The desire to share good news with others

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John 11:28-37

One of the many observations of living for over sixty years on planet earth is that you and I have in our DNA the desire to share good news with others we care about.  It matters not the importance of the happening, it could be a new car, new house, a new job, or something of greater importance, like marriage, a new baby, or of eternal importance, like your profession of faith in Christ.  Martha, had just said to Jesus, “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world” and her very next action is to go tell her sister Mary, the teacher is asking for you.

Now, it is of importance to recall that this is not a happy time, their brother had just died and they had been praying and hoping for a miracle, but the miracle had not happen and the brother has been in the tomb for four days.  So Martha comes back from her visit with Jesus and asked to have a word with her sister in private, and she said, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”  It is reported in John 11 that Mary rose quickly and went to Jesus, but she did not go alone, many who were consoling her saw her go out and thought she was going to the tomb, so they tagged along.

It is important to understand that these sisters loved Jesus but Mary was the one that put everything aside to sit at his feet when He was teaching, Martha chose not to because there was a lot of things that needed to happen before they could eat.  Mary sees Jesus and falls at his feet saying to Him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”  It is so important to understand that she is speaking from her heart; she is not doing the blame game, she’s speaking truth.  But there is always the crowd, those who came with her, and they said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”  

It is important to understand the crowd, they are the large portion of those who claim they are Christian, many show-up for church each Sunday, but they have not fallen at the feet of Jesus, they are at best observers, they want to see more proof, and then they will do as Martha and Mary, then they will trust Him, then they will bet the farm that He is the Christ, the Son of God, who has come into the world to save sinners!  Then they will agree that they are sinners in need of His services!

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice