Mary, Sister of Martha, Lived Unashamed for Jesus
Estimated reading time: 13 minutes
Mary’s Faith
I recently wrote a blog on Martha, the sister of Mary and Lazarus. She had a great deal to learn, yet she also became a great teacher for those who read her story. Her responsibilities distracted her, but I believe she had a change of heart. And when she allowed the Lord Jesus to become her priority in life, then God’s plan was for her to return to service and hospitality with the right mindset and motivation. I gained a much greater appreciation for Martha when I wrote about her. She and her sister were very different people, yet they both loved Jesus very much. Now, I’d like to dig into the unique characteristics of her sister, Mary, that the Bible talks about.
Throughout the entire old testament and new testament, I find her story to be one of my all time favorites. Her beautiful legacy has played such a special role in my life. This young woman loved her Lord God with all of her heart. And she longed to soak in the teachings of Jesus more than anything else. God’s Word mentions two very distinct stories about this sweet sister, and they both involve the feet of Jesus. This not only shows her humble position before the Lord, but also the great honor she had for her Master. I would like to dive into both of these stories, and reflect on the different characteristics that Mary was portraying as well as the unique messages that she was conveying to the world.
Mary’s Focus
The First Story
Let’s look at the first story found in Luke 10:38-42. It says, “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do that work by myself? Tell her to help me.” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed–or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
The Word of God seems to show a sister who taught us what to do, and one who taught us what “not” to do. But as I wrote in my last blog, Martha teaches us some valuable lessons by her admirable hospitable character. And later in Martha’s story, she shows us how you can still do the very thing God has called you to, just with a new heart that longs to serve out of relationship and not religion. Mary, however, seems to have been able to hone in on what was more important in the first place. Because of her evident desire to sit and learn from Him, Jesus not only defended her, but He delighted in giving her all that her heart desired.
Divine Satisfaction
He reminds Martha that Mary chose what was better. This suggests that Mary’s heart longed for Jesus alone. When Jesus said that what Mary chose to seek after would not be taken away, He implied that what she chose would also be given to her in fullness. We, like Mary, have been given one of the most important callings. And that is to be filled and to live for Christ alone. When we choose Him over all else, not only does He stand in defense against anyone who might deem this choice as “not enough,” but He also gladly rises to the occasion of being the greatest gift we could have ever imagined.
Divine Characteristics
This does not mean that when we seek God as our fulfillment, that we just sit at His feet all day long. No, we are to be vessels that allow His fullness to flow in and through us. And we will do this in the unique ways that He created us to reflect His character. For Martha, this was serving. She demonstrated that specific characteristic of Christ. She just became too focused on serving to be fulfilled instead of serving out of fulfillment in Him. Mary, in the Bible, demonstrated the characteristics of “zeal” and “divine value” found in Christ alone. She saw the richness of His holiness, and sought the truth of His words like they were rare jewels or long lost treasure. She craved something found in Him that she knew the world could never offer. And she demonstrated His value to the world by seeking Him unabashedly.
Mary’s Fulfillment
She took a low position by sitting at His feet, and Jesus raised her up in honor. When we humble ourselves before the Lord, Jesus not only exalts us but he extravagantly grants us His fullness. Her humility exalted His character, and she abandoned herself to him. She honored God’s Son by sitting at His feet, for this in itself was a declaration of His Lordship. She had embraced the conviction that Jesus was life itself. He was her everything. Sometimes we tend to think there’s no way that we could only need Jesus. I mean, we need clothes right? We need food, air, laughter, sleep, etc. Yes of course we need all these things. Yet they all are gifts from the ultimate Giver. He does not take our physical needs lightly. But more importantly He has created our bodies to follow suit with the greater needs in our spirit.
That is why Jesus gave so many analogies for Himself and His gifts. He called Himself the bread of life because He is the only One Who can feed our spirits in the same way that bread feeds our bodies. He tells us that He clothes us in His righteousness because our own righteousness was like filthy rags. The Holy Spirit means breath of God, and He fills our spirits as air fills our lungs. He says that if we drink of His living water, we will never thirst again. He is everything we will ever need. Mary knew this deep in her own soul and chased after what her heart desired. He saw her and knew her and loved her, and she found her worth in Him. She sat at His feet and drank deeply of His goodness.
Mary’s Fortune
The Second Story
Let’s look at the next story. John 12:3 says, “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.” Jesus had touched Mary’s heart in remarkable ways. She had experienced new life in a sense, and now He had raised her brother back to life. She simply could not put her feelings into words; so she resolved to show Him in action. There was no concern as to who was watching in that upper room, or whether they thought this was a good idea or not. She just wanted to love on her Savior. So she broke the jar. She was declaring that what might have once been her greatest treasure was now nothing compared to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus.
Paul Was Inspired
I imagine the apostle Paul might have been thinking of Mary’s life when he wrote about considering all things rubbish in order to gain Christ. He became the Lord’s servant, for he had tasted the goodness of God’s grace and was forever changed. Nothing that he had previously valued or no status that He previously held mattered anymore to him. For he had been introduced to the almighty God. Paul used to persecute those who followed Jesus’ ministry, and then the power of the Holy Spirit struck him blind. He was blind for three days, and then He received a new perspective that changed his viewpoint for good. He “broke the jar” that held every form of worldly value. And dedicated his life to building the kingdom of God. He gave up “good things,” for the One Who was truly GREAT!.
