Becoming Like Martha: Women Who Take God at His WordSample

Trusting Martha

The next time we encounter Martha in Scripture, she is in distress. Her brother is cold in the tomb—four days dead. When the sisters sent for Jesus, they likely expected an immediate response, for they were beloved friends of this rabbi. They had seen Him perform miracles for strangers, so, surely, He would aid close friends. When He doesn’t even reply, what hurt and confusion must have flooded their hearts. Was His silence displeasure? Or was He too cautious of the religious climate near Jerusalem to come?

When Jesus does come at last, Martha rushes to meet Him with lament on her lips. If only He had come sooner. If only He had been there. Her mind is consumed with an alternative version of the story, one in which Jesus arrives on time and her brother lives. Even in lament, however, Martha utters startling words of confidence: “But even now . . .” (John 11:22 ESV). Already, we sense a shift. The Martha from Luke 10 was consumed with worry. The Martha in John 11 has faith that is reaching out to Christ, searching in the one place it knows for solid ground.

And what does Jesus do? He engages Martha in a theological conversation. Rabbis didn’t talk theology with women, but this one does, and what He says could arguably be offensive. With her brother cold in the tomb, Jesus looks Martha in the face and calls Himself the resurrection and the life. But He doesn’t stop there. He asks Martha to confirm this. He asks Martha for her belief. How might Martha have responded? With disgust? With rebuke, even? But no . . . it appears that she has taken Jesus’ words to heart when He tenderly invited her to the “better portion.” She has come to believe in the power of Jesus more than the power of her circumstances. She has come to trust Him more than her own understanding. She allows Jesus to lead her from fear and confusion into the stability of His identity. Instead of taking offense, Martha delivers one of the strongest confessions of Jesus as Messiah in the Gospels.

Ponder: Have you ever felt personally disappointed with God? What would it look like for you to run toward God with that hurt?

Pray: Abba, I believe You are bigger than my hurt and so much better than I can imagine. Help my unbelief. Amen.