The Trip of a Lifetime

One of my favorite trips as a boy was going to Canada to go fishing. Old Pop and Grandma would take us cousins for a week of fishing, camping, and fun. One time Bruce, Jericho, and myself were walking down the middle of a slow-moving, deep stream. Bruce was in the lead. All at once he stepped into a deep hole and disappeared. His cowboy hat floated about four feet downstream and then rose out of the water as Bruce’s head came up directly under it. Another event wasn’t so funny. Jericho got a fish hook caught in his finger past the barb. Uncle Bob had to cut it out with a razor blade. Jericho was a real trooper. I don’t think he cried or screamed. However, Uncle Bob just about passed out.

Any trip with Jesus would have been priceless. The disciples didn’t see it that way when one day Jesus said, “Let us go into Judea again” (John 11:7). Why were they not excited to make this trip? Let me suggest three reasons:

Trips can be hard. When the wagon trains came out west some walked the whole trip. Some died along the way. Some even turned back. What about your walk with Jesus? Does it seem hard sometimes? The disciples were facing a one day trip. It was about 20 miles from the Dead Sea to Bethany. That was plenty far. They also had to climb 3400 feet in elevation. A lot of people made that climb three times a year. People were stronger then because they did a lot of walking. The disciples were young men.  Jesus was going to have to walk too. Maybe they didn’t feel like walking that day. For whatever reason they complained about it.

It was also a dangerous trip. Just days before, the Jews had sought to stone Jesus, but He escaped out of their hands (John 10:31&39). Yes, it was a hard trip and a dangerous trip. Therefore, they complained, as we often do. They had escaped danger. They had found a place of safety and rest. Sometimes we need that. Yet Jesus calls us to go into Judea again, a call to push on toward the cross. Let’s look at their complaints and see if we identify:

John 11:8 (disciples’ complaints): You might get killed. Or, we might get killed.

John 11:9-10 (Jesus’ answer): We have 12 hrs of daylight. Let’s get going or we will be stumbling around in the dark.

John 11:11-12: Jesus told them He was going to wake Lazarus up from sleep. They complained, “Let him sleep,” and perhaps, “Let us sleep.”

John 11:14-16. Jesus tells them Lazarus is dead. Their response is, “let us go die with him.” In other words, “we will be dead by the time we walk all the way up the Jericho Road.”

They were not excited about the trip because it was hard and dangerous. They also were not excited because they did not see the big picture. When we do not see the big picture, we must walk by Faith. You can be sure, there is a big picture! The very spot where they are standing is a hot spot in Biblical geography. This is the place where John at first baptized (John 10:40), where the Jordan River runs into the Dead Sea, and where Jesus had been declared to be the “Lamb of God” (John 1:29). It is also where two disciples of John the Baptist left to follow Jesus (John 1:37). Now Jesus is speaking to John’s disciples again (John 10:41). This time many believed on Him. This is the same location where Elijah was taken up to Heaven, where the Israelites crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, and near where the Dead Sea Scrolls would later be found. It was very important for Jesus to be there. These disciples that had been prepared by John the Baptist (Luke 1:17) were to become a very important part of the early church. It was a location full of meaning far beyond what we have time to look at now. If you are walking with Jesus, your path has great meaning. When we forget this, the trip loses its excitement. When we can’t see the big picture, let’s walk by faith. When things seem hard, or even dangerous, we are probably in the midst of God’s huge plan.

Just ahead for the disciples was the resurrection of Lazarus, the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, the Day of Pentecost, and the explosion of the early church and the spread of the gospel, of which they were to play a great part. Walking with Jesus, there are no boring or meaningless parts of the trip. When we tend to complain, let’s ask ourselves, “Isn’t just being with Jesus exciting enough?” When you have found your true love, you long to be with them. The place really doesn’t matter. With Jesus it is the “trip of a lifetime.”