Tomb : A Novel of Martha (9781451689136)

by Landsem, Stephanie

  Martha surveyed the wedding guests. If Abba were here, what would he think of the men reclining at his table? Galileans, a tax collector, and one of the am-ha-arez. A Samaritan and a Roman soldier. Even she was still amazed. But how could anyone have known how the world would change in just a few short weeks?

  These men and women—these believers in the Christ—came often to Bethany since the events of Passover less than a month ago: Jesus’ betrayal by one of his own, the horror of his death. Martha and Isa, along with all of Bethany, had mourned on that Passover day—shocked and heartbroken at the news from Jerusalem, none of them knowing what to do when they heard that Jesus had been put to death. Until that morning of the third day . . .

  They should have known that death could not defeat their Messiah. They should have trusted him after what they’d seen him do here in Bethany. But now they knew, and so did the rest of Judea and all of Galilee, even Samaria.

  Jesus had power over death itself. And he had promised to return.

  And so they waited, gathering when they could to share bread and news. Some had seen Jesus. Others had not. Peter spoke of how Jesus had appeared to his disciples, alive, in the upper room, and Thomas told of how he’d touched him and all his doubt had fled.

  But the question they all asked was the same. What were they to do now?

  “You could stay here,” Lazarus said. “Most of Bethany believes in Jesus. They won’t betray you to the Sanhedrin.”

  Since Lazarus had been raised, Bethany had changed. Most of Bethany. Not Jael, not Abel or some of the other Pharisees. But they had an unlikely ally—Simon. He didn’t yet believe Jesus was the Messiah; he didn’t seem to know what he believed. But any Pharisee who reported Lazarus’s guests to the Jews in Jerusalem would face his displeasure.

  Stephen, the Samaritan who had been with them since the morning they gathered at the empty tomb, spoke up. “We will continue to testify to the truth in Jerusalem, even if the Jews persecute us.” His eyes burned with an intensity she’d seen before—in Lazarus and in her new husband. “Even if they kill us.”

  Lazarus caught Martha’s eye. Stephen was outspoken, perhaps too much for his own good. He had no fear, and he was making enemies among the most powerful Jews. Lazarus worried about him.

  “Tell me again what you heard, what you felt, when he called you from the tomb.” Stephen had heard the story many times, but he always had more questions.

  A man with a long nose and teak-colored skin—the Cyrenian, the men called him—grumbled. “And now more lies from the Sanhedrin. They say he wasn’t really dead. That it was some kind of a trick.”

  John and Peter glanced warily toward the end of the table where the Roman stiffened in anger. He was dressed in plain clothes like any Jew would wear, but his red hair and pale face covered in freckles made him stand out like a fox in a sheepfold.

  “He was dead, mark my words,” the Roman growled in a voice like thunder.

  A woman came in with a stack of charred bread. She was small, hardly bigger than a child. “I’m sorry.” She approached Martha, looking like she might cry. “I burned them again.”

  Martha glanced at the inedible bread. “Don’t worry, Nissa.” Who had let Nissa take over the bread baking? She tried to think of something nice to say, but what compliment could she give these hideous loaves? “The ones on the bottom look”—she searched for a word that wasn’t too harsh—“better.” The poor girl would never be able to cook. Perhaps Safta could teach her to weave instead.

  Nissa and her brother, Cedron, were yet another miracle. Safta had discovered them, her lost grandchildren, among the believers in the Christ. The daughter who had left so many years ago was still sadly missed, but Cedron and Nissa were taken into the fold at Bethany like found lambs. Martha welcomed them into her home, along with the Roman soldier who stuck to Nissa like black on a cooking pot.

  A zealot, a Roman soldier, and a girl who seemed to know nothing about taking care of a household—an unlikely trio with little in common but their belief in Jesus. What would Abba think? But their family had increased, and the house brimmed with debate, laughter, and—if she wasn’t wrong—love.

  The Roman smiled at Nissa. “I’ll eat them, little Nissa.” He snagged the blackest loaf. His jaws worked over the charred bread like it was made of wood, but his blue eyes watched Nissa and he winked at her.

