Martha is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness to Jesus resurrecting her brother, Lazarus.
St. Martha of Bethany on the left, Jesus at the house of Mary and Martha by Harold Copping
Christ in the house of Martha and Mary, by Henryk Siemiradzki, 1886
Diocesan Shrine of St. Martha and Parish of St. Roch in Pateros, Metro Manila, Philippines. The only shrine in southeast Asia dedicated to St. Martha.
Relic from the bones of Saint Martha, venerated in her Diocesan Shrine in Pateros
The Gospel of Luke tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-volume work which scholars call Luke–Acts, accounting for 27.5% of the New Testament. The combined work divides the history of first-century Christianity into three stages, with the gospel making up the first two of these – the life of Jesus the Messiah from his birth to the beginning of his mission in the meeting with John the Baptist, followed by his ministry with events such as the Sermon on the Plain and its Beatitudes, and his Passion, death, and resurrection.
Luke 13:29–35; 14:1–10 on Papyrus 45 (folio 15; c. 250 AD)
Papyrus 45, a 3rd-century AD Greek papyrus of the Gospel of Luke
Subscriptio to the Gospel of Luke in Codex Macedoniensis 034 (Gregory-Aland), 9th century
Parable of the Sower (Biserica Ortodoxă din Deal, Cluj-Napoca), Romania)
