Lesson video

Hello, my name is Miss Ramalli, and welcome to today's RE lesson, which is part of our unit, Jesus: how did he speak truth to power? And in today's lesson, we're going to be exploring the biblical story of Martha and Mary.

Okay, let's start the lesson.

Today's lesson outcome is, I can explain key teachings from the story of Martha and Mary for Christians today.

To help guide us through our learning, there are four keywords.

Our keywords for today's lesson are disciple, equality, New Testament, and patriarchal.

Disciple is a follower of Jesus.

Equality is when all people are treated the same.

New Testament is the second part of the Bible, which records the life and teachings of Jesus.

And patriarchal is a society where men have more power than women.

Today's lesson on Martha and Mary takes two parts.

So we start today's lesson by exploring, what is the story of Martha and Mary? Moving on to the second part of the lesson to consider, what are the key teachings of the story? Aisha explains what we mean by theology in religious education.

Aisha says, "Theologians are interested in stories, texts, and traditions.

We can better understand people's worldviews by examining what the deeper meaning of these stories, texts, and traditions are.

We can also look at the difference they make to people today." In this lesson, we will be using the tools of theology to better understand different Christian worldviews about the biblical story of Martha and Mary.

Izzy is investigating the story of Martha and Mary.

The story can be found in the New Testament, which is part of the Christian Bible.

The story of Martha and Mary can be found in the gospel of Luke.

True or false? The story of Martha and Mary is found in the Old Testament.

You've got five seconds to choose your answer.

Well done if you said this statement is false.

The story of Martha and Mary is found in the gospel of Luke, which is in the New Testament.

To find out more, she asks Fergus, who has a Christian worldview and attends an Anglican church.

Izzy asks, "Who are Martha and Mary, Fergus?" Fergus replies, "Martha and Mary are sisters in the Bible who were close friends of Jesus.

They lived in the village of Bethany, along with their brother Lazarus.

I read this story in the gospel of Luke." It was a warm afternoon in a quiet village surrounded by olive trees and dusty roads.

Birds chirped in the distance and the sun cast golden light across the hills.

In one of the little houses near the edge of town lived two sisters, Martha and Mary.

Martha had heard that Jesus was coming through the village with his disciples.

Excited and a bit nervous, she rushed outside as soon as she saw them approaching.

"Jesus," she called out with a big smile, "come and rest at our home.

You and your friends must be tired from travelling." Jesus returned her smile and accepted the invitation.

His disciples followed him into the house, glad for the chance to sit and relax.

As Jesus sat down in the cool shade of the house, Mary quietly slipped into the room and sat right at his feet.

She was curious.

She had heard stories of Jesus healing the sick, feeding thousands, and teaching about God's love.

Now, he was in her house.

She didn't want to miss a single word.

Jesus began to speak.

His words were kind and full of wisdom.

He talked about how much God loved everyone, even those who felt forgotten.

He told stories about lost sheep, mustard seeds, and how faith could move mountains.

Mary's eyes widened and she leaned in, completely focused.

Meanwhile, Martha was in the kitchen chopping vegetables, stirring stew, setting the table, and checking to make sure everything was perfect.

Every few minutes, she peeked into the room where Jesus was speaking.

Each time, she saw Mary just sitting there, not lifting a finger to help her.

Martha huffed and puffed as she swept the floor again, thinking, "Why does she get to just sit there while I do everything?" She wiped her hands on her apron and went back to slicing bread.

But she couldn't stop thinking about it.

The more she thought, the more frustrated she became.

Finally, Martha had enough.

She stomped into the room and stood in front of Jesus.

Mary looked up, surprised.

"Jesus," Martha said, clearly upset, "don't you care that my sister has left me to do all of the work by myself? Tell her to come and help me." The room grew quiet.

Some of the disciples glanced at each other.

Mary lowered her eyes, unsure of what Jesus would say.

Jesus didn't get angry.

Instead, he looked at Martha with kindness and understanding.

"Martha, Martha," he said gently, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing really matters right now." Martha blinked, confused.

"Mary has chosen to sit and listen, to be with me and learn about God's love.

That is the better choice, and it's something that can never be taken away from her." Let's pause and complete a check for understanding.

Why was Martha frustrated at Mary? A, for not helping her, B, for cleaning people's shoes, or C, for cooking a meal without her? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Well done if you selected A, Martha was frustrated at Mary for not helping her.

Izzy asks, "Why did Jesus tell the story of Martha and Mary, Fergus?" Fergus responds, "Jesus taught an important message by telling this story.

Although Martha was doing something kind and generous by serving him and his disciples, she was so distracted that she missed the chance to just be with Jesus.

Mary made the better choice because she chose to sit and listen to Jesus." Fergus interprets the meaning of the story.

"Jesus was teaching that sometimes we get caught up in doing, but what matters most is being close to Jesus.

This means listening and learning from his teachings.

It's a reminder to me that I shouldn't be so busy doing things for God that I forget to spend time with him." True or false? For a Christian, spending time with God is less important than doing things for God.

Pause the video and press play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Well done if you said that statement is false.

In the story of Martha and Mary, Jesus taught that listening and learning from God's teachings is more important than doing things for others.

So now we're going to pause and complete our first practise task.

