As
they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me.” Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 10:38-42
Luke 10 [37.] He said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
Luke 10 [38.] As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me.”
Luke 10 [41.] Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Luke 11 [1.] When he finished praying in a certain place, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.”
Meaning:
Luke places this visit straight after the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33-37). The parable shows love for one’s neighbour in action; this scene shows love for God expressed by listening to Jesus. Together they illustrate the two great commandments the lawyer had quoted (Luke 10:27).
- “a certain woman named Martha received him into her house”
John’s Gospel tells us that Martha and Mary lived in Bethany, near Jerusalem, with their brother Lazarus, and that Jesus loved all three of them. Martha appears to be the head of the household. Welcoming a teacher and his followers was a generous act of hospitality, and she took the work seriously.
- “Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word”
To sit at a teacher’s feet was the position of a disciple. Paul later spoke of his own training as being brought up at the feet of his teacher Gamaliel. In that culture it was unusual for a woman to take this place, yet Jesus welcomes Mary as a learner. Luke shows several times that women followed Jesus and received his teaching.
- “But Martha was distracted with much serving”
Martha’s serving was good, but it pulled her attention away from Jesus himself. Her frustration turned into a complaint, first against Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care,” and then against her sister. Busy service can easily turn into resentment of others who seem to be doing less.
- “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things”
Jesus repeats her name with tenderness. He does not condemn her work, but he names her worry. Later in Luke he teaches, “don’t be anxious for your life, what you will eat” (Luke 12:22), and in the parable of the sower he warns that the cares of life can choke the word (Luke 8:14).
- “one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part”
The “one thing” is to listen to the Lord and receive his word. David longed for the same: “One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after, that I may dwell in Yahweh’s house all the days of my life” (Psalm 27:4). What Mary received from Jesus could never be taken from her. Food would be eaten and forgotten, but the word of God remains. As Jesus said when he was tempted, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).
The Significance of Luke 10:38-42
- Service flows from listening
Serving Christ is good and necessary, but it must grow out of time spent with him. Without listening, service becomes a burden and a source of complaint.
- Choosing the good part
Every day brings many demands. Believers must deliberately choose to make room for God’s word, because it is the one thing that lasts.
- Jesus cares for the anxious
Jesus spoke gently to Martha. He meets busy, worried people with patience and invites them to rest in him.
Cross-References:
Psalm 27:4: "One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after," Longing for God above all.
Matthew 4:4: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Life depends on God’s word.
Luke 8:14: The cares of life can choke the word.
Philippians 3:13: Paul’s single-minded focus on Christ.
Conclusion: Martha welcomed Jesus and worked hard to serve him, while her sister Mary sat at his feet listening to his word. When Martha complained, Jesus gently showed her that she was anxious about many things, but only one thing was needed. Mary had chosen the good part, attention to Jesus and his word, and it would not be taken from her.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible