week 10: friend

Hey guys! We talked about so many amazing things this week that it's hard to pick just one thing to focus on, but I've decided that I want to talk about what I've learned about Jesus' ability to love us as individuals. I want to do it using some stories we talked about in class from Luke 10 and John 11, about Mary and Martha of Bethany. This post might be a little longer, but if you can get through it, there are some beautiful insights into Christ's character!

Probably the most famous Bible story about Mary and Martha is found at the end of Luke 10, verses 38-42. Jesus has just finished a long journey, and he, Mary, and Martha are all together at Martha's house. Chances are, if you know this story, you know that it tends to paint Mary in a positive light and Martha in a negative light: Mary "chose the better part" by listening at the feet of Jesus, while Martha should have been doing the same, instead of busying herself with preparing the food for Jesus. Right?

I want to offer a different point of view. I don't want to make it seem like this is the only interpretation, because as we know, the scriptures can be read tons of different ways. But after talking about this story in class, I have personally come to the conclusion that Mary and Martha just have different personalities, and Martha only went wrong when she tried to get Mary to be more like her.

Martha, as we can tell, is a doer. She always knows what's going on, who needs help, and how to lift their burdens. She wants to serve, she is concerned about making others comfortable. Mary, on the other hand, we can gather, is probably quieter, gentler, and just likes being with people. She is good at interpersonal relationships, and is content to just listen.

So, which personality is better? It's obvious that this is a pointless question, because all personalities and ways of serving are good. So, we can assume that Martha's mistake was not in choosing to serve Christ over listening to him teach, but in trying to change Mary's personality to be more like her own. Only when she tried to correct Mary did Jesus step in and correct Martha. He was content to let each woman serve in her own way, until one started to criticize the other.

In class, we talked about how we think that if the roles had been reversed, and Mary had been the one to try to get Martha to be more like Mary, Jesus would not have reacted differently. If Mary had been the one to say, "Lord dost thou not care that my sister is cumbered about with much serving? Bid her therefore that she come sit with us," I doubt Jesus would have responded by saying, "Oh my goodness, thank you, Mary, I didn't realize. Hey, Martha, take a break for a minute and come and sit with us!" Jesus never responds to criticism about others by validating their judgements.

When people come to Jesus and start pointing fingers at others, He becomes the intercessor between them and the accused, turning the finger back on the one doing the pointing. Every time, He tells them to introspect and take the beam out of their own eye before pointing out the motes in the eyes of those around them, or make sure that they are without sin before they cast the first stone (Matthew 7:5, John 8:7). Martha didn't do anything wrong by serving and preparing, but by judging her sister.

Christ is perfectly content to allow us to serve the way that comes naturally to us. Our Father in Heaven made us all unique, with different attributes, strengths, and capacities. All of us are needed in the kingdom. Jesus fosters and magnifies our strengths. He lets us serve Him the best ways we know how, and in turn, He knows how to serve us in the ways that we need.

Now that we have this interpretation as a background, I want to talk about one more Mary and Martha story, found in John 11, verses 19-35. Now that we know how their personalities differ from each other, the events in this chapter have a richer context.

At this point, Lazarus, Mary and Martha's brother has just died. Martha is the first to approach Jesus.

20 The Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.

21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Then Martha and Jesus have a conversation, where Jesus tells her that Lazarus will rise again, and Martha bears a profound testimony. Martha's way of grieving her brother seemed to be talking it out with someone she trusted, and Christ was able to be there for her in that way. He comforted her with words of hope, because he knew that was what she needed.

A few verses later, we see Mary's reaction:

32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

Then, Mary starts to cry. Jesus, empathizing with her, and likely feeling of her love for both him and her brother, begins to cry with her. Verse 35, the shortest scripture in length but one of the "longest in meaning," says, "Jesus wept." Mary, in her own gentle, quiet way, grieved by weeping, and Jesus was able to mourn with her. He knew that was what she needed.

Just as Christ responded to Martha and Mary in the ways that were best for their personalities and needs, He can do the same for us. He knows our suffering, and He knows, better than anyone, how to succor us and how to be our friend. He can be our best friend of all if we will let Him. I am so grateful to know that He knows me, likes, dislikes, fears, sins, strengths, weaknesses and all. He knows me personally, and He loves me, not just as a child of God, but as me. And He knows and loves you, too :)

If you have made it this far, THANK YOU! You are awesome! If you want to learn more, lds.org is the official website for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For more about Jesus Christ, go here. To read the full chapter of Luke 10, go here. To read John 11, go here. Also, if you want, you can watch the Life of Christ Bible video about Lazarus being raised from the dead, here. Thank you so much for visiting! Always remember that Christ knows you personally, and that He loves you more than you can comprehend!

All insights catalyzed / inspired by Prof. Tyler Griffin's 03/15/18 lecture, REL A 250, Brigham Young University.
Artwork 1: "Little One" by Yongsung Kim 
Artwork 2: "But One Thing is Needful" by Simon Dewey
Photo: "Jesus, Mary, and Martha" from Mormon Channel