A master teacher and dear friend of mine, Brian Hardy, taught a gospel doctrine class one day concerning the powerful testimony of Martha. It resonated with me in a very profound way.

Women are customarily required to play many roles. Martha was no exception. She is most often associated with the account in Luke 10: 20-22:

Martha, Martha, thou are careful and troubled about many things.

However, the Martha I wanted to paint is the one that bore one of the most remarkable recorded testimonies of Jesus Christ:

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.

The moment those words pierced my heart I knew I wanted to paint this scriptural account.

Scriptural reference: John 11:25-27