An Address in 1961
Clifford Henry Brown
Table of Contents
An Address in 1961: Luke 10
Luke 10, reading from verse 38: "Now it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him, and said, Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but. one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
We are going to talk about a very delightful subject this afternoon, with the Lord's help-one that we all have enjoyed many times-a character God has seen fit to mention by name. In fact, this name is a very common one in the New Testament. The name is Mary. There are many Marys brought before us, but this afternoon we want to talk about Mary of Bethany. She has a delightful place wherever we find her mentioned in the New Testament. Evidently she lived in a little village, called Bethany, about two miles east of Jerusalem, at the foot of the Mount of Olives. What a historical spot it was! Think of the wonderful events we find connected with that spot in Scripture! It was from that very place that the feet of Jesus stood last and whence He departed, as the disciples watched. Him disappear into heaven. And again those same blessed feet are going to stand on that same mountain at the close of the tribulation week, as He returns to take over the Kingdom.
And was there any other place on earth where our Lord found Himself so at rest and at home? Was there anywhere else such a delightful atmosphere as He found in this home at Bethany? The name itself means (according to which dictionary you consult) "a house of dates." This speaks of sustenance, food, or of sweetness, does it not? Another dictionary says the name means "house of affliction." Inasmuch as we find from other portions of the Word of God that this house in Bethany was the home of Simon the leper, we can understand how it could be the "house of affliction." For evidently at some time, whether at this time or previously, there had been plenty of sorrow in that home. The house of affliction and the house of dates. Is there any contradiction? No, there is not! Why? Is it not true that the greatest blessings you and I have ever had in our lives have not been from our times of great physical prosperity, but from our times of trial, our sorrows, our disappointments? And we will never know until we get to heaven how much we owe to the discipline that a loving God has seen fit to pass us through, here in this scene.
Some of you who are here this afternoon are in the "teenage" group. But I dare say that even now, you have tasted of sorrow, perhaps some of you very deeply. You do not have to be in this world very long before you find out that sorrow is part of the warp and woof of this life. Yes, even though we are believers, we do not escape passing through the valley of sorrows here.
But the Lord loved to retreat that short distance out to the foot of the Mount of Olives and away from the crowds and busy life; just (if I may say it reverently) to relax in that lovely atmosphere of Bethany. Well, here we have Him. He entered into the house of a woman named Martha. She received Him into her home. Is it not nice when we can receive the Lord Jesus into our home? And it is nice if we can ask Him not to just pay an occasional visit, but to be a permanent guest. I trust all of us here have not only received Him into our hearts, but into our homes as well. Martha received Him into her home because she wanted Him. Do you want Him? Do you like to have Him there all the time? That is rather searching. If He is there all the time, will it not affect our conversation, our activities? She received Him into her house. No doubt she had received Him into her heart before this. Now she has Him in her house.
Verse 39: "And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard His word." There are two of them now.
Here we find Mary sitting at the feet of Jesus. What a lovely place to be! Have you been there? If you are a Christian, you have! If you are not a Christian, you have not been there. I would advise you, though you may not be very old- five, six, seven, or ten years old-if you have not yet been at the feet of Jesus, if you have not knelt there to confess to Him that you are a sinner and need a Savior, I advise you to do it. You do not have to be very old to fall at the feet of Jesus.
Mary was sitting at His feet and hearing His word, but Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to Him and said, "Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?" There is nothing wrong about serving; somebody has to do it. But in what spirit do we do it? Did you do something for the Lord today? Did you try to serve Him? Fine! But we may ask, In what spirit did you do it? Was your service like that of Martha? She was cumbered with much serving and found fault with her dear sister because she was not helping her as much as she thought that she should. She missed the Lord's mind in being cumbered about her serving; and she missed the Lord's mind in finding fault with her sister. Do you have some little service in the assembly that is yours for Christ? Have you been happy in it? Well and good! Do not think that because you are a Mrs. or Miss that you are excused from responsibility in the assembly. We cannot overestimate the value of a godly sister in the assembly. I have known some outstanding examples of sisters who were a benediction to the meeting where they functioned. You have an important place in the assembly as well as brothers. Seek God's mind as to what it is. And if you have found some little service for Christ, are you doing it happily, or are you complaining that it is all left for you, and someone else is not doing his share? We are prone to do that. Why not do our little bit for the Lord and leave it with Him? And let your brother or sister do the same.
