Martha’s Profile
Many older brothers and sisters have an irritating
tendency to take charge, a habit developed while growing up. We can easily see
this pattern in Martha, the older sister of Mary and Lazarus. She was used to
being in control.
The fact that Martha, Mary, and Lazarus are remembered for
their hospitality takes on added significance when we note that hospitality was a
social requirement in their culture. It was considered shameful to turn anyone
away from your door. Apparently Martha’s family met this requirement very well.
Martha worried about details. She wished to please, to serve,
to do the right thing - but she often succeeded in making everyone around her
uncomfortable. Perhaps as the oldest she feared shame if her home did not
measure up to expectations. She tried to do everything she could to make sure
that wouldn’t happen. As a result, she found it hard to relax and enjoy her
guests, and even harder to accept Mary’s lack of cooperation in all the
preparations. Martha’s frustration was so intense that she finally asked Jesus
to settle the matter. He gently corrected her attitude and showed her that her
priorities, though good, were not the best. The personal attention she gave her
guests should be more important than the comforts she tried to provide for them.
Later, following her brother Lazarus’s death, Martha could
hardly help being herself. When she heard Jesus was finally coming, she rushed
out to meet him and expressed her inner conflict of disappointment and hope.
Jesus pointed out that her hope was too limited. He was not only Lord beyond
death, he was Lord over death - the resurrection and the life! Moments later,
Martha again spoke without thinking, pointing out that four-day-old corpses are
well on their way to decomposition. Her awareness of details sometimes kept her
from seeing the whole picture, but Jesus was consistently patient with her.
In our last picture of Martha, she is once again serving a
meal to Jesus and his disciples. She has not stopped serving. But the Bible
records her silence this time. She has begun to learn what her younger sister
already knew - that worship begins with silence and listening.
Martha’s Strengths and Accomplishments
1. Known as a hospitable homemaker
2. Believed in Jesus with growing faith
3. Had a strong desire to do everything exactly right
Martha’s Weaknesses and Mistakes
1. Expected others to agree with her priorities
2. Was overly concerned with details
3. Tended to feel sorry for herself when her efforts were not recognized
Lessons from Martha’s Life
1. Getting caught up in details can make us forget the main reasons for our
actions
2. There is a proper time to listen to Jesus and a proper time to work for him
Martha’s Vital Statistics
1. Where: Bethany
2. Relatives: Sister: Mary. Brother: Lazarus
Key Verse
"But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She
came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do
the work by myself? Tell her to help me!’ " (Luke 10:40).
Martha’s story is told in Luke 10:38-42 and John 11:17-45.
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