Will you please turn to the Gospel according to Luke, Luke chapter 10? We will read from verse 38 through verse 42.
And it came to pass, as they went, that He entered into a certain village; and a certain woman, Martha by name, received Him into her house.
And she had a sister called Mary, who also, having sat down at the feet of Jesus, was listening to His word.
Now Martha was distracted with much service; and coming up, she said, “Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Speak to her therefore, that she may help me.”
But Jesus answering said to her, “Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things; but there is need of one. And Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken from her.”
The Gospel according to John, John chapter 11. We will begin with verse 1 through verse 5.
Now there was a certain man sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister.
It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom Thou lovest is sick.”
But when Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
John chapter 12, verse 1.
Jesus therefore, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where was the dead man Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from among the dead.
There therefore they made Him a supper, and Martha served; but Lazarus was one of those at table with Him.
Mary therefore, having taken a pound of ointment of pure nard, of great price, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
One of His disciples therefore, Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, who was about to deliver Him up, says, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to the poor?”
But he said this, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and carried what was put in it.
Jesus therefore said, “Suffer her to have kept this for the day of My preparation for burial; for ye have the poor always with you, but Me ye have not always.”
A great crowd therefore of the Jews knew that He was there, and they came, not because of Jesus only, but also that they might see Lazarus, whom He raised from among the dead.
But the chief priests took counsel that they might kill Lazarus also, because many of the Jews went away on his account and believed on Jesus.
And finally, Matthew chapter 21, verse 17.
And leaving them, He went forth out of the city to Bethany, and there He passed the night.
Let us have a word of prayer.
Dear Lord, as we gather in Thy presence, we desire to hear Thy word. So, Lord, speak; Thy servants hear. We commit this time into Thy hands and pray that Thou wilt speak through Thy word, by Thy Spirit, to each one of us, and bring us to the place where Thou art. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
A few days ago, as I was waiting before the Lord, this little house in Bethany was impressed upon my heart. So, God willing, we will be sharing this morning on that little house in Bethany.
Our Lord Jesus loved Jerusalem, the city of God. Jerusalem was the place where God chose to put His name. It was in Jerusalem that there was the temple, the house of God. It was in Jerusalem that you had the priesthood and the sacrifices. It was in Jerusalem that you had the rabbis and the scribes, those who studied the Word and taught the Word.
Our Lord Jesus, while He was on earth, loved Jerusalem. During His public ministry, He went to Jerusalem time and again. At the beginning of His ministry, you remember, He went into the temple. He saw what was there, and He began to cleanse that temple, because the temple was to be the Father’s house. Yet now it had become a place of merchandise, a bazaar.
Even at the end of His public ministry, the last time He entered Jerusalem, He again cleansed the temple because it had become worse. It had become a house of robbers, a den of robbers. Our Lord’s heart was towards Jerusalem.
When He looked over Jerusalem, He wept. He said, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how many times I wanted to gather you together, as little chicks under the hen, but you refused. And now your house will be left to you, a house of desolation, not until you say, ‘Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.’”
Jerusalem had every right to the Messiah. It was supposed to be the place where the Messiah would reign. And yet, when the Messiah came, they rejected Him. They had no love for Christ.
Our Lord repeatedly went to Jerusalem, trying to rescue, to save, to restore, that it might be truly the house of God on earth. But they refused.
You remember, when He went to Jerusalem the last time, He worked there and preached there; but that night, He left. He could not stay there. Instead, He went to Bethany.
Now, Bethany was a very small village. It was about two miles outside of Jerusalem. It was a very insignificant place. And in that small village, there was a family.
The Bible does not tell us about the parents of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Most likely, the parents had passed away, so these were orphans: two sisters and one little brother, sticking together. And there was a little house in Bethany.
Strangely, you will find that this was the house that our Lord loved to go to. He loved to spend time there. Why? Because He found love there.
Jerusalem had everything in name as God’s house, but unfortunately one thing was missing, and that was love—love for God. Bethany had no claim legally. It had nothing in significance: small, unknown. And yet, you will find that the Lord loved to be there. Why? Only one reason: there was love.
These three—brother and sisters—loved the Lord. You remember when Lazarus was sick. The sisters sent word to our Lord Jesus because, at that time, our Lord, being rejected by Jerusalem, had crossed the River Jordan and stayed on the east side of the Jordan. The Jews wanted to kill Him.
So the two sisters sent word to our Lord. And you notice what they said—a very short message: “Lord, the one whom Thou lovest is sick.” That is all.
