ATC Part 2

At the Cross

Part 2: Martha

NARRATOR:

The next witness is a woman who has given her name simply as Martha.

The Board has learned that she was well acquainted with Jesus, and that He often visited in her home.

Martha: What did the death of Jesus mean to you?

Martha

I had come in to clean up after the Passover meal. You know how men are--they get so involved in their ideas and conversation--then they just walk off and leave the work to the women.

I knew it would fall my lot to clean up after the meal. My sister Mary liked to just loll around listening to Jesus. Of course she wasn't at the meal with them, but I don't doubt that she followed them when they left--picking up crumbs of wisdom from the Master's feast, I suppose you could call it. I was left to deal with the other kinds of crumbs.

I didn't mind the work, you understand. I enjoy being busy. And I considered it an honor to help Jesus any way I could--He's going to be a great man some day you know--even greater than he is alr. . . . . . Oh, dear--He WAS going to be a great man some day--I just knew He would . . . I still can't believe he's . . .

Well, anyhow, like I was saying: I considered it an honor to help out. When a day's over, I like to be able to look back and see what I've accomplished. So, I was at the upper room, cleaning up after the men when one of the other women came and said that a mob had seized Jesus!

"There's nothing we can do about it but pray," I told her.

I wasn't really worried. Jesus had escaped from unruly crowds many times before. Still, we knelt down right there and prayed for Him Then I went back to cleaning up--being busy is always better than sitting around worrying, you know.

I was dead tired after that, so I just lay down right there in the upper room and slept. The next thing I knew, Joanna came running up the stairs, shouting for me to come. She said they were going to crucify Jesus--He was already on the way out of the city carrying His own cross!

By the time I got there, they were driving nails through His flesh!

I looked around for something to do. Some way I could help. Something that would . . . well, just anything I could do to help Jesus.

But it was too late to do anything.

When my sister saw me, she grabbed my arm and just held on. I knew then that I had to be strong. For her, and for the others. I stood right here all morning and afternoon . . . watching him die! Watching as He gave His mother to John to care for. Listening to the taunts and mocking.

Then he died. And all I could think of was, "I'll have to ask Mary what He said."

You know, I always intended to have time to sit and just listen to Jesus. . . .

But there was always so much to do.

That thought hit me like a stone, though. . . . I've been standing here ever since, just trying to remember what I knew of Jesus. To remember what He said.

The others have gone now. They're tending to the body.

But I'm just going to stay here. I've got to think about Jesus. I've got to know what it all meant.

Read Part 3 the testimony of the mother of Jesus

Complete directions for producing this drama as reader's theater complete with music is available. For information, e-mail spiritquest@sbcglobal.net

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