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Martha of Bethany
Sister of Lazarus and Mary — practical, outspoken, and the one who made the boldest confession of faith in the Gospel of John.
Martha lived in Bethany, a village on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, just outside Jerusalem. She shared a home with her sister Mary and her brother Lazarus, and Jesus was a frequent guest there. John’ s Gospel tells us plainly: “ Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:5).
The Practical Sister
In Luke 10:38–42, Martha welcomes Jesus into her home and busies herself with preparations while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. Martha complains — “ Lord, don’ t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?” — and Jesus answers with the famous line: “ Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed — or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better.”
This is sometimes read as a rebuke of active service. It is not. It is a rebuke of anxiety. Martha was doing good work. She was doing it in a spirit that had forgotten the guest she was serving.
Her Confession
In John 11, after her brother Lazarus has died, Martha goes out to meet Jesus on the road. Their exchange contains one of the clearest statements of resurrection faith in the New Testament. Jesus tells her, “ I am the resurrection and the life.” Martha answers: “ Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
This is the same confession Peter made at Caesarea Philippi. Martha made it before Peter did, and she made it in the middle of her grief. It is one of the strongest confessions of faith in the gospels.
“ Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”
John 11:27Sources
- Luke 10:38–42; John 11:1–44; 12:1–8.
- Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of John: A Commentary, vol. 2 (Hendrickson, 2003).