Admittedly, I have read the story of Lazarus many times. It is an iconic story in the Bible, right?! Maybe one of the most famous stories because Jesus is truly demonstrating His power over death. A person has to ask when approaching this story: Do I really believe Jesus did this, or is this a lie? Your answer determines what you truly believe.
But this time around, I noticed something special about the text that I had never seen before.
As Pastor Jason shared, Mary and Martha are often compared and really “pitted” against one another because of the passage in Luke 10 where Martha is busy and anxious as she is serving at the party, but Mary chooses to sit at Jesus’ feet.
We see from that story that Mary has the propensity to choose this “better portion”, and I think what happens here is that people who identify more with Martha tend to feel like lesser Christians…because they are hurried, busy, and taking care of everyone’s needs. I’ve talked to many “Marthas” in my life, and they often feel shame for identifying with this character in the Bible.
But John does something really interesting here where he specifically calls out Jesus’ love for Martha first. In verse five, she is listed first in who Jesus “loves”. How beautifully redemptive for the character of Martha, right?!
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” (John 11:5, NIV)
Jesus loved Martha…I had to highlight those words in my Bible.
I noticed this because of the shame I often see around the “Marthas” of this world. But here, we see that Jesus not only loved her, but John listed her name first. Jesus truly loved Martha…busyness, in a hurry, anxiety, and all.
We see that Martha is the first one to rush to Jesus for an answer. And what happens next is truly astounding:
“When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask,’
Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
‘Yes,’ Martha said, ‘he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.’
Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?’
‘Yes, Lord’, she told him.”
(John 11:20-27a, NLT)
Looking at this from the perspective of how women were treated at this time…it is incredible that Jesus would actually want to know Martha’s opinion….that He would want to know if she truly believed.
And this is not just about women, but about the individual approach that Jesus takes with every person. He is asking each of us:
Do you believe?
Do you believe I am who I say I am?
Do you believe I am the Son of God?
He is personal in His approach because He cares about your answer. He doesn’t need you to believe in order for it to be true…but He wants you to believe because of His love for you. He wants a relationship with you. We see that so clearly in the specific way He interacts with Martha here.
So let’s take a moment to appreciate that Jesus truly loves Martha, and He truly loves you. He chose you, with all your flaws and imperfections. He chose you because He loves you.
I love that Pastor Jason pointed out this seemingly emotional dichotomy going on with Martha, where she presents heartache before the Lord, as well as complete belief in who He is. It is a step of emotional maturity to realize that you can hold both heartache and hope in one hand…in one human heart.
We don’t need to crowd out one emotion or the other, we can simply sit before the Lord with both. He understands. He knows that on this side of eternity, we have to hold loss next to hope. We don’t get to experience the full hope until heaven.
So let’s not pretend that the grief doesn’t exist, let us come to Him with all of our emotions, thoughts, feelings, and heartaches. Let’s come to Him when the sting of death really does feel like it is too much to hold. We don’t have to hold it on our own…that’s what He is there for — with arms open wide to carry our burdens.
Would you pray this prayer with me?
Lord, thank you for loving the Marthas. Thank you for loving the Marys and the Lazarus’. Thank you for loving me, flaws and all. Take my complicated heart that holds both grief and hope and sit with me Jesus, doing the healing work that only you can do.
Amen.
But this time around, I noticed something special about the text that I had never seen before.
As Pastor Jason shared, Mary and Martha are often compared and really “pitted” against one another because of the passage in Luke 10 where Martha is busy and anxious as she is serving at the party, but Mary chooses to sit at Jesus’ feet.
We see from that story that Mary has the propensity to choose this “better portion”, and I think what happens here is that people who identify more with Martha tend to feel like lesser Christians…because they are hurried, busy, and taking care of everyone’s needs. I’ve talked to many “Marthas” in my life, and they often feel shame for identifying with this character in the Bible.
But John does something really interesting here where he specifically calls out Jesus’ love for Martha first. In verse five, she is listed first in who Jesus “loves”. How beautifully redemptive for the character of Martha, right?!
“Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” (John 11:5, NIV)
Jesus loved Martha…I had to highlight those words in my Bible.
I noticed this because of the shame I often see around the “Marthas” of this world. But here, we see that Jesus not only loved her, but John listed her name first. Jesus truly loved Martha…busyness, in a hurry, anxiety, and all.
We see that Martha is the first one to rush to Jesus for an answer. And what happens next is truly astounding:
“When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask,’
Jesus told her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’
‘Yes,’ Martha said, ‘he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.’
Jesus told her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?’
‘Yes, Lord’, she told him.”
(John 11:20-27a, NLT)
Looking at this from the perspective of how women were treated at this time…it is incredible that Jesus would actually want to know Martha’s opinion….that He would want to know if she truly believed.
And this is not just about women, but about the individual approach that Jesus takes with every person. He is asking each of us:
Do you believe?
Do you believe I am who I say I am?
Do you believe I am the Son of God?
He is personal in His approach because He cares about your answer. He doesn’t need you to believe in order for it to be true…but He wants you to believe because of His love for you. He wants a relationship with you. We see that so clearly in the specific way He interacts with Martha here.
So let’s take a moment to appreciate that Jesus truly loves Martha, and He truly loves you. He chose you, with all your flaws and imperfections. He chose you because He loves you.
I love that Pastor Jason pointed out this seemingly emotional dichotomy going on with Martha, where she presents heartache before the Lord, as well as complete belief in who He is. It is a step of emotional maturity to realize that you can hold both heartache and hope in one hand…in one human heart.
We don’t need to crowd out one emotion or the other, we can simply sit before the Lord with both. He understands. He knows that on this side of eternity, we have to hold loss next to hope. We don’t get to experience the full hope until heaven.
So let’s not pretend that the grief doesn’t exist, let us come to Him with all of our emotions, thoughts, feelings, and heartaches. Let’s come to Him when the sting of death really does feel like it is too much to hold. We don’t have to hold it on our own…that’s what He is there for — with arms open wide to carry our burdens.
Would you pray this prayer with me?
Lord, thank you for loving the Marthas. Thank you for loving the Marys and the Lazarus’. Thank you for loving me, flaws and all. Take my complicated heart that holds both grief and hope and sit with me Jesus, doing the healing work that only you can do.
Amen.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.