Martha

     Martha lived with her sister Mary and brother Lazarus in the village of Bethany just outside of Jerusalem; the three were beloved friends of Jesus.  It was Martha, evidently the older of the two sisters and the head of the household, who "received him into her house" (Luke 10:38). 

 

 

 

Martha and Mary

Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus, were two of the most fortunate people in all Bible History. Not only had they met Jesus Christ in person, and realized just Who He was, but they actually became close friends with Him. The Lord enjoyed their company, and often visited with them and Lazarus at their home in Bethany.

Martha and Mary A Better Choice

"As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. 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!"

"Martha, Martha," The Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42 NIV)

The Death of Lazarus

"Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on The Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. So the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one You love is sick."

"When He heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it." Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days. (John 11:1-6 NIV)

The Resurrection of Lazarus

"On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet Him, but Mary stayed at home.

"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give You whatever You ask."

"Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

"Martha answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." [see The Last Day]

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"

"Yes, Lord," she told him, "I believe that You are The Christ, The Son of God, who was to come into the world." [see The Messiah]

"And after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. "The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you." When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

"When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died."

"When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. "Where have you laid him?" He asked.

"Come and see, Lord," they replied."

"Jesus wept."

"Then the Jews said, "See how He loved him!"

"But some of them said, "Could not He who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?" [see Miracles Of Jesus Christ]

"Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. "Take away the stone," He said.

"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

"Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

"So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me."

"When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, Come Out!" The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face."

"Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

"Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in Him." (John 11:17-45 NIV)

 

 

MARTHA

Low in the dust she knelt;
Low at the Saviour's feet;
With weeping eyes and hands upraised
Up to the Mercy-seat;
The friendless one was sad--
Complainingly she sighed --
Oh hadst Thou come while yet he lived,
My brother had not died.
The Saviour's gentle smile
New hope in Martha woke:
Thy brother , he shall rise again,
The gracious Saviour spoke: --
The living shall not die
If in me they believe;
And though they in the dust may lie,
The very dead shall live.
Into the Master's face
Thy sister meekly gazed;
There is no fear in love, there is
No doubt where faith is placed;
Thou art, Thou art the Christ --
In thee the dead shall live --
Whatever thou shall ask of God,
I know that God will give.
Before an open tomb
A joyful group is seen;
The grave has yielded up its dead,
And Martha's faith is green.
No longer tears are thine
Sweet sister, soul of faith!
Thy love for Christ has full reward.
Thy brother's won from death.
-- Rob Morris

TO MARTHA
"Faith Unshaken"

Glowing high above this world
Is hope, eternal and true;
Lifting each soul is Martha's faith,
Handed down to me, and to you.
Softly above the storms of the world
His low, sweet voice is heard,
Bidding us read, and remember
The promises in His Word.
And the question He asked Martha
Will be ours to answer, too;
But her faith, unshaken, steady,
Is enough for me, and you!

 

MARTHA

Bethany is a small village situated on the southeast side of the Mount of Olives, less than two miles from Jerusalem on the road from Jericho to Jerusalem. Mo mention is made of this village in the canonical books or in the Apocrypha of the Old Testament. Bethany makes its appearance for the first time, as does the fourth Star Point, in the New Testament. The more recent writer's of biblical history speak of it as a miserable, untidy and tumble-down village. Actual or impending decay would seem to be written upon its dwellings. Yet, we are filled with reverential awe as we recall the immortal memories of what occurred within and around this little village. There is very little authentic information about the early history of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.It would seem that they were an orphan family. Their home is said to have been a very beautiful and wealthy home, with even luxuries. Martha was the housekeeper. She looked after the food, comforts of the family, and the guests. The central figure of the whole story, however, is Jesus, with Martha and Mary standing in the foreground of the life of Jesus. Time and time again we find the Master, amidst the tumults, storm, applause's and successes of public life, taking refuge in some secluded or quiet spot, literally yearning for the privacy and the atmosphere of domestic life and home love. It is not known when Jesus began to make their home, his home when in Bethany. Christ on leaving his earthly father's home in Nazareth became a wanderer. He never had a home of his own on earth. One of the most striking and pathetic utterances He ever made regarding himself was in reference to his having no home, "the foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head." His loneliness is manifest by his frequent communion with the Father.The home at Bethany was to Him a home of quiet and rest, where a most cordial and loving welcome was extended with sincere affection. What a beautiful friendship sprang up between Jesus and every member of the Bethany family! The home was one of friendly peace that was not tainted with interested ambition. Martha is the patron saint of all good housewives, careful mothers, and skilful and efficient nurses of the present generation. Her character makes a strong appeal to energetic women and especially to comfort-loving men. Dr. Rob Morris in The Rosary of the Eastern Star, written in 1865, sets forth the Christian application of the fourth point of the emblematic star in the following words: "The tender and affectionate Martha, equally devoted to her Divine Friend, whether as the grateful guest of the life-giving God, whether she was "Cumbered with such serving" for his entertainment, or kneeling before him in the abandonment of sorrow or walking with him weeping, to the sepulchre of her brother, is best represented under the guise of the meek and uncomplaining Lamb. "God has provided" her "a Lamb" for our delighted study. She is a Lamb "without blemish" in her display of womanly, social and Christian virtues, and she is one those who are described in the latter books of Divine law as being "made white in the blood of the Lamb," and "written in the Lamb's book of life."

 

 

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