MARTHA, MARTHA – Mother’s Day

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on May 12, 2013 under 2013 |

Preached Sunday, Mothers’ Day Message, May 12, 2013 from Luke 10:38-42; John 11:17-27, 38-40; 12:1-2

Theme: When we let the Lord Jesus heal our weaknesses through an encounter with Himself, He makes our strengths even stronger.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

Every Mothers’ Day, I seek to highlight the story of a great woman of faith in the Bible. I’ve done this for twenty years now; and I used to think that I’ll come, one Mothers’ Day someday, to the end of the list of heroines of faith to talk about. But I’m now beginning to think that there are more of them than I’d ever be able to preach Mothers’ Day messages on in my lifetime.

The woman of faith that I’d like to highlight this morning was not known for being a great mother. In fact, we don’t know if she was a mother at all. But we do know that she was a very famous sister. Her name was Martha; and she was the sister to another woman named Mary and a man named Lazarus. They lived—as it so happens—in a town called Bethany. And I suspect that she’d say that her greatest claim to fame was what it says in John 11:5; “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” Imagine having that written forever in the Bible about you! The Lord Jesus frequented their home; and spent many pleasant hours with these dear friends. And of course, Martha and her sister and brother loved Him very much too.

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I’d like to begin this morning by sharing with you some of the details we can piece together about this great woman of faith.

First, there’s what we can know from her name. “Martha” means “lady”. And I believe that her name fit her personality. She truly was a lady. She knew the right things to do, and when to do them, and how to do them properly. She would have been a lot like another famous celebrity “Martha” that we’re all familiar with. One of the main things that we find Martha doing in the Bible is making meals and hosting dinners. I suspect that whenever Jesus told His disciples that they were going to pay a visit to their friends in Bethany, they were all excited. They knew that they were going to eat well that night!

By the way—aren’t you grateful God has put women like that in the world? What a blessing they are! They not only know how to make a great meal; but they know how to make a great experience out of eating it. We have a lot of wonderful sisters like that in our church family. When refreshment time comes after our worship service, I always feel that it comes at just the right time; because by the time the smells of the baked goods rises up from downstairs, you’re all having a hard time listening to my sermon anymore. (Maybe I shouldn’t even be saying that. I’m probably losing some of you already!) But that’s what ‘Martha’s’ do for us. They make the world a much happier place to be. God bless them for that!

Another important thing to know about this woman Martha is that she was a woman of great faith. She was a believer in the Lord Jesus; and was right on target in her theology. At a very serious moment of crisis in her life, she was able to turn to the Lord Jesus and say, ” I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” (John 11:27). Do those words sound familiar? They should. When Jesus once asked His disciples who they said He was, Peter stepped forward and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16). And Jesus said to Him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (v. 17). That testimony was the very testimony upon which the Lord Jesus built His church. And Martha made this confession boldly. I believe that Jesus would have also said to her, “Blessed are you, Martha . . .”

And finally, because this woman of great faith was a true ‘lady’—someone who knew the right things to do and the right ways to do them—she was also manifestly a woman of action. Something that I really appreciate about Martha is that she was always working to get things done. She didn’t sit around and wait for things to happen. She rose up and made them happen. Mary, her sister, is usually found in the Bible sitting at the feet of Jesus—listening to Him teach. If you wanted to find Mary, you just needed to find Jesus, look down, and there she’d be. And that was right for her. It was in keeping with her personality. But Martha is never found in the Bible sitting anywhere. The phrases that you find associated with her are, “She went . . .”; or, “She approached . . .”; or “She said . . .”; or, “She called . . .” (We don’t hear much in the Bible about what Lazarus did. And I suspect that it was because her sister Martha kept him pretty busy!)

And by the way—and I say this cautiously, guys!—aren’t you glad God has put ‘Martha-types’ in our lives? Come on; really . . . aren’t you? Things would fall apart without them—and frankly, so would we. It might be a wife; it might be a sister, or a mother, or an aunt, or a mother-in-law; but I feel pretty sure that somewhere behind every great man is a ‘Martha’. God gives them to us guys because He knows we wouldn’t do the things we should do without them.

