Her story, told honestly
Martha and Mary of Bethany
Martha and Mary of Bethany are sisters who loved Jesus and welcomed Him into their home, one serving, one sitting at His feet. Their story holds a gentle rebuke, a resurrection, and an act of costly worship.
“But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”Luke 10:42
Her story
Their story. Jesus came to the village of Bethany, and Martha received Him into her house. She was "cumbered about much serving" while her sister Mary "sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word" (Luke 10:39-40). Martha, distracted and resentful, asked Jesus to send Mary to help her. He answered gently, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her" (Luke 10:41-42). Later, when their brother Lazarus fell sick and died, both sisters sent for Jesus, and both met Him with the same words: "Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." To Martha, Jesus declared, "I am the resurrection, and the life," and she confessed Him as the Christ (John 11:25-27). Then, weeping with them, He raised Lazarus from the tomb (John 11:43-44). Not long after, at a supper in Bethany, Mary took very costly ointment and anointed Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair, and when others objected He said she had done it for His burial (John 12:1-8).
What her life shows
What their lives show. The two sisters show two devoted hearts and a needed lesson about priorities. Martha's serving was not wrong; hospitality is good, and Jesus loved her (John 11:5). But her serving had become anxious and distracted, crowding out the "one thing needful," attention to Christ Himself. Mary chose to sit and listen, and Jesus defended her. Their story shows that the good can become the enemy of the best when activity displaces communion. Yet Martha is no mere foil; at Lazarus's tomb it is she who makes one of the great confessions of faith in the Gospels, calling Jesus the Christ, the Son of God. And Mary, so often at His feet, poured out a fortune in worship, understanding something of His coming death that others missed. Together the sisters show that there are different temperaments among Christ's followers, and that He receives both the servant and the worshipper, gently correcting and drawing each nearer. Their lives show honest love for Jesus, tested by grief and expressed in both work and worship.
Where it points to Christ
Where it points to Christ. The raising of Lazarus is one of the clearest signs of who Jesus is: standing at a sealed tomb, He says, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). What He claims for Lazarus He would soon prove in Himself, for this miracle sets in motion the events that lead to His own death and resurrection. Martha's confession, "I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God" (John 11:27), is the very faith the gospel calls for. Mary's anointing points to the cross; Jesus received it as preparation for His burial, and He promised her deed would be told wherever the gospel is preached (Mark 14:9). The sisters' word at the tomb, "if thou hadst been here," and Jesus' tears, show a Savior who enters our grief before He conquers it. Their whole story leads to the empty grave, declaring that in Christ death itself is undone.
Questions people ask
Was Jesus criticizing Martha for serving?
Not for serving itself, which is good, but for becoming anxious and distracted so that it crowded out attention to Him. He gently told her Mary had chosen "that good part" by sitting at His feet (Luke 10:41-42). The lesson is about priorities, not a rebuke of hospitality.
What did Martha confess about Jesus?
At her brother's tomb, Martha declared, "I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world" (John 11:27). It is one of the great confessions of faith in the Gospels, spoken by the sister often remembered mainly for her serving.
Why did Mary anoint Jesus?
At a supper in Bethany, Mary poured costly ointment on Jesus and wiped His feet with her hair (John 12:3). When others objected to the expense, Jesus said she had done it for His burial (John 12:7), and He promised her act of worship would be remembered wherever the gospel is preached.