and blesses his disciples. And then he begins to ascend. In defiance of natural law and in defiance of satanic energies, he passes through the heavens and into the heaven in glory. He is Lord, He is supreme, and Olivet is the mount of his power. As he ascends, his angels descend. They have a simple promise to leave at Olivet. This same Jesus will come again. And so we wait. The priest of Olivet, the prophet of Olivet, will return to Olivet as king, and the mount will be cleft in two at his coming. Before that we expect him to come for us, in accordance with his promise of the upper room, so that when he returns to the Mount of Olives we shall be with him. In the day of his manifestation we shall be manifested too. In the day of his triumph we shall share his triumph. In the day of the gladness of his heart we shall share his joy. He that shall come will come and will not tarry. This is the word which is made Olivet, the Mount of Promise. Well might we say a verse

The Olivet Discourse And Prophecy

SPEAKER_01 9:10

of scripture that's used so often to refer to all preachers of the gospel, and rightly so, that's the interpretation given in the New Testament scriptures in the book of Romans, but how beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace. How this so beautifully fits our Lord Jesus, far more so than any of his followers. Upon Zion, upon Moriah, upon the mountains of Galilee and the hills of Judea, but especially upon the Mount of Olives, how beautiful those blessed feet. Let's come to Bethany and consider this great place, scene of so many wonderful events in the life of the Lord Jesus. On the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, on the farther side from Jerusalem, and about two miles from that city lies the village of Bethany. Today it is known as El Azariah, the town of Lazarus. Sometimes it is called Betania. A dusty street or two, a few small dwellings, and a fragrance of Christ that lingers still, that's about all there is to Bethany. It was here that loving hearts made room for him when others had rejected him. It was here he found fellowship, it was here he found love, it was here that he found appreciation of his person. There's a stony path from Bethany, runs over Olivet and down into the city. And how well our Lord must have known this path. During his last week on earth he walked it twice every day. In the morning he came from Bethany, over Olivet to Jerusalem. In the evening he returned to lodge there. In a world that knew him not, it was there, at Bethany, that he found a welcome. Beginning with Beth, the name Bethany means the house of. And that's all. The house of. But the full meaning has become obscured, and indeed there are no less than four suggestions as to what this name means. Some say it means the house of sweetness. And there are varieties of this, like the house of dates or the house of figs. Others say it means the house of sorrow. There are those who believe and teach that Bethany, the definition of Bethany, is the house of singing. But among the locals in this area, it is agreed that the name means the

Gethsemane And The Mount Of Passion

SPEAKER_01 12:02

house of the poor or the house of poverty. Now you're probably wondering which of those definitions I lean to, and which of those definitions I think most rightly applies to the city. I'm going to say that they all do. I believe every one of them have application to the Lord Jesus Christ in his life and in his ministry, and let's talk about each of them and the time that we have left on the program today. First of all, the house of the poor. The house of the poor. Our Lord had begun his ministry with these words Blessed are the poor in spirit. When Luke records Jesus preaching many of these same things at a different time in a different place, Jesus said, Blessed are ye poor, not in spirit, but actual, genuine earthly poverty. Now this is the opposite to pride, this being poor in spirit. It is a man with poor thoughts of himself, and how the Lord Jesus had taught his disciples that in his kingdom, contrary to the way it is on earth, contrary to the way things are under the present reign of the God of this world, Jesus taught that in his kingdom things would be vastly different to what prevailed in the world. He said, He that is least among you shall be the greatest. But they had had never learned this. They still disputed as to which of them should be the greatest. To this very day, there are men who seek to be authorities and lords and masters over God's people in the local church. But at Bethany he, Jesus Christ, was supreme. And all others in that place, as we read about the many incidents that took place there in our gospel records, all others there were glad to humbly submit to his lordship. In the house of the poor he alone was great. The Bethany Spirit exalts no one but Christ. Men with a Bethany spirit have no rich thoughts of self. They are poor in spirit, and have high thoughts of Christ only. The second of these names is the house of sweetness, the house of sweetness.

