A CHEERING INCIDENT AT BETHABARA – Charles Spurgeon
A CHEERING INCIDENT AT BETHABARA
“Therefore they sought again to take Him, but He escaped out of their hands, and went away, again, beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized, and there He abode. And many came to Him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spoke of this Man were true. And many believed on Him there.” John 10:39-42.
Because our Savior’s reasoning was unanswerable, “therefore the Jews sought again to take Him.” When men are convinced against their wills; when the heart struggles against the head; it usually happens that they turn persecutors. If they cannot answer holy arguments with fair reasoning, they can give hard answers with stones. If you cannot destroy the reasoning, you may, perhaps, destroy the reasoner—and this naturally suggests itself to the heart which is rendered cruel by obstinate unbelief—he who hates the Truth of God soon hates its advocate. You must not consider yourself to have been unsuccessful in your proofs when your opponent waxes angry at them. Perhaps it is your success which has startled his conscience and rendered it necessary for him to become malicious to retain his obstinacy. Yet it is a very wretched business when a man knows that he is wrong and, therefore, attacks the person who has convinced him. Do I address any person here who, in the secret of his heart, is well aware that the Christian faith is true and, therefore, derides it in order to be able to resist its influence? Do I speak to any man here who has felt the ground clean gone from under him and, therefore, has flown in the face of the teaching which has unsettled him? Will he not, as a sensible man, quit his unjustifiable position and candidly yield to the force of Truth? It is a degrading thing to be willfully shutting one’s eyes to the light and cursing the sun for shining! Oh, that such a person would have Grace! Let me even say—oh, that he would have sense enough to see that this cannot be a safe and right method of procedure! Oh that he would yield himself to those blessed influences which, I trust, will, this morning, operate upon his mind!
When our Savior found that there was nothing to be done with the bigoted Jews, but that all He said and did only provoked more furious opposition, He escaped out of their hands and went away. He knew when to speak and when to refrain. Divinely guided, He neither fled as a coward, nor rashly pushed on where nothing could be gained. Determined opposition in one quarter is sometimes an intimation to the preacher that he had better labor elsewhere. When the channel is blocked up by rocks, we had better steer in another direction. If we have found no son of peace to welcome us as the messengers of God, it may be time to shake off the dust of our feet against the violent rejecters of the Truth and open our commission in another quarter. If we fail in the first place, we may, in the second, find that the Lord has much people in the city. The Savior left the infuriated Jews of Jerusalem and went to a place of retirement, thus illustrating His own words, “When they persecute you in this city, flee you unto another.” But though our Lord left the obstinate, He never ceased to do good. He dId not say, “It is of no further use to preach and plead; I am, therefore, driven away to Bethabara, by the lonely Jordan, and I will warn the people no more.” No, rather, as many resorted to Him there, He went on with His teaching and, in that place many believed on Him!
If, my dear Brother, speaking in Christ’s name, you find that you have no place in such-and-such a town, it may be the Spirit’s will that you should remove to a people who will receive you. Possibly in a place which promises less, you may gain more. Bethabara may yield converts when Jerusalem only yields persecutors. God has ways of changing the position of His servants for His own Glory and for the building up of His Church. As one has well said, “The flight of Christ from men in one place may cause the flight of souls to Him in another.” Though Jesus withdrew from the stones which filled the hands of angry Jews, He went to that place where John had said, “God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.” I think that this somewhat obscure incident of our Lord’s abiding in Bethabara, though seldom preached upon, may be made exceedingly profitable to us. Much prayer has been offered that many may believe on the Lord Jesus this morning in this House of Prayer and it seems suitable, therefore, to discourse upon the words, “Many believed on Him there.”
I. The Place of Belief
The first remark I shall make is that when men believe in Jesus Christ, IT IS VERY PLEASANT TO KNOW THE PLACE where they believed—therefore is it recorded by Inspiration that, “many believed on Him there.” I do not say it is essential for a man to know the place where he believed in Jesus—it is not at all essential! It is not necessary for a person’s life for him to know where he was born, yet I am glad that I know my birthplace and I am happy to remember the humble spot. If anybody were to say to you, “Do you know where you were born?” and you were forced to answer, “No,” would you expect him to say, “Then you are not alive”? If he did say so, it would be a very bad argument, as you would be able to prove at once by letting him see that you were far from non-existence and so, if you cannot state where you were converted, nor when you were converted, do not fret about it. A far more necessary enquiry is—Are you converted? Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you, indeed, born from above by the Spirit of God? If so, it is by no means essential that you should know the place, or the means, or the hour.