Izzy says, "To investigate this story using the tools of theology, I need to know the story well and where it can be found." So you're gonna complete three tasks to complete this practise task.

First of all, you're going to summarise the story using a minimum of four sentences and a maximum of six sentences.

You're then going to explain where the story is found in the Bible, and finishing by explaining the important message that Jesus teaches in the story.

Good luck completing the practise task.

Pause the video here, and press play when you are ready to check your answers.

Welcome back, everybody.

So the first thing you needed to do was summarise the story using a minimum of four sentences and a maximum of six sentences.

So you might have said the following points.

Jesus and his disciples visited a village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home.

While Martha busied herself with preparations, her sister Mary sat at Jesus's feet, listening to his teachings.

Martha became frustrated with Mary for not helping her.

Martha shared her frustrations with Jesus, and Jesus gently told Martha that Mary had chosen what truly mattered.

She had sat and listened to him.

You then needed to explain where the story is found in the Bible.

You might have said, "The story is found in the gospel of Luke." And then you needed to explain the important message that Jesus teaches in the story.

You might have said, "Jesus was teaching that Christians sometimes get caught up in doing, but what matters most is being close to Jesus.

This means listening and learning from his teachings." It's a reminder to Christians that they shouldn't be so busy doing things for God that they forget to spend time with him.

Well done on completing the first practise task.

So that moves us on to the second part of today's lesson on Martha and Mary, where we're going to explore what are the key teachings of this story.

Izzy is investigating the story of Martha and Mary.

She wants to find out, how would people at the time of Jesus have reacted and how did Jesus speak truth to those in power? To find out more, she will interview two people with a Christian worldview, Asher, who regularly attends a free church, and Niamh, who occasionally attends a Roman Catholic church.

Izzy asks, "How would people at the time of Jesus have reacted to the story of Martha and Mary?" Asher replies, "The society in which Jesus lived was patriarchal.

This meant that women had very little power.

Some people at the time would've been confused or surprised that Jesus didn't support Martha, since serving guests was such a big role for women at the time." "Would everyone have reacted with confusion or surprise, Asher?" Asher replies, "No, some people would've felt troubled.

Jesus was teaching a key new message.

He was saying that women are also invited to be taught about God, not just serve the needs of others.

For some people 2,000 years ago, this would've been very radical." Okay, let's pause and check you've understood what we've just heard.

Select the meaning of patriarchal.

A, a society where men and women are equal, B, a society where women have more power than men, or C, a society where men have more power than women? Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done if you selected C as the correct answer.

The meaning of patriarchal is a society where men have more power than women.

Izzy asks, "So did Jesus treat women as equal to men, Niamh?" Niamh replies, "Yes, definitely! Women are mentioned in the gospels many times as part of Jesus' followers,.

Women were present at Jesus' death and brought the news of his resurrection to his male followers." Izzy asks, "Why does it matter that women were named at Jesus' death and resurrection?" Niamh tells us, "In this patriarchal society, women were not seen as being as important or as trustworthy as men.

Jesus chose Mary Magdalene, one of his followers, and her friends to be the first witnesses to his resurrection.

This gave a powerful message about equality.

It showed that Jesus values and trusts everyone, no matter if they are male or female." True or false? The first people to witness Jesus after his resurrection were women.

Pause the video and press play when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done if you said this statement is true.

Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus's followers, and her friends were the first to witness his resurrection.

Izzy has a question for Asher.

"How would people in power have reacted to the story of Martha and Mary?" Asher replies, "In this story, we can see how Jesus challenged those in power.

Jesus would've offended those in power because he was breaking the rules.

Letting a woman take the role of a disciple would've been challenging, as at that time women were not educated or seen as equal to men." True or false? Treating a woman as a disciple was normal 2,000 years ago.

You've got five seconds to choose the answer that you think is correct.

Well done if you selected false.

Jesus treating women as people who could be taught and were equal to men was very radical 2,000 years ago.

Okay, time to complete our second and final practise task.

Izzy is thinking about what she's learned about Jesus from the story of Martha and Mary.

Izzy says, "The way Jesus acted and taught challenged the society of his time, especially his views on women." Can you find Izzy some evidence to prove her statement? You might want to use the words patriarchal, disciples, and equality.

Good luck completing the practise task.

Pause the video here and press play when you're ready to check your answers.

Fantastic work, everyone.

Well done.

So let's check your answers for the second practise task.

Here is an example of what you may have answered.

"Jesus lived in a patriarchal society, and this means that men had most of the power.

But he treated women with equality.

Jesus teaches that women are invited to be taught about God.

Also, by having women disciples, he teaches the message of equality.

Jesus valued and trusted everybody, no matter if they were male or female." Fantastic on all of your hard work completing today's RE lesson.

So that brings us to the end of the lesson on Martha and Mary.

And here is a summary of our key learning points.

The story of Martha and Mary can be found in the New Testament, in the gospel of Luke.

Jesus lived in a patriarchal society where men had more power than women.

In the story of Martha and Mary, Jesus teaches that listening and learning from others is more important than doing things for others.

Jesus had women disciples, which was an important message in showing equality for women.

And finally, Jesus taught that women had as much right as men to be taught about God.

Well done on completing today's RE lesson, and thank you for joining me.

Goodbye.