Ascension Power And The Promise

SPEAKER_01 14:38

At Bethany an ancient desire of God's heart was at last fully met. Centuries earlier, the God of the Hebrews had said, Let my people go that they may serve me. That was Moses' word to Pharaoh. That was was well, it wasn't Moses' word to Pharaoh, it was God's word spoken by Moses to Pharaoh. Let my people go that they may serve me. God wanted service. He said through Moses, had Moses speak these words to Pharaoh, let my people go that they may hold a feast to me. God wanted fellowship with the men that he had made. And then he said, Let my people go that they may sacrifice unto me. God wanted worship. But you know, as you read your Bible history, if you've spent any time with the Old Testament record at all, you know that redeemed Israel often disappointed the Lord. And still his heart yearned for a people who would serve, fellowship, and worship. Until at last, in a home in Bethany, that same God of Israel sat incarnate in the midst of adoring hearts who gave him all his desire. Martha served. Lazarus sat. Mary worshipped. Think of it. The fulfillment of the desire of God that his people should should serve him. And we see Martha cumbered about much serving. Perhaps this wasn't the best part, but it certainly was a good thing. There was nothing wrong with it at all. This was one of the desires of God's heart when he brought his people out of Egypt. And here in Bethany, Martha's serving. Lazarus. Sitting, just genuinely enjoying life, no doubt. As only a handful of individuals have ever enjoyed life. You know, we all have received our life from the Lord Jesus Christ. In him we live and move and have our being. Our our breath, our strength, our health, our lives have been given to us as a gift from God, but we just don't often think of that. We don't often consider that. We live as though we were our own. We we deny as Christians, we wholeheartedly deny this uh hellish nonsense, this uh theory of evolution, and yet we live so often as though we were just the mere product of an animal reproduction, not curiously wrought in the lower parts of the earth by an all-wise and almighty God. But here's Lazarus, he understands what life from God really means. And he's sitting, having fellowship with his Savior, and then Mary taking that best part, worshiping, worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ at his feet. The three desires of the heart of God when he brought the people of Israel out of their bondage, finally fulfilled here at Bethany. What a wonderful day when Christ is enthroned. What a wonderful day when he rules and reigns as high priest. What a glorious day when all the nations of the earth shall serve him and him alone. You know, Martha's service was appreciated by the Lord. He never complained about her as preachers have done. It was just that, like many of us, the bustle of service had distracted her from him. And he showed her gently, Jesus did, showed Martha gently that there was something more than busy service, though busy service was a good thing. There's more to the Christian life than just that. Lazarus sat silent at the table. How he must have adored the man who had raised him to new life. To sit quietly, meditatively at the table with the Savior was Lazarus' joy. The silence of communion with his Lord. Lazarus never speaks, at least not in the records of the Bible, not one word. Of him it is simply said that he sat at the table with Jesus. And you know this is this is fellowship indeed, isn't it? And then Mary teaches us how to worship. She breaks her alabaster flask of precious sweetness on the Savior's person, with a fragrance which John calls very costly. She pours her love upon him and fills the house with it too. She must have had it clinging to her own self as well. You know, this is the sacrifice of praise that the Bible talks about. It's the extravagance of love which does not take time to calculate the expense, but lavishes all that it has upon the one that's so beloved. In the house

Bethany Names And A Welcoming Heart

SPEAKER_01 19:56

of sweetness, as some have defined Bethany, our Lord found service, fellowship, and worship. And then a third definition is the house of sorrow, and how how strange that a house of sweetness could also be a house of sorrow. And don't we see again and again the strange paradoxes that run through the Bible, the strange paradoxes that run through the Lord Jesus Christ, God and yet man, divine and yet human. Those who love him are not immune to suffering. The choicest saints have known their share of sorrow, and it was so at Bethany. There was sickness, there was anxiety, there was bereavement, there was sorrow. In his wisdom and in the working out of his plan for these people, Jesus tarried at Bethabora while they were waiting for him at Bethany. They do not understand, they do not know the cause of his delay. As yet they do not know that it is because he loves them and that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose. All they know is Lazarus is sick. Their brother is going to

