BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY - The tomb of Lazarus              BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: WORK - Women's work

     MARTHA 
   & MARY

FAMOUS PAINTINGS
OF MARTHA, MARY
AND JESUS

TWO SISTERS

  PEOPLE IN THE STORY

  FAMOUS QUOTES

  BIBLE REFERENCE

  INTERESTING SITES

  ACTIVITIES/QUESTIONS

FRIENDS OF JESUS
Martha and Mary were two young women living close to Jerusalem. They admired Jesus and were close friends - when Jesus came to Jerusalem he stayed with them. Apart from that we know little about them: they seem to have been independent, without parents in the picture; they must have been financially comfortable, since they had a house large enough to cater for a fairly big group of people, and were also able to pay for expensive perfume to anoint Jesus. None of the three seems to have been married, which was unusual in Jewish society at the time. Were they on the outer socially? And if so, for what reason? We can only guess. But all in all they seem to have been independent, well-off, and intelligent.

I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO DO IT ALL...
On one of Jesus' visits, Martha got annoyed by the unequal share of housework she had to do while Mary, who should have been sharing the load, sat listening to Jesus talk. What's the betting that Martha was the older sister in this story - responsible, a little bossy, the sensible one, and Mary was the younger of the two - charming, lovable, unworried by practicalities?

Martha complained to Jesus, but he seemed unconcerned, taking Mary's side. Don't worry so much about small things, he said - concentrate on what is important. Mary has chosen the better way. 

I suppose every woman who reads this story wonders whether Jesus' answer would have been the same if Martha had plumped down on a stool and listened like Mary - and there had been no supper for him and the disciples....

THEIR BROTHER LAZARUS DIES
The brother of Martha and Mary was Lazarus, who seems to have been sickly or had some severe illness. Once, when Jesus was absent, Lazarus became gravely ill. Then he got worse, and the two women sent for Jesus. Come and cure our brother, they begged. Jesus received the message, but he put off coming for two days. In the meantime, Lazarus died of his illness.

When Jesus eventually arrived Martha rushed out to meet him. She reproached him bitterly - if you'd only come sooner, he wouldn't have died, she said. Then in a flash of intuition she called him something extraordinary: the Messiah, Son of God. These are the very words Peter would later use to describe Jesus. Was Mary the first person to express this thought?

When she had finished speaking she ran back to fetch Mary, who came out of the house distraught. Jesus was  deeply affected by her grief, and asked to be taken to Lazarus' tomb. They led him there, then Jesus told them to pull away the great stone that sealed the entrance. 

'What's the betting that Martha was the older sister in this story - responsible, a little bossy, the sensible one, and Mary was the younger of the two - charming, lovable, unworried by practicalities?'

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'LAZARUS, COME OUT!'
They were loathe to do this since Lazarus' body would have begun to rot - they could smell the stench of decomposing flesh coming out of the tomb. But Jesus insisted. He prayed silently for a moment, then he called out loudly 'Lazarus, come out!' There was a moment's silence, then a movement from within the tomb and Lazarus, still with the stinking strips of burial cloth hanging off him, came out of the tomb - alive. In the swirl of emotion that greeted this sight, Jesus merely said 'Unbind him, and let him go.'

THE DINNER PARTY
There is a third story involving  Martha, Mary and Lazarus, when they give a final dinner for Jesus. It was the week before his death, but none of them knew what lay in store for Jesus. They were aware he was in danger, and no doubt they tried to keep him from going into Jerusalem where he was in most danger.  

In was the custom when guests arrived for dinner to give them a refreshing foot bath. Then they either sat at a table, or lay propped up on couches surrounding a central food table. Martha served the food to her guests. 

MARY'S GIFT
During the dinner, Mary took some vastly expensive perfume and smoothed it over Jesus' feet, then wiped his feet with her long hair. One of Jesus' friends, Judas Iscariot, objected to the waste of money, but Jesus again sided with Mary, defending her action. He knew he was in great danger, and that the path he meant to take might end in a terrible death. Being fully human he could not see into the future, but he knew the probable consequences of what he planned.

