Martha: A Growing Faith

Martha’s Aha Moment

“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.” John 11:21–22

Martha of Bethany had a servant’s heart. She welcomed Jesus and his disciples into her home on many occasions. She’s often mislabeled a whiner because she complained about her sister Mary in Luke 10:38–42. Rather than focusing on Martha’s bad day—we all have them, right?—let’s concentrate on another day, involving a much more critical situation than Mary’s lack of help in the kitchen.

In John 11, the sisters’ brother Lazarus is seriously ill, so they send for Jesus. But Lazarus dies before Jesus arrives. Several days later, when Martha hears Jesus is near, she leaves a house full of people to go to him. That’s progress for Martha—putting conversation with Jesus above the demands of hospitality.

Martha demonstrates her faith when she acknowledges Jesus could have healed Lazarus (vv. 21–22). But her comment about her brother’s future resurrection in verse 24 suggests a wistful longing. She seems to be saying, “I see the future hope and joy, Lord, but what about today?”

Jesus then redirects Martha’s focus: “I am the resurrection and the life” (v. 25). In other words, “Focus on me, Martha, not the circumstances.”

 Martha’s refocused response to Jesus is this: “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Warren Wiersbe says that the tense of the verb believe in the verse indicates “a fixed and settled faith.”[1] Martha’s saying, “I have believed, I believe now, and I will continue to believe—no matter what.”

Her declaration of faith generates a spiritual aha moment. The real issue for Martha wasn’t believing Jesus could heal Lazarus or should have healed him. No, Martha needed a deeper understanding of who Jesus is—not merely a teacher and prophet sent by God, but God himself in the flesh.

We need an aha moment too. If we’re constantly asking for a What, we’ll miss the Who. And it’s the Who and our relationship with him that quiets our questions and dissolves our demands.

When we stop seeking specific answers and relax in the knowledge that Jesus is God, peace comes. What do you need to release to his control today?

DIG DEEPER:

Read Luke 10:38–42. Think carefully about what Jesus says to Martha. Do you ever choose “good” over “best”? In what ways?

Read Ephesians 3:20. What do you think kept Martha from trusting Jesus to do “immeasurably more” than she could imagine? What keeps you from trusting him to do “immeasurably more” than you can imagine? (Consider the content of Paul’s prayer in verses 14–19.)

Read John 11:38-44. What question does Jesus ask Martha at Lazarus’s gravesite? What promise does He give her?

Denise K. Loock

This devotion is part of a series on Women in the Bible.

[1] Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary: New Testament, (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 2007), 269.