The House Of The Poor

SPEAKER_01 21:16

die if Jesus doesn't get there soon and he's in no hurry. He takes his time, stops, and performs a miracle for another, and Lazarus dies. And our Lord's word, when he finally arrives to Martha, is so simple. If you'll believe, you'll see the glory. If thou wilt believe, thou shalt see the glory of God. Trust. And wait, and watch, and eventually, in God's time, seldom in our time, in God's time, you will see the glory. Of his purpose for you. And so it was at Bethany that out of the sorrow was born the Bethany, which bore the sweetness that we've been talking about. Lazarus sitting, Martha serving, Mary, worshipping, all this after the sorrow, the waiting, the coming of Jesus, the manifestation of his glorious power. And then lastly, Bethany has been defined by some as the house of singing. And it's not to be wondered at that when the Lord Jesus was leaving earth in ascension, he chose to leave from Bethany. It was as if he would linger longest at the spot where he had been made welcome. And from the slopes of Olivet at Bethany, from this place, he went up to glory. Went up in glory. He left them with the joy that he had promised them, and in that joy they returned from Bethany to Jerusalem. It was a house of singing. The Lord had gone up and gone in. He had blessed them as he went up. There was a man in the glory, gone up from Bethany, and their hearts were full of love for him. And may our hearts, our lives, our homes, our churches be like Bethany. May we give that blessed one, the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, place. You know, this world still has no place for Jesus. There's still no room for him in the inn. He is still cast out by the vast majority of society, and so many of those that come to him do so only to be fed of the loaves or healed of some sickness or disease. How few that will serve him. How few that will sit at the table with him in fellowship with his glorious person. How few that will worship him. Oh, my friend, I say it again: may our hearts be a Bethany, may our lives be a Bethany, may our homes be a Bethany, may our churches be a Bethany, a house of the poor, a house of sweetness. And though at times, yes, they will be a house of sorrow, yet also a house of singing. I'm so glad that Jesus came into this world. I'm so glad that Jesus walked on this earth. I'm so glad that his footprints take us to so many wonderful places to teach us so

Sweetness Sorrow Singing In Bethany

SPEAKER_01 24:38

many wonderful things about himself. How about you? Do you know him? Do you love him? Are you as Peter admonished under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit? Are you walking in his steps? Oh, my friend, he said, I am the way. He said, This is the way. Walk ye in it. Don't you know that you'll be happy, blessed, and satisfied if you walk as Jesus walked. How happy we are to have the Bible record, the scriptures of truth, the word of God to teach us how to walk. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Praise be to the Father, to his Son the Lord Jesus Christ, and to the blessed Holy Spirit that makes him known to us. Praise be to God that He's given us His Word, wherein to learn all these precious truths.

SPEAKER_00 25:43

Well, my friends, it is our joy, it is our privilege to preach God's word on this radio station. It's our joy and our privilege to have you listen in as the Word of God is preached. But you know, it's really it's really difficult in just thirty minutes a day to do all the Bible teaching you'd like to do. And I'm sure almost every one of you listening, if you're listening to Christian Radio Station, you're you're almost certain to be a member of a good Bible preaching church. I hope that you are. I uh it's my prayer that you're part of a good Bible preaching church. So you're getting you're getting the Word of God on Sunday, and then you're getting the Word of God by radio, and you probably have such an appetite you'd like some more. Well we have dozens of books in print, easy to read, full, full of biblical truth, sound doctrine, clearly written, easily understand, deep enough, and yet plain enough. We also have uh I think now over five thousand hours of recorded sermons and Bible studies, verse by verse studies through books of the Bible, topical studies on different Bible subjects, all of those materials and more, much more can be found at our website or can be viewed in a print catalog. If you'd like the print catalog, we'll send it to you through the mail. You can write to us at 872 Glenwood Road D-Land, Florida 32720. Or you can just visit that website. It's jameswnox.org. That's jameswnox.org.

Walk In His Steps And Resources

SPEAKER_00 27:32

In either case, please send along a letter of testimony. Encourage our hearts, let us know how God has used us to help you. We'd delight to hear from you. All right, the announcer will be on in just a moment to let you know, and this program will be heard again over this radio station. And we hope at that time that you and a friend that you invite to listen with you will join us for the Preaching of the Cross radio broadcast. Until then, I'm Brother James. May the Lord richly bless you, and good day.