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Luke 10:38-42
INTRODUCTION: We are following along with Jesus and his disciples as they travel the road to Jerusalem together. For Jesus, Jerusalem meant suffering and death. For us, Jerusalem is a symbol of discipleship as we follow Jesus all the way to the cross.
Last week we witnessed some of the roadblocks that can stand in the way of people following Christ. This week we will take a rest stop along with Jesus and his disciples at the home of Martha and Mary.
Luke 10:38-42 - 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 only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (NIV)
Have you ever gone on a long road trip? Then you know the importance of rest stops! I have fond memories of going on family vacations as a kid and stopping for ice creams along the way. My Dad loved ice cream, so it was pretty easy to convince him to stop!
It is actually dangerous to travel long distances without taking rest stops. Travel experts recommend ten minutes rest for every two hours traveling. I once drove from Los Angeles to Boston solo in August of 1988. I drove twenty-four hours straight from LA to Denver, slept six hours there, then drove forty-eight hours straight from Denver to Boston. I was in my twenties so I thought I could do anything, but what I did was dangerous, irresponsible, and quite frankly, stupid. I should have just pulled over somewhere and slept. I still remember the last leg of the journey from Niagara to Boston. I had the windows wide open and the radio blasting and was slapping my face every two or three minutes just to keep myself awake.
And for me this becomes a vivid picture of what the Christian life is like without rest stops. God has built rest stops into the road of discipleship, and it is essential that we make them an important part of our everyday life. Regular times of prayer and reflection, meditative reading of the Scriptures and refreshment in the Lord’s presence — these are all vital to our Christian walk. Without them, what do we do? We turn up the volume; we distract ourselves; we slap ourselves in the face to keep going. The Christian walk was never meant to be like that. We need rest stops on the road of discipleship.
In today’s passage we find Jesus and his disciples taking a rest stop on the road to Jerusalem. They stop at the home of Mary and Martha for food and rest. But in these verses we also find Mary taking a rest stop. And Mary becomes an example to us of our need for rest stops on the road of discipleship.
I. We must take time to listen to Christ. (38-39)
So, how do we take these necessary rest stops along the way? First of all, we must take time to listen to Christ. Look at verse 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.” (Luke 10:38)
Jesus and his disciples were on their way to Jerusalem when they came to the village of Bethany. Now Bethany is only about two miles south-east of Jerusalem, but Jesus will not go directly into the city from here. Rather he and his disciples will skirt around Jerusalem, teaching and preaching in the surrounding cities and villages.
When they entered Bethany, a woman named Martha opened her home to him. This is in contrast to the Samaritan village we talked about last week where no one extended hospitality to Jesus and his disciples. Martha receives Christ and welcomes him into her home.
You might wonder, did Jesus already know Martha and Mary or was this the first time they met? It is possible that this was their first time meeting. If so, it was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. Apparently Jesus stayed here a number of times after this and became good friends with Martha and Mary. He also got to know their brother Lazarus well. Later on when Lazarus was sick and dying, Martha and Mary would send Jesus the simple message, “Lord, the one you love is sick.” It sounds like they must have had a remarkably close friendship. Of course, Jesus delayed in coming that time in order to work an even greater miracle than healing when he raised Lazarus from the dead.
But I want you to think about this for a moment. The Samaritan village in chapter nine did not welcome Jesus. They did not get to know him. What if Martha had not opened her home to Christ? She would not have received her brother back from the dead again later on. Just look at the rich blessings Martha received when she welcomed Jesus into her home. And then think of the rich blessings we receive when we welcome Jesus into our hearts and lives.
I also want you to think about the importance of hospitality for a moment. You may not be able to open up your home to Jesus directly, but Jesus did say, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do also for me.” (Matthew 25:40) When you open up your home in Christian hospitality for others, it is as if you are doing it for Jesus.
In verse 39 Luke changes the focus from Martha to her sister Mary. Have you ever wondered which one was the older or the younger sister? We are not specifically told, but I would guess that Martha was the older one. Luke specifically says the house belonged to her rather than to Mary. It is also interesting that the spouses of Martha and Mary are never mentioned. It seems likely that they were either single or widowed.
Luke tells us that Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.” The word Luke uses here to describe Mary literally means “to sit close by.” It carries the concept of nearness, and so here we get this picture of sitting close to God, enjoying nearness and intimacy in his presence.
It was common in those days for pupils to sit at the feet of their teachers. In fact, this was a mark of discipleship. We see this in Acts 22:3 where we read that Paul was brought up “at the feet of Gamaliel,” the rabbi who trained Paul in the Jewish law. By sitting at Jesus’ feet Mary was showing a desire to learn, and she was demonstrating respect for Jesus as her teacher. In effect, she shows herself to be a willing disciple of Christ. Notice how Jesus commends her for this. This is significant because Jewish teachers were generally opposed to women learning from the rabbis or other teachers in this fashion.
