Jesus in Simon's House in Bethany - Matthew 26:6

Matthew the apostle wrote, “and it came to pass, when Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said unto his disciples. You know that after two days is the feast of the passover, and the Son of man is betrayed to be crucified. Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, And consulted that they might take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him. But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar among the people”, and in chapter twenty-six and verse six of his book, Matthew writes how, “Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon” where we read:

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,

The verse reads, “Now when Jesus was in Bethany, ...” Matthew began with Jesus' word, “now” which means “moreover and” “when Jesus” or “at the time and moment Jesus who is the Son of God, the Savior of mankind and God incarnate whose name means Jehovah is Salvation” “was in Bethany” which refers to “was in a village at the Mount of Olives whose name means house of dates or house of misery, about two miles (3 km) from Jerusalem, on or near the normal road to Jericho” . Matthew shared how Jesus was in the village just outside of Jerusalem called “Bethany” where He resorted often for rest.

The verse continues, “... in the house of Simon the leper,” Matthew added the words, “in the house” which means “in the dwelling place, abode and habitation” “of Simon” or “belonging to Simon whose name means little rock or stone” “the leper” which means “who was affected with scaly and rough leprosy”. Matthew shared how Jesus was visiting the “dwelling place” of “Simon” who was at one time a “leper”.

When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus has resorted to another “friend's” house in “Bethany” named “Simon”. Jesus raised “Lazarus” from the dead in “Bethany”, and because He knew the “religious leaders” were attempting to “capture” and “kill” Him, He left the city of Jerusalem for a time. God desires for all people to be in a relationship with Him through His Son Jesus, and when they submit their lives to Him, they begin to understand how important it is to give place to Jesus whenever there is opportunity to do so.

Next time Matthew shares how “there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.