by Brett Manero
Monday, July 29th is the Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. This is of course the family from Bethany that features most prominently in the Gospel of John, as well as in the Gospel of Luke. There is genuine debate about the true identity of St. Mary Magdalene, whose feast day was last week. Some argue that Mary of Bethany is one and the same as Mary Magdalene, while others would disagree.
Perhaps one reason why Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany are considered the same is due to the famous scene in Luke where Mary is focused solely on Jesus, while her sister Martha is focused more on the preparation of the meal. Mary’s choice of “the better part” of focusing solely on Christ is famously pointed out by the Lord. Mary’s gaze towards Jesus at the dinner party perhaps foreshadows her loyalty and faithfulness to Him on the Cross, as we know for sure that Mary Magdalene was present at Calvary.
But I want to focus more on the other Gospel reading for today, which tells us more about Martha than Mary. It comes from John, and is the heart wrenching scene where Jesus visits the tomb of Lazarus following his untimely death. We are all familiar with how Jesus waits for two entire days before visiting Lazarus, allowing him to die in order that He can bring something greater out of this. What a wonderful example of how God works: He allows the existence of evil and death not because He delights in it, but because He can and does overpower it, and will always bring something far greater out of it. Evil and death are therefore mocked by the power of God. Sometimes, God allows us to “die” in order to raise us up again, just as the raising of Lazarus is much greater than Christ healing him and preventing his death.
In today’s reading, Jesus arrives at Bethany to visit his dead friend. I like to think that Jesus and Lazarus were friends since childhood, hence the immense grief felt by Jesus when he sees His friend’s tomb. Amazingly, we see the opposite of what we see in Luke: where Mary sits close to Jesus in Luke while Martha works, it is Martha who runs to be face to face with Jesus while Mary remains behind. I want to focus on the dialogue between Jesus and Martha, as I truly believe it is among the most important in Scripture:
Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” (John 11:21-27)
“Lord, if you had been here.” Note the sincerity of Martha’s faith. She knows that Jesus is indeed the Son of God, the expected Messiah, and she has seen His miracles take place throughout His ministry. She struggles, however, with just why He waited two entire days to come to Lazarus. If He was able to cure so many illnesses elsewhere, why would He not do the same for His lifelong friend? The answer of course is what we discussed earlier: God only allows evil and death because He can and does bring so much good out of it. But why would He allow His close friend to die? Perhaps it’s exactly that: He allows greater pain and suffering for His closest friends, so that He can bring the greatest good out of their suffering. Jesus and Lazarus were so close their entire lives, so Jesus gave Lazarus the great “gift” of his young death, so that He could give him the greatest recorded miracle in the Gospels: his raising from the dead. What an immense spiritual lesson for all of us.
Martha’s genuine struggle mirrors that of all of us. Again, she knows that Jesus is the Messiah, and yet she cannot understand. Don’t we all experience this so many times in our lives? We believe and we know that God is good, and yet we don’t understand His ways. “You do not understand what I am doing now, but later you will understand” (John 13:7). Perhaps it shows us just how okay it is to struggle. With each new spiritual battle, with each new spiritual “level” that we pass through, we don’t always understand. It’s not okay to despair, but it is okay to struggle. Notice how Martha does not despair. She goes on: “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” This sets up the genius of the rest of the conversation.
Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise.” Martha said to him, “I know he will rise, in the resurrection on the last day.” (John 11:23-24)
What should immediately get our attention is Martha’s belief in a future resurrection of the dead. This is immensely important for understanding the development of belief in the resurrection and eternal life over the course of ancient Jewish history. Early in the Old Testament, the belief in eternal life is vague and undefined. Even during the time of Christ, many Jews denied the resurrection of the dead, particularly the Sadducees. But Martha’s declaration in her belief in the resurrection shows us the tremendous growth in this belief, and it also shows us the importance of the Prophets, for it is in the prophetic books where this belief develops.
The two prophetic books where resurrection is referenced are Daniel and Ezekiel. They are the last two of the Major Prophets (after Isaiah and Jeremiah) and the two Major Prophets during the Babylonian Exile (c. 605-535 BC). God gives both Daniel and Ezekiel the promise of resurrection and the hope of eternal life.
We read in Daniel:
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. (Daniel 12: 2-3)
We have an even greater vision of resurrection in Ezekiel, who arguably gives us the most important vision of any Prophet. The Prophet is brought to a massive valley with the bones of some hundreds of thousands of dead bodies: it is a vision of both the “death” of Israel in exile, as well as the scandal of death that has plagued the human race since the Fall of Adam and Eve.
And he said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, thou knowest.” Again he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath[d] to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its bone. And as I looked, there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great host. (Ezekiel 37:1-10)
Just imagine what Ezekiel is witnessing: hundreds of thousands of dead bones (he even gives us the detail of the bones being “very dry” – completely without water and hence, completely devoid of life) being restored to life. He also gives us the essential point that the “spirit” of the bodies must be returned to them in order for them to be truly alive, showing that the human person is not merely a machine of flesh and bones, but a spiritual being as well.
The visions of Daniel and Ezekiel come along at one of the lowest times in Jewish history: during the exile to Babylon, when Jerusalem is a heap of ruins and national morale is at its lowest. God often works in this way as well: giving His people and disciples hope and a reason to go on during their most difficult times. Martha lives over 500 years after Daniel and Ezekiel, long after the end of the Exile. Her belief in resurrection not only shows her personal faith and devotion, but that of Israel. In a sense, she represents all of Israel’s hope and longing for resurrection, something which the entire race has been longing for since the Fall. Her words show us the effectiveness of Daniel’s and Ezekiel’s visions, as these have provided Martha and all of Israel with hope for the Messiah and eternal life since Daniel and Ezekiel recorded them.
When it comes to the Memorial of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, we tend to focus more on Mary and Lazarus. Lazarus was raised from the dead, after all, and Mary shows us in Luke about what true quiet devotion to Jesus looks like. But these words from Martha are just as important, showing us the development of belief in eternal life in the ancient world, and showing us the centuries-long hope in the Messiah that the People of Israel had.