Martha rebuked the Lord Jesus: "Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?" It is getting pretty bold when one rebukes the Lord Jesus. She was reproaching Him because He would sit there and let her sister, sit at His feet while she did the work. On the face of it, it might look as though Martha was right. But when we get the whole story, we know that she was absolutely wrong. She was losing the blessing to which she was entitled, by allowing her bad spirit to rob her service of its value in His sight. So Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful; and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." If we had been evaluating that situation, we would have made the same blunder that Martha did. The Lord reads the heart, and knew what was going on, so He showed Martha her judgment was wrong. He did not just say, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things," but added, "one thing is needful." Oh, yes, there was something that was needful in dear Martha's life. Mary had chosen the good part. It was not Mary that was wrong, but Martha who was wrong. "Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
What will you and I have the privilege of doing in heaven? We read in Luke 12 that when He gets us all home in the Father's house, and surrounds Himself with all His family, He prepares a supper and will say, Sit down at My table. And He will gird Himself and come forth and serve us. Will not this, then, be the fulfillment of Heb. 2:13? "Behold I and the children which God hath given Me." There we will be, so to speak, sitting at His feet, hearing His word, and enjoying the service of love which He will bestow upon us. That is the reason that the Lord Jesus said to Martha, "Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her." She can take that to heaven. But poor Martha cannot take her pots and pans; her dishes and her bustling work; she cannot take them to heaven with her.
Beloved saints, do we spend any time sitting at His feet and hearing His Word? Or are we like Martha-too busy? Do you read your Bible? Or is it neglected? You know the best seller in the world-the greatest Book in the world so far as circulation is concerned-is the Bible. Millions of copies are made. The printing presses of the world are humming away, turning out Bibles. More and more still need to be printed. Oh, yes, it is the most widely printed Book in the world. You may wonder if it is the most widely read Book in the world. I suppose it is, but it could be far more so. It is hardly respectable today to have a home without a Bible in it. If you were to go into a home and say, "Please bring me a Bible, I want to show you a verse," the person would be embarrassed if he could not produce a copy of the Scriptures. It is an essential part of every well-equipped home. But, beloved, that does not mean that we are reading it!
Do you have a regular time when you read God's Word in the home? I believe we need to emphasize the need for the "family altar." It is the time when we gather the family around the Word of God and read it leisurely, not hastily; meditate upon it, and get a message for our own souls; daily sit there at the feet of Jesus, as it were, and then kneel in prayer. It is a wholesome thing for our souls.
Have you chosen that good part? Or do you prefer to sit down with a current magazine and cuddle up in a comfortable chair and spend an hour or two reading? And what about the Bible? Does it look as good as new, or is it well thumbed? I like to mark a Bible. Beloved saints of God, let us read the precious Word! We are going to be occupied with it a million years from tonight. "Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled in heaven." Yes, there is a certain sense in which we are going to take our Bibles to heaven with us.
Now, let us turn over to see this dear woman, Mary, again. In John 11: "Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)" Notice how carefully the Scripture points out this Mary, because it might have been another Mary. There are at least four other Marys mentioned in the New Testament. The Scripture is very careful to tell us which Mary this was. "It was that Mary."
"Therefore his sisters sent unto Him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." See, they had a brother, Lazarus, who was ill; so these sisters sent for the Lord. You can understand that. He had been there so often; He was such a welcome visitor; they knew His power, His love, His concern. So when Lazarus became ill they instinctively sent for the Lord. When you are in a crisis, whether physical or otherwise, do you instinctively think of the Lord, or do you think of some human relief? Do you bring the Lord Jesus into all the circumstances of your life? Your family? Your work? I believe we have the right to. He is interested in every detail of your life and of mine. So, they send to Jesus. Lovely! They send to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick." Why did they not invite Him to come, or say, "Lord, come quickly, Lazarus is sick"? It was because they counted on the love that was in His heart! They knew that if they told Him that Lazarus was sick, He would come. They counted on it! Do we know His heart well enough to do that? Do we presume on His love for us? These women did! They said, "He whom Thou lovest is sick." Oh, the affection which is in the heart of Christ! It was not, "He whom Thou hast met," or "whom Thou knowest," but, "he whom Thou lovest is sick." If we only knew the love there is in the heart of Christ for each of us!
