A weird thing happens when we isolate the female characters in a story.  Somehow, they get pitted against each other. That's exactly what happens to Mary and Martha, two sisters found in Luke 10. Martha should be viewed in context with Luke's other characters, even if they’re men! That, my friends, is the task for this article. We'll be analyzing the heck out of three stories to see what more they can tell us about Martha. What light can good character foils shine? I'm beginning to love this woman.

Quick tip: It might be helpful to read “What you need to know” before engaging with the Bible verses. There are a few things I’d like you to be on the lookout for.  

Luke, the playwright

This chapter is the beginning of a section scholars have titled the Lukan Travel Narrative, which spans Luke 9:51-19:27.  In these chapters, Luke tells the story of Jesus’ ministry on the way to his crucifixion in Jerusalem.  He also uses them to instruct readers on discipleship, one of Luke’s favorite themes (Coogan et al, 95).  In case you’re unfamiliar, discipleship is a churchy word that means following Jesus and learning to live like him. 

Another thing I want to point out is something Warren Carter notices throughout the chapter. “The sequence of pericopes (that just means stories) alternates between scenes of active ministry and scenes of encounter with God” (278).  There’s an important theme developing in this chapter!  In 2 of the three stories we’re looking at, we see characters engaging in active ministry and then they encounter Jesus who provides a bit of instruction.  In the one story that doesn’t quite fit this pattern, Luke does something pretty clever with it that still reinforces his theme. Good on ya, Luke.  This narrative flow among all the stories indicates Luke intends his readers to consider them together, so I’ve decided to imagine them together as a three-act play.  Feel free to do so as well, as you read.

Literary device of the day: foil

Finally, I have a literary device for you!  The term is foil, describing a  “Character intended to highlight attributes in another character through opposing traits.”  Martha and Mary are foils.  One is busy serving, and one sits and listens to Jesus.  Their differences illuminate each other’s traits, but even more important than what makes foils different from each other is what makes them similar.  The context shared between opposing characters helps us understand the theme the author develops with them.  If Mary and Martha’s shared context is their gender, we can say this story is about how women should be.  If their shared context is they both follow Jesus, then a much broader theme develops. I believe Martha has another foil in the stories we’re looking at today.   As you’re reading these stories consider, “What context does this character or group of characters share with Martha?  In what ways could they be a foil, shining a light on her attributes and the theme Luke is developing?

Go ahead and read the stories now, if you’d like!

On with the show

It’s character analysis time!  Let’s go through each act and see what we can see!

Act I: A Deeper Joy

In verse 17, the 70 followers swarm the stage filled with joy, “Saying ‘Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!”  Following the pattern, the 70 have been out with the people, healing the sick and proclaiming God’s kingdom. Their active ministry is complete, and now comes the encounter with Jesus. They’re talking over one another, eager to share their stories with him.  “Dude!  I prayed for her, and she got up and walked!”  “I touched his eyes, and he could see!”   I picture Jesus laughing, enjoying their joy. Yet Jesus has something to teach them in their success:  “Nevertheless,” he says, “do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (vs.20).  These 70 have experienced power they never imagined, bringing healing, freedom, and God’s kingdom tangibly near.   And Jesus says, “Don’t rejoice at this though.  Your worth is not tied to your success.   Rejoice that you belong to me and are loved endlessly by God.” The curtain falls.

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Foiler Alert!  Who in this scene could be a foil to Martha, helping shed light on her attributes?  Need a clue?  Remember, we discovered last time that she’s a disciple.  So, let’s compare her to the seventy, right?  The context is that they are all followers of Jesus.  How do we measure them in that?  The seventy are overjoyed by their success.  And Martha is worried and distracted by her potential failure.  Isn’t it fascinating that Jesus has instructions for both of them?  The meaning of what Jesus says to Martha, “You are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing,” is admittedly a bit hazy.  But part of the glory of foils is the light they shine on both the characters and the author’s developing theme.  Jesus instructs the seventy not on their completed service but on how to feel about it-rejoice, not in your success but your membership in God’s kingdom.  When we allow the seventy to put Martha in context as a serving disciple, it supports the view that Jesus is not instructing Martha about her service but how she feels about it.  Luke uses these foils to show us that Jesus’ instruction stands both in the thrill of victory and in the agony of defeat. “Martha, Martha, worry not about your perceived failure, but remember and rejoice that you belong to me.”  