They knew that the Lord loved Lazarus, and they fully expected the Lord to rush back, lay His hands on Lazarus, and heal him. They had perfect faith in the Lord Jesus. They had every confidence that that was what the Lord would do. That was all they needed to tell the Lord.
Now, you know this: when they said, “The one whom Thou lovest is sick,” the word love in the original Greek is phileo. In other words, the one towards whom You are kindly affectionate; the one for whom You have good feeling; the one for whom You have that brotherly love, as it were; the one to whom You are attached. That was the one who was sick.
Now, even though we know that the love of the Lord is so much greater, higher, and better, because when you read John 11:5, our Lord Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. The word love in verse 5 is agapao: that divine love, that absolute love, that selfless love, sacrificial love, that love unto the uttermost, to the very end.
So actually, our Lord Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus with absolute love. He would do everything for them, anything for them. He would even sacrifice Himself for them. That is the way that the Lord always loves: without condition, unto the uttermost.
But for Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, why was it that when they sent a message, they did not say, “The one whom Thou lovest absolutely is sick”? I think probably it was because of their weakness. That is human weakness.
In other words, all we can love is with phileo love—brotherly love, friendly, affectionate, attached. That is all we can know. And how often we try to measure the love of Christ with our measurement.
Because their love towards the Lord, so far as they could feel in themselves, was that they had good feeling towards the Lord. They were friendly to the Lord, and they were somewhat attached to the Lord. That was their love. Because their love was in that degree, they thought that the love of Christ towards them was in the same degree, not knowing that our Lord’s love is so much bigger and higher.
Now, brothers and sisters, what is your feeling towards the Lord? How do you think the Lord loves you? Is it not sometimes all we can say is, “Lord, I feel good about You, and I hope You feel good about me too”?
Can our love reach that height—oh, that absolute, perfect love? Yes, our Lord loves us.
Over time, when I travel around and hear people praying, people say, “Lord, I love You. I love You so much.” I wonder, how much is this “so much”?
You remember Peter. When our Lord began to reveal to His disciples that He would go to Jerusalem, that He would be killed, but on the third day He would rise again, Peter loved the Lord. He would not allow that to happen to our Lord.
And when our Lord said, “When the Shepherd is smitten, the sheep will be scattered,” Peter said, “No, not me. I love You so much. I am willing to die with You.” But he denied the Lord three times.
Then you find in John chapter 21, after our Lord was resurrected and appeared to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, He asked Peter, “Peter, dost thou love Me? Dost thou love Me more than these?”
The word love that our Lord used was agapao: absolute love. “You say you love Me absolutely. Now, do you really love Me with that unconditional, absolute love? Or do you love the fire more than Me?”
You know, it was cold. Peter tried to warm himself by the fire and be with other people. He was a person who loved company; he could not be alone. Even at that moment, he wanted to be with other people, even with his enemies. It was better than being alone. He loved himself more than the Lord.
So the Lord said, “Dost thou love Me more than these—your company, the fire, the fish, something to eat? Dost thou really love Me more than these?”
Peter realized. He said, “Lord, You know I am attached to You.” He dared not say that he loved the Lord with an absolute love.
Then the Lord said, “Dost thou love Me?” No comparison, but love Me, period, with an absolute love. Peter said, “Lord, You know I am friendly to You. I do feel good about You.”
So the third time, the Lord used Peter’s own word: “Dost thou really love Me? Art thou really attached to Me? Dost thou feel good about Me?” And Peter was grieved. Why? Because he could not rise to that absolute love. So he said, “Lord, You know. You know me. I am attached to You.”
But brothers and sisters, if you feel that you love the Lord absolutely, probably your love is questionable. On the contrary, when you really realize that you really love the Lord, all your love seems to be at that level of human beings. You cannot rise above that, but that is your desire. You really want to love the Lord as He has loved you, and at that moment His love will fill your heart.
So, brothers and sisters, you will find that in that little house in Bethany, there was love. There was love towards the Lord. And because there was love, the Lord loved to be there.
Bethany means the house of figs or dates. Bethany, in typology, represents the true house of God.
In Bethany, you have a little house—only three members. You remember the Lord said, “Where two or three are gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them.” There is some meaning of the church.
Even though there are only two or three, there is love there. They love the Lord, and the Lord loves them. And where love is, there is the house of God. That is the place that our Lord loves to be.
But you find in that little house, there was not only love between them and the Lord. You find there was love among the three.
When Lazarus was sick, these two sisters were so concerned for their little brother. So they did the best they could: they sent word to the Lord, because they knew the solution was with the Lord.