  Nissa’s cheeks turned pink, and she ducked her head.

  Martha whispered close to Isa’s ear, “Why don’t they just announce their betrothal already?” They may be Jew and Roman, but they were both believers in the Christ and it was obvious they adored each other. Besides, no one else was going to marry Nissa with the way she cooked.

  Isa lifted her hand to his lips. “Give them time.”

  Zakai’s laughter rang out in the meadow where Elishiva and Safta sat with the children. Martha looked at the sun dipping behind the Mount of Olives. There wasn’t much more time before she and Isa would be alone. And then they’d have the rest of their lives together and hopefully more children. Her stomach fluttered, and she wished the dinner to be over.

  Cedron’s voice rose in argument. Again he was bickering with Stephen. “But when will he return?” He turned to the rest of the table. “What are we supposed to do until then?”

  Stephen answered smoothly, “He will tell us when we need to know.”

  The Roman grunted as if he’d heard the Samaritan’s cryptic comments a few times too many.

  As for her, she knew what to do. Choose the better part, he’d said. It was so easy, and yet it was so difficult. But she was getting better at it.

  Penina hurried over the meadow toward Martha. “Sister, a beggar. He looks like he’s traveled far.” Penina’s voice still filled Martha with joy. Her brother had married Penina immediately—with no betrothal period—after he was raised. No one in Bethany objected.

  Martha looked to Lazarus for confirmation, and he nodded his head. She signaled to Penina to clear a space at the table. “Invite him to eat with us.” They’d waited seven years; the wedding tent could wait until this man was fed.

  Penina came back in moments with a man who looked like he hadn’t had a decent meal in weeks. Or a bath. His clothes hung on him like rags, and his hair was as matted as a wild donkey’s.

  Lazarus rose from his place at the head of the table and sat the man down on his own dining couch. “Martha, water.”

  Martha poured water into a wide bowl. She knelt before the old man, scooping the cool water on his dirty feet, then dried them with a scrap of linen.

  “Come.” Lazarus signaled for more food. “Eat with us. Today we celebrate my sister’s marriage.”

  The man sat and seemed to gain strength as he looked around the table. Mary offered him a round of bread and poured a cup of wine at his right hand. As he took the bread in his hands, a soft breeze swept over the meadow, raising a shiver on Martha’s neck.

  The man held the bread before him to say the blessing.

  Beside her, Isa sat up straighter. Across the table, the Roman put down his wine. Cedron and Stephen stopped their argument. Nissa dropped her burnt bread, and Mary’s sharp breath was heard in the stillness. Each person—Jew, Gentile, and Samaritan—fell silent and stared at the man next to Lazarus.

  He held the bread before him, broke it, and said the blessing. And then, as if her eyes had been opened, the old man covered in dirt and sores disappeared, and Jesus sat before them.

  Jesus, the friend who called Lazarus from the tomb.

  The man who died on a cross.

  The Messiah, who had risen.

  Peter let out a shout. Stephen jumped to his feet. The Roman fell to his knees. Martha’s heart burned in her chest as if it had been lit afire.

  “Do not be troubled or afraid,” Jesus said. “This is what I command you, love one another, as I have loved you.” Then, as mist rises from the water and disappears into the air, he was gone from their sight. His last words left a lingering warmth within M
artha, like the rays of the setting sun. “And remember, my friends, I am with you always . . . even to the end of the world.”

  Martha held his words in her heart. Jesus, the Messiah, had died and risen from the dead. He was with them even now and always would be.

  And that changed everything.

  Author’s Note

  THE STORY OF Jesus raising Lazarus from the tomb is one of the best-known narratives in the New Testament and has been referred to in countless sermons, Bible studies, and devotionals. Because we know this story of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus so well, I encountered some unique challenges as I researched and wrote The Tomb: A Novel of Martha.

