Martha! Martha! ... Growing her Faith! Lesson 8

Martha, Martha! … Growing In Her Faith

Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-44; John 12:2

By Patsy Norwood © 2024  All Rights Reserved!

Lesson 8

In this lesson, we finish our study on Martha picking back up in John 11:27 where we left off last week, and where Martha had just made her confession that she believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God …

Verse 28 … When she had said this, she went away and called Mary her sister, saying secretly, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.”

Martha went back to the house where Mary was and secretly told her that Jesus had arrived and wanted to see her.  Since we have no record of Jesus telling Martha to deliver the message secretly, we can assume she did it not only so that Mary could have a private moment with Jesus as she had, but also to protect Jesus, seeing that His enemies were there as well!

Verses 29 – 38 are about Mary and what she did after Martha delivered the message to her. (We covered that in our study on Mary that can be found HERE.)

Picking back up with verse 39 …

Jesus said, “Remove the stone.”  Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

We meet back up with Jesus at Lazarus’ tomb where we find Martha questioning Jesus’ command to have the stone removed.  She even goes so far to remind him that there will be a stench, the stench of decomposing dead flesh … did Martha forget who Jesus was so soon or did she not fully grasp His power even yet?  Whatever the reason it seems that Martha’s faith had a momentary waver, she took her eyes off Jesus and focused them on what looked impossible!

Look at Jesus’ response …

Verse 40 … Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

Jesus noticed her ‘waver’ of faith and called her on it!  Martha had let what she was feeling determine her speech once again, when all Jesus wanted her to do was trust Him.

We next see Martha in John 12:2 back in her role of serving …

So they made Him a supper there, and Martha was serving; but Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with Him.

It’s 6 days before the Passover, Jesus is in Bethany after Lazarus had been raised from the dead.  Mary is about to anoint Jesus’ feet with a very costly perfume and where do we find Martha?  She’s serving, just like she was when we first encountered her back in the beginning of this study.  This time though she was serving with a different attitude …

No complaining that Mary wasn’t helping her, but instead quietly using her talents to serve the Lord.

Martha was a practical woman and seemingly showed her love through the work of her hands in service to others.  Aren’t we glad that God loves the Marthas of this world just as much as He does the Marys!

Did Martha’s encounter with Jesus change her take charge, get it done manner and personality?  It doesn’t appear to have, but what it did do was help Martha sort out her priorities …

God first … always and forever!

Enough said!

I hope you enjoyed today's lesson as well as this study on Martha.  Don't forget to leave a comment and if you're enjoying this study, please share the link with other ladies who you think might enjoy it as well. 

We’re going to take a break until the first Thursday of the new year.  We’ll meet back here then with another study … this time on Rahab!

Enjoy Your Holidays Everyone!

Until the next class …

patsy @ From This Heart of Mine

 

Sources used for this study:

Various translations of the Holy Bible

Various commentaries

Dictionary of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter

Archaeological Study Bible

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen

Daughters of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs

Halley’s Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley 

Martha! Martha! ... Growing in Her Faith: Lesson 7

Martha, Martha! … Growing In Her Faith

Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-44; John 12:2

By Patsy Norwood © 2024  All Rights Reserved!

Lesson 7

In lesson 6, we learned the reason Jesus delayed coming to Lazarus and in today’s lesson, we’re going to meet back up with Martha and began to see the reason Jesus delayed, unfold.

Let’s pick back up in John 11 …

Verse 17 … So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

I found the wording ‘He found’ …  to be interesting.  It’s almost as if this was unexpected, but we know that’s not the case as Jesus knew before leaving to come to Bethany, that Lazarus was dead.  So, what does this phrase mean? 

Because of the climate, burial followed death as quickly as possible.  Deep mourning lasted seven days, of which the first three were days of weeping.  This is when Jesus arrived, on day four of the week of deep mourning, and this is what 'He found' as it should be … a household crowded with sympathizers for Lazarus’ family.

The four days of Lazarus being in the tomb before Jesus arrived are significant and we’ll find out why later in the study.

18 - 19 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off; and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.

