By REV. JOHN COLQUHOUN, Glendale, Skye.
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 (Luke x. 38-42).
THE incident recorded in this passage is often made the subject of discussion, and especially the last verse is often made the basis of a question at fellowship meetings. Very often one feels, from remarks made, that Martha is not regarded as having attained to such eminence in the Christian life as Mary, and, in fact, Martha is sometimes dealt with as if she were a mere worldling, concerned only with the affairs of this world, and having no time for spiritual discourse. This appears to be giving an unbalanced view of the narrative. The time when the incident took place is not precisely stated and cannot be determined with certainty, but seems to have taken place in the earlier part of our Lord’s ministry, and is not to be confused with that recorded in John xii. 1, 2, which took place “six days before the passover,” at which “Martha served,” and at which Mary anointed the Lord’s feet, and wiped His feet with her hair. In dealing with the narrative as contained in the portion before us in conjunction with John xi. 1-45, where the death and raising again to life of Lazarus is recorded, we may notice (I) That in which the two sisters were similar; (II) That in which they differed; (III) Martha’s appeal to the Saviour; (IV) The Saviour’s defence of Mary.
I.—That in which the two sisters were similar.
(1) They were both the objects of the Saviour’s love for we read, “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister and Lazarus” (John x. 5). When this expression is used of the Saviour it means much more than when used of a creature. The love of one human being to another is a love which, at best, has a beginning and an end. The love of Jesus to His people is an everlasting love. “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore, with loving kindness have I drawn thee” (Jer. xxxi. 3). The love of the creature may be so transient that, though it might be in evidence to-day it might not be so to-morrow, but the love of the Lord Jesus is an unchangeable love confirmed by an unchangeable covenant. “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee” (Isaiah lv. 10). It is a love that constrained Him, for the objects of it, to pour out His soul unto death, and to be numbered with the transgressors.
(2) That love was reflected in Martha as well as in Mary. “Now it came to pass, as they went, that he turned into a certain village and a certain woman, named Martha, received him into her house” (verse 38). Martha is mentioned along with Mary in the request to Jesus to visit sick Lazarus. “Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold he whom thou lovest is sick” (John xi. 3). At the supper made to Him at Bethany six days before the last passover prior to His sufferings, Martha is honourably mentioned as filling her accustomed role of serving, and, incidentally, thus showing her love to the Saviour and her desire that He would have proper entertainment. “There they made him a supper and Martha served” (John xii. 2). In these passages we see that Martha’s faith in the Saviour, and her love to Him, did shine equally as clear as the faith and love of Mary. Her deeds spake louder than many a high-sounding profession.
(3) They both resorted to the Lord in their distress. In the aforementioned passage, John xi. 3, they jointly sent a message to Christ informing Him of the sickness of Lazarus, and in this they revealed a marked characteristic of God’s true people in every age of time. The Psalmist could say, “In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried unto my God; he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even unto his ears” (Ps. xviii. 6). The Apostle Paul, when he had a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him, besought the Lord thrice that it might depart from him. Peter, when faced with the question, “Will ye also go away?” replied, for himself, and others, and for all true disciples to the end of time, “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life” (John vi. 67, 68).
(4) The two sisters were equally strong in their faith in Christ’s power: “Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John xi. 21). “Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John xi. 32). One might say that they both had the same Confession of Faith, and could subscribe to the language of the Psalmist when he said, “He that is our God is the God of salvation: and unto God the Lord belong the issues from death” (Psalm lxviii. 20). Yet, as all human Creeds and Confessions are imperfect, so was the Confession of Faith of Martha and Mary. That imperfection is manifested in the words, “Lord, if thou hadst been here,” for they seemed to think that it was necessary that they should have Christ’s bodily presence before He could keep death away.
