Small Story... Big Message

By John Stallings

…..Martha, Martha, you’re fussing too much about nothing.—The Message Bible. Luke 10:41


This story in Luke is chock full of spiritual nourishment. It’s especially intriguing to me because at first blush, it seems Luke has just tacked the story on at the end of chapter ten. As far as context goes, it doesn’t fit with anything that goes before or comes afterward.

However if you’re anything like me, this grabs your interest even more & assures that something rich & insightful is clustered in the mere five verses.


Mary, Martha & Lazarus were a family who lived in the hamlet of Bethany, two miles from Jerusalem. Because of that proximity, Jesus & His disciples often stopped by. I’m assuming of these two sisters, Martha was the oldest because it was her home & she had invited Jesus. The other reason I figure she was the elder sister was because she got irritated with Mary; that’s running pretty true to form, don’t you think?

They were a family particularly loved by Jesus; a fact made crystal clear in the gospels. Preachers have used this vignette in all sorts of ways; usually Martha represents Works & Mary represents Faith. This stereotype isn’t necessarily true nor is it fair.

When you read the story its clear Jesus put his disapproval on Martha’s busyness & His approval on Mary’s choice to sit at His feet. But there’s much more than meets the eye here.

If you think Martha’s job was easy ask yourself what you’d do in her place? What would you serve Jesus? Would you go with peanut butter & jelly sandwiches on paper plates or Lobster on Grandma’s china? Apparently Jesus knew the good wine from the bad.

And you never knew what Jesus would do or say. He called things as He saw them. Public opinion moved Him no more than a gnat lighting on His sleeve. If a dog plopped down at His feet He would have scratched his neck a little & used the occasion to talk about the kingdom of God.

Moving along, one thing is sure; there’s much tension in Bethany this evening.

Mary & Martha were a study in contrasts. Mary is a carefree, open spirit & very tender-hearted, while Martha is a hard “worker bee,” committed, dedicated water-hauler, cooking, stressed-out & self-righteous; but teachable. Distant Martha—Devoted Mary. Angry Martha—Adoring Mary. Get the picture?

There’s no question that Jesus was blunt with Martha in this story but we also hear love in His tone as he speaks to her. There was a symbolic, verbal “pat on the head” in His voice but there was also compassion as He called her name twice, “Martha, Martha, don’t let the cares of the world weigh you down.”

In this story, the sea walker, the blind man healer, the man the multitudes are following , comes under one roof to enjoy food & fellowship with one family, perhaps His best friends.

But He finds things a bit dysfunctional on this day & the air is crackling with tension. Martha is in the kitchen preparing a meal & Mary has vacated the kitchen to curl- up at Jesus’ feet. Martha had probably carried the scrub bucket all day long & had cleaned her house from top to bottom. Remember she didn’t have the options women have today. She didn’t have a freezer. She had to kill a few chickens & grind flour to make bread, & walk into the center of the village to get clean water.

This isn’t a - good-Mary—bad Martha scenario. Both of them loved Jesus & wanted His fellowship but obviously on this day Mary had all she could take, pulled off her apron & went to Jesus feet & sat down. As far as Martha was concerned, the “fat was in the fire.”

Then Martha pulls the old classic triangulation tactic, pulling Jesus into it. She decides to manipulate Mary through Jesus. She says, “Tell my sister to help me; why do I have to do everything myself?” Martha wants to make herself the pattern for Mary. But Jesus doesn’t bite. Obviously He “gets it.” He sees that Martha is working hard while Mary is sitting at His feet absorbing His words.

Martha opened her home, but Mary opened her heart. Martha wants to feed bodies but Mary wants her soul fed. Martha had invited Jesus into her home but didn’t have time to talk to Him. There are several spiritual lessons in this story & the first one comes in the form of a question;

1. HAVE YOU OPENED YOUR HOME TO JESUS?

Say what we might about Martha but If everyone would do what she did & throw their home open to Jesus most of our problems would vanish. Think about that; if every home in America were to make Jesus not just welcome, but would obey His precepts, there’d be no more divorces, no more hellish turmoil, no spousal abuse, & very little if any juvenile delinquency. Just one change, opening the door of our homes to Jesus would change everything.

Some of my most precious memories as a child are in the home. I was a preacher’s kid & we moved frequently. That would have given many kids a problem but I thrived as a youngster, although always an outsider, because of the closeness of our family.

I might not have had the advantage of staying in one place long but it was more than compensated for by the love we felt at home.

I was raised without T.V up until I was 17 & as I look back I can’t remember ever having a problem being entertained. I have to be honest, I don’t know what I’d do without my T.V & computer now but I got along fine as a kid without all this technology.