  The first two books of The Living Water Series, The Well and The Thief, focused on characters that met Jesus only briefly. In them, I explored the question: What was it like to meet Jesus? In The Tomb, I was able to explore a slightly different question: What was it like to realize that a close friend—a man who came to visit “with a hungry belly, clothes that needed mending, and news from his mother”—was the Messiah?

  John’s gospel says, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:5). From what we read, Martha and her family had a long, intimate friendship with Jesus. Since nothing written in scripture indicates that Jesus was not related to the family in Bethany, it isn’t too hard to imagine Jesus having cousins that lived close to Jerusalem, people who would have known him all his life, whom he’d visited often on his way to the feasts in Jerusalem. How would these intimate friends react as they came to realize Jesus’ true nature? And what would happen if a family was divided in their belief?

  The scene in which a woman anoints Jesus’ feet is another well-known New Testament story. It appears in different forms in all four of the gospels, but the details, timing, and even the participants differ. Some biblical scholars claim that there was more than one anointing involving two different women. I chose to show the anointing at the house of Simon the Leper, as stated in both Matthew and Mark, and to place the event within the same dinner conversation in Luke where Jesus gently rebukes Martha as “worried about many things.” Although the gospel accounts do not indicate that these events occurred together, I condensed them into one event to highlight the differences between Martha’s worry and anxiety and Mary’s acceptance of “the better part” of giving honor to Jesus above all else.

  There are plenty of mentions of demonic possession in the gospels. Three of them recount the cure of the Gerasene demoniac, each with different details. There is plenty of debate about where, when, and even who was freed from the legion of demons. In The Tomb, Isa’s story of demonic possession roughly follows the accounts in Mark and Luke, but is mainly one of fiction and imaginative guesses. Isa and Jesus’ interaction were what I wanted most for my readers to experience, so I chose to use the account in Mark to supply most of the details and returned to Isa’s fictional story as the men from the village entered the scene.

  In all three books of The Living Water Series, my goal is the same. I will never contradict the Bible, but neither do I want to rewrite it. I strive to reimagine encounters with Jesus in a way that will help my readers see, hear, touch, and even smell the time of Jesus. My fervent prayer is that readers of The Well, The Thief, and The Tomb will turn to the Bible with fresh understanding and experience their own encounter with Jesus, the Incarnation.

  Acknowledgments

  IT HAS BEEN a privilege and an honor to write The Living Water Series, and I could never have done so without the help of God-given family, friends, colleagues, and readers. The Holy Spirit has always been behind the scenes, directing the process and putting advocates in my path when I most needed them.

  The Tomb is dedicated to my sisters and brother. As I worked on the story of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus, I drew upon my own experiences of growing up in a large, loving, and faith-filled family. Heartfelt thanks to Jennifer, Rebecca, Rachel, and Steve from the baby of the family. Your examples and encouragement have shaped my life. Even though we live far apart, I know that I am only a phone call, text, or email away from unconditional love and the kind of friendship that only comes from siblings.

  As always, thank you to Bruce, my ever-supportive husband, and to Rachel, Andy, Joey, and Anna, who put up with a messy house, empty cupboards, and no answer to the question “what’s for dinner?” while I inhabited my fictional world.

  After months of research and writing, an author is too close to her work to look at it objectively, and that is when brilliant critiquers are essential. I’m lucky to have honest yet gentle critiquers, all excellent writers themselves, that I count on to improve my manuscript and make me look good to readers. Thank you, Regina Jennings, LeAnne Hardy, Celia Waldock, Laura Sobiech, and Cheryl Booms for your time and effort. Alex Luloff, Megan Rondeau, Anne Brown, and Wacek Kucy—you lend your own brand of help that lifts me up.

  Thank you to my agent, Chris Park, and editor, Jessica Wong, for your wisdom, faithful advice, and guidance. You are both blessings to my writing and my life. As always, thanks to Bruce Gore for the beautiful covers and the team at Howard Books for their professional expertise.

  And most important of all, thank you to my readers. You are the reason I get to do this amazing thing called writing books. Your emails, texts, Facebook posts, and tweets keep me inspired. That moment you took to tell me how my story touched your life and faith was exactly what I needed to keep going. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

  Reading Group Guide

  1 Martha and Mary are well known and beloved biblical women. What was your impression of Martha and Mary before reading The Tomb? Were either Martha or Mary different from what you expected?