Bethany being near Jerusalem would explain why many of the Jews came to comfort Martha and Mary, that along with the fact that visits to the sick, and to the sorrowing, were a central part of Jewish religion.  We already know from previous lessons on these two sisters, that this family was likely wealthy and held a place of prominence in society.  Hence, there would be several distinguished Jewish ‘mourners’ there.  It would indeed be the perfect place for Jesus to perform a miracle that would confirm His deity, one that couldn’t possibly have any other explanation since Lazarus had been dead and in the grave for four days, his body having started decomposing … but first there was Martha …

20 Martha therefore, when she heard that Jesus was coming, went to meet Him, but Mary stayed in the house.

This time it wasn’t Mary who ‘sat at Jesus’ feet,’ it was Martha, the doer, only she didn’t sit, she sought Him out, she went to where He was. 

Do we seek Jesus out?  Do we know where to find Him?

21 - 22 Martha then said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.  Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

Can’t you just hear and feel the heartbreak, the brokenness of sorrow resonating in Martha’s voice?

‘If’ … such a little word, with such big consequences.  ‘If’ Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died.  I don’t look at Martha’s proclamation as a complaint, but instead as one of great faith that if He had been there Lazarus would not have died.  Martha understood that Jesus could have and would have made Lazarus well … if He had been there.

The humanness in us has to wonder, was Martha seeking an answer to an unasked question: ‘When You got our message, why didn’t You come?’

Hold on Martha, you’re about to find out just how powerful Jesus is and that His way is always the best way.  You’re about to experience firsthand a lesson that will mightily proclaim Jesus’ power and remove doubt that He is the promised Messiah that they’ve all been waiting for!  You’re also about to find out that Jesus’ delays are not always denials!

Martha is also about to find out that she and her family are the tools through which this great lesson and proclamation is going to come.  In the midst of deep brokenness, it’s hard, in fact it’s almost impossible sometimes, to see how God can use our pain.  Martha couldn’t see it, and often we can’t either.  But like Martha, we must stand on our faith and let God use our brokenness to further His Kingdom.

“Even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”   Is Martha subtly asking Jesus to ask God to raise Lazarus from the dead?  Her faith is there, but is it God’s will, is the timing right?  Surrendering to God’s will and timing isn’t always easy!

23 - 24 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”  Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.”

Martha is going on what she knows and believes and that is that Lazarus will rise again on the day of resurrection on the last day, but in no way seems to be relating it to her ‘here and now.’

25 - 26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.  Do you believe this?”

Jesus is not saying that anyone who believes in Him will never die physically.  We all know that it’s appointed once for man to die (Hebrews 9:27).  Jesus was instead referring to the eternal life that will come to each of us after death.

Jesus, possibly sensing that Martha was not grasping what He was saying to her, goes on further with His explanation ending it with a most important question for Martha … ‘Do you believe this?’

To believe in Jesus means to accept everything that He said, did and commanded as absolute truth and then to live our lives based on that truth. 

The word ‘believe’ here means to trust, to have confidence, to be bold, according to the Greek Lexicon.  Jesus was asking Martha, if she had confidence in Him, if she trusted Him?   Jesus is asking Martha to search her heart … it’s as if He’s saying, ‘Martha, do you believe, really believe or is your belief just lip service?’

Do we believe, really believe that Jesus is God’s Son?  What does our ‘belief’ look like?   James 2:19 tells us that even the demons believe and tremble.

While we watch Jesus probe Martha’s heart for genuine belief, let’s do a private probe of our own as well!

27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

Well, there you go … Martha is no longer in the kitchen banging pots and pans fuming because her sister wasn’t helping her prepare their meal.  Her weak faith is no more and in its place is a more mature and stronger one.  Martha has got her spiritual priorities right! 

After Martha’s monumental confession, is it smooth sailing for her from here on out or does she falter in her faith?  Join me next week and we’ll find out!

I hope you enjoyed today's lesson.  Don't forget to leave a comment and if you're enjoying this study, please share the link with other ladies who you think might enjoy it as well. 

Until the next class …

patsy @ From This Heart of Mine

Sources used for this study:

Various translations of the Holy Bible

Various commentaries

Dictionary of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter

Archaeological Study Bible

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen

Daughters of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs

Halley’s Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley 

 

 

Martha! Martha! ... Growing in Her Faith: Lesson 6

Martha, Martha! … Growing In Her Faith

Luke 10:38-42; John 11:1-44; John 12:2

By Patsy Norwood © 2024  All Rights Reserved!