Luke says she sat at Jesus’ feet “listening to what he said.” The verse literally says she “was listening to his word or message.” The tense of the verbs indicates continual, attentive listening. And notice she was listening to “his word,” not just to idle chatter or gossip. Jesus was teaching Mary, and Mary was listening attentively to everything he had to say.
This is the first essential to taking rest stops on the road of discipleship. We must take time to listen to Jesus. A rest stop is not just a break from the daily routine of life. It is a refueling for the journey. We must take time daily to draw near to Jesus, to sit at his feet and let him teach us. We do this through careful reading of God’s Word and through prayer.
II. We must beware of distractions. (40)
Secondly, we must beware of distractions. We see this illustrated by Martha. Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said, “but Martha was distracted.” (Luke 10:40) That word “distracted” means “to be pulled or dragged away.” It is the picture of someone being pulled in all sorts of different directions. It is a word that we relate to only too well in twenty-first century America.
How many different demands and concerns compete for your attention each day? Do you ever feel like you’re being pulled about in different directions? Your work needs this, your spouse needs that, the kids need this, the house needs that, and so on and so on until we are so distracted, so frustrated that we can’t seem to get anything done. We wear so many hats each day. Do you ever feel like you have more hats than you have heads? Many times we are just too busy for our own good. We need to remember the admonition of St. Francis of Assisi who said: “Do few things, but do them well.” Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet listening as he taught, but Martha was being pulled about in so many different directions. So what was it that distracted her?
Luke says she was distracted “by all the preparations that had to be made.” Notice the phrase “had to be made.” How many times are we caught up in things that just “have to be done?” It is so easy to deceive ourselves and others with our busyness. Somehow we feel more important if we’re busy. When someone asks you, “How has your day been?” we usually respond, “Busy!” What if we responded, “Oh, I just took my time today, spent some time walking and thinking about life, singing praises to God, praying for different people as they came to mind. Oh yeah, I also spent some time meditating on a few verses from the Psalms.” Or what if we responded, “I just spent the whole afternoon out in the backyard enjoying the beauty of the day God made for us!” Is there anything wrong with that? No, of course not, but somehow we have made the word “busy” a sacred word in our vocabulary.
And all those things that “have to be done?” Well, it really depends, doesn’t it? We can all drop an awful lot of what we’re doing in a hurry if something else comes up. A friend calls you up at the last minute and tells you he has tickets for the Super Bowl. “Do you want to go?” Suddenly you find that all those things that had to get done can be put off until later. But when we are in the midst of life’s competing demands, it seems we can never get a moment away. We so often give in to what has been called “the tyranny of the urgent.”
This was Martha’s problem. She was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. The Greek here literally says: “she was distracted by much service or ministry.” Wow, there’s a thought! Can ministry distract us from Jesus? You bet! It sounds strange at first, but it can happen. It is possible to get so wrapped up in serving the Lord that we can forget to love the Lord.
We hear a lot about the importance of learning to say “no,” but before you can learn the fine art of saying “no,” you must first learn the fine art of saying “yes” – yes to the Lord. Then you will know when to say no to others. Even in the church we must be careful not to overwork each other until we have no time left for the most important things.
Martha wasn’t involved in wrong things. She wasn’t engaged in sinful activity. She was ministering. She was serving. In fact, she was serving Jesus! What’s wrong with that? Martha’s problem was that she was distracted in her serving. She was missing what Jesus wanted for her that afternoon. She was missing the joy of sitting at Jesus’ feet, enjoying his presence, hearing his word which is life itself. She was traveling the road of discipleship without taking time for the rest stops.
Martha was so overwhelmed by her distractions that she came up to Jesus and asked, “Lord, don’t you care?” (Luke 10:40) Have you ever asked God that question? “Lord, don’t you care?” Whenever we allow ourselves to be pulled and distracted by outward concerns, we will end up asking that question, “Lord, don’t you care?” The answer is, “Yes, Jesus does care. If he cares about the birds and the sparrows, how much more does he care about you?” 1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your cares upon him, for he cares for you.” Martha was not casting care upon the Lord. She was taking care upon herself. And so she finally cries out, “Lord, don’t you care?”
Look at what she says next: “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work all by myself?” That phrase “all by myself” is the single word “alone” in the Greek. Martha was serving, she was ministering all “alone,” and that was her problem. Whenever we serve or minister alone, that is, in our own strength, we will get burned out. And we will cry out like Martha, “Lord, don’t you care?”
The problem was not that Martha did not have Mary to help. The real problem was that Martha had left Jesus out of the picture. How often do we seek to serve the Lord “all by ourselves,” without stopping to refresh ourselves in the Lord’s presence, without taking those rest stops so vital to our spiritual life, so vital to our service itself? Martha was serving alone, but it wasn’t Mary’s fault. It was Martha’s fault. She needed a rest stop at Jesus’ feet.
Martha is so frustrated that she actually barks a command at Jesus. “Tell her to help me!” But it is a request that Jesus must deny. He will not refuse Mary her rest stop. How can he tell Mary to leave his feet? How can he tell Mary to choose distracted, frustrated activity and service over the sweetness of sitting in Christ’s presence and learning from him? He cannot tell Mary to leave, but he can minister to Martha.
III. We must choose the one thing necessary. (41-42)
And so he does. Look at verse 41: “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered. Don’t you just love the way Jesus speaks to her? He is about to rebuke her, but he does it so gently, so lovingly and tenderly. He speaks her name first, and then says it again as an assurance to her that he does indeed care. Do you use people’s names? Names are important. When you speak someone’s name to them you affirm their importance. You affirm your care for them.
“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things.” (Luke 10:41) Aaah, so the truth comes out. Martha is not just upset about Mary not helping. She is worried and upset about many things. She has a whole load of worries and concerns on her mind. How often do we dump on someone else over something small, when in reality we are just upset over lots of unrelated things? We reach that saturation point, and then we just unload on whoever happens to be nearby. Martha was worried and upset about many, and Jesus reached out to her in compassion. Understand that Jesus has compassion on you also when you reach your saturation level, when you are stressed out by the load of too many things.
And at those times you need to hear these words that Jesus spoke to Martha as words spoken to you as well: “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” (Luke 10:41) Notice what Jesus did not say. He did not say that only one thing was right or that only one thing was important. Jesus nowhere condemns Martha for her service to him. What she was doing was not wrong. What she was doing was not unimportant. Rather only one thing was truly necessary. Martha was pulled and distracted by so many things and had left out the one thing that really mattered.
Jesus said only one thing was really necessary — to sit at His feet and hear his word. Before we can truly give to others, we must receive from the Lord. We must have fellowship with God in prayer and in his word. Psalm 73:26 says, “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” That means even death cannot take away the one thing necessary. Martha thought that she needed Mary. What she really needed was the Lord. God does not need our service, but we do need him. We need to focus our minds on one thing, not on many.
The Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once said, “Purity of heart is to will one thing.” Let me tell you right now, the one thing necessary is God. We must seek God’s will; we must seek God’s kingdom; we must seek God’s direction; we must seek God’s presence in our lives. When we sit at Christ’s feet and let him direct our life, he brings all of the pieces together. Like a magnifying glass that takes the scattered rays of light and focuses them along a single line, Jesus takes all the many parts of our lives and focuses them in one, cohesive, God-ward direction.
Jesus told Martha, “Mary has chosen what is better.” (Luke 10:42) Literally Jesus says, “Mary has chosen the good portion.” There are so many things you can choose in life. Have you chosen the good portion? Have you chosen what is better? You have limited time and resources in life which means that you must be selective. What will you listen to? What will you read? What will you watch? What will you learn? How shall you spend your time? You can’t do it all, so you must choose.
Mary chose the good portion. She chose to sit at Christ’s feet and learn from him. The Bible calls this wisdom. This will help you make all the other choices you have to make throughout the day. This is what will give you the strength to carry on. But first, you must learn from God. You must listen to his word. You must sit close to Jesus, drawing near to him in worship and prayer.
Not that it is wrong to serve, but there is a time to serve and a time to sit, and sitting takes priority. Some commentators on this passage try to set up a choice for the reader: “Will you choose to be Mary or Martha, will you choose to sit or to serve?” But that is a false choice. Both are important, but our service must grow out of our sitting. Those who sit at Christ’s feet and learn from him will not serve him less, but they will serve him better.
Jesus told Martha, “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42) Mary’s time spent at Jesus’ feet would go to waste. But Jesus’ words imply that Martha’s activity is being wasted. Her frantic service will be taken away. Her actions do not have lasting value. Why? Because they do not derive from the center, from Christ’s strength and presence and guidance. When ministry for Christ becomes a substitute for relationship with Christ, it loses its value. To paraphrase 1 Corinthians 13: “If I minister to others, serving with all the strength I have, if I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but do not maintain a vital, living relationship with Jesus my Lord and Savior, I gain nothing.” Jesus said there was only one thing necessary. Mary had chosen the good thing, and it would not be taken away from her
CONCLUSION: How is your spiritual life with the Lord? Are you taking the time you need for rest stops on the road of discipleship? Or are you just driving down the road with the windows down and the radio blasting, slapping your face to keep yourself going? That’s no way to live the Christian life.
It all comes down to this. Are you spending time with Jesus? If not, then you are not really on the road of discipleship at all. Because like Mary, a disciple first of all sits at the Master’s feet and learns from him. There is only one thing necessary. Don’t let anyone or anything take it away from you.
© Ray Fowler
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