Luke 10:38-42 Mary and Martha Worship and Serve
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me.”
And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The story is simple but profound. For years, Martha has had a well-deserved reputation for hospitality. No matter the time of day, Martha has always welcomed visitors with excellent food, drink, and services. Martha’s servants are trained to care for anyone coming to the house, washing feet, anointing with oil, and swiftly offering water while Martha prepares a feast. Until today, Martha’s younger sister Mary has always assisted; however, today as Martha is bustling around, she can’t find Mary anyplace. Rushing into the dining area, Martha finds Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet. Well, this is really too much! Doesn’t Mary understand how important Jesus is and how much Martha needs help? Surely, Jesus will reproach Mary for being lackadaisical and shoo her back towards the kitchen where she belongs!
But Jesus never behaves as expected, and this time is no exception. As Jesus has been speaking, Mary has been absorbing everything he says. All these years, Mary has longed for someone who truly knows God to teach her, and Jesus is fulfilling her desire for divine knowledge. Mary is so focused on Jesus that she has nearly forgotten where she is. Jesus realizes Mary’s spiritual hunger and is doing everything he can to assuage that hunger. Jesus and Mary are conversing so intently that Martha’s arrival in the hall comes as a shock to them both.
Jesus knows Martha is concerned about his visit; however, he also knows that much of this concern is simple performance anxiety. Martha is wrapped up in proving that she deserves her reputation as a high-class hostess, and she feels Mary should be helping her maintain that image. Really, Martha has enough well-trained servants that she could have delegated everything to them and she too could have joined Mary to listen to Jesus’ teachings. Putting it simply, Mary hungers to hear about the Kingdom of God while Martha is concerned about maintaining her own kingdom as a domestic goddess.
It’s easy to feel superior when we consider this story. If we had been Martha, we would certainly have made better choices…or would we? How many of us make human sacrifices of our spouses and families for the sake of our jobs? How many of us ignore small children who want to give us their treasures? How many of us are so earthly minded that we’re no heavenly good?
We all have good excuses, excellent excuses. As a doctor, I have always found myself pulled in two directions, struggling to balance the needs of my patients against the needs of my family. Those of us in helping professions are far more likely to make wrong decisions and copy Martha when we should be copying Mary instead. And as the pressure mounts, we might even put guilt trips on our families when they request the attention and affection that should have been theirs by right. For years, I served as the only doctor for two different mission hospitals. If I left town, someone might die because I wasn’t there to operate them. The pressure to remain and perform was enormous and crushing.
There must be a balance. Jesus handed us the answer in Matthew 11:28-30 when he told his disciples, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Much of Martha’s problem stemmed from the fact that she was carrying burdens that should have gone to someone else. But many of us have been raised to be burden-bearers. Our entire identity is bound up in our role as burden-bearers and we feel lost if we try to step away from that role, even though it might be killing us. May God help us, so that we will be able to roll our burdens over onto Him and allow Him to help us!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help us to seek Your Face and Your Wisdom before anything else. Help us to roll our burdens over on You. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
Burunche's Blog 
April 6, 2025 at 1:24 am
I wanted to share a funny anecdote with you from the women’s Bible study on this topic. The ladies were discussing Mary and Martha, and concluded that Mary could have helped Martha a little bit, and THEN set down with Jesus!!!