Lessons from the Gospel –Martha the Provider

Part two of my series on “Mary who loved much, Martha the Provider, Lazarus the Prophetic”

"Yes, Lord," she told him. "I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God."

Martha gets a bad rap, but one incident should not tempt us to pigeon-hole this supporter of Jesus. Nor should it cause us to neglect the great good that she did and all the positive things we can learn from her.

Martha reminds me of the stay-at-home brother in the story of the Prodigal Son. We know that her sister was the kind of sinner that a Pharisee would not want in his home [see Luke 7:36-39] – a lot like a young man who went off and wasted all of his inheritance on “wild living” [as the NLT puts it]. But Martha seems to have stayed responsible, build a home for herself, and gained enough income to help support Jesus.

Luke 10:38 [NLT] As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.

Somehow, SHE had a home, in a time when it seems like that would be highly unlikely or at least unusual. The scripture does not say “her family home” – not “their” home. But “her home”. It also never mentions a husband.

Martha was hospitable. She made a meal for Jesus and His disciples. More than that, remember that the scripture says “Martha welcomed Him into her home.” She welcomed them into her home. And, clearly, our Lord felt welcome and at ease there.

She was familiar enough with Jesus and had an intimate enough relationship with Him, that she felt comfortable interrupting His teaching to ask for a favor. In fact, I wonder if she wasn’t older than Jesus, because she comes across a little proprietary with Him, like an older sister might.

How incredible it must have been to be in that close of a relationship with our Lord and Savior! But, of course, we can be, sweet sisters. We may not be able to serve Him dinner, but we can, through prayer and study, know Him so well that we feel totally comfortable with the most mundane requests – like a request for some help with a stressful dinner party.

We know that Martha, like her sister Mary, must have spent a great deal of time learning from Jesus. Otherwise, the incident of Lazarus being sick and the conversation they had after Lazarus died would have gone differently.

Let’s take a closer look at the interaction between Martha and Jesus.

John 11:1, 5-6 [NIV] 1 Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.... 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days,

Let’s first take note that the scripture specifically says that Jesus loved Martha. After Jesus mildly corrected Martha at the dinner party, we might be tempted to think He loved Mary a lot, but Martha He loved a little less. However, in verse 5 the scripture lists Martha first (as it lists Mary first in verse 1). I don’t think we can measure any difference between the love for Mary or for Martha in the Savior’s love for this family.

You might be tempted to think, “Well, Jesus loves us all.” That’s true. But take a look at how many times in the New Testament we find a written mention that Jesus specifically loved a particular person. The only other mention is John, who calls himself “the disciple Jesus loved”.

In the incident of her brother’s sickness and death, we find out a lot about Martha.

1.      She had faith

John 11:21-22 [NLT] 21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask."

2.      Martha knew the scriptures and the promises of God! And she trusted in those promises.

John 11:23-24 [NLT] 23 Jesus told her, "Your brother will rise again." 24 "Yes," Martha said, "he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day."

3.      She knew Jesus was the Messiah, when there were still many others who were unsure.

John 11:25-27 [NLT] 25 Jesus told her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. 26 Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?" 27 "Yes, Lord," she told him. "I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God."

And because of the faith, knowledge and service-mindedness of this family, they had a great and significant miracle performed for Lazarus.

I have often heard this phrase, “In a Martha world, be a Mary”. I think it over simplifies the relationship Martha had with Jesus and forces us to consider her in a one-sided perspective, which is unfair.

Martha was a provider. She was one of the women who supported Jesus in His ministry. She fed Jesus and the disciples. It seems as though both Mary and Lazarus lived in Martha’s home. She absolutely must have spent plenty of time at the feet of Jesus, learning scripture, understanding who He was, believing in Him. She built both her knowledge and her faith through that intimate relationship and felt comfortable bringing her daily needs and stresses to Him. And Jesus loved her.

Note that Jesus did not correct Martha for asking Him for something so mundane. He corrected Martha for her focus at that moment. It was a moment in time and John used it to help us learn to choose time with Jesus over our packed “to do” lists. It’s an important lesson.

But it is not the sole lesson that Martha’s life, and her love of the Messiah, can teach us.

As women of faith, what can we learn from Martha?

Ø  Provide for others with whatever blessings and means you have (including family and the church) as you have the means to do so.

Ø  Boldly ask Jesus for help with whatever needs you have, from healing of a sick family member to help with a particularly stressful day.

Ø  Get to know the Messiah by spending time with Him and the scriptures.

Ø  Trust in His promises for now and for the future.

In a world of Martha’s be one – be a provider. She lost her focus in that one incident. But she teaches us both in her one recorded mistake and in her life lived boldly, faithfully and knowledgeably. What do you think of Martha now?

I welcome your comments and questions. You can write me now in the comments section, or any time at Nancy@DynamicChristianMinistries.org