Luke 10: 38 - 42 (NIV)
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 begins the story of two sisters, Mary and Martha. Each has a drastically different personality and response to the situations in which they find themselves. Martha is busily trying to prepare dinner for thirteen men (perhaps more, if she was preparing dinner for herself and her sister, as well as their brother Lazarus) while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, listening to what he has to say.
I’d like to point out that I have heard many sermons and read many Bible studies on these two sisters, but it almost always seems the case that we are told to be like Mary. Jesus himself told Martha, “Mary has chosen what is better.” Isn’t that enough to show us to be like Mary?
Even more so, if you read John 12:1-8, we see the same two sisters and Jesus and two very different responses to him. This is the infamous scene about the woman who pours expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet and wipes his feet with her hair. (Not to be confused with the sinful woman, commonly thought a prostitute, who does something similar in Luke 7.) Jesus replies in verses 7-8 “Leave her alone… It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” Mary had, once again, made the better choice.
Where, might you ask, was Martha during this exchange? John 12:2 says, “Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served…”
Martha obviously was a go-getter, a task-oriented person, one who was not afraid of a large task (cooking and serving more than thirteen men). But why was Martha so bad?
Was Martha really ‘bad’?
In Mark 9:35, Jesus tells his disciples, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” If you go by this definition, one could almost argue that Martha was far better than Mary… in both instances Martha was serving everyone, including Jesus.
Exploring this concept further, one might also conclude that God made Mary and Martha, each with their individual personalities and talents. God made Mary a people-person and Martha a task-oriented person. I don’t think that God makes people who they are and then punishes them by telling them they aren’t good enough for him… That is mostly to answer a few sermons I’ve heard stating that true followers of Christ have people-oriented personalities and people with task-oriented personalities need to change themselves in order to please God. (I am not stating that people who follow Christ should not love people… loving people and having a people-oriented personality are two different things.)
Even Jesus, in Luke 4:42-43, turned away people-interaction for the task he had at hand. He went away to a deserted place to spend time with God and crowds of people came looking for him. To sit at his feet like Mary, and also to be healed and blessed. They wanted him to stay forever, and I am sure Jesus in his physical form would have loved to sit and minister to everyone eternally. However, he told them that he had a purpose—he had to walk the path set before him so he could ultimately redeem everyone everywhere from their sins and be able to minister to everyone eternally. He had a task to complete, and that was more important than physically ministering eternally to those gathered.
So why then was Martha so bad?
It is very interesting if you read earlier in John, prior to the dinner at which Mary anointed Jesus’ feet and Martha served. John 11:5 says (Ace emphasis added):
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
It is interesting that it says ‘Martha and her sister’ and not ‘Mary and her sister’. Furthermore, if you read on through John 11:27, you see further interaction with Jesus and Martha. I particularly love verse 20, which says:
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.
Not only did Jesus love Martha, but Martha also shows a love for Jesus in her actions. To put it in context, Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus had just passed away. Mary was probably home mourning, but Martha, in her time of need, ran to Jesus.
No, I don’t think that Mary is any more “good” than Martha, and I certainly don’t think that is the case in Jesus’ eyes. After all, he died for both all the same. But there are some interesting case studies in the Bible of certain people that won God’s friendship and confidence more than others. Noah walked with God, John was the disciple Jesus loved. I think God has the same father’s love for all of us, and when Jesus died he had all of us on his mind, even though that is a hard concept to grasp. Our minds are so finite, and God’s love so vast.
I think that this might be the case with Martha, though. That she was one of those people that won Jesus’ friendship in a way like the apostle John. Why else would he have loved “Martha and her sister and Lazarus”?
Of all the people to invite Jesus in, Martha was the one. She invited he and all of his disciples and decided to exert herself by serving them all. Jesus said in Luke 9:58, “…the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” I’ve never been homeless, but there have been times where I have not thought there was a safe place for me to sleep, and it was horrible. Jesus had no home. I am not sure where he and his disciples slept most of the time. It must have been a relief to Jesus’ physical body to be invited into such a home as Martha kept, and the disciples were probably anticipating a home-cooked meal. Martha’s heart was certainly in the right place when she opened her home to them.
Or was it?
Jesus said, “Mary has chosen what is better.” Was he ungrateful for her hospitality? I doubt it. Jesus probably saw her servant’s heart and loved her for it. But do you think he truly came to her house just for a place to rest and eat? I doubt that too.
It seems to be a common theme that Jesus came to eat or spend time with people to bless them, the sinners and tax collectors. Zacchaeus is a good example. No, I doubt that Jesus the Son of God, who could turn stones into bread if he wanted or feed five thousand with a few fish and some loaves of bread, would have thought of just staying at Martha’s for a little while to eat her good cooking. Perhaps that’s what his disciples thought about. But the main point is that Jesus was fully capable of providing for their physical needs as well as their spiritual needs.
Martha thought that if she didn’t cook, everyone would be hungry. Well, the reality is that if she would have spent time with Jesus, as he really desired of her, he could have fed them all with a miracle. And we could have been reading about the miraculous supper or something like it, instead of Mary choosing better while Martha was stressed out in the kitchen and then made a scene about Mary not helping her. Sure, Mary ought to have been helping. But Jesus did not come to cause strife to the family household, to stress Martha or Mary out, or to sample Martha's cooking. He just wanted to touch their hearts. That’s why it was the better choice.
What about you? Are you running around, stressing yourself out over something when you ought to be letting Jesus minister to you? Are you far too busy with things that are unimportant? Are you “worried and upset about many things”? I must confess I am a very task-oriented person and since I like to plan ahead I also worry a lot, and this message has really spoken to my heart.
Jesus says in Matthew 11: 28 -30:
28 Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
If you find you are a Martha, rest easy—Jesus loves you just as you are. Jesus doesn’t want you to be Mary, he simply wishes you’d make the choice she did. He longs for you to spend time with him, to let him minister to you.
Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. He also loves you.
