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Luke 10:38-42 · At the Home of Martha and Mary
Jesus and Mary and Martha
Luke 10:38-42
Sermon
by Dr. Boyd E. Wagner
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I want you to know that I don’t take it lightly to have the honor to be standing in this great pulpit and standing in the place of Dr. Moore today. I trust that you certainly will be praying for him and his family.

Let us bow together as we pray.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, My rock and My redeemer. Amen.

I stayed away from this scripture for a long time because of the misunderstanding of what it really says. If you have your Bibles you might want to just kind of stay with the Bible text a moment as there are really just two things I think are crucial in understanding what the text really says and I want to begin looking very carefully at these.

We begin with that first verse in which Martha receives Jesus into her house. Now, those words are very, very powerful, but to understand those words you need to go back to the ninth chapter the 51st verse. If you are following there you will see where it says, “When the days drew near for Him to be received up, He set his face steadfastly to go to Jerusalem.” I want you to see that he was on that journey to Jerusalem. That we are going towards Easter, towards crucifixion, towards Passion Week. We’re just a few hours away from that Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem. That’s the journey that we are on.

Right after he made that statement there in the ninth chapter, if you look, the very next thing was that on his journey he went to a Samaritan village and coming to that village, he sent ahead his disciples to prepare and to make way for them to go into the city itself. As they made preparation to go into that city, it is very important for you to note that they were not received. They were not received. Immediately at that point, you remember, the disciples then asked Jesus to call fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritans. But, that did not happen.

It’s very important to understand that right before the text today, as he taught on his journey is the story of the Good Samaritan. Now, that’s all very important. But, more important is the fact that the text begins with Martha receiving him. He was received in Martha’s home. There are two great joys about this. The Gospel begins at this point with great joy. It’s a great joy to be received because he came unto his own and his own received him not – the world failed to recognize him. The son of man had nowhere to lay his head. His life was that of constant travel. He sought entrance to Samaritan Village, was turned down, he fell asleep from exhaustion on the Sea of Galilee.

He knew the rebukes of the scribes and the Pharisees; he wept over the city of Jerusalem that wouldn’t receive him, but Martha received him into her home.

What I want to say to you is that there is joy in heaven every time a soul receives Jesus. There are two joys. There is a joy for Martha and there was a joy for Jesus. And it is still true that every time we receive him, heaven rejoices.

Now the second part that we need to understand is in the next verse. I want us to look at it because this is where the misunderstanding often comes. It begins really with verse 40 and ends with what we often think of as the rebuke of Martha. Most have a feeling that Martha, as a practical housewife, was being a bit harshly judged here. Certainly it was not her hospitality that was judged; it was not her loving service that was judged; it was not her extravagance that was judged; but rather it is our interpretation.

Love is always extravagant. And you know Martha just said, “Jesus is coming,” and so we’re going to have something special. She doesn’t talk about the disciples and Lazarus was here… This is a special time. Jesus is on his way and we are going to have a special party and so she was a little extravagant. She had more for the dinner, and more demanded more preparation. She had decided that this was going to be a very special day.

Now Mary’s extravagance is told over in the Gospel of John. She, too, felt that it should be an extravagant time. She showed her extravagance in a different way and that was by the anointing of Jesus’ feet. However, Martha had the right to decide how she would be extravagant, but she did not have the right to decided how Mary would be extravagant. And, this is where the problem begins.

But is this a criticism? So often we think this is a criticism to Martha. But look again at verse 41 – a more explicit translation might be that of an early Greek translator who translated it saying, “But few things are needful or maybe one.” Now let me interpret that for you with the Boyd Wagner translation. What it really says from the Greek, is what Jesus is saying to Martha, “There’s no need for an elaborate meal, just a few things or one dish would be enough. That’s all that is needed. You don’t have to go to all this trouble.” And then in verse 42, only one portion like that of Mary and she has chosen, one good portion would be enough.

I think we need to look at this noting that Jesus was speaking not of the sisters needs – not what Mary and Martha need – Jesus was talking about what he needed. He was saying for me I only need one thing. The simplest affair. I need what most all of you have already given me – what Mary has given me – I need one thing… just your devotion and love. That’s all that I need. Mary has chosen to receive me and she has offered me hospitality. You don’t need to worry with all the rest. It reminds me so much of Christmas at our house and your house. Christmas Day – everything is put on the table; everybody is working so hard and suddenly the kids say, “Mom, stop worrying about these things and sit down and have dinner with us.” This is the most important thing, just to be together – don’t worry about all the details.

What does this say for us in our living in this Scripture today? I think there are two things I want to call to your attention and then a kind of a summary. I think that the first message that comes out of this is very important and that is that service is not to be contrasted with devotion. Jesus had no intention for us to put service over against devotion or to put faith against works. That’s not the intent at all.

It’s so easy for us to look at this and say one was better than the other. That’s not the intent at all.

