Tag: Biblical Characters

Biblical People: Martha

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 5, 2021

Martha is the sister of Mary and Lazarus, whom Jesus raises from the dead. Though Jesus loves all people, the Bible specifically mentions that he loves Martha and her two siblings.

In reading what Luke and John write about Martha, we can draw several conclusions: She owns her own home. She likes to entertain and has the gift of hospitality. Her love language is acts of service. And she may be older than her brother and sister.

Scripture shares two stories about Martha. In one, she offers the most profound, faith-filled testimony about Jesus: “I believe you’re the Messiah, the Son of God, who has come into the world.”

Her boldness and confidence are inspiring. She declares this shortly before Jesus faces his execution. Unfortunately, this is not what we best remember Martha for.

The other story happens earlier in her life. She invites Jesus and his friends over for a meal. Amid her busy preparations, she complains to Jesus that her sister, Mary, isn’t helping to get the food ready. Instead, Mary is hanging out with Jesus.

In Jesus’s surprising response, he affirms Mary as doing the best thing she can do and tells Martha she needs to calm down. This perplexes me because if Martha followed her sister’s example, no one would have anything to eat.

Another consideration, however, is Martha’s misguided assumption that Mary should go along with her plans to feed Jesus. It is Martha’s choice to invite Jesus over.

Mary doesn’t make that offer and has no obligation to help. Both sisters show their commitment to Jesus. They just do it differently.

How often do we expect others to automatically go along with our grand ideas or commitments? Do we get mad when they don’t help us as we think they should?

[Discover more about Martha in Luke 10:38–42, John 11:5–44, and John 12:2–7.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

A lifelong student of the Bible, Peter DeHaan, PhD, wrote the 1,000-page website ABibleADay.com to encourage people to explore the Bible. His main blog and many books urge Christians to push past the status quo and reconsider how they practice their faith in every area of their lives.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: Mary (2) Magdalene

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 5, 2021

Recent public opinion about Mary Magdalene has not been kind, with people making unfounded assumptions about her. Some think she’s a prostitute or accuses her of an immoral lifestyle, but we don’t find that in the Bible.

What Scripture does say is that Jesus cast seven demons out of her. Regardless of how we understand this, we know that Jesus makes her life much better.

In response, Mary Magdalene shows her gratitude by following Jesus and helping to support him financially. She’s also there, along with a few other women, when Jesus dies and later when he’s buried.

The next day, Mary Magdalene leads a group to his tomb to properly prepare his body, according to the customs of the day.

Of course, they can’t do this because Jesus isn’t there. Angels at the grave tell her Jesus has risen from the dead, that he is alive. Later Jesus appears to her and tells her to let the disciples know.

This is significant, as two thousand years ago a woman’s testimony wasn’t legally accepted, but to underscore God’s affirmation of women, he has them deliver the breaking news of the most significant event in human history. This makes a female the first apostle after Jesus’s death.

Like Mary Magdalene, people sometimes think or say things about us that aren’t true. While this can hurt deeply, it’s God’s opinion that counts.

What people say about us shouldn’t matter, but does it? Is our conscience clear before God?

[Discover more about Mary Magdalene in Matthew 27:55–28:10, Luke 8:1–3, Luke 24:1–10, John 19:25, and John 20:1–18.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Adulterous Woman

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 4, 2021

Jesus’s detractors drag a woman caught in the act of adultery before him. The religious leaders who present her care nothing about her, what she did, or justice. If they have true concern for the law they claim to uphold, they would have likewise offered up her adulterous partner along with her.

Instead, they are exploiting her to try to trap Jesus into saying something they can use against him. Being knowledgeable about Scripture, as well as their made-up rules about religion, they are sure they can twist whatever Jesus says to ruin him.

The woman is merely their pawn.

Jesus refuses to take sides, something her accusers had not considered. Had he either upheld the law or offered her mercy, they could have used it against him. Instead, he thwarts their devious scheme. Without pronouncing judgment, he allows anyone who is perfect to begin the prescribed punishment of execution by stoning. The person who is without sin may throw the first rock. No one qualifies, and they slink away.

Once they all leave, Jesus offers the woman mercy and lets her go. He encourages her to change her behavior.

Too often, well-meaning religious leaders are quick to condemn others when they should extend love and encouragement.

Is it our nature to judge others or offer them love and mercy? What would Jesus do?

[Discover more about this woman in John 8:1–11.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Canaanite Woman

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 4, 2021

Jesus hangs out in Tyre, trying to rest, but folks track him down. One of the people who comes to him for help is a foreign woman. While Matthew states she is from Canaan, Mark says she is a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. Some people call her a Syrophoenician.

Regardless of where she’s from, the key point is that she isn’t Jewish.

She has a little girl with a big issue. The girl’s possessed by an impure spirit. The mom begs Jesus to heal her daughter by driving out the demon within her.

Jesus dismisses the woman. He says what the people expect, insinuating he came only to help Jewish people, not foreigners. In doing so, he implies she’s a dog, trying to eat the children’s food. What he’s really doing is creating a teachable moment.

She does not accept his rebuff.

His apparent ethnic judgment doesn’t offend her. She is quick to counter, noting that even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from the children’s table.

Jesus affirms her wise reply. He pronounces the little girl healed. Now the people should realize that Jesus is here for both Jews and Gentiles. But they don’t.

