John 11:1-22

Thomas and Martha

Thomas and Martha tend to get a bad rap. Martha was the one busy working in the kitchen while her sister Mary was sitting at the Master’s feet. And, yes, it was Mary who poured perfume on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. Thomas? Ever hear of “Doubting Thomas”? Thomas and Martha seem to be a pair well met, bad rap and all. But look again.

The situation is a tense one. Jesus’ last visit to Judea had not ended on a high note; unless you consider almost being stoned to death a high note. The disciples are breathing a bit easier away from Judea when word comes that Lazarus was very ill. At first it seemed that Jesus wasn’t really going to do anything. Maybe He would just send the word and heal him? Then two days later Jesus says that Lazarus is sleeping and they need to go back to Judea. All of the disciples are against this and after some cat and mouse over what exactly was meant by “sleeping” Jesus makes it clear that He is going back to Judea. It is Thomas, not Peter nor James nor John, but Thomas who says, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” Even if it means death Thomas is following Jesus and he means it.

Martha loved her brother Lazarus as much as Mary did. Surely there had been disappointment when those sent with the message about Lazarus’ condition returned without Jesus. “He didn’t come?” It was Martha, not Mary, who went out to meet Jesus when He finally arrived four days after the burial. She greets Him with the same words her sister would use later. “If you had been here my brother would not have died.” (How many times must they have said that to each other in the past four days?) But then she adds something almost shocking in its audacity. “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

It is one thing to follow Jesus when the road is “safe” or even “easy.” It is quite another to follow when it seems to lead the opposite of where you want to go. Few are asked to climb that mountain. Thomas did. It is one thing to love and believe when God shows up on your schedule. It is quite another to love and believe when it’s only His schedule He is following. Almost all are required to face that. Few do it with as much faith as Martha.