(5) They were both subject to the same trials. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Every one has his own share of these trials, and, when passing through them, Christians are apt to think that none have such terrible trials as they have themselves, whereas, when they begin to compare notes, they find in their neighbours’ trials some bitter ingredients which they have been mercifully spared from having themselves. This is in accordance with the Word of God, which says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (I Cor. x. 13). “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you” (I Peter iv. 12). In this particular instance Martha and Mary had the same trial, but the Holy Spirit is silent on it as to who felt it most or what were the inward reactions of their different dispositions to it. This leads me to consider:
II.—That in which the two sisters differed.
(1) That difference is shown, not only in the words of our text, but also in their outward reactions to the death of their brother. Martha was calm, cool, and collected, though, by no means, a stoic. In John xi. 21, already quoted, she uttered her conviction that if the Lord had been present, her brother would not have died. She could listen with calmness and profit to the Lord’s discourse when He told her that her brother would rise again, and that He Himself was the resurrection, and, when He said to her, that “whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this,” she answered with a clearness and depth of knowledge which was so highly commended, on another occasion, by the Lord, in Peter, “Yea, Lord; I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world” (John xi. 24-27). Her soul was evidently feeding upon this doctrine but, like all true Christians, she must share her feast with others, and would say with the Psalmist, “Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul” (Psalm lxvi. 16). Mary was the only creature now upon whom her affections were centred, and so she must get a share of this wonderful feast, therefore we read that “When she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come and he calleth thee.” When Mary comes, she shows nothing of the calmness of Martha. She fell down at Jesus’ feet, saying unto Him, “Lord, thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. When Jesus, therefore, saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled” (John xi. 32, 33). Mary was more emotional than Martha, and well it was for her that she could weep, for weeping eases one’s grief, and is mercifully given, in deep sorrow, by the Lord Himself as a means to preserve that which would otherwise be overstrained. In this connection she was more ready to get the human sympathy which she did in fact get, for we read in verse 33 that the Jews which came with her were also weeping. In this connection we see two aspects of deep sorrow: the one silent and undemonstrative such as Martha’s sorrow; the other more apparent to the eye. Let us beware of misjudging in such cases, for the former is usually the deeper sorrow, and oftener leaves a more lasting impression on body and mind.
(2) Martha’s faith comes out in bolder relief than Mary’s under the trying circumstances before us, or, rather, there is an expression given to it which is not given to Mary’s. Not only does she give expression to the exalted view she had of the Person of Christ but she also shows her belief in His intercessory work, for, after expressing her belief that if He had been present her brother would not have died, she adds, “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” She seemed to have no doubt as to His ability to restore her brother to life, whatever hesitancy she might have to expect that He would do it. How often true Christians come short in this when we are counselled to “ask in faith, nothing wavering.”
III.—In the third place we come to notice Martha’s appeal to the Saviour.
(1) It is not too much to say that Martha was deeply conscious of the greatness of her Guest. This meant that, in her estimation, no labour was too much in order to give Him the best entertainment. The world saw nothing in Him but “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” He had no dwelling-house on earth: there was no retinue of servants following Him to attend to all His wants; the women who followed Him “ministered to him of their substance,” and He and His disciples were so poor that He could not pay the tax-money unless he had performed a miracle. In spite of all this Martha knew, and her Confession of Faith bears it out, that “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be made rich” (II Cor. viii. 9). Though, for the sake of His own, He thus became afflicted with poverty, yet He came into this world on a glorious mission, the substance of which was “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” When she knew that such a Guest had condescended to come into her house, what could she do but receive Him, and, having received Him, what more could she do but give Him the best entertainment her home could afford.