I don’t remember a void in my life as a kid & I guess it was because we’d gather around the piano & sing & we just enjoyed being together. I’m sure those hours not spent in front of a T.V were responsible for my learning to play the guitar & writing songs which became a great part of my life. I also picked around on the piano but never mastered it. I use the same system to pay the piano as I do in typing & it’s the scriptural method, “Seek & ye shall find.”

I’m certain my family was far from perfect; I know time puts a halo on things, but I can’t remember ever hearing my parents raise their voice to one another or get into raw-dog arguments. I’m sure they cleared the air from time to time but we kids never heard it.

I also got spankings when I needed them. One thing that wasn’t allowed was talking back to either parent. As a matter of fact I used to think the commandment that said --“Honor thy father & mother that thy days may be long upon the earth”—meant if you didn’t honor them they might kill you. That’s basically a joke but it’s not too far from the truth. I never got a vicious beating, & don’t think any child should be subjected to that, but suffice to say, my dad gave spankings that were absolutely & positively unacceptable. If spankings are acceptable to the child they’re not worth giving.

The Bible says. Rebellion is born in the heart of a child but the rod will drive it far from him. ---Proverbs 22:15

Here’s what a Christian home looks like;

1. Christlike family members treat each other like they’d like to be treated.—Matt7:12

2. The Christian home shares joys & blessing as well as burdens & sorrow.-Gal.6:2

3. The Christian home worships together.

4. A sense of belonging in the Christian home is a constant source of strength.

5. A Christian home is marked by openness, integrity & an absence of hypocrisy making trust possible.

6. In a Christian home, parents listen to children & children listen to parents.

7. In a Christian home malicious judgments are avoided.—Matt. 7:1-3

8. Harmony & understanding prevail in a Christian home.-Matt.5:43-44

9. Members of a Christian home enjoy each others company.

10. Christian homes don’t conform to the world.—Heb.12:1-2

Another question suggested by this story is;


2. HAS WHAT STARTED AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE THE LORD BECOME AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE YOUR TALENTS?

Can you see Martha rearranging the little knickknacks on her shelves? Can you see her cutting the carrots with special little curlicues, & arranging them with the other snacks in a perfect picture on the tray? These things are lovely & appreciated & are a way of showing love but they can never take the place of time at Jesus’ feet.

Let’s face it; a salad is a salad even if the tomatoes aren’t arranged in a special design on the top. Mashed potatoes are mashed potatoes even without special presentation. A pie crust is a pie crust even if the edge isn’t curled in a special way. These are things that aren’t really needful. If you want to do them its fine, but if you do, don’t complain or use it as an excuse for not having time to sit at Jesus’ feet.

There’s a fine line here & it’s easy to cross without knowing it. This isn’t said to criticize Martha or judge her heart, because she loved & adored Jesus every bit as much as Mary did. But it’s possible, just possible that she’s getting close to the slippery slope of becoming a “show boat” wanting to be in the spotlight more than wanting to worship at Jesus’ feet.

Let’s move to other areas of Christian service like playing a musical instrument, singing solo’s, writing songs, singing in the choir or being Worship leader. Do you look at your opportunities for service as areas where you can truly make a difference in the lives of people, or have you allowed “mission creep” to cause you to drift into being a religious entertainer?

There are those today who present themselves as “Experts in Worship” who strut like Peacocks. I heard about an evangelist who came on the platform in a bright red suit with sequins on it; a black shirt, white tie, white buck shoes, his greasy-black hair piled up on his head ,a loud flashy electric guitar around his neck & announced, “Don’t see me, see Jesus.”

Colossi ans 3:17 says,--And whatsoever ye do in word or deed do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Another question from this little story is;


3. ARE YOU LEARNING TO BETTER BALANCE YOUR PERSONAL DEVOTIONS WITH YOUR PRACTICAL DUTIES?

We should be careful not to look at these two sisters & call Mary spiritual & Martha practical. If you look closely at Luke 10:39 you’ll see—“And she had a sister called Mary which ALSO sat at Jesus’ feet, & heard His word.

This implies that Marta sat at Jesus’ feet also, just at different times. In verse 40 Martha says, -- Lord don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone?” In other words in the normal course of events it was normal for both the women to work together but on this one occasion Mary had left Martha to work alone. So both the sisters were practical as well as spiritual.

The lesson here is; personal devotion & practical duties should never be pitted against each other. As a matter of fact, out of our personal devotions should spring motivation for our practical duties. If we don’t get the spiritual part of our lives right, the practical side will only produce good ideas, not God ideas.

We’ve all heard the old saying, “He/she is so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good.” This should never be said of a true Christian because whatever God requires & expects from us will never lie outside the realm of possibility. God isn’t an unreasonable God & He knows exactly how much time we have at our disposal. If He asks us to spend time with Him & also work hard to put food on our tables, then we know its well within our power to do it.

