Mary and Martha of Bethany, with Lazarus their brother, are described in the Gospels according to Luke and John, as close and well-loved friends of Jesus. Luke records the well-known story of their hospitality, which has made Martha a symbol of the active life and Mary of the contemplative, though some commentators would take the words of Jesus to be a defense of that which Mary does best, and a commendation of Martha for what she does best—neither vocation giving grounds for despising the other.