Now; I say all that because I want to stress the great qualities of this wonderful woman Martha. I truly believe that there were many such qualities. She is an inspiration to me.

But another reason I love Martha’s story in the Bible is because—as is true with all our strengths—there were also some weaknesses in her personality. Martha was fallible—just as we all are. And there are lessons to be learned from her weaknesses in the light of her many strengths. I ask that, this morning, we look at two main passages of Scripture about the story of Martha; and learn some of the lessons God would have us learn from her life. I believe that what we’ll find is that—when we allow the Lord Jesus heal our weaknesses through an encounter with Himself—He makes our strengths even stronger.

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The first place in the Bible that I ask that we turn to is Luke 10:38-42—a classic Martha story if ever there was one.

The Gospel writer Luke tells us this about Jesus’ ministry with His disciples; “Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village . . .” (Luke 10:38a). We learn elsewhere in the Bible that this was the village of Bethany. It was located on the southeastern slopes of the Mount of Olives—very near Jerusalem. And we’re told, “and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house” (v. 38b).

Now; it’s very possible that Martha was a woman of means—a little means, anyway. This house was called her house. Whether she owned it officially or not, however, it’s very clear that she was in charge of whatever went on in it. She made it a great place to be welcomed into. And what’s more, it may have been a relatively large place; since it was a place where Jesus could do some teaching to enough people for there to be “much serving” going on. And if that’s the case, I’m imagining that we’re reading about the kind of situation that someone like Martha would thrive on!

But then comes the problem. Luke tells us, “And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving . . .” (vv. 39-40a). The word that’s used here is an interesting one that creates an interesting image. It’s one that means, “to draw around” or “to pull around”. The things that Martha was doing were good in and of themselves. She was “serving”. But she was getting pulled around by it all. She was being ‘distracted’. And, as sometimes happens with ‘Martha-types’, who are being “drawn around” by “much serving”, she got a little irritated and impatient with those who weren’t as busy as she was. Here she was—running around with both hands full because of all the things she was doing to ‘serve’; and yet, there was Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet—not even lifting a finger to help.

Do you remember that I suggested to you that Martha was—by nature—a woman of action? I think it’s very interesting that she didn’t simply go to Mary and tell her to get into the kitchen and do something to help her. Maybe she knew that wouldn’t do any good. Instead—since Mary is sitting and listening to Jesus—she went directly to Jesus Himself. We’re told, “and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me’” (v. 40b). Ordinarily, I’d say that it’s good to go directly to Jesus with your problems. But unfortunately—because she was so overwhelmed with ‘distractions’—her approach to the Lord was . . . well . . . not very respectful.

Now; before any of us come down too hard on Martha, let’s remember that we often get a little out of line ourselves, and approach the Lord in the same sort of way. Sometimes, we come to Him and say, “Lord, no one seems to care how much I have to do. No one seems to think its important enough for them to lift a finger. They just leave it to me to do all the work. They all just leave it to ‘good ol’ me’ to take care of everything! Why do I have to be the only one who cares?” I’ve got to be honest; pastors sometimes sit in their study and say things like that a lot. People in different areas of church ministry say it too. Maybe we don’t all say it out loud—like Martha did. But we sure ‘think’ it often enough.

One of the things that I think helps at times like that is to remember that it isn’t really true. The fact is that we’re not really the only ones who care. We’re not really the only ones who are willing to bear the burden. Do you remember the Old Testament prophet Elijah? At a time when he was overwhelmed in the Lord’s work, he talked that way. He said,

“I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life” (1 Kings 19:14).

Elijah felt like no one was faithful to the Lord anymore—that everyone had turned away to worship idols, and it was up to Elijah to bear the burden alone; and they were trying to kill him. Well; the Lord had mercy on his poor, worn-out prophet. He responded by giving Elijah some helpers to help bear the burden with him. And do you remember the surprising bit of information that the Lord revealed to him? He said;

“Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him” (v. 18).

