One may wonder why these two names are often in this order. Martha after all, was the older sister. In addition to the fact that she apparently owns the house in which the family lived… the Bible states that clearly. Furthermore, from all indications, she was not only more active but also more proactive in the service of the Lord than Mary. And what’s more, appeared more zealous, and seemed to have more presence, or panache, or pizzazz, or… whachamicallit…
So, why is Mary always named first?
Martha after all was the one who rose to the occasion on the impromptu visit of Jesus to their home. She was the one who was determined to give him the best reception that she could muster in so short a time. Before her brother’s resuscitation, she was the first to act on the news of Jesus’ eventual arrival in the town.
So why do we tend to talk of Mary and Martha, rather than the other way round? I mean, Martha was always so much visible, and you’ve got to admire her gutsy personality, while and Mary seemed more of a retiring and unremarkable introvert. Besides, Mary was such a common name! Just count how many there were in the Bible alone!! But therE is only one Martha! It just doesn’t seem fair to Martha to be named second all the time!
So perhaps we should take a closer look at Mary. We.ve already established the fact that she is the younger sister, and perhaps a much more of a boring nerd when compared to her older sister. And if we were to paint her in the worst light, she could be considered lazy… or selfish… or entitled… or even spoilt! Nothing particularly complimentary, wouldn’t you say? And no help in explaining why her name always comes first!
To wax stronger still with the worst light argument, she could be described as self-willed, narrow-focused, strong-headed or even brazen! Note that she obviously couldn’t give a damn (excuse my language) about what other people thought about what she did and how she did it.
To hell with what people thought about her sitting at Jesus’ feet, right along with the men instead of doing the expected by joining her sister to do the ‘proper’ thing for women (Luke 10: 38-42). To hell with what people thought about her leaving them in her house of mourning to rush to answer the Saviour’s call (John 11: 28-29) on His way to her dead brother’s burial place. To hell with their criticisms of her exuberant demonstration of worship when she poured the most expensive alabaster oil over her Lord’s feet, and wiped it off with her hair in public! (John 12: 1-8). To hell with their suspicions about her relationship with her Lord and Master…
But it would seem that what we might consider Mary’s ‘worst light’, was actually what set her apart in the eyes of the Lord, and earned her public commendation and defense from her frustrated sister and from the critical tongue of a hypocritical rogue like Judas.
Going by that, the picture of Mary in the ‘worst’ light suddenly transformed into the ‘best’ light. Her readiness to break all protocol, her doggedness in sticking by Jesus to know more of Him and His teachings, her exuberant adoration without regard to what it would cost her, her disregard for her reputation as the only woman sitting at the feet of Jesus were approved by the ONLY ONE THAT MATTERED and that was enough for her. When you look at Mary in this latter ‘light’ then you realize she is to be emulated.
I can just imagine her excitement at the news that Jesus was coming over. No doubt, similar to her sister’s. But while Martha seemed to have focused more on pleasing Jesus through the kind of reception and the menu of the meal she would provide, her Jesus-obsessed sister was probably thinking: Here’s another opportunity to drink in more of His Presence. I’ve got to seize this opportunity to get to know Him better; I must learn more from Him about the Great Salvation and how to live the abundant life.
Martha’s response to Jesus’ visit was clearly loving and caring, after all love is all about giving. Mary’s, on the other hand, could be termed selfish… or so Martha would have us think. But amazingly, the Object of love of both sisters, Jesus Christ Himself did not think so. According to the Author of Truth, Mary chose the ‘better part’.
So, we have many reasons to emulate Martha, the older sister, who was clearly hard-working, prosperous (owned the house), generous (made her house available to Jesus and His followers), hospitable (cooked sumptuous meals for them all), warm (was first to welcome Him to town, and had great faith in Him (acknowledged Him as the Messiah and Son of God), it would seem that God considered Mary’s choice a better one.
Which is why we cannot afford to conclude without running again through this ‘better part’ that Mary chose, and which I believe justifies her name coming first: (i) Passionate desire to stay close Jesus; (ii) Dogged determination to grow in His word; (iii) Total denial of self and disregard for personal reputation in the pursuit of her desire to worship Him; (iv) Readiness to break protocol whenever necessary in her obedience to divine inspiration; (v) Purpose-focused; (vi) Exuberant worship and adoration; (vii) Humility and total submission.
Now that is tough act to match but we can get there too by His Grace, God has given us all that pertains to life and godliness (2Peter 1:3). May it not be wasted on us in Jesus’ mighty Name. Amen