Now we will say, of course, if you are brothers and sisters, and especially if the parents are not there, surely they care for one another. But brothers and sisters, are we members of one family—of the family of God? And if we are in the family of God, are we not brothers and sisters? Should we not have the same concern and care for one another?
It may not be natural, but it is supernatural. The life that the Lord has given to us is supernatural. So here you find in that family not only that vertical relationship of love with the Lord, but also that horizontal love among themselves.
Martha served. She was busy with serving. She wanted to put up the best to treat the Lord. Bless her. But because she was so anxious to please the Lord, she was trying to do the best she could. She was busy. She was disturbed.
Why? Because she thought she was so busy, and her sister Mary had left her to serve alone. Yet Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus and just quietly listening there.
And you know what Martha did? She went to the Lord and said, “Lord, do You not see that I am so busy? Do You not care? Will You not ask my sister to come and help me?”
Now notice, brothers and sisters, our Lord was a guest in that little house. But was He a guest? No.
When He went to Jerusalem, He was the Lord of Jerusalem, and yet He was treated indifferently. But when He went into the little house in Bethany, immediately you find He became the Lord of that house. That is the difference.
Martha could very well have talked to her sister and said, “Mary, come and help me.” But she did not do that. She recognized that when the Lord was in the house, He was the Master of the house. Martha was no longer the master of the house. She used to rule the house, I suppose, but she could not do that when the Lord was there.
She recognized that the Lord was the Master of the house. Even though she wanted the help of her sister, she asked the Lord to give permission. Now, is that not beautiful?
Brothers and sisters, do we really recognize that our Lord Jesus is the Lord of the house? We have to refer to Him in everything. We have no right. When He is there, He has every right over everything.
Can you notice that Mary did not look at her sister and say, “Why do you complain? Why do you not let me sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to Him?” Not a word.
Now, sometimes among brothers and sisters, you know, you have to speak back and forth. But here you find Mary did not speak back. There was submission, a submissive spirit, in that younger sister.
Even though she was falsely accused, she left it with the Lord. And you know this: Mary always did that.
You remember when she anointed our Lord with ointment, and Judas began to murmur, along with the other disciples? She did not say a word. She left it with the Lord. The Lord knew better.
So you find that among these three—brother and sisters—there was love, there was care, there was submission, submitting to one another. Beautiful. It is beautiful.
And brothers and sisters, that is what the house of God is. That is what we should be.
Our Lord Jesus said, “As I have loved you, love ye one another.” That is the command of the Lord, but it is more than a command; it is a reality. As the love of the Lord towards us is absolute, He wants us to love one another in the way that He loves us.
You remember in 1 Timothy 1:5, Paul says to Timothy that the end of that which is enjoined—that is to say, the end of everything that is charged by God to us—the utmost thing, the end of all His teaching, exhortation, and instruction, is love.
But the end of the charge is love out of a pure heart and a good conscience and faith unfeigned.
What the Lord is after is only one thing: love. And where does the love come from? It comes from a pure heart.
Look at these sisters and brother. Their hearts were pure towards the Lord—single-minded towards the Lord. Their hearts were not divided. They did not have a double mind. They saw the Lord, and the Lord was everything.
They had a good conscience because they followed the Lord as much as they understood. And they had an unfeigned faith. They had perfect confidence in the Lord.
When they sent word to the Lord, they believed that the Lord could do anything. They believed that the Lord would come back and heal their brother. There was no doubt in their hearts.
When the Lord delayed in coming, it was a disappointment to them. But even so, it did not shake their faith, because when the Lord arrived, you remember both Martha and Mary said, “Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died.” They still had faith in the Lord Jesus. They had confidence in Him.
It is out of a pure heart, good conscience, and unfeigned faith that there is love. Brothers and sisters, do we really love the Lord and love one another? That love comes from a pure heart.
Our heart is more important than anything. The Bible says:
Keep thy heart with all diligence;
For out of it are the issues of life.
What God looks at is our heart, not our appearance. Man looks at appearance, but God looks upon the heart. Where is your heart? Is your heart pure towards Him, or is your heart divided?
The prayer of David in Psalm 139 is, “Lord, search my heart and know my thoughts. See if there be any grievous way in me.” In some manuscripts, it says, “See if there is an idolatrous way in me.”
Now, idolatrous may simply mean unfaithful. You love the Lord, but you love something else; or you love the Lord with an ulterior motive—not faithful.
