When Jesus Visited Martha’s House

Luke 10:38-42

INTRODUCTION

The sermon title for today is: “When Jesus Visited Martha’s House.”

One woman tole me, “Whenever the preacher sets out to preach about Jesus at Mary and Martha’s house, I want to go home."

She was tired of hearing preachers use this story to disparage the hard work of Martha and make a hero out of Mary—who let Martha do all the work.

In a lot of churches women do most of the work, and they would like a little appreciation!

But does Jesus really, in this story, rebuke Martha for making a nice meal for him?

And does this story really make a hero out of Mary for letting her sister do all the work?

Notice that Luke says, “Now as they went on their way, he entered a village: and a woman named Martha received him into her house.”

This first sentence tells us that this is a story about Martha.

It was Martha who extended the invitation.

It was Martha who made dinner.

To make a hero out of Mary is to fail to appreciate Martha’s faithfulness.

Let’s continue the story:

…And Martha had a sister called Mary,

who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.

But Martha was distracted with much serving; and she went to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone.

Tell her then to help me.”

But the Lord answered her,  “Martha, Martha,

you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful.

Mary has chosen the good portion,

which shall not be taken away from her.”

I. Let’s imagine that we are there.

A. Bethany was a village one-and-a-half miles from Jerusalem, a short walk.

From other references in the gospels we learn that Martha’s home in Bethany was a home in which Jesus found hospitality and friendship on other occasions.

Martha and Mary and their brother Lazarus were evidently dear friends of Jesus.

Since it is called Martha’s house, and she was the one who extend the invitation, we gather that Martha was the older of the two sisters.

We assume that Lazarus was a younger brother. Maybe he was away this day.

B. Do you remember that Jesus told a would-be disciple: “Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head”?

Jesus depended on the hospitality of his friends. And it appears that this home in Bethany was one of the homes in which he was welcome.

Let’s consider what this visit meant to each of the three participants.

Martha was honored to have her Savior as her guest. We can understand her desire to provide the nicest dinner she could to please her dear friend.

Mary also loved the Savior. She was a hungry soul, and for her this was the opportunity to ask questions and listen. When Martha complained that “she has left me to do the serving,” we may understand that she had been helping, but was now taking time out to be with Jesus.

And this was a special occasion also for Jesus. It was not long before he would die. He had already experienced the bitter hatred of his enemies. The shadow of the cross was looming over him. He must have appreciated the kindness of Martha in inviting him more than she may have imagined.

This home in Bethany was an oasis of quiet in a storm of trouble.

C. It is hard not to sympathize with Martha.

She was doing her best to make a nice dinner, and she was all alone. So she did something really surprising.

She came to Jesus and accused him of not caring that she had to do all the work!

This shows to me on what friendly terms Martha was on with the Lord. Why didn’t she beckon Mary herself? No, she goes to Jesus: “Don’t you care…?”

D. Jesus’s answer shows his tender regard for Martha.

“Martha, Martha,” he gently says, “you are anxious and troubled about many things…”

Jesus wasn’t rebuking Martha for her good work. Martha was doing what she should be doing. She was showing her love by her service.

I don’t believe that Jesus was really rebuking Martha at all. He was inviting her to be less anxious and distracted in her serving.

Jesus could have said, “Mary, why don’t you help your sister now, and we can talk later”?

But Jesus saw this as teachable moment, an opportunity to teach a lesson that his friends would remember forever.

(All teachers look for “teachable moments.” A teachable moment is an unexpected event that provides an opportunity to teach a really important lesson. For example a child makes a foolish mistake and the other children laugh. The teacher asks, “Why did you laugh?” The planned lesson is set aside, and the teacher talks to the children about the importance of respect and consideration for the feelings of others.

Jesus was especially good at finding “teachable moments.”)

Martha was thinking that it was really important to have a nice dinner to honor her guest. But a nice dinner wasn’t what Jesus most needed that day.

The greatest pleasure of Jesus’s visit was his conversation with Mary.

I have been a teacher, and I will tell you that the greatest pleasure a teacher can have is to have a student eager to learn—asking questions and listening to the answers.

II. Some say Martha illustrates the active Christian, and Mary illustrates the contemplative Christian.

A. Artists show Mary sitting at Jesus’s feet looking up into his face adoringly—as if Jesus was a rock star.

But that’s not what was happening.

What Luke says that what Mary was doing was listening to his teaching.

Rabbis taught young men, who learned as they sat at the feet of the teacher.

Remember that Paul mentions once that he sat at the feet of Gamaliel—one of the greatest rabbis of the time.

Sitting at a teacher’s feet was not seen as a proper role for women in that day.

Women weren’t expected to be educated beyond what was necessary for their wifely duties.

Scholars or ancient history tell us that except for Jesus, we have no record of any woman being a disciple of a teacher.

Jesus was breaking stereotypes.

One scholar suggests that this was what was really bothering Martha. Mary was acting like a man!

The reason young men sat at the feet of teachers was so that they could, in turn, become teachers. Martha was shocked. She wanted to get Mary back into the kitchen where she belonged.

If the disciples were also there, then poor Martha would have been even more humiliated to have her sister behave in this way!

I read a book once with the title: “Jesus Was a Feminist.”

We know that many of Jesus’s disciples were women. Several are named in the gospels.

We know more about Mary and Martha and Mary Magdalene and Salome than we do about some of Jesus’s male disciples.

Jesus gave a place to women that they had never had before in ancient culture.

This is one reason why women were such enthusiastic disciples of Jesus.

From New Testament times until now there have always been more women in the church than men. Jesus treated women as equals to men, and women appreciated it.

III. Jesus said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.”

A.  So what is the “one thing needful”?

Here are some suggestions:

(1) Some say the “one thing needful” is to hear the Word of God—which is what Mary was doing that day. But that can’t be true. It’s not enough to “hear” the word. We have to live it out. After we hear, we have to do. It has to change our life.

(2) Some say the “one thing needful” is the Kingdom of God because the kingdom of God is the only thing that will endure for eternity. Jesus said, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness…” (Matthew 6:33).

(3) But I think the “one thing needful” must be to keep ourselves in the presence of Jesus—to live in continual fellowship with Jesus, to always be in touch. And that is what Mary was doing that day.

B. We need to feel Jesus to be so close that whenever we get anxious, we right away turn to him.

So close that whenever something good happens, we just naturally say, “Thank you, Lord.”

So close that whenever we come to a hard place, we just naturally cry out to him, “Help me! Lord.”

So close that whenever we are perplexed, we look to him for guidance.

So close that whenever we see someone in need, we ask ourselves, “What would Jesus have me do?”

CONCLUSION

You have seen the motto that hangs on the wall in many Christian homes:

“Christ is the head of this house, the unseen guest at every meal,

the silent listener to every conversation.”

Just as Martha invited Jesus into her home, let us invite Jesus into our hearts.

As Martha took pains to serve Jesus—so we take pains to serve Jesus in whatever ways are open to us.

And as Mary sat at his feet and listened—so let us sit at Jesus’s feet and listen…and learn…and bring all our concerns to him.

I need thee every hour, most gracious Lord;

No tender voice like Thine can peace afford.

I need thee, O I need Thee; every hour I need Thee;

O bless me now, my Savior, I come to Thee.