Martha, you see, was not depreciated in the work and the supply that she had prepared for all of this. Martha was commended for her service to Jesus and to all the guests. This is an honorable choice. Martha made that choice. You cannot compare the work of Martha with the work of Mary. In fact, I think if we look in Scripture very carefully and also with John’s Gospel in the same account, we can see that Jesus stopped at this beautiful place at Bethany many times. This was his home away from home. This was a place where He could be received. The Passover was coming and Jesus was coming. Mary and Martha has been busy making preparation for it… they both were in service. They both were devoted to this.

Martha was also devoted to Jesus just as Mary was. Read the Gospel according to John where he talked about her devotion to Him at the raising of the her brother Lazarus. Mary, in the same way, was not complimented by her idleness. It is not that Jesus spoke to Mary because she was doing nothing. He only calls us not to covet the life of Mary for the spiritual desire leads sometimes for us to be apart. There comes a time when we don’t need to be so involved with the details. We need to think about what is really important. Mary was called away from the details and Jesus commends her on her devotion.

Mary chose Martha’s part also. They were both involved. They labored and prepared and served together and they were both devoted. It is not an either – or. In our world today there is a separation sometimes between service and devotion. And, in listening to people and their needs we often times lend out our minds as you today are lending me your mind. That you are thinking about this. Maybe you ought not be lending me your mind… maybe you ought to be out on the street doing something… you’re just sitting there not doing anything. Well that’s not true!

You see there comes a time when we need to lend out our minds in order that we might do and become and be. So often we see this in people using what sometimes causes me to be a bit impatient when we talk to people and they listen – they lend me their mind – and then they say something like, “Well, I’ll pray about it.” And then nothing ever happens. It’s kind of frustrating when people will use prayer to do nothing, or to use devotion and meditation to escape action and in that I am sometimes resentful. I want to say, “Is prayer different than doing something about it?” Is that any different?

When Benny called me and informed me that Dr. Moore wasn’t going to be here today, I began to pray. But, you know something else I did? I began to work. Because, he told me this scripture and this coordinated Bible Study… are they different? No, I don’t think so. Prayer is not something we do when we stop thinking. It is not something that we do to get away from work. It is not something we do to avoid the hard choices. It is a way of discovering the wisest choices and finding the strength to act upon our choices. That’s why we pray. That’s what prayer is. Mary was very much involved in service and in her devotion. Prayer determines our next move.

Sometimes our religion as it begins in discovery and in adventure ends up in a Christ-like character. That’s the intent. It is true, that in our prayers and worship we are not always challenging our smallness and our prejudice. Sometimes we are satisfied with being devoted or being religious. In true religion there is no separation in devotion and service. They are all directed to the same end.

Looking at this, there is another thing that we need to see that I think He is teaching us very clearly…and it is the absolute power of things or the tyranny of things. Both Mary and Martha received Jesus into their home and probably the rest of the disciples. Both desired to entertain him, to honor him, to comfort him, to worship him. Both are great friends… there’s no separation in this. And with a little imagination we can begin to see what is really going on here. It goes on in your home and in mine.

Jesus visit had been planned by both. They had worked diligently for that day and then when it came, Mary fell at the feet of Jesus in the position of a student to learn. She’s absorbing everything. But things are getting in the way of Martha. “Lord, make her help me.” Martha, please come and help serve.

The fact is that we live in a material world. Life is a traffic of things. Our most spiritual fellowship has their share of material things. In this world there is a material side… the finest, most beautiful music of the violin is on the material side. It is just the scraping of some hair on a cat gut! It’s necessary for good music. The word of love is not enough. It’s not enough just to be devoted in love with your spouse. It takes the material expression… gifts of all kinds.

Jesus’ plea is very simple and that is he did not mean that the disciples should go without dinner. There are always those who try to make religion just spiritual without service. It’s hard not to be a bit materialistic when you are starving to death. Jesus is not calling us not the have the material – but to realize the power and the tyranny of things.

Isn’t it interesting, he said, “Martha, I’m concerned about the things… the many things that are bothering you.” What is it that gets between us and God and our religious experience? So often it is the “things.” We become the victims of plenty. We start out, you know, driving an automobile and then we get more things and soon the automobile is driving us. Just like Christmas, “Come on, Mom, sit down at the table!” Don’t be so concerned about the “things.”

In conclusion. The central message in all of this is still the same. Jesus desires today for us to have hospitality of faith and love and not to allow these “things” destroy us. What He needs most – the one thing that is important – is that relationship that Jesus had with Mary and Martha. The one thing that is important here today in all our spirituality, in all of our service, the one thing is needed and that is that you have a relationship with Jesus the Christ.

If you are devoted to him, and if you are serving him, as it was true in that day in Bethany, it is true in this service today. Jesus is saying with all that you do, one thing is important; “Do you know me?” If you don’t have that relationship today, I implore you, come and know Jesus.

ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., Collected Sermons, by Dr. Boyd E. Wagner