  2 Martha has always been characterized as “the worker” and the “the worrier,” while her sister, Mary, has been called “the holy one” or “the mystic.” Do you relate more to Martha or to Mary? Why?

  3 Martha is highly respected in Bethany, even as she despises herself for a long-ago sin and her inability to stand up for her sister, who is ridiculed by the elite women of Bethany. How does her need to keep her perfect reputation hinder her belief in Jesus?

  4 Martha struggles with fulfilling the law as her father wished and with showing her love for both her family and Jesus. Are you ever torn between the precepts of your faith and the compassion and love that Jesus asks us to show to others? How do you reconcile these two important aspects of your faith life?

  5 Isa is haunted by the parting words Jesus speaks to him, but he is not sure how to act on them and instead starts to settle into Nikius’s household. Have you ever struggled similarly? How did you break out of what was easy and comfortable?

  6 Martha’s relationship with her sister suffers as she keeps herself busy with her many duties, responsibilities, and worries. In what ways do we sometimes allow everyday tasks and worry about the future to take up our lives and shut out what we are afraid to face? How does this ultimately hurt us and the people around us?

  7 The author chose to depict Lazarus as a young man, just reaching adulthood and stepping into his own, only to have his life cut short by a deadly illness. We see young people and even children die of cancer and other illnesses today. Have you ever questioned God’s goodness when you see the young die in a seemingly needless way?

  8 Did you think Lazarus was selfish or selfless as he worked to provide for and settle his family so that he could follow the Messiah, even as he knew it would be dangerous to be a follower of Jesus?

  9 Lazarus feels sure that the Messiah has come and that God is calling him to follow, yet Jesus has a different plan for him. Have you ever been sure of God’s plan, only to find you were wrong? How do you obey when it doesn’t make sense to you?

  10 Isa is discouraged and even afraid after his first attempts to share his story result in rejection, and he slowly begins to convince himself it is better to approach things his own way. When have you tried to follow your calling, only to be rebuffed by others? Did you soldier on, or did you find yourself justifying mov
ing ahead according to your own wisdom?

  11 Martha often thinks of things other people have said to her, from her mother to her father to her siblings and Simon. The voices of others eventually build into a cacophony in her mind—much as the legion’s voices built in Isa’s—and she must choose to either bow to them or truly hear the one voice that matters. Have you ever been buried under the weight of many voices? How did you find clarity and freedom?

  12 Mary is certain that Jesus is the Messiah and equally sure that he will come in time to save Lazarus. When he doesn’t, she falls into despair. Martha’s new faith in Jesus is strong enough to renew Mary’s hope. How did the two sisters’ different paths to faith work together to bring them both to Jesus?

  13 Even after she has resolved to trust Jesus, Martha finds herself questioning him at the tomb with “Lord, there will be a stench.” Can you relate to her falling back into her doubts so quickly after professing her belief in him? Share a time when you did the same and what you learned through it.

  14 Martha inadvertently buried herself in a tomb of her own making as she sought to protect herself and her family from the consequences of her sin, and in some ways Isa did the same. Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation, so entangled by your own efforts that you cannot get out? In what ways did Jesus free not only Lazarus but Martha and Isa from death? How has Jesus done the same for you?

  15 In the epilogue, the followers of Jesus wondered what they should do now that their Messiah had risen from the dead. Martha knows she must continue to “choose the better part.” How can we choose the better part daily as we wait for the return of Jesus?

  Keep reading for a peek at the start of The Living Water Series, The Thief!

  Chapter One

  MOUSE DARTED THROUGH the crowded streets of Jerusalem. His name suited him. Small and drab, he fled from one street corner to the next as though stalked by an unseen predator. Dirt and ash streaked his face, and the tatter of wool covering his head was no less filthy. Both his worn tunic and the cloak over it looked like they had been made for a man twice his size.