|
|
Jesus
and Mary and Martha
Luke 10
38 As Jesus
and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman
named Martha opened her home to him.
39 She had
a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
40 But Martha
was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to
him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the
work by myself? Tell her to help me!"
41 "Martha,
Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things,
42 but only
one thing is needed. [6] Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not
be taken away from her."
John 11
11:1
Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary
and her sister Martha.
2 This
Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume
on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.
3 So
the sisters sent word to Jesus, "Lord, the one you love is sick."
4 When
he heard this, Jesus said, "This sickness will not end in death. No, it
is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it."
5 Jesus
loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
6 Yet
when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
7 Then
he said to his disciples, "Let us go back to Judea."
8 "But
Rabbi," they said, "a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and
yet you are going back there?"
9 Jesus
answered, "Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day
will not stumble, for he sees by this world's light.
10 It
is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light."
11 After
he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen
asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."
12 His
disciples replied, "Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better."
13 Jesus
had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural
sleep.
14 So
then he told them plainly, "Lazarus is dead,
15 and
for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let
us go to him."
16 Then
Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, "Let us also
go, that we may die with him."
17 On
his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for
four days.
18 Bethany
was less than two miles from Jerusalem,
19 and
many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their
brother.
20 When
Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary
stayed at home.
21 "Lord,"
Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have
died.
22 But
I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
23 Jesus
said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha
answered, "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus
said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me
will live, even though he dies;
26 and
whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
27 "Yes,
Lord," she told him, "I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
who was to come into the world."
28 And
after she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside.
"The Teacher is here," she said, "and is asking for you."
29 When
Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to him.
30 Now
Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where
Martha had met him.
31 When
the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how
quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going
to the tomb to mourn there.
32 When
Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet
and said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."
33 When
Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping,
he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.
34 "Where
have you laid him?" he asked. "Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35 Jesus
wept.
36 Then
the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
37 But
some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have
kept this man from dying?"
38 Jesus,
once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid
across the entrance.
39 "Take
away the stone," he said. "But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead
man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."
40 Then
Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the
glory of God?"
41 So
they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank
you that you have heard me.
42 I
knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people
standing here, that they may believe that you sent me."
43 When
he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"
44 The
dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and
a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes
and let him go."
45 Therefore
many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did,
put their faith in him.
What can you determine
about martha's personality in these stories?
What can you determine
about Mary's personality?
What did they need?
How did they ask
Jesus for it?
How did Jesus respond
to them?
What happened?
|