We may sometimes feel as if the burden of the whole world is upon us;and that we’re the only ones who really care anymore. That’s a particular liability for strong ‘Martha-types’. But God Himself clearly sees what we ourselves cannot see when we lose perspective. It’s good to go back to Him at such times and have His perspective restored to us.

And another thing that helps is to remember that not every burden we take upon ourselves is really a burden that the Lord intended for us to carry. We may be busy doing lots of things—good things!—very spiritual things! But they aren’t the things that our Lord gave us to be doing—or to be doing right then.

The Lord Jesus was very tender in the way that He showed this to Martha. I love it that He spoke her name twice. “Martha, Martha . . .” Have you ever been in a state of mind where the Lord needed to get your attention and settle you down that way?—as if He were saying, “Now, now . . .”? It’s then that He described her own condition to her; “And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things . . .’” (v. 41). To be “worried” suggests an internal state of being; and to be “troubled” suggests an external response to the circumstances. And then, Jesus gave her perspective; “‘But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her’” (v. 42).

All the things that Martha was doing were wonderful things to do—and I’m sure they were all greatly appreciated. But her stress over them was causing her do them in a way that was hurtful to herself and to others. She was becoming controlled by them—pulled around and distracted. She was forgetting that the only thing that was truly “needed” was what Mary was enjoying at that moment. She was ‘feeding’ on a personal relationship with Jesus. I think it’s interesting that Jesus didn’t tell Martha to forsake her ‘serving’ and sit down with Mary. But He did tell her that He would not take away from Mary the depths of intimacy with Himself that she was being enriched by right then.

And even though it doesn’t tell us one way or the other, do you suppose that Martha would have stopped serving right then? Personally, I don’t think so. I think she kept right on making the place a wonderful place to be. But her heart was quieted in the midst of her labors. She was no longer “worried” and “troubled” and “distracted” by it all. I think she listened to the Lord Jesus while she served; and that she made it her purpose to enable others to sit and listen to Him as well.

When we come to Jesus and let Him heal the “worried” and “troubled” places of our lives through an encounter with Himself, He makes our strengths even stronger. The next time you find yourself behaving like Martha—distracted and impatient in your service to the Lord, and perhaps even a little ‘snippy’ with people that you’re supposed to be serving in His name—stop and pray. Say, “Lord; forgive me for being distracted from You in the midst of the things I am called to do. Make me a little less like Martha, and a little more like Mary. Help me to fellowship with You and listen to You while I serve.”

I believe we’ll serve Him better if we do so.

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Now; another passage that tells us about Martha is found in John 11. It describes a great moment of tragedy in her life. Her beloved brother Lazarus had grown gravely ill. With what we know about her personality, we can just imagine her doing everything she could to take care of him and make him well. But finally, he died.

While Lazarus was sick, Mary and Martha had sent word to Jesus—knowing that it was in His power to heal their brother. But Jesus didn’t come when they called for Him. We all know the story, of course. Jesus waited until Lazarus had died; so that He could go and raise him from the dead—and thus prove that He truly is ‘the resurrection and the life’. But no one understood this. Even Jesus’ disciples misunderstood it. And certainly, it didn’t make sense to Martha.

Because Martha was a ‘doer’, she was also a bit of a ‘controller’. She wanted to make the difficult situations of life work out the way they should. She wanted people to fulfill her expectations of them. And this meant that she was sometimes very frustrated and disappointed with people who didn’t fulfill those expectations—even with the Lord Jesus Himself. The gospel writer John tells us;

So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house (John 11:17-20).

