Do Not Settle For A Distracted Life
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38 While they were traveling, he entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.
39 She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what he said.
40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”
41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,
42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”
The village in v. 38 was Bethany, just over the Mount of Olives and two miles east of Jerusalem. Martha and Mary were the sisters of Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead (Jn 11:1–44). Sat at the Lord’s feet … listening was the posture of a committed disciple.
Martha
Martha
Martha “came up and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone?’” (v. 40). Martha’s comment strikes me for all kinds of reasons. First, you’ve probably met a Martha before. She is happy to serve, but somehow her serving makes her sour.
She’s a little bossy. “Tell her to give me a hand.” She’s a little impatient with people she thinks aren’t helping enough. Churches can be full of Marthas.
Second, Martha is bold, isn’t she? She’s in the Lord’s grill. She’s got a rag in one hand and the other hand on her hip.
Third, Martha is burned out -
she accuses the Lord of not caring about her serving alone.
Now, how many women have felt something like that? You serve your family every day, but there doesn’t seem to be a lot of thanks. You wonder if what you do as a wife, mother, or woman matters in the Lord’s sight.
You quietly ask, “Does anybody notice? Does God care?” The routine never ends early. She rises before everyone else in the home. The husband still snores. The children turn in their beds. She gets little help and little thanks. Kids must be prepared for school. Breakfast has to be put on the table. Book bags have to be inspected. Then there’s the drive to school. It all has to happen with enough time to get yourself together and get to work. Then you’ve got to hustle after school to pick up the kids, get dinner on the table, check homework, and squeeze in discipline, correction, or instruction with the kids. You feel as if you’re the only one doing anything. He hasn’t helped nearly enough or said thanks. No one seems to notice, and you’re exhausted.
Mary
Mary
Mary of Bethany is seen three times in the Gospel record, and on each occasion, she is in the same place: at the feet of Jesus. She sat at His feet and listened to His Word (Luke 10:39), fell at His feet and shared her woe (John 11:32), and came to His feet and poured out her worship (John 12:3). It is interesting to note that in each of these instances, there is some kind of fragrance: in Luke 10, it is food; in John 11, it is death (John 11:39); and in John 12, it is perfume.
Me
10:40–42 Martha was distracted from what should have been her highest priority—learning from Jesus. She was worried and upset about all the household chores that needed to be done and irritated with her sister Mary because it was the role of women to serve men in such a setting.
Jesus gives a different answer. Jesus says to Martha and women (and men) everywhere: In all your busyness don’t forget that only one thing is necessary. That one thing is not the next task on your to-do list. That one thing is not serving others.
The one necessary thing is enjoying the Lord himself. That’s what Mary chose. The Lord calls it “the right choice.” And it “will not be taken away from her” (v. 42).
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Nine: What in the World Does a Christian Do? (Luke 10)
Few things are as damaging to the Christian life as trying to work for Christ without taking time to commune with Christ. “For without Me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).
The use of the word choice is interesting. It’s related to the lawyer’s use of the word inherit in verse 25.
Throughout the Bible, God says that he himself is the “portion” or “inheritance” of his people. Who do I have in heaven but you? And I desire nothing on earth but you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, my portion forever. (Ps 73:25-26; emphasis added) Because of the Lord’s faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness! I say, “The Lord is my portion, therefore I will put my hope in him.” (Lam 3:22-24; emphasis added) The purpose of eternal life is enjoying the Lord as your portion. The reason we are saved is to enjoy God. To sit with him. To listen to him. To talk with him. To treasure him as our inheritance. The Lord Jesus is the good portion that we should choose before or instead of being busy with all kinds of acts of service. And not only is the Lord our portion, but we are his portion, too. Deuteronomy 32:9 says, “The Lord’s portion is his people.” We inherit him, and he inherits us. And here’s the wonderful promise: When Jesus is your portion he “will not be taken away from” you. The Lord is forever ours. We are forever his. Nothing will ever separate us from his love. No one will ever pluck us from his hand. Never will he leave us; never will he forsake us. The Lord is our portion and inheritance forever.
That’s why Mary has chosen the one necessary thing: sitting at Jesus’s feet in the fellowship of his word. Here’s what I had to ask myself writing this: If the Lord is my portion and he is never taken away from me, how much of my day is he sitting, waiting for me to notice he is the one necessary thing? Far too often I tragically miss out on sitting at his feet, pushing back on the busyness of the world, to savor the love of the Lord. Let us repent together of this and be a people who enjoy the salvation that the Lord purchased for us. Let us go to Christ with the comforting promise, “It will not be taken away from us.”
Do whatever is necessary for her to have adequate time to sit like Mary at the Lord’s feet. It’s an everyday expression of love that will bless her soul immensely. Practicing a benign neglect of things that can be neglected in order to commune with Christ is a great privilege to the Christian.
The key is to have the right priorities: Jesus Christ first, then others, then ourselves. It is vitally important that we spend time “at the feet of Jesus” every single day, letting Him share His Word with us. The most important part of the Christian life is the part that only God sees. Unless we meet Christ personally and privately each day, we will soon end up like Martha: busy but not blessed.
Often in my pastoral ministry, I have asked people with serious problems, “Tell me about your devotional life.” The usual response has been an embarrassed look, a bowed head, and the quiet confession, “I stopped reading my Bible and praying a long time ago.” And they wondered why they had problems!