“See if there be any grievous way, any idolatrous way, in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Brothers and sisters, that should be our prayer, our daily prayer, because our heart is deceitful above all things.
As you find in Jeremiah, “The heart is deceitful above all things; who can know it?” We ourselves do not know it. We deceive ourselves; we deceive others. But only the Lord searches our heart. He tries our reins.
So, brothers and sisters, we need to present ourselves daily before the Lord. It is a daily matter. Your heart may be pure towards the Lord today, but tomorrow you cannot guarantee it. We need to present ourselves before Him daily and ask Him to search our heart, to see whether our heart is pure towards Him.
And, of course, we need a good conscience. You know, a Christian needs a good conscience in his daily walk. We cannot carry a guilty conscience with us, because if we carry a guilty conscience, it affects our fellowship with God and with God’s people.
Our conscience must be without offence before God and man. And thank God, His Spirit touches our conscience and reminds us whether we are in a right relationship with Him or whether we are not.
Brothers and sisters, whenever you have a guilty conscience, do not allow it to stay with you. Clear it up immediately—not even in the evening; clear it up at once. Go to the Lord.
And thank God, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We do not need to carry a guilty conscience. We should have a good conscience before God and man, and the blood of the Lord Jesus is well able to cleanse.
And unfeigned faith: trust in the Lord. Put our perfect confidence in Him. We may not understand His ways, but we still believe in Him.
Brothers and sisters, it is out of these three ingredients that you have love. Love is not just an emotion. Love is a reality. It has its foundations. And with these three foundations, then you really have that love which is from God.
So may the Spirit of God pour His love into our hearts, because this is the one thing that God is looking for.
But it is more than love towards the Lord. Of course, that is the first commandment: love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your understanding, and with all your strength. That is the first and foremost commandment. But the Lord says there is another one with it: “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
And so far as we are concerned, it is, “Love one another as He has loved us.” So, brothers and sisters, in this little house of Bethany, you have the reality of the church there: love.
How do we express our love towards one another? In 1 John, we are told, “Do not love just in word and in tongue, but in deed and truth.” Now, how do we love one another?
I believe the Scripture has much to say about this. Our love towards one another must be real, practical, and expressed.
During the Last Supper, our Lord was with His disciples. You know what He did: He washed His disciples’ feet.
After He finished washing them, He sat down and said, “You know, I am your Master. I am your Teacher. But I washed your feet. Wash one another’s feet. As I have loved you, so love ye one another.”
So, brothers and sisters, how do we, in a practical way, love one another? Wash one another’s feet.
We may not do it literally. You know, in the old days they did not have paved streets, and they did not wear shoes such as we do. When they came from the street to your house or to a feast, dirt usually covered their feet, and they felt very uncomfortable.
The way they ate was not merely sitting with their feet underneath the table. Actually, they reclined, so everyone’s feet were exposed. It would be uncomfortable not only to you, but to others too.
So the practice was that when you came to a house or home, usually the first thing they did was wash your feet, so that you would feel refreshed and could enjoy the feast. Today, of course, we may not have the same need, though sometimes it is good to practice it. We did it when I was in China.
But spiritually, we need to wash one another’s feet. Thank God, we have all been washed. We have been bathed, because our Lord Jesus has washed us clean. All we need is to wash our feet, because we are still living on this earth.
In our daily life, in our daily walk, we are in contact with the world. And when we are in contact with the world, unconsciously some dirt may gather upon us. We do not feel fresh or refreshed before the Lord. Our spirit gets a little dull.
Brothers and sisters, in the morning when you get up, you have a good time with the Lord. Your spirit is refreshed, you feel very good, and your feet are washed. But when you go into the world and spend the day in the world, when you come back, you may feel that your spirit is a little slow, burdened, heavy, and not refreshed. You feel a little low.
But thank God, sometimes when you feel that way and come to the prayer meeting, to a fellowship time, or to be with brothers and sisters, you may not feel up. Then some brother or sister may say a few words, may read the Word of God, or may even sing. It refreshes you. It washes you clean and uplifts your spirit.
Brothers and sisters, that is what we need to do—not only in the meetings, but in our daily life: trying to lift up one another.
Brothers and sisters, we are living in these modern days. I often say modern days are not conducive to spirituality, because everything is in a hurry. Everything is pressing on. After you are in contact with the world, you do feel a little bit slow, dirty, and not refreshed.
Brothers and sisters, that is where we are. We refresh one another. We wash one another’s feet. We pray for one another, and we talk to one another.