When Mom gets home, her daughter is resting in bed. The demon is gone.

When we encounter a rebuff, do we accept it and give up or try even harder to achieve our goal? When God doesn’t seem to listen to our pleas for help, do we stop asking or persist?

[Discover more about this woman in Matthew 15:21–28 and Mark 7:24–30.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Poor Widow and Her Offering

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 4, 2021

Jesus and his disciples stand near the temple as people come to give their money. They’re people watching. One poor woman drops two small copper coins into the temple treasury. Her offering is so small. Surely it will do no good, unlike the considerable gifts of all the others.

Jesus sees things differently.

He pronounces her gift, though numerically small, as greater than everyone else’s. “She put in more than all of them.” Then Jesus explains. “They gave out of their abundance. She gave out of her poverty.” He pauses and looks at his followers. “It was all she had to live on.”

Imagine the penniless widow as she shuffles home. She just gave the last of her money to the church. What will she eat? How will she live? Perhaps giving her last few cents was an impulse that she now regrets. Or maybe it was an intentional sacrifice that’s still giving her joy. Regardless, what will tomorrow bring?

We don’t know if God provides for her after she gives everything to him, but what we do know is that God doesn’t consider the size of the gift as much as the heart of the giver.

How does God look upon our gifts? Do we give from our abundance or our poverty?

[Discover more about the poor widow in Mark 12:41–44 and Luke 21:1–4.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Persistent Widow

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 4, 2021

Later Jesus uses another story to instruct the people about God and prayer.

This time he tells them of a widow who has received unfair treatment. She goes to the judge seeking justice. But the unscrupulous judge ignores her appeals for help. Despite him dismissing her, she keeps coming before him, over and over. She’s so intense that he begins to fear for his safety.

Eventually, she wears him down.

Even though he cares nothing about her plight or doing what’s right, he decides to help her just so she’ll stop bugging him. In the end, he makes sure she receives the ruling she sought all along.

This, Jesus says, is an illustration to keep praying for what we need. If an unjust judge will answer a woman’s pleas, how much more will a just God answer ours?

Do we ask God once and stop, or are we persistent when we pray?

[Discover more about the persistent widow in Luke 18:1–8.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Woman Who Lost Her Coin

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 4, 2021

Jesus shares a story to instruct the people.

There’s a woman who has ten pieces of silver. She misplaces one of them. You’d think she’d be more careful, but she wasn’t. Due to her negligence, she loses 10 percent of her funds. This isn’t a paper loss when the stock market drops. This is real money. One-tenth of her wealth is gone.

Panicked, she lights a lamp and carefully searches the floor. To her relief, she finds the lost coin. She lets everyone know about her good fortune, and they share in her delight. She even throws a party.

Then Jesus makes his point. There’s an even greater celebration when someone turns their life around to follow God.

How excited do we get when someone decides to follow Jesus?

[Discover more about the woman who lost her coin in Luke 15:8–10.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Crippled Woman

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 4, 2021

A woman is disabled, so much so that she is perpetually bent over and can’t begin to stand straight. She has endured this for eighteen years.

When Jesus sees her, he reaches out and touches her crippled form. Immediately the bones in her body realign. She stands up straight, thanking God.

A religious leader who sees this happen should have joined in on the celebration. Instead he criticizes Jesus because this healing happened on their day of rest, the Sabbath. The misguided leader thinks his traditions and religious rules are more important than helping people in need.

Jesus thinks otherwise and sets him straight.

This woman becomes the center of controversy, not for what she does but because a religious leader tries to use her to advance his own agenda.

Have we ever judged a person or their situation when we should have offered love instead?

[Discover more about the disabled woman in Luke 13:10–17.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: A Woman in The Crowd

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 1, 2021

As Jesus speaks, a woman in the throng is so mesmerized by his words that she yells the first thing that comes to mind. It comes out something like, “Your mom rocks!” I think she’s trying to affirm him and honor the mother who raised him.

Jesus responds indirectly. He says that even better are people who hear what God says and obey him. This puts things in perspective.

The woman, enthralled by Jesus, attempts to communicate her enthusiasm. But she misses the main point: obeying God is what matters most.

In our zeal for Jesus, how often have we said or done something that was off base from what he wants from us?

[Discover more about the woman in the crowd in Luke 11:27–28.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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Biblical People

Biblical People: The Queen of the South

Post author By Peter DeHaan
Post date September 1, 2021

Jesus criticizes the people for not realizing who he is. He calls them an evil generation. He alludes to the queen of the south (the queen of Sheba), who, after hearing about King Solomon’s reputation, comes to check things out for herself, traveling a great distance and giving him many gifts. She is not disappointed with what she sees and hears.

Now Jesus—who is much greater than King Solomon—stands before them, but they fail to seek him with the same earnestness that the queen of the south sought Solomon.

They don’t understand. Jesus, I think, is miffed.

The queen of the south made an extraordinary effort to discover the truth about King Solomon. Are we willing to put forth the same effort to seek Jesus?

[Discover more about the queen of the south in Luke 11:29–31. See “The Queen of Sheba” for the backstory in the Old Testament section.]

Learn about other biblical women in Women of the Bible, available in audiobook, e-book, paperback, and hardcover.

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