Still, it is very interesting to be able to point out the place of our new birth. I am thankful to be able to do so and many others of us are glad that they have an equally vivid memory of the spot whereon they stood when they passed from death unto life. “Yes,” you can say, “I believed on Him there.” Happy place! Holy place! Some of us know the spot to a yard where we looked unto Christ and felt our burden of sin loosed from our weary shoulders. Standing in one of the halls of the Orphanage is the very pulpit from which I savingly heard the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though I have no reverence for relics of any sort, yet a flood of grateful memories flows before me as I look upon the platform whereon stood the unknown brother who pointed me to Jesus. Who he was I shall never know till the Day of Judgement—but the text, “Look unto Me and be you saved, all the ends of the earth,” was the voice of God to my soul! It is an interesting thing to know where you were converted. May the Tabernacle prove to be the birthplace of a multitude of you, that we may continue to say, “Many believed on Him there.”
What was there particular about the retired place in which our Lord, on this occasion, gathered so many disciples? What was there about the place beyond Jordan where John first baptized? It was a place where Divine ordinances had been observed— “The place where John at first baptized; and many believed on Him there.” Where the Lord is obeyed, we may hope to see him revealed. We are not among those who condemn others for their mistakes about outward ordinances, but yet we do not look upon erroneous practices without sincere regret and apprehension. If the ordinance of Baptism is altered, applied to the wrong subjects, practiced in an unscriptural manner and used for unwarranted purposes, it is a serious error and will be sure, one day or other, to lead to other errors of still greater importance! Disobedience on this point may even now be grieving the Spirit of God and restraining His sacred operations. We must be careful to keep the ordinances as they were delivered unto us. We may not tamper with royal statutes. It is forbidden, even, to batter a penny which bears the king’s face upon it—and it is far worse to alter an ordinance which is stamped with Divine authority! “Whatever He says unto you, do it,” was the word of the blessed Virgin concerning her Son, and it was a good word, worthy to be spoken in the ear of the entire Christian Church. If a Church labors to keep the ordinances as they were delivered and endeavors to follow in the tracks of Christ’s teaching and example, it may hope to receive the Divine blessing. At any rate, one reason for the withdrawal of the Spirit of God is gone and one reason why the Lord Jesus should bless the work is present. Oh that in this place, where we have baptized many into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we might meet with an abundant blessing! In keeping His Commandments there is great reward. Outward ordinances cannot secure a blessing, but the spirit of obedience which leads to a careful observance of them according to the Divine Command is a blessed fruit of the Spirit! Where John baptized and Jesus submitted thus to fulfill all righteousness, we find a spot which is suited for a Divine revival.
II. The Time of Belief
Secondly, remember, this Bethabara was the place where faithful preaching concerning Jesus had been heard. For this John, who baptized, also preached the Gospel of repentance. He laid great stress upon that part of the Gospel which prepares men for the coming Kingdom of God. Where repentance has been thoroughly preached, I believe that many will come to believe in Jesus Christ. Jesus fitly followed John and faith will follow readily where repentance has been thoroughly preached and explained. The plow must lead the way—and then it is good sowing. We must first send in the sharp needle and then the silken thread will be drawn after it. There must be a measure of conviction of sin before there will be a joyful acceptance of the great Sin Offering!
John had preached repentance. “Oh,” you say, “but John was dead.” Yes, but he, being dead, yet speaks! There were the stones of the brook to which John had pointed and the reeds shaken of the wind to which he could never be likened. There was the river Jordan still flowing on, fit emblem of the stream of Grace which washes away the sin of the repentant. The good which men have done lives after them. Herod had cut off John’s head, but he had not silenced John’s voice. From the wilderness there still came the cry, “Repent you: for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” A hallowed influence lingers about the scenes of faithful labors and I wonder not that our Lord sought retirement where every ripple of the river repeated the Baptist’s testimony. From scenes like these, the Church will be recruited with new disciples. What fine preaching was that of John! He did no miracle, but all things that he spoke concerning Jesus were true. He spoke of One that was coming after him who was preferred before him, the laces of whose shoes he was not worthy to unloose. He spoke of Him in terms so plain that the Gospel preacher of today, in the full light of the Spirit of God, cannot find better language—“Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.”
