Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honour. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.
Matthew and Mark also give an account of this dinner and the anointing of Jesus by Mary (Matt 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9).
Matthew 26:6-13 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.” Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me. When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial. I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
Mark 14:3-9 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head. Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume? It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.” And they rebuked her harshly. “Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”
There is a similar account given in Luke (Luke 7:36-50) but it happened much earlier, in Galilee, at a different home, and involved a different woman. The Lukan account has a completely different emphasis than those of the other 3 gospels.
Luke 7:36-50 Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.” Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain money-lender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he cancelled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt cancelled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. Then he turned towards the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven— for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Why was a dinner given in Jesus’s honor at the house of Simon the Leper? Probably because of the miracle He had made in raising Lazarus, who seems to also be an honored guest, and perhaps because the host had been healed of Leprosy by Jesus. Maybe the host could have been more properly named “Simon the Former Leper”?
Martha served as was her custom (Luke 10:40). The guests were Jesus, the twelve disciples, Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Morgan makes an interesting observation that in the previously mentioned Lukan passage, she served a meal to four people and was distracted, but here she is probably serving at least 17 and yet “there is not a word here about being distracted. Martha had learned something on that sad, dark day. . . Her service had not ceased, but some secret had been learned, which kept her from distraction.” (qt’d in Morris)
Luke 10:40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
Martha loved Jesus and was serving Him in the way best suited to her. Barclay notes that “It is just as possible to serve Jesus in the kitchen as on the public platform. . .” and Martha was doing exactly that. She was expressing her love for Jesus in the best way she knew, by using the gifts God had given her.
What about you? How has God gifted you? Are you using those gifts for Him?