“She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’” – John 11:27
Martha gets a bad rap! Usually, she’s remembered as the sister who worked too hard when Jesus came to visit. That was certainly true at one point in her life. However, if that’s all we know about Martha, then we miss how she grew in her love, faith, and understanding of Jesus. We miss her redemption which offers hope to all who’ve been distracted at time from experiencing the presence of Jesus and allowed busyness to crowd out our spiritual life.
Martha wasn’t just the woman who worked too hard and missed out on Jesus’ teaching when He was in her home. She was also the woman who grew to make the exact same confession of faith for which Peter is celebrated! “You are the Christ, the Son of God”. This is an extraordinary confession of faith!
In her darkest hour of grief, as her brother lay dead and buried, Martha embraced Jesus as “the Resurrection and the Life”. She believed that everyone who embraced Him would live forever. She believed in the one true hope of the world. Though convinced of the finality of her brother’s death, Martha was also convinced of Jesus power over death. She knew Jesus was the Christ, the anointed one of God and the Son of God, come to save the lost. When the presence of death was overwhelming, Martha embraced Jesus and life!
Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. He invites each person to answer His question for him or her self, “Do you believe this?” Martha believed. Do you?