Saint Martha: The Disciple

Artwork by marcus C. thomas for Christianity Today

Today is the feast day of Saint Martha in the Catholic Church.

Last September, I wrote an article for Christianity Today called, “Martha: Busy Hostess or Dragon Slayer? Here’s how I began:

The summer before my senior year of high school, a new book came out called Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. This book articulated what I had heard around the halls of my church growing up. I remember women vocally identifying as either a “Martha” or a “Mary” with the ultimate goal of becoming more like the disciple Mary who sat at Jesus’ feet, while bemoaning our Martha-like overworking tendencies. (Ironically, the “Marthas” were the ones responsible for running most of the church programs.)

As medieval historian Beth Allison Barr points out in The Making of Biblical Womanhood, Martha continues to be used as a prototype of doers and homemakers in books written for women. And while this caricature of Martha is good for selling books on biblical womanhood, is it too simplistic?

In this article, I argue that the prevailing image we have of Martha comes from our reading of Luke 10 and ignores a reading of her in John 11. I encourage you to read the full article, but allow me to mention a couple of interpretations I take away from Martha’s encounter with Jesus.

First, Jesus reveals himself or gives a divine revelation about himself to Martha. This point cannot be overlooked nor underemphasized. Like with the Samaritan woman, Jesus tells Martha one of the “I am” statements, a statement that underscores his divinity. I am the resurrection and the life. Jesus is resurrection and the source of all life.

Second, he gives this statement about himself to Martha with the goal of her believing—so that she might have faith. In v. 14, Jesus tells his disciples that he was glad he wasn’t there when Lazarus was sick so that you may believe. In v. 42, Jesus prays to the Father before raising Lazarus that he has said these things so that they may believe you sent me. But in this passage, it is only to Martha whom Jesus asks before raising her brother, Do you believe this? In v. 40, when her faith wavers in front of the tomb he tells her, Didn’t I tell you if you believed you would see the glory of God? Jesus wanted Martha to believe before the sign so that she would see the glory of God.

Third, Martha responds to Jesus’ invitation to believe with the greatest confession of faith in John’s Gospel, which John repeats almost verbatim in 20:31. Her confession includes his identity as both Messiah and Son of God and that he has indeed come into the world. As I wrote for CT:

What John wants to accomplish in his audience was already accomplished in Martha, one of the first believers. John wants us to see that Martha’s confession exemplifies the response Jesus desires for all his disciples.

When John repeats Martha’s confession as the purpose for which he wrote his Gospel, John adds, so that by believing you may have life in his name. Right before John says this, Jesus tells Thomas, Don’t be faithless but believe. … Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. These references to belief and life take us back to Jesus’ encounter with Martha.

There’s so much more I’d like to say about Martha. Unfortunately, I think her role as disciple and her part in John’s Gospel has been largely overlooked. My CT article brings to light a medieval legend about Martha, which I believe shows a greater appreciation for Martha’s discipleship and ministry than many of our contemporary takes of her, even if the legend is untrue.

Here’s what I mean. In the legend, Martha defeats a dragon with holy water (symbolizing baptism) and a cross (symbolizing Jesus’ death). In the Book of Revelation, we find another dragon that has been thrown out and conquered by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their (Christians’) testimony for they did not love their lives to the point of death (12:11). The legend, in my opinion, is a dramatization of Rev. 12 and the reality for all those who are in Christ: we overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb (the true dragon slayer!) and by the word of our testimony—the gospel of Jesus Christ, that he is the Messiah, the Son of God, who has come into the world to bring life for all those who believe.

So on this day, we don’t worship Martha but we learn from her. We stand next to her and hear Jesus’ statement to us, I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me, even if he dies, will live. Everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. As we stand next to her, we also hear Jesus’ invitation for ourselves, Do you believe this?

By the power of the Holy Spirit through Christ himself we respond in faith with Martha, Yes, Lord. I believe you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who comes into the world. And when we stand in front of the tomb, waver in faith and question the Lord, we hear Jesus’ encouragement and even chiding to keep on believing. With Martha and all others who share in the same belief, we stand before our Lord with a defeated dragon behind us, who was conquered through the blood of the Lamb and by the faith in Jesus Christ we confess.

And with Martha, we respond to the love of Christ with service (12:2). We serve Jesus just as Jesus taught his disciples to serve one another (ch. 13).