No wonder that many believed on Jesus there, where the savor of such a ministry lingered in men’s minds! The population of the country round about had been saturated with such teaching as this and they had not forgotten, although they might not thoroughly have accepted, what the last of the Prophets had declared in their hearing. The true Elijah that was to come had so spoken as to fix his words in men’s memories like well-fastened nails! Brothers, wherever there has been earnest preaching, we may expect that many will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ before long. Let no faithful preacher’s heart be faint within him! Christ is not preached in vain—you have not pointed to the Lamb of God for nothing. Even should you die without seeing it, there will come another after you who will reap a harvest from the Seed which you have sowed. Hidden Truths of God will break out all of a sudden and it shall be said, “Many believed on Him there.”
As for the place wherein we stand, I can solemnly assert that I have, with all my heart, preached to you the Gospel of the Grace of God. If a thousand persons were to believe in Jesus this morning, I would not be in the least surprised, for this I surely can claim, that to the best of my knowledge and ability I have, these many years, preached nothing among you but the Cross of Christ. I, too, have cried, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.” I have endeavored to point out to you Him whose shoe laces I am not worthy to unloose. I have prayed that He might baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. Many saints have joined me in that earnest prayer. If at Bethabara many believed on Him there, we may expect that many will believe on Him here!
III. The Fact of Belief
The next remark about the place is this—it was a spot where God had borne witness to His Son Jesus. Jesus had come to be baptized by John and when He was baptized, He came up straightway out of the water—and the heavens were opened and the Spirit descended upon Him like a dove, while a voice said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” The Holy Spirit is known to go where He has gone before—and where the Father has borne witness to Christ, once, we may expect Him to bear witness again! Where Jesus was anointed for His lifework, the spot was hallowed. Where the Divine Voice sounded forth, not through a Prophet, but distinctly out of Heaven, we might look for other displays of God! Where God has spoken, He will speak again! Has not God spoken to your soul in this Tabernacle? My Brothers and Sisters, has not God often borne witness to His Son in your hearts and consciences in this beloved House of Prayer? Not only has Christ been set forth visibly crucified among you, but the attesting Voice of God’s Holy Spirit has been heard within your spirits, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Therefore let us hope that of this house it shall be said again and again, “Many believed on Him there!”
Once more—not only was this a very interesting spot to our Lord Jesus Christ, but Bethabara was also very interesting to the leaders of the little band who accompanied Him—it was the place where the Lord’s first disciples had been won. They heard John speak and followed Jesus. John and James and Andrew and Peter had been, there, brought to Jesus and certain others also had joined the chosen band. To visit the place of their own spiritual birth would cause a renewal of their vows and act as an encouragement to persevere in winning others. Brothers and Sisters, we feel hopeful that God will bless others in the place where He has blessed us. In the place where Peter and John and Andrew have been found, it is to be hoped that other Peters and Johns and Andrews will be discovered. Where solid stones have been quarried, there remains much more material which may yet be brought forth. Eternity, alone, shall tell how many souls have been born to God in this House. We have actually registered nearly 11,000 persons who have come forward and confessed their faith, and joined this Church—but these are only a small part of the whole, for great numbers come here and return to the country and unite with other Churches. My Brethren, if the Lord has found you out in this place, you will cry day and night unto Him that others may be found of Him also. Sit in your pews this morning and say, “Lord, I believed on You in this place; therefore I pray You this day grant that many others may do the same and may it be said—‘Many believed on Jesus in the Tabernacle.’”
I suppose it was a lovely quiet spot by the banks of the Jordan with only a little village or hamlet, named Bethany, close by. The word Bethany was altered by Origen into Bethabara, I suppose for distinction’s sake. It really was Bethany, and so our Lord had two Bethanys. It was there, in a rural retreat, that many believed on His name. O hills of Piedmont, when the Vaudois preached the Christ amidst your valleys, it may be said of you, “Many believed on Him there!” O mosses and hillsides of Scotland, in the Covenanting times, many believed on Him there! Talk not so exceedingly proud, O you cathedrals or you great tabernacles, for many have believed on Jesus by the side of the highway, out on the village green, or under the spreading oak. Out in the desert of southern France, where men fled for their lives to hear the Gospel, many believed on Jesus! In what place cannot Jesus triumph? He needs no Solomon’s Temple, no, in its porch He finds quibblers, but yonder by the willows of the Jordan He finds a people that believe on Him! Go forth, you heralds of the Cross, and preach the Gospel everywhere beneath the arch of Heaven. At the corners of the street or on the hillside, publish the proclamation of the Great King. Let the trees of the woods sing out and the inhabitants of the rocks sing! In all ears proclaim the Gospel, till, by river, sea and plain it shall be said, “Many believed on Him there.” Thus have we seen that it is pleasant to note the place where we first believed in Jesus.
IV. The Importance of Belief