In Part 1, we learned that Martha had a heart issue. The Lord in His grace and mercy did not want to leave Martha in that state, so He addressed it privately with Martha. Although Jesus addressed it privately, man has publicly denounced Martha. This was not what Jesus intended. Let’s learn how Jesus redeemed Martha, go to John 11 and read verse 1 through 44.

I wanted you to review the whole story as set forth in John so that you would be able to have context to what happened before we start breaking down the Scriptures as it relates to Mary and Martha. The Kingdom principle that we will demonstrate is that Matha partnered with God for Lazarus to be raised, using the currency of heaven, faith.


Lazarus is sick. Both sisters love their brother. The Scriptures tell us that they both send for Jesus and they both acknowledge that he is Lord and the Son of God. Mary by anointing His feet with oil and wiping them with her hair in an act for His burial and Martha who states outright in verse 27, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”


So, with this backdrop, let’s talk about Mary. We are told in this story in the first two verses, that it is the same Mary that anointed Jesus’ feet with oil and wiped them with her feet. This same act is portrayed in John 12:3 “Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.” It is the same Mary that chose the good part in Luke 10: 42, the part to stay in His love, grace, presence and peace, as we discussed in Part 1. So, we knew that she stayed in Jesus’ presence and heard His teaching. This would equate to prayer, worship and reading of His word in today’s times. Mary is described in all three accounts as being extremely loving to the Lord. She is generous toward the Lord, pouring expensive oil on his feet. She has a humble spirit as she humbles herself to wipe the feet of Jesus with her hair. She is prophetic as she performs a prophetic act which is recognized by Jesus in John 12:7 when He says that this act was for His burial. By all accounts, Mary to this point is portrayed as the better sister, spiritually.


However, this is not the case and Jesus in his grace and mercy redeems Martha while still honoring Mary. The scriptures in verse 5 say that Jesus loves them all. We also know that He is no respecter of persons and doesn’t love Mary more because she seems to be more spiritual, as her acts are viewed from a natural perspective as others witness her sitting at His feet and hearing His word. Martha does this as well, but it is because of Martha’s faith that she is redeemed by Jesus. She and she alone is the only one in the account of the resurrection of Lazarus to have the faith to raise Him from the dead and God is pleased with that faith.


When Jesus learns that Lazarus is sick in verse 4, He says that this sickness is not unto death, but in verse 14, He tells His disciplines plainly that Lazarus is dead. His answer seems like a contradiction, but Jesus answered that it wasn’t unto death as He already knew that Lazarus would be raised from the dead, “but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

When Jesus learned that Lazarus was sick and He knew that Lazarus would be raised from the dead, in verse 6 we learn that He waits two more days before leaving to go Bethany in the land of Judea. In verse 11, He tells the disciples that Lazarus is asleep and that He is going to wake him up. He purposely waited in order to deal with unbelief.


According to Jewish tradition and teaching in the Talmud (See Tanhuma, Miqetz 4; Pequdei 3), the soul protests the body's death, by lingering near the body for three days, hoping that the body will return to life. During this three-day period, the body could come back to life. After three days, the soul returns to God to await the time of resurrection. (See Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 90b-91a.) Jesus was well aware of this belief and teaching, therefore, Jesus waited beyond the three day period to ensure that all, Mary, Martha and the Jewish bystanders would believe that Lazarus was not able to be resurrected as his soul had already returned to God. In other words, Lazarus was dead dead. His body was dead, his soul had already departed and he wasn’t coming back. Lazarus was beyond being able to be resurrected. In verse 17 we find out that Lazarus had already been buried for four days. The Jewish teaching and tradition of the soul’s protest to death is taken from https://jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/articles/does-the-talmud-talk-about-a-ressurection-3-days-after-the-end-of-the-world.



We learn in verse 19, that Mary and Martha are grief stricken and many of the Jews are at their home trying to comfort them in their grief. Since it was approximately four days since Lazarus had been in the tomb, we can be assured that they were mourning for several days.

The redemption of Martha starts in verse 20 as it is at this point she partners with God. “Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house.” Martha and Martha alone ran to meet Jesus when she heard that Jesus was coming as she had the faith to believe. She knew her Lord, she knew that He could perform a miracle and was filled with an expectation of it. This time, Martha made the right choice, the choice to believe and Mary didn’t as Mary chose to stay in the house and mourn.

