Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 3461
“And when she had so said, she went her way, and secretly called Mary, her sister, saying, The Master is come, and calls foryou. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came unto Him. Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met Him. The Jews who 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 goes unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying unto Him, Lord, if You had been here, my brother had not died.” John 11:28-32.
IT seems that Martha had heard of Christ’s coming, and Mary had not. Therefore Martha rose up hastily and went to meet the Master, while Mary sat still in the house. From this we gather that genuine Believers may, through some unexplained cause, be at the same time in very different states of mind. Martha may have heard of the Lord and seen the Lord. And Mary, an equally loving heart, not having known of His Presence, may, therefore, have missed the privilege of fellowship with Him. Who shall say that Martha was better than Mary? Who shall censure the one, or approve the other? Now, Beloved, You may be tonight, yourselves, though true Believers in Jesus, in different conditions. I may have a Martha here whose happiness it is to be in rapt fellowship with Christ. You have already gone to Him and told Him of your grief—you may have heard His answer to your story and you may have been able by faith to say—“I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” And you may be full of peace and full ofjoy. On the other hand, sitting near you may be a person equally gracious as yourself who can get no farther than the cry, “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat!” Dear Martha, condemn not Mary. Dear Mary, condemn not yourself! Martha, be ready to speak the word of comfort to Mary. Mary, be ready to receive that word of comfort and, in obedience to it, rise up quickly and, in imitation of your sister, go and cast yourself, as she has already done, at the Savior’s feet. I must not say, because I have not all the joy my brother has, that I am no true child of God. Children are equally children in your household, though one is little and the other is full grown, and they are equally dear to you, though one is sick and the other in good health—though one is quick at his letters and another is but a dull scholar. The love of Christ is not measured out to us according to our conditions or attainments. He loves us irrespective of all these. Jesus loved Martha, and Mary, and Lazarus. He loves all His own and they must not judge Him by what they feel, nor measure His love by a sense of their own lack of love.
Hoping that the Lord will now bless the word to all of us who are His own people, I shall speak of two things—a visit fromthe Master—a visit to the master.
I. Here Is a Visit from the Master
Martha came and said to Mary, “The Master is come”—or as we might read it truly, “The Master is here and calls for you.” “The Master is come.” “The Master is here.”
Beloved Friends who are just now without the present fellowship with Christ, which you fondly desire, permit me to whisper this in your ear—“The Master is here! The Master is here!” We cannot come round and whisper it secretly as Martha did, but take the message, each one of you, to yourself—“The Master is here.”
He is here, for He is accustomed to be where His Word is preached with sincerity of heart. He is accustomed to be wherever His saints are gathered together in His name. We have His own dear word for this—the best pledge we can
have—“Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” We have met in His name, we have met for His worship, we have met to preach His Gospel—and the Master is here! We are sure He is here, for He always keeps His word. He never fails any of His promises!
He is here, for some of us feel His Presence. Had Mary said to Martha, How do you know that the Master is come? she would have answered, “Why I have spoken with Him and He has spoken to me.” Well, there are some among us who can say, “He has spoken to us.” Did we not hear Him speaking when we were singing that hymn just now?—
“My God, the spring of all my joys,
The life of my delights.
The glory of my brightest days,
The comfort of my nights.” Did not we perceive Him to be near some of us, when we were singing—
“Oh, see how Jesus trusts Himself
Unto our childish love,
As though, by His free ways with us,