38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” ~ Luke 10:38-42
In today's text, we enter the last six months of the earthly life of the Lord Jesus. He has been on the road for a number of months, since He ended His ministry in Galilee. He's been traveling in Judea and is now going from town to town and village to village proclaiming His gospel.
In v.38 we read, "As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him." In our text, the Lord Jesus enters the home of Martha and Mary in Bethany. Martha and Mary were excited to have the Lord Jesus in their home. They obviously believed in Him. And, in v.39, Mary becomes the central figure in the story. Nothing about Mary's physical features, her temperament or her personality is mentioned. All we know about her is that when the Lord Jesus came to her house, she listened to His words intently, seated at His feet.
God created us with a spiritual thirst that can only be satisfied by Him and His definition of the way life should be. And, if we are to learn from Him, we must take on the posture of listening. Eight times in the Gospels and eight times in the Book of Revelation we are reminded that it’s not enough just to have ears, it’s necessary to use them. Listening is an art which is engaging God in a personal way. It is the tilting of the ear and the heart. It is the consummation of the soul that is worn out.
In biblical, days, disciples would sit at the feet of their rabbis. In Acts 22:3, Paul tells us he was educated "at the feet" of the rabbi. There is nothing unusual about this position. What's unusual is that the one seated at the feet of the rabbi is a woman. Rabbis had male disciples, and only men sat at their feet.
We don't know what the Lord Jesus was teaching that day. Martha, like everyone else except the Lord Jesus, thinks that a woman's place is in the kitchen and not at the feet of the rabbi. The Lord Jesus tells Martha that Mary has chosen, literally, "the good part," the part of a disciple, and that He will not let anyone take that part away from her. On the other hand, Martha was in the presence of the Prince of Peace, yet she was the picture of stress and anxiety.
At the beginning of v.40 we read, "But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made." The verb, “distracted” means to be pulled away or to be dragged away. Martha was more concerned about mundane tasks than she was about listening to the word of the Lord. She was dragged away by her house work. She had her priorities completely out of place. Furthermore, it wasn't bad enough that Martha's priorities were messed up, but once our priorities get messed up our attitude does too. So she starts losing the joy of this service. She becomes agitated and frustrated. Then she gets mad.
According to v.40, Martha came to the Lord Jesus and asked, "Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me?"
In v.41-42 we read, "Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." To say her name twice was to invite her closer. Tucked away in this exchange is the point of this passage. Getting so close that we realize that what He is saying is so good that it must overtake me. These words to Martha are corrective, yet sympathetic. It was good to do what Martha did, but not then, not when it was time to listen to God. And He says this amazing statement, "few things are needed—or indeed only one."
The Lord Jesus then said, "Mary has chosen what is better." The Lord Jesus was saying to Martha, "Work without worship produces worry." Another way to put it is, "action without adoration produces aggravation." In Isaiah 40 we read, "Those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not be weary, they shall walk and they shall not faint."
In Deuteronomy 8:3 we read, "Man shall not live on bread alone but every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Why is it so important to listen. The word of God must be antecedent to every thing else in our lives. And when the opportunity to hear Him is there, we must grasp it. Daily, we must make it a habit to listen intently to Him. Mary has chosen the best. And He said, "I will not take it away from her." That is to say, "I'm not sending her to the kitchen."