"When Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." It was a rather odd statement, since the sequel shows that Lazarus was suffering from a fatal illness. Yet the Lord said, "This sickness is not unto death." That is, the death that Lazarus was about to experience was not only the result of the sickness, but it was also another means of bringing the glory of Christ into the open.
An Address in 1961: Part 2
"Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." It is not by accident that Martha's name is put first! If we were going by what we read in Luke 10, we would have expected to read, "Now Jesus loved Mary, and Martha, and Lazarus." But Martha's name comes first. We do not forfeit the Lord's love by our selfishness. We may forfeit the sense of it in our souls, but we cannot forfeit His love. You can sin against the Lord's love, but you cannot sin it away. That is a comfort to the soul. So here the Lord's love is expressed first to Martha and then to her sister and then Lazarus. They were all the subjects of that same gracious affection which filled His heart.
Now an odd thing is noted. After He heard all about the sickness, He waited two days before He made a step to go to the relief of His friends. He abides two days still in the same place.
Verse 11: "These things said He: and after that He saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep." Then said His disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well." They thought he was having a restful sleep, and he would soon be well. "Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that He had spoken of taking of rest in sleep. Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead." He was not in a coma; no, he was dead, as dead as any man ever was. "And I am glad...." Was not that a strange statement? "Lazarus is dead. And I am glad." Why? He has the end in view! and so, beloved, He looks at the circumstances in your life and in mine. We may be down very low and greatly burdened, but perhaps He is saying, "I am glad," because He has the result in view, as He did here. "And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him."
Verse 17: "Then when Jesus came, He found that he had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off" (that is about two miles). "And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him." There is busy Martha again-as soon as she heard that He was coming, she went out to meet Him. The affection she showed is not to be discounted. If you heard that Jesus was coming, would you go to meet Him? Her heart must have been warm with affection toward Him. As soon as she hears that He is nearing the city, she wants to meet Him. I think that is in Martha's favor. "But Mary...." We had those words once before. "But Mary sat still in the house." Martha is busy again, and Mary sitting quietly in the house. Should we measure the affection of Mary and Martha by their activity? We are living in a day when the Christian world about us puts the emphasis almost entirely on the activity. How big is it, and what results can it produce? They are interested in the statistics.
When I was quite a young man, I became concerned about the path of testimony. I passed through deep exercise, because at the time I was expecting to go through the regular training and come out eventually an "ordained minister." But God spoke to my soul and gave me to see the truth. So I left the large institution and went to a little meeting in a small hall and identified myself with them. My "pastor," so-called, loved the Lord-we had had some nice fellowship-and he wrote me a letter, the burden of which was, "All I can see is that you are getting out of a great big ship into a very little boat." He then proceeded to list statistics: their membership, the number of missionaries on the foreign field, the number of deaconesses, the number of institutions of learning, Bible seminaries -it was all statistics. Not one verse of Scripture did he quote. You know there was one thing I found in that humble little meeting to which I had transferred my allegiance. What was it? It was the appreciation of the Person of Christ-time to sit down at His feet and to listen to His Word. It was not feverish, restless activity all the time. When I went to that humble little place, I found my soul was fed on the bread convenient. I found Christ ministered to me. They came together to know what God had to say to them in His Word. They sat there and feasted upon it, and their countenances told me that they were enjoying it. I enjoyed it with them. I have never been sorry for the change.
Mary is waiting now, but Martha starts off to meet the Lord. Mary sits quietly at home. It is good to learn to sit still. Exod. 14:13 says, "Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD." There are times when it is a good thing to "stand still," or "sit still," as Mary did. See also 2 Chron. 20:17, where we have another example of it: "Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD." Ah, there is a time to be still, to be quiet. So here Mary is sitting in the house.
"Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." v. 21. I think she was rather complaining in that remark, perhaps intimating that He might have been there sooner. "If Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever Thou wilt ask of God, God will give it Thee." That is nice. That is faith. Thank God for that. "Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again." But she does not seem to take it in. "Martha saith unto Him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." Any intelligent, godly Jew knew that much. "I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." Oh, yes, when you die and go into the grave, that is not the end; you are not going to stay there, you are going to come out again. "And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" Why, beloved, think of it-those of us in this room who are alive when Jesus comes back will never, never die! Is not that a marvelous announcement? But if you go out to the poor world around you and announce such a truth, they wonder what is the matter with you. "He thinks he may never die at all!" It is true; do we believe it? It is the Word of God! Is that your hope? Are you looking for it? Would you like Him to come today? We do not know from day to day how soon the Lord is coming; it is so near! "And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die. Believest thou this?" Do you? Thank God, if you do. Rest in it and let it form your life.