The conversation that ensues between Martha and Jesus confirms Martha’s faith in the Lord. “Now 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.” (Verses 21 and 22). Martha believed that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’ death if He had been there, but she also got a hold of a revelation of Jesus’ relationship with the Father, that the Father and Son are one. Faith for what we would call a miracle rose up in Martha based upon this revelation. Her Jewish teaching and traditions told her that the time of Lazarus’ soul returning to his body had past, but her revelation told her that “whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus responded by saying “Your brother will rise again.” (Verse 23) Jesus directly told her that her brother would rise again.


Martha continues the conversation in verse 24 discussing the Jewish teaching of the soul lingering around the body for three days and after that returning to God to wait for the resurrection, as “Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” This was her Jewish teaching. But Jesus absolutely obliterates her Jewish teaching by proclaiming in verse 25 and 26 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus informs Martha that He has resurrection power. He states that He is the epitome of life, that He is life itself and if you believe in him, that you can never die. He challenges her belief and Jewish teaching. Martha does not disappoint the Lord in her faith filled answer. “She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (Verse 27). This answer is the proof of her revelation of the relationship between the Father and the Son. It was this answer with its expectation and faith, with her partnership with the Lord that activated the resurrection that was to come.


Remember in verse 20, we learn that even though Mary also heard that Jesus was coming, she chose to stay in the house. One could assume that she was grief- stricken, mourning or depressed. Martha returns to her home after her conversation with Jesus and finds Mary, still in her home mourning. We are told this by verses 28-31. Martha “went her way and secretly called Mary her sister, saying, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” 29 As soon as she heard that she arose quickly and came to Him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the town, but was in the place where Martha met Him. 31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and comforting her, when they saw that Mary rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, “She is going to the tomb to weep there.”


Martha loved her sister and when she returned and found her sister still sitting in the house, she was filled with compassion and told her that, “The Teacher has come and is calling for you.” We are never told in the Scriptures that during Jesus’ conversation with Martha that He called for Mary and it is more likely that He didn’t, but that Martha knew that if she told her sister that Jesus was asking for her, it would get her to rise up. It worked and Mary rose up and went out to meet with Jesus. The Jews that were with Mary in the house also went. Notice that Mary didn’t go until she believed that Jesus was asking for her.


When Mary arrived at the place where Jesus was “and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Verse 32. Mary fell down at His feet, she immediately went into a position of being in His presence as she had done in Luke 10. Mary says the exact same first sentence that Martha says to Jesus in verse 21. Mary says “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Mary stops there, she did not have the revelation of the relationship between the Father and the Son and the faith of Martha when Martha stated “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Mary had the faith to believe that if Jesus had been present Lazarus would not have died, but she did not have the revelation of the Father and Son relationship and she did not have the faith to believe that He would raise him from the dead, as Lazarus had been dead more than three days. She chose to accept Lazarus’ death, mourn and not partner with Jesus. The Jews that were present and witnessed the interaction also did not have the faith to believe that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, as they remained silent during the exchange. Partnering with Jesus and having faith in the resurrection power of Jesus is accredited only to Martha!

Let’s read verses 33 – 38 again.:

33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with
her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord,
come and see.”

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of
the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave,
and a stone lay against it.

