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38th Street Church of Christ 3904 38th Street NW Canton, Ohio 44718 330-492-5523 Fax: 330-493-7119 |
“Martha, Mary And Jesus (Part II) ” |
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I. Introduction.
A. The end of Jesus’ life on earth, and His ministry, was
drawing near now. It was less than a week before the
Jewish Passover, His last Passover on earth, would begin.
To even come to the area of Jerusalem was to risk death,
as the Jewish leaders had already determined that this man
must be killed to put an end to Him and His heretical
movement (John 11:53: “. . . they plotted to put Him to
death”).
1. So great were the crowds that came to Jerusalem for
Passover that the city simply did not have places for
all of the pilgrims to stay. It was common for
people to go outside the city to obtain lodging, and
Bethany, only about two miles away, was one of
those places designated for such a purpose.
2. Jesus comes to Bethany and to the house of
“. . . Simon the leper” (Matthew 26:6; Mark 14:3).
In the few verses John uses to record this scene we
see, once again, the characters of Martha and Mary.
a. There is Martha, once more serving the
meal. She loved Jesus, and the most
practical way for her to show that love
was by the work of her hands.
b. There is also Mary. She, too, loved Jesus
and she, too, did “. . . what she could . . .”
(Mark 14:8) for the Master. With Mary’s
anointing of Jesus, we see three things about
love:
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1. We see love’s extravaganza. Mary
took the most expensive, precious
thing she possessed and used it all
on Jesus. Love doesn’t calculate
cost.
2. We see love’s humility. She was
honoring her Master, but humbling
herself to do this. She bowed before
Him.
3. We see love’s unselfconsciousness. In wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair,
she was really violating one of the cultured traditions of the Jews. No
respectable woman would appear in public with her hair unbound. On
the day a girl was married, her hair was bound up, never again to be
seen in public unbound. Mary had no thought of the social implications
of her action, that she could be classified among women who were immoral.
All that mattered to her was that she was serving her Lord. What others
thought was of no consequence to her.
B. On an earlier occasion, Martha and Mary had been
observed in a very similar situation. Martha, always the
hospitable hostess, had: “. . . worried and troubled about
many things” (Luke 10:41). And Mary, sitting, “. . . at
Jesus’ feet . . .” had, “. . . chosen that good part, which will
not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:42). As we look at
Jesus’ mild rebuke of Martha, and at His praise of Mary,
we also can learn lessons applicable to ourselves, as the
Marthas and Marys of today.
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II. Lessons From Luke 10.
A. First of all, Jesus’ gentle admonition to Martha is a
reminder to us to honor others over ourselves.
1. Romans 12:10: “Be kindly affectionate to one
another with brotherly love, in honor giving
preference to one another.”
2. I Peter 5:5: “. . . all of you be submissive to one
another, and be clothed with humility, for ‘God
resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble,’”
(from Proverbs 3:34).
3. Philippians 2:3-4: “Let nothing be done through
selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind
let each esteem others better than himself. Let each
of you look out not only for his own interests, but
also for the interests of others.”
4. Humility had been a constant theme of Jesus’
teaching, and a difficult lesson for disciples to learn.
a. At first glance, Martha appeared to be
showing the characteristics of a true servant.
Without any hesitation, she set to work to
provide for those in the house. But, her
resentment of Mary showed a flaw in her
servant’s heart.
b. Martha’s growing anger toward Mary led
her to attempt, first, to shame her into
helping , then to force her into helping, with
the aid of Jesus.
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c. Martha’s frustration may have led her to
make an incorrect judgment of her sister.
Mary wasn’t just being lazy (as Martha
might have assumed). As Paul says in
Romans 14:4: “Who are you to judge
another’s servant? To his own master he
stands or falls . . .” Was Martha Mary’s
master, or was Jesus?
5. Martha’s behavior on this occasion also shows how
subtly, and sinfully, personal pride can corrupt even
the best of intentions and actions. What she was
doing was by no means a bad thing. In a very
practical, and functional, sense she was acting as a
servant to her guests, and that certainly is
commendable. We must say her motives were
noble, and her intentions were the same.
6. But, when Martha made something other than the
Christ the focus of her heart and attention, she
became self-centered. Now, even her service
became marred by self-absorption, which led her
to be very uncharitable toward her sister. Her self-
centeredness made her susceptible to several other
types of evil: anger, resentment, jealousy, distrust,
and a critical spirit. And all this flared up in a
matter of minutes.
7. Maybe worst of all, Martha’s words reflected on
Jesus Himself: “. . . ‘Lord, do You not care that
my sister has left me to serve alone?’ . . .
(Luke 10:40). Not care? Don’t you care about me?
About how I feel? Now, it was all about Martha.
B. A second lesson from this incident: What Martha wanted
Mary to do was good, but what Mary was doing was better.
Jesus said: “. . . ‘[She] Mary has chosen that good part,
which will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:42).
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1. Consumed, absorbed by her thoughts of Jesus and
His words, Mary was oblivious to everything else.
It wasn’t laziness that kept her sitting at Jesus’ feet.
It was her focus upon Him.
2. The picture we get of Mary, here and elsewhere in
the gospels, is of a reflective, contemplative person.
Apparently, she was not given to impulsive activity.
Rather, she was the quiet, thoughtful sister. We
can’t deny that Martha’s feelings were natural and
understandable. Jesus did not speak to her harshly
about her concern. But, neither can we deny that
Mary had also a natural, and understandable,
feeling, full worship and devotion to Christ. To her
that was, at that moment, a higher priority than what
Martha was doing.
3. Mary represents the humble, obedient heart. As
Jesus told the Samaritan woman in John 4: “But
the hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and
Truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship
Him” (John 4:23). Mary was just such a “true
worshipper.”
4. As disciples, and worshippers of the Christ, we
cannot become so concerned about doing things
for Him that we neglect hearing Him and
remembering what He has done for us.
5. A condemning self-righteousness can enter into
even the hearts of those who have sincerely
attempted to do good and to serve Christ.
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C. A third lesson is that what we believe is, ultimately, more
crucial than what we do. The tug of the human heart is in
the opposite direction. We see what we do for Christ as of
a higher priority than what Christ did for us. We, probably,
can more often be identified as a “Martha” than as a
“Mary.”
1. It’s easy, at times, to get so caught up in the
privilege of serving Christ, that we forget it is
also a privilege to worship Him.
2. To make our service more effective and worthwhile,
we need to cultivate Mary’s listening spirit along
with Martha’s scrambling actions.
D. One last lesson. Martha and Mary show us God can use all
different kinds of people. We all have a place in His family
and in His Son’s kingdom.
III. Conclusion.
A. Two women, both remarkable in their own way. When we
can combine the wise, worshipful heart with the servant
heart, we can do great things for the Master.
B. Their lives intersected with Jesus’ earthly life, and left both
profoundly changed.