Lesson of the "6 Days Before"

Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany,

where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom he raised from the dead.

There they made him a supper; and Martha served:

 but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him.

John 12:1,2

 

"Six days before the Passover means six days before the cross of Calvary.

None of those who sat at the table with Jesus knew this; but Jesus knew it very well. Indeed, Jesus was always walking beneath the cross, for He knew from the beginning of His ministry what its end would be; and He knew just when the betrayal and crucifixion would take place, for He Himself had

told His disciples about it as they were on their way to Jerusalem. Yet He was calm as at any other time. There was nothing in His looks or actions to mar the peace or joyousness of the feast.

What a lesson this contains for us. Jesus lived every day just as perfectly as He possibly could live on His last day; and therefore there was no need for Him to make some great change at the last. ...... Why should He refuse to act in the last week of His earthy life just the same as He had always acted?

Why spend time in mournful "preparations for death?" That always implies that one is conscious of a misspent life. No preparation is needed for death; all one has to do is to be prepared to live, and really live, and then if death does come, he will be ready for it, no matter how or when it comes."
From the Gospel of John by E.J.Waggoner