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
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