John 11:20-21 "Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. (21) Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died."
John 11:28-32 "And when she had so said, she went her way,
and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth
for thee. (29) As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and
came unto him. (30) Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but
was in that place where Martha met him. (31) The Jews then which
were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she
rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to
weep there. (32) 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."
Next devotional, we will look at Jesus' reply to Martha concerning the resurrection.
Today, I want to look at the statements made by Martha and Mary and see how
similar they are and yet, how so very different they are. Jesus had
waited these days before coming to Bethany. We know He had a purpose in doing
so. Their brother had died and been buried now for four days.
Understandably, they were mourning. Friends had gathered to try to console
them. They are sitting in the house when Martha hears that Jesus was
coming. She went to meet Him. Mary sat, waiting, in the house until Jesus
called for her.
Both sisters made the same statement to Jesus: "If thou hadst been here,
my brother had not died." Both of them were statements of faith; yet, it
seems Mary's statement was made with a different sentiment. Remember it was
Mary that had sat at the feet of Jesus, listening as He taught the things of
the Lord. No doubt, He had spoken to her of the kingdom of heaven which is
righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. And no doubt, He had spoken of
things concerning eternal heaven; though human minds are very limited as to
what eternal heaven is like.
It seems to me that Martha's statement was more of a questioning type
statement. It's almost as if she was asking, "Why didn't you come when we
called you?" The next devotional we will look at the remainder of Martha's thoughts
concerning the resurrection. She was not questioning the power of Jesus. But it
does seem she was stating her lack of understanding concerning the will and
timing of Jesus. Mary's statement seemed to be a simple statement of
fact, but not questioning the will of God. Mary simply stated her belief that
Jesus had the power to heal. "You have the power to heal our
brother." It seems this is the reason Mary sat still in the house,
waiting for the call of Jesus. Her faith and trust in the Lord had been
nurtured through times of sitting and listening to the words of our Lord.
My whole thought for this devotion is centered upon our need for the Word of
God. The more time we spend in the Word of God, the better equipped we
are to handle life's struggles and trials. Studying God's Word does not
eliminate the problems of life, but we are more ready to face them. Our faith
is grown as we read and study the things concerning our Lord. Time in His
Word is time well spent.