Encourage one another with the Word of God. When we are doing that, our brothers and sisters are refreshed. Thank God for that. Brothers and sisters, there are many practical ways we can really help one another.
And, of course, you find in Romans chapter 12—the chapter that we often use:
Let love be unfeigned.
In brotherly love, kindly affectioned one to another;
In honour preferring one another.
That is Romans 12:10. In other words, when you think of your brother and sister, what is your feeling? Do you feel kindly affectionate towards your brother and sister?
Or, when you think of your brothers and sisters, first of all, perhaps you do not even think of your brothers and sisters. You only think of yourself, or at most you think of your family, but you forget the family of God.
Is there any day that passes when you never think of any brother and sister? And when you think of them, how do you feel? “Oh, that brother—terrible. That sister…” Do you feel good about them? Do you have good feeling about them? Do you feel drawn towards them, and do you want the best for them? Do you have such feelings?
And as to honour, do you prefer one another? Do you think that your brother and sister is better than you are, or are you thinking, “I am so much better, even though I am not perfect”? Now, where is love? Where is love?
And, of course, you find in Galatians 6:2:
Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
True, we need to bear our own burden. Some people want other people to bear it all the time. But we have to remember that basically each one of us has to bear our own burden. That is true.
But sometimes our burden is more than we can bear. We need our brothers and sisters to bear it with us. So the Bible says, “Bear ye one another’s burdens,” and this is fulfilling the law of Christ.
Many brothers and sisters are overburdened in many ways. They are looking for someone who will be there with them. Where can they find them?
Just recently, a young brother talked to me, and he said, “We need someone to talk to. We may not be able to talk to our parents, but we want to find someone we can talk to, someone who will listen.”
There is a cry there, brothers and sisters. We pray for our young people, but do you know that young people are all crying too? They want people who care, who are concerned, who listen, and who spend time with them—not to criticize them, not to judge them, but to be with them and help them. There is a cry there.
Are we fulfilling the law of Christ? Oh, may the Lord raise up brothers and sisters who are always open to the young people—listening, helping. That is what they need.
And not only young people, but even older ones.
And then you find in Colossians chapter 3, verse 12:
Put on therefore, as God’s elect, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, longsuffering;
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a complaint against any;
Even as the Lord forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.
We need to bear, forbear, forgive, and love one another.
And, of course, in Hebrews we find that as long as it is called today, we need to encourage one another. Brothers and sisters, we live in a very difficult time. Many brothers and sisters are discouraged. They do not know how to press on. It seems as if the pressures are too heavy for them to bear. They need encouragement.
Do not discourage them, but encourage them. The Lord is there. He is always there. He is able. He is always able. He can keep, and keep, till that day.
So, brothers and sisters, let us love one another, really care for one another, and be concerned for one another.
It is true that even our time is not sufficient for our own needs. We have no spare time for other brothers and sisters. We have no spare strength, because we use all our strength for ourselves just to get on.
Where do we have the strength, and where do we have the time for our brothers and sisters? The secret is: seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.
This little house in Bethany is where the Lord loves to be. And brothers and sisters, may it be true of us.
You know, out of that love come forth all the ministries that are needed. Martha was very diligent in serving. There is nothing wrong with serving, so long as you are not disturbed.
There is nothing wrong with serving, so long as you serve under the lordship of Christ. We need to serve. Everyone needs to serve. We may serve in different ways, but we are saved to serve—serve God’s purpose, serve God’s will, serve under His lordship, and serve without being troubled.
We need to worship, just like Mary. She worshipped because she put the Lord in His rightful place, and she herself stood in her proper place. That is worship.
She appreciated the Lord. She gave her all to the Lord. This is worship.
We need to be like Lazarus: a testimony to the Lord, even without words. It is strange—Lazarus was raised from the dead, but after he was raised, the Bible never records any word coming out of his mouth.
Instead, he just sat with the Lord, and people came to see him. Through him, they believed in the Lord Jesus. Testimony—that is what testimony really is.
And brothers and sisters, all these come out of love. So may the Lord fill us with His love.
Let us pray.
Dear Lord, Thou dost love us to the uttermost. Thou dost give Thyself wholly for us. But Lord, we acknowledge that our love is so small, so weak, so feeble.
Oh Lord, we do now open our hearts and pray that Thou wilt fill our hearts with Thy love, that we may love Thee with all our hearts and love one another as Thou dost love us.
Lord, we pray that we may, by Thy grace, be a people not just in name, but in reality, as Thy people—the house of God. Bless us, we pray, in Thy precious name. Amen.