146. The Prayers Of Martha And Mary.
The Prayers Of Martha And Mary. The Prayers as recorded.—John 11:20-22. The Lord’s Answer.—John 11:23-27.
Mary’s Prayer.—John 11:32. The Lord’s Answer.—John 11:35. The Prayer of Jesus at the grave, as recorded.—John 11:41-42. The Answer.—John 11:43-44. In the small village of Bethany, on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives, lived Mary and Martha, and their brother, Lazarus. They were a godly family, and seem to have been especially beloved by the Savior, as their house was his frequent resort. We would suggest to the reader a careful perusal of this whole chapter. The characters of these two women are simply yet vividly drawn—both different, yet both loving the Lord Jesus. When Lazarus was taken ill, the anxious sisters had sent a message to our Savior, and it may appear strange to the casual reader, that attached as he was to this family, he did not hasten immediately to them, or then use his power to prevent the death of Lazarus. It will be seen that after the message,
“He whom thou lovest sick,” two days elapsed before the departure of the Savior for Bethany. This delay was to make the miracle the greater, for the body had lain in the grave and corrupted, when the sisters came out to meet Jesus. If he had been there, as the sisters say to him, and prevented the death, or suffered him to die and raised him, there would then have been an appearance of ostentation in the act, which nowhere stamps the movements of Jesus. According to a Jewish custom, Mary and Martha were surrounded by comforters, who were wont to weep seven days with those who were in affliction, and they were thus situated when the message was given to Martha that Jesus had arrived; in great haste she rose to meet him, not even delaying long enough to tell Mary the glad news, who “sat still in the house.”
“One grief, one faith, oh, sisters of the dead, Was in your bosoms. And which to Him, the All-seeing and All-just, Was loveliest, that quick zeal, or lowly trust?”
Oh, mortal! question not, for we are told he loved Mary and her sister Martha, and they found sympathy, full and satisfying, in the Savior’s heart and tears. The answer of our Savior to Martha is somewhat vague to her understanding, and we infer from her words to him that she addresses him as a prophet, and not as the Incarnate Son of God. He reminds her that life is in Him, and is imparted to the faithful by union with Him, and as if to impress the truth upon her, questions her closely and convincingly of her belief in Him as the Messiah. It is then that she awakens to a knowledge of the truth, and hastens to call her sister, who uses the same language; they do not ask a restoration to life for their brother—they know not what they need; they know Jesus can do all things, and in sorrow and grief they come to him.