Martha knew the world, and knew human nature too well, to leave the entertaining of her Guest to others. She might have helpers, and willing and efficient helpers at that, who were doing their best, but, did they realise the greatness of her Guest? They might ask among themselves, “What is wrong with Martha to-day? We often helped her and she would bear with our mistakes, but to-day she will not overlook anything, or put up with any slackness. What ails her? The answer to these questions could not remain long a secret. It is the high estimation which she has of her Guest, for that estimation is summed up in the words of the Church in the Song of Solomon, “My beloved is fair and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand” (Song v. 10). It is joy to her soul to dwell on the wonderful character that is given of Him in the written Word, but in the very midst of such enjoyment some over-anxious Abigail, in her efforts to please Martha, does what is calculated to detract from the high order of the entertainment, so that poor Martha’s thoughts have to come back to earth sooner than she would wish and she must devise some ways and means to correct what had been put wrong.
Martha knew that Mary was sitting at the Saviour’s feet listening to the gracious words which proceeded from His lips, and she too would wish to be in the same place, but how could she? There was so much to do. Christ must have the best entertainment, and she must deny herself the pleasure with which she also would listen to His gracious words. She, as well as Mary, could join with the Psalmist in saying, “The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver” (Psalm cxix. 72). She would look at all that was to be done and her womanly foresight would anticipate much of what might happen to mar the entertainment she wished to give to Christ, but in spite of all her preparations, she could not get a moment’s respite to sit at the feet of the Saviour. How like what often takes place at a Communion season when Christ’s members meet on the mount of ordinances and their conversation is savoury; there are many Marthas who are cumbered with much serving, and who are not only shut out from fellowship with those whom they serve, but whose secret devotions are, at least partially, suspended, when others are having a feast of fat things. Those whom they serve should bear them much upon their spirits at a Throne of Grace.
(2) When a child of God is put in the circumstances in which Martha is before us at this time, he has a tempting devil at his elbow to insinuate all sorts of things. We may be sure that he was not far from Martha when she was so anxious that everything possible would be done for the Saviour, for the better Christ’s reception is the more the devil will rage.
Satan would, no doubt, whisper in her ear, “You are alone.” She would have to acknowledge that this was so, and the next whisper would be, “Why should it be so?” By that mysterious power which Satan has over our corrupt nature he would draw Martha’s attention to Mary, sitting at the Saviour’s feet, and hearing His gracious words. We may say that Satan had more than one motive in coming to Martha on this occasion. He wanted to harass grace in Martha, to make her an instrument for spoiling the entertainment which she was so careful about; he wanted Mary to lose the benefit of what she was hearing, and to make her appear inconsistent with her religious profession, by representing her as a selfish person who cared nothing but for herself.
Satan had now succeeded in putting spectacles on Martha, with which she viewed Mary, whom she dearly loved, in a very unfavourable light. “My sister hath left me to serve alone.” This is contrary to her usual way of doing things, and there was never so much need of her help as on the present occasion. Martha might say, or the tempter first of all suggested to her, “I have no doubt the conversation is savoury and just what my own soul needs at this time, but there is a selfishness in my sister which I cannot condone. She cares nothing about me and all that I have to do, and worse still, she has no thought about the comfort of the Saviour.” When Satan would get her on this train of thought we may be sure that he would not rest until he would get her to say in her heart, if not audibly, “A strange kind of religion my sister has. A religion that will take everything from the Saviour but will not show Him any kindness in return.” Who of us would do better if we were in similar circumstances? We also have a tempting devil and a desperately wicked heart upon which he can work, and, therefore, we ought to make the Psalmist’s words our own, “Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults” (Psalm xix. 12).
(3) But did the vile tempter stop at that? Alas, he was now carrying Martha in the swing of his temptation so that the next step is, that we find her pointing an accusing finger at the Lord Himself. “Lord, dost thou not care, that my sister hath left me to serve alone?” We find here in poor Martha what appeared in Adam when he tried to lay the blame of his fall at God’s door. “The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” Unbelief in Martha had thrust forth his ugly head and opened his foul mouth to slander the fair name of the Lord by insinuating that the Lord did not care. In this no temptation befell Martha which is not common to others of the Lord’s people. “But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me” (Isaiah xlix. 14). The Psalmist left his complaint on record when he said, “How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever? how long wilt thou hide thy face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart daily? how long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?” (Psalm xiii. 1, 2).