My Family
The Struggle
I blogged about this story in a previous blog titled “Our Time in Colorado: Experiencing Significant Life Changes.“ But I wanted to briefly share about it in this blog because it was certainly an experience that was directly related to the life of Mary. Two summers ago, I was struggling greatly with a desire for another baby. And family life was not going so well. We had moved to Colorado with three kids in tow, and were struggling financially. Our marriage was suffering as well due to great stress, a lack of communication, and the absence of a community around us. I had been ready to try again for a baby for quite a while. Yet John did not feel the same. We had had several conversations, but it was clear we weren’t on the same page. And obviously it was not the right time to even consider it.
The Breaking
During this difficult time, I met with a mentor who reminded me of the story of Mary breaking the jar. Mary showed many beautiful characteristics in the Bible. But this one action spoke volumes about who God was to her. Immediately, I knew I needed to follow suit in giving this desire to God, for it had become too much of a priority. I had thought I had given it to God, but had kept taking it back and holding it too tightly. I needed to give it over in a final kind of way. To make the declaration Mary had done, I needed to claim that Jesus alone was the desire of my heart.
I took this to John, and he surprised me when he said he also wanted to commit this to God. He suggested us writing down all that we wanted to commit before the Lord, and then tearing up the paper and putting it in a jar, praying over it and breaking it. We did that, and the minute the jar broke, I felt this new space open up in my heart. And I knew that Jesus had immediately filled it. I still had the desire for a baby, but I no longer had the weight or burden of that desire. My desire had become a precious gift to give over to the Lord. And when I did, He became my gift in such a more beautiful way.
The Lesson
And now, two years later, as I hold this precious little girl in my arms, His goodness astounds me. However, I know now more than ever, that even though Rylie Jean is such a precious gift from a good good Father, that Christ alone has satisfied my life. He consumed me in such a way, that now I am able to hold loosely the treasures He gives me, because He already filled me to overflowing! And somehow this enables me to cherish all the more the gifts that He gives, because it makes me know my Giver in a deeper way.
When we consume ourselves with longing for something other than God, even a good thing, then we would not be able to appreciate it in the way we should, even if we got it. But when our eyes are on the face of the Giver Himself, He allows us to see His gifts with true gratitude. I am beyond grateful for a sweet husband who lovingly believed that God was speaking to me about another child. And he is now completely wrapped around this little girl’s finger. And I am utterly astonished by this beautiful daughter who I know has such a mighty purpose in this world. But I am also profoundly grateful for the journey I was able to walk through, where I got a chance to give something so priceless over to a Savior who became all the more precious to me.
Jesus’ Feet
So back to the story of the young girl in scripture whose spiritual life showed a deep and endearing love for the kind Man Who saw her and saved her. She gladly poured out her treasure on the one she treasured most. And she poured it on his “feet.” She knew these feet. She had sat near them while listening intently to His voice. But Mary had know idea that these would be the feet that would later have a large spike driven through them. How could she have known that what she was doing was anointing Him for burial. She had no idea that these would be the very same feet that God the Father would place everything in subjection under, making Him head over all except for God Himself.
She valued the feet of Jesus not even knowing that her actions were prophetic to the great pain He would suffer and and the great praise He would receive. Washing someone’s feet was the lowest form of service, and she went even lower by anointing His feet with perfume. Jesus was just about to set the same example for His disciples by washing their feet as a faithful servant, and Mary had already done the same by this loving and renowned gesture. Mary’s character really shined as well when she knelt down and wiped His feet with her hair. 1 Corinthians 11:15 mentions a woman’s long hair being her glory. If Mary hadn’t glorified the name Jesus enough, she then went above and beyond by using that which is her glory to glorify her King of Kings. She gave up her gift and her glory all because of gratitude.
Mary’s Gratitude
My mother used to say that gratitude can change your perspective during any circumstance. Sometimes, we can believe we have absolutely no reason to be grateful. But if we understand, like Mary did, that Jesus is the only One who satisfies our lives anyway, then the gravity of our circumstances will not affect our grateful heart quite as much. We become a lot less impacted by the tides of our trials, and we stay consistently grateful because of the consistent love of God. The roller coaster of losing her brother only to receive him back again certainly impacted Mary. And these circumstances “added to” her level of gratitude. But I believe she had already been eternally impacted by the Person of Jesus Himself, and she bowed her life before the His feet. Her grateful heart could not be tamed or tormented.
Mary’s Fortitude
She would express her gratefulness no matter what happened to her or no matter who judged her. Martha somewhat accused her of “wasting” her time, and Judas accused her of “wasting” her treasure. Yet Jesus commended this type of abandonment to Him, for He was about to show the ultimate extravagance of His love to us on the cross. One of the synonyms for extravagant is “wasteful.” He chose to be wasteful with His great love because He never ran out, and because that is exactly what He wanted to do!! He chose to pour out such an abundance of Himself upon those who would never even come close to deserving Him.
Mary was exemplifying this extravagance with her whole heart, and we can do so as well. When we abandon our entire life, unashamed and unconstrained, to the One Who gave His all for us, we are reflecting the life of Jesus in a delightful way. God’s favor was extended to Mary because she made Him her favorite. What do you have in your jar that needs breaking today?
About the Author
Celeste Claborn
Hi! I’m Celeste! I am a mother, a wife, and a writer! I have the joy of raising 5 kids, one of which is my husband, John. When we’re not writing, we enjoy the great outdoors, traveling or playing outside with the neighbors. I hope you find joy in my writing, as well as impactful articles that lead you closer to freedom and adventure in Jesus.