Martha was such a ‘doer’ that she didn’t even wait for the Lord to arrive. She went to meet Him while He was on the way. And then begins her remarkable conversation with Him. She told Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 21). There’s a testimony in those words of her confidence in the power of the Lord Jesus to have healed her brother. She truly was a woman of great faith. But—and I ask this carefully—can’t we detect just a little bit of a rebuking tone in her words? The Lord had frustrated her. He didn’t come and fulfill her expectations. She had a plan; and He didn’t play the part she had cast for Him. Do we ever do that to the Lord? Of course we do.

As we already noted, Martha was nevertheless a woman of outstanding faith. And so, she says, “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You” (v. 22). But personally, I think that there was more in those words than simply an expression of faith. I think she was prompting the Lord to take action. It reminds me of the story of Jesus’ mother at the wedding of Cana. Do you remember how she came to the Lord—perhaps with a little nudge of the elbow—and said, “They have no wine” (John 2:3b)? Behind those words was the subtle suggestion that He do something to fix the problem. I think Martha was doing the same thing here.

I wonder if Martha became even more disappointed when the Lord spoke to her and said, “Your brother will rise again” (v. 23). Perhaps she saw that as simply a statement that her brother would one day rise again when we all will. But she was hoping that her brother would be raised that very day; and with a sigh, said, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day” (v. 24). And it’s then that Jesus pointed out what her error in thinking was; and declared to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (vv. 25-26).

You see; Martha was frustrated because she couldn’t do what—in reality—no human being can do. She could not exercise control over the circumstances of life. And what she needed to do, and what I believe the Lord tenderly drew her to do, was to renew her complete trust in Him as the only one who does control the circumstances of life—He who is ‘the resurrection and the life’. And that’s what happened. ” She said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world’” (v. 27).

When it comes to those moments in life when we are behaving like Martha—those moments when we are trying to control the situations of life so that nothing bad or unpleasant or tragic will ever happen; and we become deeply frustrated as a result because circumstances and people do not fulfill our expectations for them—we need to do what the Lord Jesus helped Martha to do. We need to renew our trust in Him as the only one who has the wisdom and power to cause all things to work together for our good. What a difference it would make if—in those out-of-control moments of life—we stopped and affirmed as Martha did, “Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God who is to come into the world. I believe that nothing is out of Your control, and that You truly do all things well. I release control of the circumstances of life—which I never really had anyway—over to You; and I ask You to help me trust completely in You to do what is right.”

Now; that doesn’t mean that things changed instantly for Martha. It took time for her; and it will take time for us too. She still tried to exercise a little control over things. When the Lord finally came to the tomb, He ordered those around it, “Take away the stone” (v. 39a). The tomb was a a cave, with a large stone covering the entrance and sealing it closed. And that’s when Martha—ever mindful of the proper way for things to be done—proceeded to give the Lord information that she must have thought He didn’t have. “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days” (v. 39b). Isn’t that just like Martha! She had a lapse of faith in the Lord and fell back into controlling the situation for Him. Well; we all do that, don’t we? But Jesus gently reminded her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” (v. 40). That was what He meant when He told her earlier, “Your brother will rise again”.

What a great word of encouragement that is to ‘Martha-types’. If you believe on the Lord Jesus and His promises, you will not be in control anymore. But you won’t have to feel like you should be in control. He will bring about your good in His perfect time—and to His own glory. We will see the glory of God! And of course, that’s what happened. After they took the stone away, the Lord prayed; and then, He shouted, “Lazarus, come forth.” And out came Martha’s brother alive.

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Before we close, I’d like to share the last thing we read about Martha in Scripture. I think it’s my favorite. In John 12:1-2, we’re told, “Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead. There they made Him a supper . . .” And notice those wonderful words, “and Martha served . . .” Martha was back doing what she always did—what, indeed, she was made to be doing. But she did it even better. The Lord Jesus healed the weak spots with an encounter with Himself; and now, her strengths were made even stronger for His service.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; let’s learn from Martha—a truly outstanding woman of faith. When we come to Him in the deep intimacy of a personal relationship of faith, and allow Him to reveal our weaknesses, and then permit Him to heal those weaknesses and fill them with Himself, then our strengths are stronger.