Luke 7

Chapter 7. The Son of Man and the HomeAs Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself Tell her to help me!““Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)We have here another woman at the feet of Jesus, but how different from the former scene. This one is listening, learning, loving and leaving her sweet lesson of higher service for all the ages. The Son of Man and the Home How sacred is the home circle and the hearth stone. There we begin our life. There usually we close it. And with it the sweetest joys and the most sacred memories of life are associated. Luke and John give us a picture of the Son of Man in the home at Bethany. From the crowded city He loved to retire at night to the quiet surroundings and loving society of the household of Bethany, and we love still to think of Him as interested in our homes and the unseen Guest in every family circle. He began His public ministry at the marriage of Cana in Galilee, and every word and act of His life gave a higher sanction to the sacredness of family life. Has Christ His true place in our homes? Do we minister to Him at the family altar, and do we sit, like Mary, at His feet and give Him the greater joy of ministering unto us? This incident has given us two companion pictures hung up in the galleries of time, and revealing to us two types of Christian life intensely real and strangely different.

Section I: the Spirit of Martha

Section I—the Spirit of Martha1. She was a friend of Christ. With all her faults and shortcomings, she loved her Master well, and it is distinctly stated, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:5). Let us never forget, amid all our faults and the faults of our friends, that Christ loves our imperfect lives and will not leave us until He has done His very best for every one of us. 2. The motive of her service on this occasion was love. She was mistaken in her method. She was excessive in her preparations and attentions, but her heart was true. She spoiled her work, but through all its defects, the Master saw that true and tender heart and loved her nonetheless. How full of mistakes our service often is. How comforting to know that we have a Master and a Judge who loves to detach the imperfections from our gifts of devotion, and accept them through His own merits as if they were blameless. 3. Martha represents the practical Christian. Her love found expression through her hands, her eyes, her busy brain. There is a type of womanly character which a New England writer has called “faculty,” which is a little in danger of detracting from the feminine qualities of many good women. They are tempted to elbow aside their quieter sisters and to fall either into masculine boldness or feminine fussiness. You practical people need the balance wheel which Mary had, of a heart that has learned to sit at the feet of Jesus as well as to run around and serve. 4. Martha was too particular about mere external things. Her housekeeping and her hospitality were overdone. This is the fault of many good women today. They are in bondage to their homes, and they are allowing style, equipage and entertainment to hinder the development of higher qualities and the fulfillment of higher ministries. 5. Martha was restless. “You are worried and upset” (Luke 10:41), might be translated, “You are fussing and fretting.” Anxious care and mental agitation are always wrong. We should never be driven by our work. We should never lose our poise or peace. “Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:6). “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15). 6. Worse than all this was Martha’s ill temper. This is a great fault in all, but a fatal blemish in a woman. There are two jewels she should always wear—quietness and sweetness. No matter how beautiful or brilliant you may be, ill temper will deface your beauty and neutralize your usefulness. 7. Rudeness and discourtesy also characterized Martha’s conduct. She publicly exposed her irritation against her sister. She even went so far as to blame the Lord Himself for allowing her to act as she had done. We think our irritation is all against people and things, but really it is against God. When Israel murmured against Moses, God took it all to Himself. Martha was not the first that found fault with the Lord because He did not straighten out the disagreeable people. When we come with such requests to Christ, we will usually find that He will turn the tables upon us and proceed to straighten us out. The trouble is nearer home. Love “is not rude” (1 Corinthians 13:5). A Christian woman should always be a lady. A Christian man should always be a gentleman. If you have fault to find with your brother, go to him alone and tell him. “Let your gentleness be evident to all” (Philippians 4:5). 8. Another of Martha’s troubles was the many things that concerned her. Her heart was divided. Her mind was distracted. She had too many aims in life. She needed singleness of purpose. This is the trouble with us all. If we are seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we will be less worried about other things and we will leave Him to add them to us. 9. Martha’s worst fault was that she failed to understand her Lord. She thought that He wanted her to do something for Him, when in reality He was just wanting to do something for her. How Christ must be pained and disappointed with the people that are spending their lives in ecclesiastical millinery and religious ceremonies, serving tables and performing pageants of worship under the impression that this is acceptable service to Him. “‘The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?’ says the Lord” (Isaiah 1:11). If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me. (Psalms 50:12-15)

