Letters From Grandpa #560

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 560

Dearest grandchild,

Todays letter will be about Mary and Martha. They were sisters that Jesus loved very much and Lazarus was their brother. “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42).

The fact that Jesus used double names in warning Martha is significant. When Simon Peter was going to be tempted by the devil Jesus warned: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.” (Luke 22:31). When Saul of Tarsus was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians Jesus appeared to him in a blinding light and warned: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4) Obviously Jesus warned Martha because she was in the process of making a serious mistake! She was neglecting the “one” thing that really mattered!

The late Dr. Wayne Bigelow spoke at the Ozark Bible College many years ago about The Road of No Regrets! As a young intern in San Francisco his first three patients all died. Their deaths made a lasting impression. One was a chain smoker who died of lung cancer. Another was an alcoholic who died of sclerosis of the liver. The third was a fornicator who died in the iron grip of an STD. Each patient died of a life style they came to regret. Martha was in the process of making a similar mistake.

Note! Mary was happy, Martha was mad. Mary was listening to Jesus, Martha was blaming Jesus. The main thing for Mary was Jesus, the main thing for Martha was the meal. Mary’s relationship with Jesus could not be taken away from her, but Martha’s ability to prepare a meal would vanish with age. They were both at a cross road and Mary wisely chose the Road of No Regrets!

There is an old joke about the man on his death bed who was asked if he had any regrets. He answered: “Oh, I only wish I had spent more time at the office.” Yes! This is obviously a joke! We may be reasonably certain that Martha’s last words were not “Oh, if I had only spent more time in the kitchen.” Mary was right! Nobody will ever regret spending time sitting at the feet of Jesus!

Bartimaeus was a blind man in Jericho. When he heard that Jesus was passing by he began to shout: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me! Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47-48). When Jesus called for him, Bartimaeus cast aside his cloak, came to Jesus, and was healed. The point is, Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to die. Jesus would never pass that way again. Bartimaeus only had one chance to encounter Jesus and he never regretted taking it! How many chances will you have to encounter Jesus?

Mary and Martha are mentioned again when Jesus raised their brother Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). When Lazarus got sick “the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days, and then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.” (John 11:3-6)

When Mary and Martha heard that Jesus finally was coming, Martha rushed out to meet him but Mary stayed at home. Both sisters realized that if Jesus had been there Lazarus would not have died. This sets the stage for the shortest verse in the Bible “Jesus wept.” (John 11:35). Please note that Jesus wept before He came to the tomb! Jesus wept and was troubled when He saw Mary weeping, and the Jews weeping with her. Since Jesus had known for several days that He would raise Lazarus from the dead, He was not weeping for Lazarus, but was apparently weeping for Mary and Martha. Jesus also wept over Jerusalem for the same reason (Luke 19:41). Failure to sit at the feet of Jesus is a mistake too serious for words!

Mary and Martha are mentioned one more time in the Bible. It was six days before the Passover when Jesus and His disciples came again to Bethany and ate in their home. While Martha was serving, and Lazarus was reclining at the table, Mary took a pint of expensive perfume and poured it on the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. Jesus said that Mary was anointing Him for his burial! She apparently understood what the disciples did not. When Jesus tried to tell them about His death in Jerusalem “The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.” (Luke 18:34) Mary, however, somehow understood that Jesus was about to die, and she was so overcome with grief that she anointed Jesus with the most precious thing she possessed. Since the perfume was worth a year’s wages it may have represented her life’s savings. Judas objected to what he called “waste” and said that this perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Judas said this, not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and was stealing from their treasury (John 12:6)

Again, Mary chose a road with no regrets! The perfume was temporal, but her generosity enabled her to receive an eternal reward! She was laying up treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot corrupt and thieves cannot break in and steal (Matthew 6:20). Judas, by contrast, regretted betraying Jesus, threw away his precious 30 pieces of silver, sand went out and hanged himself!

So, what will you choose? Will you spend time in the kitchen or at the feet of Jesus? Will you choose to please men or God? Please be deliberate and make a decision you will never regret! As Paul would later write: “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Colossians 3:17)

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce