Do You Know About Mary of Bethany From The Bible?

Jordan

5 months ago

Let’s talk about another woman of the Bible. Today we are going to be talking about Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha, and the powerful stories about her in the Bible. I think most of us recognize her story, moreso than Martha’s, though both are important, both teach different lessons. Mary shows us steadfast faith and love for Christ. A faith and love we should all hope to have. So let’s take a look at Mary.

Women Of The Bible

Women often focus on women like Jael or the Proverbs 31 woman. Rarely do I hear about the other women being talked about. For some reason it’s cool to only want to be Jael and make fun of the Proverbs 31 woman or to be the Proverbs 31 woman and look down on Jael. What about the other women in the Bible? I think we should strive to be a little bit of all of them to honest. But we are going to focus on Martha today.

Who Is Mary?

Mary is a beautiful person in the Bible and as I mentioned before, there is much we can learn from her. Mary is the sister of Lazarus and Mary as well as a good friend of Jesus and His disciples. We can see she is a significant woman of the New Testament and another role model for women. She lived in Bethany with her family and appears 3 different times in the Bible.

Related: Who Is Martha In The Bible?

Where Do We See Mary In The Bible?

We see Mary in the following scripture: Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-44, John 12:1-8.

Luke 10

In Luke 10 we see that Jesus and His disciples are at Lazarus, Martha, and Mary’s house. They are resting in the home. And in verse 10:39 we see:

“She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said.”

And we know that Martha was upset that Mary was not helping and rebuked the Lord and his response was this in verse 10:41-42:

“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.”

Understanding What Is Better

What did Jesus mean when He said, “Mary has chosen what is better…”? He meant that she made Jesus and the knowledge of Him, and the knowledge He shared, a priority over worldly things. She wasn’t worried about cooking and cleaning, though those things are important (see Let’s Talk About Martha), but she was focused on learning about and from Jesus.

Unlike Martha who was focused on the worldly tasks at hand, so much so she forgot who she was speaking to, Mary was focused on the eternal. Her silence shows that she isn’t concerned about defending herself or what others will think, rather, she is focused on Christ and understands that God will always come to her aid.

John 11:1-44

The next time we see Mary we see that Lazarus has died. Jesus was traveling away when He receives word that Lazarus is very ill. Jesus continues for a couple days before making His way back and by the time He gets back, Lazarus is dead.

Martha is first to meet Jesus throwing out all customs and believes that Jesus is the Messiah and then comes back for her sister.

John 11:28-33:

“After she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary aside. “The Teacher is here,” she said, “and is asking for you.” When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Him. Now Jesus had not yet entered the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met Him. When the Jews who had been with Mary in the house, comforting her, noticed how quickly she got up and went out, they followed her, supposing she was going to the tomb to mourn there.

When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fall at his feet and said; “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would have not died.”

When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her was also weeping, He was deeply moved in the spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him? He asked.

“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.”

Jesus Weeps With The Broken Hearted

The next verse John 11:35 is “Jesus wept.”

Jesus was perturbed by the grieving and wept with those where broken hearted. He sees Mary’s sorrow, along with the other Jews, and He wept even though He knew that her pain would be short lived. Jesus is the greatest Comforter we have ever known.

And Mary loved Him so much and wanted to obey Him to the point that she through out custom to meet Him. Despite her pain and sorrow, she ran to Jesus.

John 12:1-8

This is, I think, the story most people remember about Mary.

“Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.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. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

Understanding What Was To Come

Judas Iscariot, the one who betrays Jesus, was upset because the perfume could be sold for money that could be given to the poor, to which he was silenced by Jesus.

Here again, we can see the Lord coming to Mary’s aid during her silence, but we see something more here. The perfume Mary used was known as spikenard, which was very expensive.

It appeared that Mary sensed Jesus’ death was approaching. The actions she took was symbolic of preparing a body for burial. She took her most precious perfume and poured it over Jesus’ feet. The not caring what others thought, used her hair to wipe His feet.

Keep in mind, it was custom for women’s hair to be bound or braided. So the fact that she let it down for this act and the fact she anointed His feet and not His head (which was a servants job) shows her humility for the Lord.

The Sister Of Ultimate Faith

Unfortunately Martha gets a bad name, and it’s understandable, they both were women of faith. Though, Mary shows the highest faith in the Lord through her actions.

Mary has such confidence in the Lord she never feels compelled to defend herself from criticism. She knows the Lord will always defend her. And secondly, through her steadfast faith and sitting at His feet, she seems to understand that Jesus’ death was nearing. Something the disciples, despite Jesus’ declaration, did not realize.

Those things are significant. How often do we put that much trust in the Lord? Are we willing to break customs regardless of what people think to run to the Lord? Or are we willing to humble ourselves before the Lord? Do we focus and meditate on His word to the extent we should?

These are all valuable things we can learn from Mary and we should strive to have such humility and steadfast faith and love for the Lord.

The Lesson Of Mary

Mary is a woman of faith. And while she wasn’t focused on worldly things, she was focused on the better, the Lord. Mary is a wonderful reminder that we need to have steadfast faith, regardless of what people say or the circumstances.

Mary is a role model for all disciples in Christ. Mary, more so than anyone else in the New Testament, is known for her hunger for spiritual truth and understanding.

While she may come off as timid, she has demonstrated her strong decision-making skills and always chose the Lord over what others thought she should do. She was contemplative and sensitive as we can see with her premeditated act of worship rather than verbal expression.

Mary was a woman known for her spiritual insight and readiness to act upon her steadfast face and was commended by Christ and remembered for it. We should all strive for such faith and humility.