I believe it was John Wesley who said; “I have so much to accomplish each day if I didn’t spend time (probably hours) with God I could never get it all done.”


4. DOES THE LORD’S WORK HAVE PRIORITY OVER THE LORD’S PRESENCE IN YOUR LIFE?

Let me give you an illustration here. What if you had a son you missed very much & though he lived in the same town with you, he never could get around to sitting down & visiting with you. There was so much you wanted to say to him & you wanted to catch up with what’s going on in his life, but that talk just never seems to take place.

One day the doorbell rings & your heart skips a beat because your son is at the door. When you open it, he says, “I noticed your lawn needed cutting so I’m going to cut it for you, I love you mom/dad.”

When he’s finished mowing your lawn he’s off to do other things. You feel bad & you still love the kid, you just are so hungry to visit with him. A few days later your son knocks at the door again & tells you he’s going to wash your car & also he’s noticed there a some limbs on your backyard trees that need to be cut back & with a smile on his face once again he’s off to do things for you that desperately need to be done.

Now your heart is breaking because it seems your beloved son doesn’t really want to sit & just talk to you. You so appreciate the work he’s doing, after all, he’s saving you a ton of money, but your heart yearns for just a little personal time with your boy. If this went on month after month & year after year you’d start to feel your son’s love for you must be deficient in some way.

The work your son is doing is wonderful, & you realize the work he’s doing is an expression of his love for you, but it can’t take the place of his personal presence by your side, talking with you.

Likewise God loves the fact that we’re busy for Him, but His heart yearns for “face-time” with us where we just come into His presence to personally commune with Him.


5. DO YOU FIND YOURSELF MORE & MORE FOCUSING ON JESUS?

Jesus told Martha in the 42nd verse; ONE THING IS NEEDED.

Jesus told the rich young ruler, -You still lack ONE THING. Sell everything you have & give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and then follow me.

Jesus focused the young man’s attention on following Him. If someone hasn’t decided to follow they would have to be driven to follow. We miss the point if we think that Jesus was trying to get the young man to become poor. No! Proverbs 19:17 says, --He that hath pity on the poor lendeth to the Lord & that which he hath given He will pay him again.

God will be in debt to no man & if man will pay interest on a loan we know God will certainly pay interest & dividends. Jesus was trying to get the young millionaire to become a billionaire.

Paul said, -….This ONE THING I do, forgetting what is behind & straining towards what is ahead, I press toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.—Phil. 3:13-14.

Jesus says to Martha, ONE THING IS NEEDED. She was distracted & looking at everything but Him. Have you & I made provision for this ONE THING?
The secret to life & happiness is putting Him at the center of everything we do.

6. THOUGH YOU KNOW THE WORK IS IMPORTANT, DO YOU PREFER MARY’S PLACE OVER MARTHA’S PLACE?

Jesus said in verse 42, -Mary has chosen the better part.

There’s a lot of Martha in all of us. As a matter of fact more Martha’s are reading this than Mary’s. Yes, I’m guilty too. We are “cumbered by many things.” We prefer action movies. Don’t sit us in a room with nothing to do. It’s not that we enjoy hard work all that much, we’ve just got to be doing something; it makes the time go faster.


Jesus describes the ONE THING as the better part. Jesus didn’t condemn Martha’s activity anywhere in this story. Though He didn’t condemn her He said, -- there’s a better way Martha. Martha was in a purple rage because she so much wanted to have an extraordinary meal for Jesus. Her objective was the “event” to have a gourmet meal on the table.

Martha saw Jesus as HER guest but Mary saw HERSELF as Jesus’ guest. Again the focus is on Jesus. We need to always prefer Mary’s place, even while serving as Martha did.


7. ARE YOU LEARNING TO TRUST THE LORD & NOT WORRY OR BE UPSET?

Jesus said to Martha, -- Martha, Martha, you are worried & upset about so many things. You might not agree with me on this but I don’t believe Jesus said this because of anything He saw Martha doing that day. I believe He looked right through to her heart & saw the upset, turmoil & worry.

Jesus used a word we don’t use much these days if we use it at all, the word “cumbered.” It actually means, flustered, busy, & over-occupied. Note- God’s Word never tells us that things won’t come that could cause us to worry. He just tells us not to worry & when these things come, cast them on the Lord for He cares for you.

Don't  worry --is a very clear command of God’s word & He wouldn’t ask that of us were it not possible.

This little story is very powerful wouldn’t you say? It’s much more than just an evening with Jesus. It’s teaching us that Jesus can deal with everything that troubles us.


Let’s learn from it & allow ourselves to be changed by it.


Blessings,


John