Act II: Go and Do Likewise

The curtain rises, and Jesus says to the disciples in verse 23, “Many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” Jesus is reveling in the upside-downness of God’s kingdom, that rather than the educated and powerful ones of the world, the 70 very ordinary followers of Jesus are the ones God has revealed Jesus’ divinity to.  It’s a bit of theology for you, but it’s also the setup for a joke.  Jesus finishes his sentence, and “just then,” a lawyer appears. Good one, Luke. He’s hinting this lawyer (or scribe, one of the elite religious Pharisees) is one of those powerful ones who can’t see a thing when it comes to Jesus. If you were looking for Luke’s bad guy, here he is.

The lawyer tests Jesus with a question.  “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (vs. 25).  Please note: as an expert in Jewish law, this guy already knows the answer to his question.  His motive is to make Jesus look bad.  Jesus has a way with the haters, though, and just turns the question back on him.  “You’re a lawyer.  You tell me.”  Luke’s coffee must be kicking in because he now does something pretty clever.  The lawyer has already broken the pattern by avoiding the active ministry part before encountering Jesus.  To reinforce the pattern, though, Luke puts the law in the lawyer’s mouth, the very law reflected by Luke’s stories.  The lawyer quotes what Jesus calls the two greatest commandments.  “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself.”  “Righto,” says Jesus.  “Do this, and you will live.”   But the lawyer just can’t leave it at that.  In addition to testing Jesus, we find out his second motivation.  In verse 29, he wants to justify himself.  He asks, “And who is my neighbor?” Taking his cue to end the interaction with instruction, Jesus rolls up his sleeves and says, “Have I got a story for you!”  It’s the well-known parable of the “good” Samaritan caring for his neighbor, but we’ll get to that story in a couple of episodes.  For now, pay attention to the punchline.  Jesus concludes the parable by telling the lawyer to “Go and do likewise,” to care for others as the Samaritan does.  

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Foiler alert! Does Martha have a foil in this scene? One well-known scholar points out that Jesus tells the lawyer to “Go and do” while telling “the woman to sit down, listen, and learn.” Huh. Perhaps this is a rather harsh but accurate translation of what Jesus is communicating to Martha.  Many agree with this reading.  While the commentator doesn’t claim the lawyer is a foil to Martha, he is putting Jesus’ words to her in context with Jesus’ words to the lawyer.  They both receive instruction from Jesus, and in this interpretation, they’re opposite instructions. Perhaps the lawyer doesn’t serve enough, and Martha doesn’t go to Jesus enough.  But I question this reading because Jesus also instructs the disciples in this chapter.  Who gives Martha better context: the 70 who serve, seek Jesus, and receive his teaching? Or the lawyer who tests Jesus, seeks to justify himself, and is told to do what Martha does?

Act III: You Belong To Me

The curtain goes up.  Martha welcomes Jesus and the gang to her home in verse 38.  She is busy serving them, one way or another, while Mary listens to Jesus.  Martha is following the chapter’s pattern with active ministry, which makes her feel “distracted.”  Like the 70 followers in Scene I, she then has an encounter with Jesus, her “Lord,” and shares her experience with him.   Jesus calls her by name, sees her distraction and worry, and instructs her, “Remember the one thing needed.  Your name is written in heaven and that can’t be taken from you, Mary, or any of my disciples.” 

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Friends, this story of Martha’s is a thorny one.  Multiple variations in the translation of what Jesus says to Martha affect its meaning.  Well-educated people have taken many different stances on this story. Who knows the “right” way to read it, if there is one?  Here’s what I’d like to offer.  Jesus rejoices in verse 23 at the upside-down nature of God’s kingdom.  It is not our intelligence, success, money, or anything else the world values that cause God to love us.  But we get it twisted.  We, like Martha, have good hopes, goals, and dreams.  Sometimes we fail, and sometimes we just worry that we will.  What I hear God telling me in those times is not how to do it better. God does not give 10-point plans for improvement, even when we want him to.  God says, “Oh, how I love you. You belong to me.” Jesus loves Martha and wants to speak peace to her heart.

Works Cited

Carter, Warren. “Getting Martha out of the Kitchen: Luke 10:38-42.” The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 58 no 2 Apr 1996, p 264-280.

Coogan, Michael D., et al., assoc. editors. The New Oxford Annotated Bible Third Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.