Mary and Martha

Anchored in John 11: 17-34

In a moment of sorrow, two sisters show us the contrast between reasoning and resting, between rushing to Jesus and waiting for His call. In your season of pain, grief or waiting, what posture do you take?

Grief isn't always about death. Sometimes, it's the cost of obedience; the ache that comes from surrendering to Jesus when His timeline doesn't match yours. 

• It's the mourning that comes with waiting while others move forward. 

• It can look like watching your friends’ step into blessings while Jesus says, "Wait."

• It could be watching school buses pick up children every morning while your own remain at home.

• It could be a padlock on your business door because you chose integrity.

• It could be severing ties with family because obedience demanded it.

Whatever your "Bethany" looks like, whatever the cost of surrender, the question is: how do you wait in the process?

Do you wait like Martha, running to meet Jesus with your logic and questions, trying to understand the delay?
Or do you wait like Mary, sitting in the pain, fully trusting the Master will call you when it’s time?

As we sit here this evening (night or day), I’d like us to reflect on Martha and Mary.

We know from the book of Luke (10:38-42) and John (11:17-34) that Martha was the busy one (active, practical) while Mary was the one who sat in devotional trust at Jesus' feet. In ancient culture, sitting or bowing at someone’s feet was a posture of submission and a recognition of authority. When Mary fell at Jesus’ feet (John 11:32), she was acknowledging Him not just as Teacher, but as Lord; giving Him full authority over her life and heart. 

In John 11:17 Jesus finally arrives in Bethany, both Martha and Mary come to meet Him but at different times, and with different postures. Martha comes first. She meets Him standing. She speaks words that reflected both knowledge and belief:

“Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask from God, God will give you.” 

(John 11:21–22)

Then comes Mary. She approaches differently. She says the exact same words as her sister; “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” but she falls at His feet, weeping. She brings no reasoning, no theology, just raw grief and surrendered trust. 

Contrasting these two reactions reveals that the sisters are more than just characters. They represent different postures within the body of Christ in response to life's circumstances; responses we often see in ourselves and in other believers. We see that:

Martha reasoned. Mary released.

One responded with the mind. The other responded with the heart. 

One stood in conversation. The other fell in surrender.

I like to think of Martha as the Mind; the reasoning part of us, the seat of logic and planning. It’s that part that struggles to wait. It wants to move, fix, solve, run ahead. Martha, upon hearing Jesus was near, ran to meet Him, as if forgetting that Jesus is not our servant, but our Lord. He is the King of kings, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. And yet like Martha, we often try to summon the King instead of waiting for His call. It reveals a lack of trust. But Mary… Mary waits. She stays seated in her grief, fully assured that the Master will summon her in His time. That’s trust. That’s devotion.

20 So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. 

(John 11:20)

I like think of Mary as the heart; the place of surrender, intimacy, and worship. A heart fully sold out to Jesus. Her grief flows from love, not just emotion. Her posture is not logic-driven, but Spirit-led. And when Jesus saw her… when He looked into her heart… He wept. Because Mary’s heart and His were in sync; their grief beat in the same rhythm.

33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

(John 11:33) 

Dearly beloved, just like Mary, Jesus feels your pain. He is not distant from you. He resides within you. Your heart and His are one. He knows your struggle. How can He be separate from it when He lives in you? That’s why Mary could sit and wait. She knew her heart and the Lord’s were one. She knew His love is overwhelmingly great and that His delay didn’t mean denial.

So, I ask you today: Do you have a Lazarus in your life?
Is there a situation that seems dead, hopeless, or decayed?
Are you watching time pass and feeling despair creeping in?

Don’t fret. Like Mary, trust the Lord even in the waiting. Trust Him with all your heart, even in the pain. He will show up. I don’t know what you need Him to do, but I know this: when He comes, it will be with resurrection power. It will be a new morning, a new beginning.

Delay is not denial.

As you wait, be ready to rise from your Bethany (the "house of affliction") and run to Him when He calls.

28 When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him. 

(John 11:28-29)

Trust that all things are working together for your good. Don’t overthink it. Don’t let your "mind" (Martha) try to reason it all out. Quiet your thoughts and trust Him.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..." — Proverbs 3:5

To Martha, Jesus was Teacher  — one who gives instruction.
But to Mary, Jesus was Lord — one to whom she surrendered.
That’s the difference. That’s the posture.

Even in delay. Even in the waiting. Even in what feels like death.

He is Lord.

Dearly beloved, the Mary posture begins with one decision, the most important one you’ll ever make: to surrender your life to Christ Jesus. If you haven’t yet made that decision, let this be the moment. Don’t wait. Take a quiet moment right now and pray this out loud from your heart: 

Lord Jesus, I come before you today. I repent my sins, and declare that you are Lord over my life. I confess with my mouth that you are my Lord and savior, and believe in my heart that you died for my sins, resurrected and are seated at the Right hand of God the Father Almighty. I receive you in my heart today to do your will, In Jesus Name Amen!