Since Mary and the Jews with her did not believe that Jesus could raise Lazarus from the dead, they are weeping. Mary and the others remained in their grief and mourning. Verse 33 states: “Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.” He groaned and was troubled. What does this mean? According to Definitions from Oxford Language groaned is defined as “make a deep inarticulate sound in response to pain or despair.” Other definitions include making a sound because you are upset about something. Troubled means showing distress or anxiety, in other words, being upset about something. The image that I like is that Jesus snorted with anger. What disturbed Jesus so much that He groaned? He also wept in verse 35. Why was Jesus groaning and weeping? I have heard teaching that suggests that it was because Lazarus died as even the Jews that were with Him stated this in verse 36, “See how He loved him!”, but we are told that He knew that He was going to wake him up, so that couldn’t be it. Some say it was because Jesus was compassionate and He groaned and wept because of their pain. While this may be true, let’s consider other scenarios. Is it possible that Jesus was troubled and wept at death, death that we know later on the cross He goes and takes back? Is it possible that Jesus was troubled and wept because they were giving more power to death than life? Is it possible that He was troubled with their unbelief and wept at the same? Is it possible that He was troubled that only Martha believed that He had the resurrection power to raise Lazarus back to life and this made Him weep? Is it possible that Jesus was troubled and wept because they didn’t recognize who He was? Could these be the more possible scenarios since He groans again in verse 38 immediately after some of the Jews said “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying” in verse 37? They only believed that He could have prevented his death, not raised Lazarus from the grave. I will let you and the Holy Spirit ponder these things, as yes, these are all possible since we know that Jesus is the Son of God, we have the cross and what He accomplished thereon, including giving Jesus power over death and other instances where Jesus was troubled by unbelief. See John 11:25 “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.”; 2 Timothy 1:10 “but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”; Mark 9: 23-24. Jesus said to him, “‘If you can believe, all things are possible to him believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Just to name a few scriptures. I am sure that there are many that the Holy Spirit will bring to your mind as when I googled how many scriptures in the Bible deal with unbelief, it gave me varying answers from sixty to three hundred. That’s a lot of Scripture about unbelief!


Verses 39 and 40 are very important as it relates to Martha. They say: 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Jesus knowing that His Father wanted to raise Lazarus from the dead, solidify the understanding that Jesus was the Son of God, demonstrate His resurrection power and obliterate unbelief, goes to the tomb and tells them to take away the stone. We are told that Lazarus has been dead four days, again, Jesus delayed so He could destroy the Jewish teaching, reveal who He was and take away any doubt and unbelief. Starting in verse 39, we are told that Martha was there at the tomb with Jesus, Mary and the other Jews. Jesus wasn’t weeping and neither was Martha. Jesus wasn’t weeping because He knew Martha’s faith. Martha wasn’t weeping because Martha was expecting! Martha knew that Jesus had resurrection power as He had just previously told her in verse 25 that “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” He had also told her in verse 23 that “Your brother will rise again.”


Jesus told Martha directly what He was going to do, but Martha did what most of us do when the miracle or breakthrough is about to happen, she started to question what she was seeing in the natural, “Lord by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Martha started to doubt based upon what she was seeing. This reminds me of Peter when he walked on water for a moment. Peter had faith to get out of the boat and start to walk on water to Jesus, but as soon as it began to come to pass, and he took his eyes off Jesus and looked at the water, he sank. This was what was happening to Martha, she began to sink into doubt and unbelief. Doubting took her out of a place of love, grace and peace. Jesus being the loving Savior that He is, immediately addressed her doubt and unbelief by asking her “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” Jesus spoke only to Martha because He knew that she was the only one that had the faith to believe for the miracle that He was about to perform. Martha corrected her thoughts, turning it back to believing that “But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You” and “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world” as she had stated in their previous conversation earlier that day. This brought her back to the place of love, grace and peace, being in His presence. As a result, her faith rose back up, her expectation and anticipation rose back up, she partnered with God, making room for the miracle to come forth, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead.


Partnering with God and faith was credited only to Martha in this story. Jesus knew that the Father wanted to raise Lazarus from the dead, He wanted them to believe that He was the Son of God and that He and the Father were one, He wanted to demonstrate His resurrection power and believe that nothing is impossible for God to those that believe. He goes on to say out loud for them all to hear, after they remove the stone “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. 42 And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” Jesus declares His relationship with His Father, but deals with their unbelief stating that He is only saying this so that they will believe that He is the Son of God. He then demonstrates His Sonship by calling Lazarus to come forth.


We know the rest of the story, that Lazarus rose from the dead and came out of the tomb and some believed because they witnessed the event. Martha had the faith to move a mountain or in this case raise someone from the dead. Martha’s faith is credited for this miracle. Martha is redeemed by Jesus because she chose to believe when no one else did, she chose to partner with God to make this happen.


Both women were extraordinary. They both loved the Lord and each other. I don’t believe that Jesus ever wanted man to villainize Martha to get women to be more like Mary, although He knew that this would happen. I believe that is why He redeemed Martha. I can now embrace the Martha in me and not strive to be more like Mary, because when partnership and faith was needed, Martha rose to the occasion! I can hold my head up high and shout that I am proud to be a Martha!

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