Gtcotr/ws080316
Luke 10 KJV (NKJV)
38 ¶ Now it came to pass, as
they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named
Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister
called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered
about (distracted with) much serving,
and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me
to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and
said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful (worried) and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful:
and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
Martha
the older, perhaps widowed elder sister, whose home it is provides the welcome
and begins to set the house in guest mode.
·
Reasonably
16 to 50 people arrive unannounced
·
Martha
the mistress and governess of the home takes charge
·
Mary
the younger, as younger often do, has heart for the guests and not for their
care. This is no doubt a time of training in both the home matters and things
concerning the care of guests however youth is also a time for spiritual
training. Which time it is for Mary seems to be the point in contrast then
clearly addressed by Jesus.
·
Martha
has a responsibility to provide for here household and her welcomed guests
however it seems that she has placed too much importance and given all her time
to work in a worried fashion so as to exclude others and even herself from
attending the preaching and teaching of the Word. Some wrongly imagine today
that their work to provide, although important and vital to the overall should
or must take priority in their lives and family life over attending the
teaching of the Word.
·
We
who love Jesus and receive Him into our homes can nonetheless be distracted
with much serving and only approach Him with our pleas for Him to recognize our
service or to make our service easier and less cumbersome.
Jesus
may be willing to take much less sacrifice to get much more attention; Much
less labor to receive much more heart; Much less entertainment to get much more
word.
The
work He gives us we can always lay back on Him but the work we give ourselves
He may not wish to carry.
He
is always and forever the patron of the poor and the injured and the willing.
Note
how Jesus called Martha by name not once but twice, “Martha, Martha”, thus
signifying that even in His correction of her focus, attitude or actions, Jesus
is always caring and loving and relational.
He
wished Martha and all who heard and would hear to know that those splendid
things of this world to which many are attracted and care for so much were not
necessarily the most important things which demand and deserve our primary
focus and attention.
Also
of note is that Mary said nothing in her own defense. It seems that when Christ
makes our appeal or sits on the seat of decision we are best when we wait His
judgment for who knows what we might need do. Humility finds peace in waiting
His Word and submitting ourselves to whatever the course. Jesus is well able to
defend and direct and we should always be willing to hear Him.
The
posture of Mary shows her as a disciple in as much as Paul sat at the feet of
Gamaliel. This attests to the fact that Jesus accepts disciples based upon
their willingness to humble themselves and attend to His teachings and not
based on gender, age, station or state of life.
As
well we see Jesus entering the house and taking a prominent seat as one who
knew well that His intent was to share. We notice that Jesus and others after
such as Peter or Paul entered homes and groups with a single intent to share
the Gospel and to teach all those who were willing to sit and listen concerning
the things of the kingdom. It would behoove us to realize that we too carry the
message so dear to the heart of God and to the need of those we attend. We
should therefore enter each moment of gathering with intent to share the Good
News and make room with every encounter a place for the Word of God to be
expounded and lessons to be learned. In this there should be no apology for the
place taken by those on a mission more than to fill their bellies or lay down
their heads.
Martha
may not have meant to be accusatory in her approach to Jesus with her concerns
however anytime conclusions are made in isolated thought and verbalized as a
basis for the question presented it carries the sound of displeasure and
accusation. “Dost Thou not care …” – clearly accusatory in choice of words and
most likely in tone of presentation and therefore reasonably provokes a rebuke
from Jesus.
Verbalizing
frustrated opinions to people who have made a decision can be read in no other
way than disagreement and perhaps Jesus felt Martha’s intent to correct both
Him and her little sister. Martha reproached Jesus for not being more aware of
what she wanted. She limited her opinions and assessments to what she needed
and missed a greater truth.
Jesus
gave us a hint to better understanding Martha’s approach to this situation and
perhaps to life in general … Martha was an anxious and perhaps even a bossy
kind of person. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many
things.” – how many things? I can reasonably imagine that her anxieties and
frustrations were not limited to this one singular impromptu visit. It appears
that Martha may have been a worried and therefore a worrisome person …
opinionated … and perhaps convinced that her assessments were right. Martha may
have been totally surprised that Jesus felt differently that she. Martha may or
may not have been dramatic in here request but she was definitely passionate
about her desire. Jesus responded with kindness.
Jesus
had pity on Martha’s present situation but did not agree with her remedy. Jesus
can feel for you without agreeing with you or giving you what you want.
Conclusions:
So,
what can we learn and take home this evening from this passage?
1.
It might be better to not make your personal problems public.
2.
Jesus may not want to make other people do what you think they
should do. (Jesus can feel for you without agreeing with
you.)
3.
Don’t let the legitimate business of life get in the way of you
giving time to sit down and listen to the teaching of the Word.
