John 11:17–37
Read the passage.
An interesting thing that struck me on this reading is the implication that Mary, Martha, and Lazarus were well-known. Even though they lived in a little village two miles away from Jerusalem, v. 18 says many of the Jews came to console Mary and Martha on the loss of their brother. Surely they had friends and family nearby, as most people did, but it sounds like people who lived in Jerusalem heard that Lazarus had died and came to pay their respects. This seems unusual, but it feels like John expects his audience to know all about this family, even decades after the event, so he doesn’t really explain.
When Jesus arrives, or at least gets close enough to Bethany that people tell them that He’s on His way, Martha goes out to meet Him and Mary stays in the house. This tracks with what we know of their personalities as depicted in Luke 10:38–42. Martha is a woman of action, getting things done, while Mary sits still. It’s funny that the same kinds of actions can let us draw opposite applications in different circumstances. It was right for Mary to sit and listen to Jesus teach back then, but it was right for Martha to go and greet Him as He arrived instead of waiting on Him to show up at her door.
It’s also funny that they each say the same thing to Jesus when they see Him: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (v. 21, 32) The words are the same, but their mannerisms are different. Martha is having a normal dialogue. She makes a declaration, and Jesus responds with comfort that her brother will rise again. She misunderstands His meaning, but it turns into a declaration of faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Mary on the other hand is a bit extra. She dramatically falls at Jesus’s feet, followed by a group of mourners who are also weeping as she is. I hesitate to use words like “display” or “performance” for this because I think Mary’s emotions were genuine and not a manipulation tactic, but they elicit an emotional response from Jesus. He is “deeply moved in spirit and greatly troubled,” asks where Lazarus has been laid, and weeps along with Mary. (v. 33–35)
Mary is overcome by her grief, so Jesus gives her sympathy, showing her He is affected by her hurting spirit. Martha is practical in general and collected in this instance, so Jesus gives her what she needs: answers and assurance. So it is with all of us. Jesus knows what we need in each circumstance and helps us through it when we rely on Him.
Guide us, Shepherd of our souls, according to Your infinite wisdom.