Martha
Luke 10:38-42, John 11
Martha is detailed in the Gospels of Luke and John with her sister Mary. So far in this devotional series, we have covered women spanning the entire narrative of scripture from Eve, to the women at the well, the prophetess to Lydia and Pricilla. Martha however, strikes me as an interesting character in the midst of these incredible women. The only activities she is detailed in doing throughout the stories she is found in are cleaning her house too much (Luke 10:38-42) and going and finding Jesus upon her brothers Lazarus’s death (John 11). If we were to stack resumés and compare some of these women and their actions, it’s not a long shot to suggest Martha’s story wouldn’t be particularly striking or at least would be overshadowed quickly. In the limited interactions we can observe between Martha and Jesus in Luke and John, something I believe to be critical in our daily walk with the Lord is modeled to us.
In Luke 10, Mary and Martha invite Jesus into their house in a story where Martha doesn’t particularly have a great moment to our standards of excellence. She is cleaning her house frantically while her sister is sitting at the feet of Jesus, hanging on to His words. Jesus calls Martha out rather swiftly and graciously, but in response to her request for Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Yes, Martha, with questionable motivation, is candid with Jesus about her desires, and He responds. Taking this small observation, let’s go to John 11 where we see this in an even more intimate scenario.
Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus has died, and the community has even come around them to mourn and take care of their needs. We know Lazarus is going to be raised up along with Jesus who is going to “wake him up” (John 11:11). While Lazarus is still in the tomb, Martha runs out to greet Jesus upon his arrival to the town, which seemed late to her taste. Verses 20-27 describe a beautiful dialogue between Martha and our God. The first words she says to Jesus are dripping in this same candid and transparent tone she had in Luke, “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v.21). She puts her cards on the table immediately, but follows up quickly with affirming her trust still remains in Him, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask” (v.22). Jesus responds to this by giving her a straight answer, which isn’t entirely common in its own right, but Jesus goes on to ask if she believes in Him as the true death-conquering life, or rather, the means to hers and humanities salvation. Her transparency and willingness to trust Jesus reap the benefits of deep belief in Him, something we can all learn from truly.
Martha had grounds to be frustrated with Jesus for not showing up sooner to save her brother, she also most likely had grounds to be frustrated with Marry for not helping her in Luke. Yet, her honesty in telling Jesus what is actually on her mind is something Jesus readily invites, and even moves her towards a clear understanding of salvation and deeper trust in Jesus.
So I ask you to follow in the example of Martha:
Considering recent events in your community, life, or discipleship groups, are there things you need to ‘get off your chest’ to the Lord?
How easy or difficult is it for you to pray candid prayers to our God?
What does embracing transparency and sincerity in our relationship with Jesus look like tangibly or internally?
