The Life of Mary of Bethany
What kind of heart moves and touches the heart of the Son of God in the flesh? that wherever the gospel is preached, her story will be told. What makes it so significant is that it has to be told.
Who Was Mary, and Why Does Her Story Matter?
Mary appears in the Gospels of Luke 10 and John 11:12. Mary's life of love and devotion is what moved Jesus' heart. This young girl gave an offering to Jesus. She presses through all of the agendas; the disciples are arguing about who is going to have the highest position in the kingdom. She walks right through it all, and she simply comes and sits at his feet, dwells with him, and sits there. Mary puts her eyes on his glory and beholds him.
According to Craig S. Keener's Hebrew background in the New Testament, they can only find one case where a woman ever sat at a rabbi's feet; it was the daughter of the rabbi, and she was sternly rebuked and never did it again. Yet Mary sits and looks right into Jesus' heart and discovers the same thing Moses and David did. In that place, she touches the deepest longing of God related to human beings. Which is “I want to dwell with them.”
In the story, Mary’s sister Martha is distracted by much serving. Martha confronts the Lord, saying, “Do you not care that my sister has left me to do all of the work? Tell her to help me.” In verse 41, Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you're worried and troubled by many things, but Mary chose the one thing.” He wasn't rebuking Martha; He was trying to lead her somewhere; he was giving her an invitation. He says, Mary has chosen the good part, and I will not take it away from her. The longing, the spiritual hunger, the longing to know me.
Dwelling Over Service
God's desire, as revealed through Jesus, is for intimacy with us. This is mirrored in the beginning of creation, where God walks with Adam in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8), and is demonstrated by Jesus' interactions with his disciples post-resurrection, such as the intimate breakfast on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Mary is tapping into the greatest desire to make a creature with the capacity to not simply serve Him but to truly know Him and commune with Him. We have something greater than what Mary had. Because of what Jesus has done on the cross—his resurrection—now we have the glory dwelling in us. God is around us, with us, and in us. We can gaze upon him by the Holy Spirit; we can sit before him every day. Jesus doesn't have to show up at Martha and Mary's house for us to sit down right now, our relationship with God can be as real and tangible as any human relationship.
Mary’s Example
Mary's choice in choosing the better part, the one thing cut through the clutter of daily life and agendas, symbolizes a pure form of worship and devotion. She wasn't easily swayed by culture’s expectations for busy agendas or the pride of the disciples arguing about their ranks in the kingdom. Her focus was solely on beholding Jesus and God’s yearning to not just be served, but for His heart to dwell deeply with His creation.
Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. It begins with sitting with Jesus. Develop intimacy with Jesus. Sit before his word and learn from Him.beholding Jesus and talking to him. Prayer is talking, a dialogue; he's talking back.
Whatever we behold is what we become. If you want to become like Jesus, you have to behold Him. You cannot become what you do not behold.
Reflecting on Personal Communion
Consider how often we, like Martha, are distracted by the many agendas of life at the expense of sitting with Jesus. Reflect on how you can cultivate a deeper relationship with God, similar to Mary's.