Verse 27: "She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world." Martha answers Him, but not intelligently. She does give Him His place as the Messiah-the Son of God which was to come into the world. That is good orthodox doctrine. But Martha had a measure of intuition and felt in her heart here was a situation that demanded the help of Mary. She had found fault with Mary for spending her time sitting at the feet of Jesus, but now she feels that Mary knew more about these things than she did, so she hastens away and calls her sister Mary secretly. She said, "The Master is come, and calleth for thee." That is what Mary wanted to hear. "The Master is come, and calleth for thee." I do not think that the Masten had said that, but it was her own heart's interpretation of the heart of Christ. Here was a situation to which she personally was unequal. The need of her soul coupled with the knowledge of Christ amounted in her judgment to a call on the part of Jesus for Mary to come. I think that is very precious, "The Master is come, and calleth for thee."
Verse 29: "As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly...." Do we respond to the Word of God quickly? She went quickly to where Jesus was. "Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him." Now verse 32: "Then when Mary was come where Jesus was. and saw Him"-she did not see anyone else; she saw Him- and "she fell down at His feet." There she is again-at His feet. As soon as Martha had heard that He was coming (v. 20). she went out to meet Him; but as soon as Mary got to Him. she uttered the exact words that Martha had said when she met Him: "Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." I am firmly convinced that though the words were identical the intonation was quite different. Perhaps it was something like this: Martha had said to Him, "Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." But Mary said. "Lord, if THOU hadst been here, my brother had not died." Quite different! Oh, how lovely to see her at His feet, owning the glory and dignity of His Person and telling Him that if only He had been there her brother would not have died.
"When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid Him? They say unto Him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept." Now the 38th verse: "Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha [here is Martha again], the sister of him that was dead, saith unto Him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days." Poor Martha! Mary did not say anything like that. Martha loved the Lord. Martha loved her brother. But the situation is such that she does not have the acumen of faith to penetrate it. She is only looking at it from a natural point of view. "Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?" Now verse 43: "And when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."
Now let us go on to the next chapter, chapter 12. "Then Jesus six days before the passover came to Bethany, where Lazarus was which had been dead, whom He raised from the dead." Here He is back at that blessed little town again, back at the same house, and here is Lazarus which had been dead. That was a miracle, a stupendous miracle. The Word of God speaks of Christ raising the dead, but only three individual cases are recorded; but I am sure there were many, if we knew of all of them. But of the three cases that are mentioned, the raising of Lazarus was the most wonderful. The other two had riot been dead so long. Here Lazarus was back home again, and Jesus was there. "There they made Him a supper." That was for Jesus, and Martha served. Martha is still the servant, but no criticism is leveled at her service here, for someone had to get the supper. Lazarus was one of them at the table with Him. "Then took Mary [here is dear Mary again] a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly." If we compare other accounts of the same incident we get the value of this ointment, which was worth about two thousand dollars. "And anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair." She is again at the feet of Jesus. It is the third time we find her there. So she is always in the right place, at the right time, doing the right thing. That is the result of communion. I have thought that if Mary had been like some of our sisters, she could not have carried out part of this service for Christ very easily. She anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair. In Scripture, a woman's hair is her glory. The Bible says, If a woman have long hair it is a glory to her. So Mary took that which was her glory and wiped the feet of Jesus with it. There is nothing we possess which is too good for Him. All we have and are belongs at the feet of that blessed One. That is where Mary was. Her ointment, her hair, her heart were all at the feet of Jesus; and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. We are still getting the benefit of that odor, still enjoying it. The odor of this lovely act of faith is still filling God's house. When they tried to rebuke her for it, the Lord rebuked them. He said, "Let her alone; she hath wrought a good work," and what she was doing would be told all over the world. That is true, and we are still talking about it. The faith of that dear woman is wonderful. We will see her at the feet of Jesus. The Lord said she had wrought a good work which would abide forever.
Beloved, the life you are living as a Christian-your daily life, your home life, your business life—can you take it to heaven with you? Mary took hers to heaven with her, and some day we will see her enjoying that One at His feet in the glory.
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