Martha’s Bold Faith: Declaring Jesus as the Resurrection and Life
John 11:1-2
"Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill."
What do we know about Mary and Martha?
We know Mary's very devoted to Jesus, and Martha is very pragmatic. Mary is depicted as sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening to His teaching, while Martha her sister is busy with household tasks.
Jesus says of Mary:
"Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken from her" (Luke 10:42).
Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are beloved friends of Jesus (John 11:5). Mary’s brother Lazarus falls ill, and the sisters send for Jesus (John 11:3). When Jesus delays and Lazarus dies, Mary’s response differs from Martha’s. While Martha goes out to meet Jesus and engages Him in a theological dialogue (John 11:20-27), Mary remains at home, overwhelmed by grief (John 11:20). Only when Jesus calls for her does she come, falling at His feet and saying, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died" (John 11:32). Her words mirror Martha’s (John 11:21), but her posture, falling at Jesus’ feet, reflects her emotional vulnerability and her struggle with completely trusting Jesus.
Jesus is currently at the Jordan River where John the Baptist would baptize people. About twenty miles away from Bethany. Which is about a two-day journey on foot.
When Jesus heard about Lazarus's illness he lingered there two more days. And then they went down into Judea.
John 11:14-15,17
Then Jesus told them plainly, "Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him."
(vs.17) "Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days."
Bethany is up near the top at the mount of olives about two miles from Jerusalem. From there you can see the road to Jericho winding its way through the hills for a long way off. And you can see all the way down to the Dead Sea from there. Which means that from Bethany you can see Jesus and his companions traveling there for sometime.
And so Martha leaves the mourners and meets them on the road. And what ensues is one of the most remarkable moments in the gospels in my opinion. John 11:20-27 captures Martha’s faith and Jesus’ revelation of Himself as "the resurrection and the life," it's a pivotal declaration that reshapes her understanding of who he truly is and ours.
John 11:20-27
So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 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 from God, God will give you." 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." Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world."
Her choice to meet Jesus shows trust and hope, even in her sorrow. Her declaration, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world" is profound. Martha dares to hope that Jesus can still act, showing a faith that transcends the finality of death. This act of stepping out, embodies hope, not a vague optimism, but a trust in Jesus’ power. Her confession parallels Peter’s in Matthew 16:16, affirming Jesus as the Messiah and divine Son of God. It’s a theological high point, showing Martha’s faith is not just emotional but deeply rooted in understanding Jesus’ identity. It's on this bedrock truth about Himself that Jesus said he will build his church. The phrase "even now" is striking. After four days, when all seemed lost, Martha believes Jesus can still act. Her faith transcends the finality of death, anticipating a miracle before Jesus even hints at raising Lazarus. It's as if she knows he's about to do something amazing, or she hopes he will.
Martha's confession encapsulates the core of our Christian faith, recognizing Jesus’ messianic and divine nature. Her confession, made on a dusty road, carries equal weight, showing that faith transcends gender or status. Her faith in Jesus as the Messiah and divine Son of God is the same foundation upon which His church is built. This foundational truth, that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, the one who conquers death and fulfills God’s promises, unites believers across time, from Peter and Martha to us today. Martha’s confession is especially significant because it precedes the miracle of Lazarus’ resurrection. She believes in Jesus’ identity before seeing the outcome, demonstrating a faith that rests on who He is, not just what He does.
The raising of Lazarus, which follows Martha’s encounter, becomes a sign for all believers, and that sign strengthens our faith (John 11:45), pointing to Jesus’ own resurrection, the ultimate victory over death that the church proclaims. Martha’s trust, hope, and confession challenges us to build our lives on that same bedrock truth. Any church community that attempts to make a confession about Jesus without the resurrection being its foundational principle, or neglecting its role in our faith, is doomed from the start.
Even Satan understands this. From the beginning the serpent comes to the woman and sows the seeds of life and death in her mind.
"Has God said..." (Genesis 3:1)
Now the serpent was craftier than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?"
In the beginning the deadliest spiritual force on earth has been unleashed. It's a question, the first question ever asked. It's the power to question the truthfulness of what God has said. Satan covertly smuggled it in. He suggests that you as a creature can question the Creator. He turns the words of God into a negative, leaving out everything positive God said about all the available food in the garden. Twisting God's words into focusing only on what God said you can't have. But he doesn't just highlight the prohibition against eating that food, he also raises suspicion. He gets her to thinking about why God doesn't want her to have this really awesome looking fruit. He gets her to thinking about what God is trying to hide from her. This is the main assault upon the truth. Satan implied that God's character is suspect. God wants to tamper with her rights. Satan suggests that God is cruel or jealous of her, or both. And Satan causes her to render judgment upon God.
As soon as she did not fully trust in God, sin entered the world, even before she ate the fruit. She accepts the idea that God is restraining her from what she should have, and Satan convinced her that she would not die if she took it. He convinced her that God lied. And she bought into this idea that God restricts his creation because he's not a loving God. And of course, Satan wants her to believe that he is love. He brings down the whole human race on this premise that God's word cannot be trusted.
Contrast that with the perfect trust we see here today in Martha. In spite of all this history of an endless array of false prophets, false teachers, false leaders, false disciples; we have in Martha the evidence of how humanity can indeed find a genuine and sincere faith.
I find it very interesting that the more pragmatic of the two sisters is the one who shows the most respect for who Jesus really is. Martha’s unwavering faith underscores the transformative power of trusting God’s word and character. Unlike Eve, who questions God’s truth, Martha affirms it, declaring Jesus as the fulfillment of God’s promises, even though she's heart broken and upset about her brother's death.
Final thought:
While Mary’s devotion is emotional and worshipful, Martha’s faith is active and theological, engaging Jesus in dialogue and affirming His divine nature. Her pragmatism doesn’t hinder her faith but channels it into a bold declaration that anchors the church. Martha’s trust counters the fall’s legacy of doubt. Where Eve succumbed to Satan’s lie that God restricts His creation out of cruelty, Martha believes Jesus is the source of life, even in death’s shadow. Martha’s proactive faith, bold hope ("even now" ), and confession of Jesus’ identity inspires us to trust God’s word and character, even in hopeless situations.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for Mary’s devotion and Martha’s trust, showing us the beauty of faith in You. Help me, like Mary, to choose Your presence and worship You fully. Like Martha, give me bold faith to confess You as the Christ, the Son of God, even in my darkest moments. Protect us from the enemy’s lies that question Your truth and goodness. Build my life and Your church on the bedrock of Your resurrection, that we may proclaim Your victory over death. In Your name, Amen.