Section II: the Spirit of Mary

Section II—the Spirit of Mary1. In the first place, Mary had not been neglectful of her practical duties. She had done her part in the kitchen, and at a certain point, thinking that enough was done, she had left Martha and taken her place at the feet of Jesus. This is implied in the aorist tense, “my sister has left me to do the work by myself (Luke 10:40). She had been serving and simply changed the form of her service. Mary therefore was as practical as Martha, but she did not carry it too far. In our spiritual ministries we must be careful not to neglect our human relationships and duties. Our husbands and children should not suffer while we are sitting at the feet of Jesus. But the most spiritual people can be the most practical. “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). 2. The secret of Mary’s happier temper was that she was not living for many things, but for one thing. “One thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better” (Luke 10:42). Hers was an undivided heart. Hers was a life that had sought the best things and let the world and its distractions go. 3. She had sought the best things. How many people take the second best! There is a fine play upon the words here in the expression, “what is better.” The Romans, at their splendid feasts, were accustomed to have a choice morsel for the guest of honor. This phrase literally means “the choice bit.” The Lord uses the very figure that appeals to Martha, taken from her own domestic department. She thought she knew what was the best, but Mary had the advantage of her and had chosen it and received it. With all his faults, this was the one distinguishing point between Jacob and Esau. There was very much about Jacob that was unattractive. He was selfish and contriving and full of cunning, but he knew the value of the blessing and the birthright. He appreciated the highest things, and God loved him for it and gave him what he chose. So we shall get what we choose. 4. Mary had learned to receive rather than to try to give. She understood the meaning of grace and that the Lord had come, not to get our help, but to give us His help and blessing. This is the very height of grace as taught in the Word of God. Martha still was full of the spirit of the law. She wanted to serve, to work, to do something. Mary had learned that Jesus had come to put an end to our doing and to give us in exchange His grace. Therefore today God draws a line between people at this very point. “How much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17); while those who try to work their way will be found, like Israel of old, “going about to establish their own righteousness” (Romans 10:3) not having submitted unto the righteousness of God. 5. It all comes to this: Mary understood her Lord and Martha failed to understand Him. Mary comprehended the real heart of Jesus and the object that had brought Him from heaven, and Martha was still under the old spirit of Judaism. A little later, when once again the Master sat at that table in Bethany, Mary was the only one of all that company that comprehended the things that were pressing upon His heart and the great purpose which had brought Him to the world: to die for sinful men. It was this that cheered the heart of Jesus: that she understood Him. When she poured that precious ointment upon His feet He declared with words of profound significance, “When she poured this perfume on my body, she did it to prepare me for burial” (Matthew 26:12). Mary understood Him and, instead of waiting like the other women to anoint Him after He was dead, and finding, as they did, that He had already arisen and the opportunity was gone, Mary came beforehand and sent Him forth to His great priesthood with an intelligent faith and devoted love that took away much of the sharpness of that bitter cross. Do we understand the Savior? Do we enter into His thought? Do we give Him our sympathy, our fellowship, our deepest love? Mary represents through all the ages the spiritual life in contrast with the practical and yet as the true inspiration of all practical holiness. We must first come to Him and learn to sit at His feet, hear His word and receive His grace before we can give back to Him anything in return that will be worthy of His receiving. God is not blaming us because we do not give more, but because we do not take more. The keynote of redemption is grace. It is through grace alone that we can receive the first touches of the new life, but it is equally through grace that we must serve Him all the way. “Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (1 Chronicles 29:14). Our Choice There is a very practical and helpful word in this incident that will answer for most of us the question: How can we have the best things that God has for us? The answer is found in that little word “chosen.” “Mary has chosen” (Luke 10:42). It was not a matter of temperament with Mary, making her contemplative rather than practical. It was a matter of will. She had chosen deliberately, intelligently, the best that God had for her. A fine old German saint was once asked why it was that we did not have more holiness, and his answer was, “We have all the holiness we want. God will sanctify you, and does sanctify every one of us just as much as we wish and choose.” This is a heart-searching truth. God gives us what we want. If you want a little of His grace, you may get it. If you want to be halfhearted, you may. But if you want to be wholly His and have all His fullness, His great heart is just longing to find room and vent for His love, and He “will… throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it” (Malachi 3:10).