Mary also knew the danger that Jesus was in, and that he faced an ominous future. She offered her gift as a comfort and a reassurance to him, and perhaps as something more. She believed he was the Messiah, and she used the nard as anointing oil. In her own way, she anointed a king in readiness for what lay ahead.

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BIBLE REFERENCE
Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-44, John 12:1-8

PEOPLE IN THE STORY
Martha: a woman who, with her family, provided hospitality for Jesus and his disciples
Mary: Martha's sister, who was a thinker rather than a doer
Lazarus: Lazarus, their brother, who died and was raised to life by Jesus

FAMOUS QUOTES
'But Martha was distracted by her many tasks.....' (Luke 10:40)
'Lazarus, come out!' (John 11:43)
'You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.' (12:8)

 INTERESTING WEBSITES - stories, pictures, information

The story of Martha and Mary in more detail
BIBLE WOMEN: MARTHA AND MARY

Photographs of the tomb of Lazarus, and tombs and catacombs from biblical times
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: TOMBS AND CATACOMBS

Famous paintings of the rivalry between these two sisters
BIBLE ART: MARTHA AND MARY

Death and burial - the funeral customs for Lazarus
WOMEN IN THE BIBLE: MAJOR EVENTS: DEATH AND BURIAL

Women's work
BIBLE ARCHAEOLOGY: WORK

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ACTIVITIES AND FOCUS QUESTIONS

A Letter from the Past
Choose one of the three characters in the Bethany household: Martha, Mary or Lazarus. Write a letter to that person, asking for more details about what happened in one of the events in which Jesus played a part.
You might ask about the house they lived in, what they were doing, what their emotions or reactions were, what the other people in the story were like, etc.
Compose the letter that Martha, Mary or Lazarus might have written in response to your questions. Give as much information as you can.
You must base this response on
·     research you have done into the life and people of the times
·     a creative reconstruction of possible emotions, reactions, ideas, etc.

Tracing the Last Steps of Jesus
Research the route that Jesus followed through the Jerusalem/Bethany/Kidron Valley area. Find the probable locations of events in the last days of Jesus’ life.

The Dinner at Bethany
Find out about meals in ancient Israel, 
·     the meat, vegetables and desserts that were available ( a famous cook called Apicius wrote a cookbook at about the time these events occurred, using ordinary ingredients as well as expensive ones; use a search engine to locate this book and consult his recipes)
·     the type of cooked dishes that were served
·     the layout of a dining room
·     the etiquette of dining.
Using this information, describe the meal that Jesus attended at the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

In depth study of one person's story
Choose one of the people whose stories are told on this site and develop a PowerPoint presentation about them.
The presentation must be at least 10 slides long and should include 
 *  a supporting image/picture/painting of each person 
 *  a map of Israel showing the cities and areas where the story took place.  
You may call up other websites to support your ideas.

In your presentation (approximately 10 minutes), answer the following questions:

1. What are the main events of the person's life? Tell the story.

2. What were their main qualities? What made them stand out from the crowd?

3. What obstacles did they face? Did they overcome them, or go with the flow? Explain.

4. How did they use their abilities to do God’s work?  

5. Which part of their story appeals to you most? Why?

You must include three short quotations from the gospel texts to illustrate the points you are making. 

Focus Questions for the gospel passages
1. What are the most interesting moments in the sisters' story? 
2. In the story, who speaks and who listens? Who acts? Who gets what they want? If you were in the story, which person would you want to be friends with? Which person would you want to avoid?
3. What is God's interaction with the main characters? What does this tell you about the narrator's image of God? Do you agree with this image?
4. What is happening on either side of the story, in the chapters before and after it? Does this help you understand what is happening?
5. The narrator/editor has chosen to tell some things and leave other things out. What has been left out of the story that you would like to know?
6. Are the characteristics and actions of the people in the story still present in the world? How is the story relevant to modern life, especially your own?

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Bible Stories: People of the New Testament - Bible Study Resource: Martha and Mary of Bethany