From as far back as I can remember, Mary and Martha from the Bible have been used as an example of what it looks like to follow Jesus well. Mary is the sister who gets it right - sitting at the feet of Jesus learning from Him, while Martha gets it wrong by being preoccupied with things that didn't really matter. Jesus even tells Martha as much when she complains to Him about her sister not helping her in the kitchen. She is trying to get Jesus to scold Mary, but instead she gets the gentle reprimand of her own from the Messiah.
From this event in Scripture, books have been written, sermons have been preached, and comparisons have been drawn. There is even a book titled Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. These are all good and helpful, but I think we may have missed out on some of the great lessons we can learn from these two women. For one thing, I think we have left Martha in a box.
After looking at Martha grumbling about preparing dinner for Jesus instead of pursuing relationship with Him, we say, "I don't want to be a Martha all wrapped up in the cares of this world. I want to be a Mary who sits adoringly at Jesus feet." Yes, but we are missing something. Martha didn't want to be a Martha either. If we look at what happened after this event, we see Martha did choose the better thing.
We learn of the change in Martha when she next appears in scripture. Her brother Lazarus has been sick. She and Mary had sent for Jesus, but He did not arrive on time (according to them), and Lazarus had died. By the time Jesus is coming to see them, Lazarus has been in the tomb for four days. Martha has a houseful of people trying to comfort and mourn with Mary and Martha. These are not the hired mourners that would be with the family for the first day or so after the death, as was custom of the time. By the fourth day, these mourners were friends and family coming alongside to grieve with the two sisters. So, Martha has a houseful of company, but what does she do when she hears Jesus is on His way? She does not start madly preparing for His arrival. She does not continue hosting her guests, as would be the proper thing to do. Instead she does the following.
Martha therefore when she heard Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed at the house. John 11:20
Martha had changed. She knew what mattered. She knew WHO mattered. She sought Jesus in her time of anguish and need. She went to meet Him on the path and laid her questions and hurts at His feet. If you read the full account of this event in John 11, you see Martha seeking to understand and communicate her hurts and cares to Jesus. You hear her profession of utter faith, not matter the outcome of the circumstance with her brother's death. She proclaims exactly Who Jesus is. Her statement is one of the powerful declarations of Jesus deity in the New Testament.
She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.” John 11:27
Lazarus dying did not make her question Who Jesus was. It did make her ask WHY Jesus had not come sooner. She did want to know why Jesus had not answered their request. Boy, can I relate to this! Just like so many times in my own life, Jesus shows Mary and Martha He had heard their request and did have a plan. It just wasn't their plan or their timing He was following.
Does this mean practical Martha's personality was changed to be more like that of her sister? No, Martha was still practical Martha. When Jesus tells them to roll the stone away from Lazarus' tomb, it is Martha who informs Jesus that Lazarus will be stinking by now. Also, her gift of hospitality is still there, but now with a right heart and motive. It is with the heart of a servant. In John 12 a bit of time after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, we are told Jesus is again dining at Martha's house. Lazarus is sitting at the table with Jesus, and Mary is about to anoint Jesus with some costly perfume and nard. But don't miss what it says Martha was doing. Martha was serving. The word in the Greek is diakoneo. This means to be a servant to one - to minister to one. The problem earlier in the story was not that Martha was doing work. It was what was in her heart when she was doing the work. It was not with the heart of a servant. It was with a grumbling, resentful heart. But now this had changed. Martha had been changed. She was no longer grumbling in the serving. She was serving with a right heart. This was now a ministry, not a burden. I love this picture. Praise God for doing a work in each of us and transforming us as we draw closer to Him.
Thinking of Martha and how she has possibly been misunderstood and left in a specific box for so long by so many of us makes me wonder to whom in my own life I have done the same thing. Who have I left in a box based on their past history or past events? Have I not allowed for people to change in my mind? Do I have an idea of a person that is a one dimensional understanding of them? Have I played God in acting like I have omniscience to see the hearts and minds of those in my life? These are sobering thoughts and ones I take before the Lord to ask Him to reveal where I am playing the Holy Spirit in someone's life. I want to rejoice in the freedom and change people have in Jesus. I have personally experienced the changes He has brought about in my own life, and I don't want to be left in a box of what I used to be or what I did in the past. We are new creations in Christ Jesus. This is a precious, wonderful truth to be rejoiced in. Praise God for His transformative work in each of us.