IV—I come now, in the fourth place, to notice the Saviour’s defence of Mary.
In His defence He addresses Martha, saying, “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.”
(1) The Lord manifests that He is not unconcerned about Martha. As the Omniscient One, He knew all Martha’s worries and difficulties, and this is true as far as all His people are concerned. They often act as if He had no thought of them. When they encounter difficulties they forget to lay these difficulties before the Lord Himself, and with their carnal strength and carnal wisdom, seek to overcome what is in their way. The disciples in the storm on the Sea of Galilee rowed hard, and, as the bodily presence of the Lord was not with them, it is to be feared that they were looking more to their own labours in order to take them out of their difficulty than they were to His help. They failed to realise that He knew their peril and was not at all uninterested in them, but He showed them that He knew their needs and, when they had laboured in vain, He wrought their deliverance.
He knew Martha’s motives when she allowed herself to be “cumbered about much serving.” There are many who go to no end of trouble in order to provide for their guests and their only motive is “to make a fair show in the flesh.” It was not so with Martha, and it is not so where grace is in living exercise. The Lord knew the sincerity of Martha in this matter, and that it was His own grace in her heart which caused her to go to all the trouble that she went to; and that as she had already committed her soul to the Redeemer, and was waiting upon Him with her soul, she was now wearing out her body in His service. Thus she was conforming to the inspired exhortation, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. xii. 1).
He also knew Mary’s needs. That Martha and Mary had different dispositions, naturally, is evident; that the Holy Spirit led them by different ways is equally evident, and that they were at different stages in the Christian course also appears. Martha seems to be more of the kind spoken of by the Apostle, “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Heb. v. 14). Mary, on the other hand, seems to have been among those who “have need of milk and not of strong meat.” When she heard the gracious words of the Redeemer as that “sincere milk” which her soul stood so much in need of, and realising the preciousness of her soul, she could not for a moment withdraw her ear from the doctrine that dropped as the rain, and the speech that distilled as the dew, “as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass.” The Omnipotent Saviour knew her need as He knew Martha’s motives, and He permitted her to get a satisfying drink of what her soul desired.
(2) “One thing is needful,” and that is, to have Christ as one’s portion. Without Him, whatever earthly portion we may have, we are empty. Many a rich portion has been given to worldlings while they were in this life, but often with it they had plenty of trouble, and the longer they possessed it the more they were bound to it in their hearts, till one day “the silver cord” was loosed, and with that they lost their hold of what they valued so much and the language of Job was fulfilled in their case, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither,” without the patience and holy submission to the will of God, which was characteristic of him. Happy, eternally happy, are those who have Christ as their portion for He is an eternal portion. “Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end” (Isaiah xlv. 17).
(3) “Mary hath chosen.” He does not say that Martha has not chosen that good part. They both had, through grace, made the same choice, but they showed it in different ways—the one, by giving diligent attention to His words, and the other, by serving Him. No doubt there was a reason why the Lord emphasised Mary’s choice. It may be that Martha, in her appeal to the Saviour, as has already been hinted, showed that, through the temptations of Satan, she was harbouring suspicions of Mary’s piety, because it was not so practical as her own. This is not something far-fetched, for, if left to ourselves, we are too ready to make a standard of our own attainments, and to condemn others if they are not found in the same groove as ourselves. If such a suspicion ever entered Martha’s mind she was immediately assured by lips that cannot lie that the suspicion was groundless, and that Mary had made choice of that good part.
(4) It is a part that would never be taken from her. She could say with Jeremiah, “The Lord is my portion, saith my soul: therefore will I hope in him” (Lamentations iii. 24). Her portion, and the portion of all the Lord’s people, is theirs by an unchangeable Covenant, for “the mountains shall depart, and the hills shall be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee” (Isaiah liv. 10). It is a portion that is embedded in unfailing love, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. viii. 38, 39).