Lesson 6

In lesson 5 the take-a-way was that once Jesus learned of Lazarus’ apparently serious sickness, He stayed put and didn’t rush to his side.

We talked about some possible conclusions we could draw and left them there for us to ponder.

This week we pick back up with verse 7 in the 11th chapter of John, where Jesus, basically says, “it’s time, let’s go!”

Verse 7 … Then after this He said to the disciples, “let us go to Judea again.”

“After this” refers to the 2 days Jesus delayed.

Judea in this verse is the Jerusalem area.  Remember Lazarus lives in Bethany some 2 miles outside of Jerusalem.

Verse 8 … The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?” 

Jesus’ disciples are astonished that He would consider going back to the Jerusalem area.  They try to dissuade Him by reminding Him that the Jews are, even at that time, seeking Him to stone Him.

Verses 9 – 10 are Jesus’ response.  Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day?  If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.  But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him”

The 12 hours in the day analogy represents our life as a whole, here’s what Coffman’s commentary has to say …

“Twelve hours in a day …”  This means that the days of life will be continued sufficiently for life’s work.  Jesus’ enemies could not murder Him till the hour arrived for his death, an hour appointed by the Father.

Henry commentary stated it this way … Man’s life is a day …. The consideration of this should make us not only very busy, as to the work of life, but also very easy as the perils of life; our day shall be lengthened out till our work is done, and our testimony finished.

Barnes commentary put this meaning on these verses … Jesus meant to say that there was an allotted or appointed time for him to live and do His Father’s will, represented here by the 12 hours of the day.

Looking at all three commentaries, it seems Jesus is simply saying … ‘My hour has not yet come, My purpose is not yet fulfilled, I must be about My Father’s business.’

There’s a lesson in that for us, isn’t there?  Jesus was not going to allow fear to stop Him from doing what He had come to do … His Father’s business!

Verse 11 … This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.”

Jesus changes the subject and announces it's time to go to Lazarus by saying, “our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.”  

We see that Jesus is determined to go, the time is right, the time is now, and nothing will stop Him, not even the threat of Him being killed.

Verses 12 – 13 … The disciples then said to Him, “lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”  Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.

The disciples weren't successful in changing Jesus' mind, so they tried another tactic ... reasoning … via their way of thinking.

It’s clear the disciples think Lazarus is sleeping as a result of his illness; often when one has been ill, the body needs extra sleep as part of recovery.  It seems that’s the conclusion the disciples have arrived at and no longer consider it necessary for Jesus to go to Lazarus.

Verse 14 … So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

Jesus’ statement cleared up any confusion they may have had, didn’t it?

Verse 15 … and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”

And here is the reason for Jesus’ delay!  Jesus was trying to fortify their (and others) belief and faith in Him as the promised Messiah!

Verse 16 … Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”

Thomas seemly resigns himself to what he thinks the facts are … if Jesus goes back, He will be killed, and they might as well go back with Him and be killed too.

O ye of little faith!

Thomas was looking through faithless eyes when he should have been looking through eyes of faith.

Jesus knew their faith was young and immature, He knew they needed to witness what was about to happen.  It would be faith-strengthening to them and to others.  In fact, others would become believers because of it!

Are there times when our faith is immature and weak; I know there are for me.  I’m so glad we have God’s Word to strengthen us when doubts creep in. Through the studying of God’s Word, we get to know the Godhead and we get to see It moving and acting.

Studying God’s Word for ourselves is faith building!

Praying is faith building!

Fellowshipping with other faithful Christians is faith building!

This week’s lesson wasn’t necessarily about Martha, but it contains vital information that helps us better understand where we find Martha next.

In our next lesson, Jesus arrives in Bethany ...

I hope you enjoyed today's lesson.  Don't forget to leave a comment and if you're enjoying this study, please share the link with other ladies who you think might enjoy it as well. 

Until the next class …

patsy @ From This Heart of Mine

Sources used for this study:

Various translations of the Holy Bible

Various commentaries

Dictionary of New Testament Background, Editors: Craig A Evans & Stanley E. Porter

Archaeological Study Bible

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen

Daughters of Eve by Lottie Beth Hobbs

Halley’s Bible Handbook by H. H. Halley