Luk 10:41-42 | KingComments | STEP | In the section of Luke 10:38-11:13 the Lord makes His disciples familiar with the great means of blessing: the Word, prayer and the Holy Spirit. These three means make up the whole of the practical Christian life, in which it is about listening to God, going to Him as Father and entrusting oneself to the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. That is what marks the atmosphere of the inn in the previous parable and through which a heavenly people on earth is formed that inhales the atmosphere of heaven. It is remarkable that Luke speaks of “travelling”, as the Lord also said of the Samaritan that he was “on a journey” ( ). The Lord Jesus and His disciples are not ‘by chance’ on the way, like the priest and the Levite. His goal is Jerusalem. On His way there He enters a village, where a woman, Martha, welcomes Him hospitably into her home. It is as it were the inn from the parable of the good Samaritan. There He is and there He speaks His word to those who are at His feet to listen to His word. Martha has a sister. She is called Mary. Luke says of her that she “also” [Darby Translation] sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His word. The word ‘also’ is telling because it means that she not only sat and listened, but also helped Martha serve. Mary appreciates the care the Samaritan gives her. We find her three times at the Lord’s feet. Here to listen to His word. The second time is when she brings her grief to the Lord’s feet because her brother has died ( ). The third time is to anoint His feet as an expression of her worship in view of His death and burial ( ). She has learnt to know Him as she listened to Him while sitting at His feet. While Mary sits at the Lord’s feet, Martha is busy. It is no small thing to have to take care of thirteen men all of a sudden. It irritates her that her sister sits there so quietly and has left her to do all the serving alone. She also reproached the Lord for not encouraging Mary to help her. He sees how much there is to do, doesn’t He? There is nothing wrong with serving, but it must be the result of sitting at the feet of the Lord. Serving the Lord at the same time subtracts Martha from the Lord. There are so many things that are not wrong in themselves, but that so easily subtract us from Him. That can be necessary, but also interesting things, things that fascinate us. If any work is not done only out of love for Him, we lose our joy in it and become critical of others. For Mary, all she can do for the Lord is nothing compared to what He has to tell her. Martha is so occupied by her work that there is no place for anything else. Martha has too much work. Work in itself is not wrong, but it is if it takes away the sight on the Lord. Much is needed, but all that is needed can only go well if it comes from this one thing: sitting at the Lord’s feet. That is the one thing Mary has chosen. If we are distracted by many things, as is the case with Martha, it means that we lose sight of the one thing that is needed. There are more histories that show us the importance of “one thing”. Thus David asked “one thing” ( ), the Lord Jesus asked in connection with His Person “one thing” ( ; ; ), the blind-born man knew “one thing” when he had become seeing ( ), the rich young man lacked “one thing” ( ; ), and there was “one thing” that Paul did ( ). Overactive commitment to the Lord means that we lose sight of Him and have no fellowship with Him in what concerns Him. In addition, He is in a time of crisis. He is on His journey, on His way to Jerusalem, the final destination of His walk in the flesh on earth. Then it is important to listen to His Word and to keep the other activities to a minimum. The Lord praises Mary for having chosen “the good part”. The good part is the good ‘portion’ you get with a meal. Thus Joseph gave Benjamin the best portion of the food, five times that of his brothers ( ). Martha wanted to present the Lord with a good ‘portion’, while Mary has chosen the part that the Lord is presenting to her. Martha remained the hostess and the Lord the Guest; for Mary the Lord is the Host. At the house of the two from Emmaus we also see that the Lord, after being invited as a Guest, takes the place of Host when He breaks the bread ( ). He seeks this place in our heart and not that of a Guest. He knows from His own experience what the good part, the good portion is. That is the part that the Father gives Him: doing His will, for that was His food ( ).

‏ Luke 10:41-42

Martha and Mary

In the section of Luke 10:38-11:13 the Lord makes His disciples familiar with the great means of blessing: the Word, prayer and the Holy Spirit. These three means make up the whole of the practical Christian life, in which it is about listening to God, going to Him as Father and entrusting oneself to the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. That is what marks the atmosphere of the inn in the previous parable and through which a heavenly people on earth is formed that inhales the atmosphere of heaven.

It is remarkable that Luke speaks of “travelling”, as the Lord also said of the Samaritan that he was “on a journey” (Lk 10:33). The Lord Jesus and His disciples are not ‘by chance’ on the way, like the priest and the Levite. His goal is Jerusalem. On His way there He enters a village, where a woman, Martha, welcomes Him hospitably into her home. It is as it were the inn from the parable of the good Samaritan. There He is and there He speaks His word to those who are at His feet to listen to His word.

Martha has a sister. She is called Mary. Luke says of her that she “also” [Darby Translation] sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to His word. The word ‘also’ is telling because it means that she not only sat and listened, but also helped Martha serve.

Mary appreciates the care the Samaritan gives her. We find her three times at the Lord’s feet. Here to listen to His word. The second time is when she brings her grief to the Lord’s feet because her brother has died (Jn 11:32). The third time is to anoint His feet as an expression of her worship in view of His death and burial (Jn 12:3). She has learnt to know Him as she listened to Him while sitting at His feet.

While Mary sits at the Lord’s feet, Martha is busy. It is no small thing to have to take care of thirteen men all of a sudden. It irritates her that her sister sits there so quietly and has left her to do all the serving alone. She also reproached the Lord for not encouraging Mary to help her. He sees how much there is to do, doesn’t He?

There is nothing wrong with serving, but it must be the result of sitting at the feet of the Lord. Serving the Lord at the same time subtracts Martha from the Lord. There are so many things that are not wrong in themselves, but that so easily subtract us from Him. That can be necessary, but also interesting things, things that fascinate us. If any work is not done only out of love for Him, we lose our joy in it and become critical of others. For Mary, all she can do for the Lord is nothing compared to what He has to tell her.

Martha is so occupied by her work that there is no place for anything else. Martha has too much work. Work in itself is not wrong, but it is if it takes away the sight on the Lord. Much is needed, but all that is needed can only go well if it comes from this one thing: sitting at the Lord’s feet. That is the one thing Mary has chosen. If we are distracted by many things, as is the case with Martha, it means that we lose sight of the one thing that is needed.

There are more histories that show us the importance of “one thing”. Thus David asked “one thing” (Psa 27:4), the Lord Jesus asked in connection with His Person “one thing” (Lk 20:3; Mt 21:24; Mk 11:29), the blind-born man knew “one thing” when he had become seeing (Jn 9:25), the rich young man lacked “one thing” (Lk 18:22; Mk 10:21), and there was “one thing” that Paul did (Phil 3:13).

Overactive commitment to the Lord means that we lose sight of Him and have no fellowship with Him in what concerns Him. In addition, He is in a time of crisis. He is on His journey, on His way to Jerusalem, the final destination of His walk in the flesh on earth. Then it is important to listen to His Word and to keep the other activities to a minimum.

The Lord praises Mary for having chosen “the good part”. The good part is the good ‘portion’ you get with a meal. Thus Joseph gave Benjamin the best portion of the food, five times that of his brothers (Gen 43:34). Martha wanted to present the Lord with a good ‘portion’, while Mary has chosen the part that the Lord is presenting to her. Martha remained the hostess and the Lord the Guest; for Mary the Lord is the Host.

At the house of the two from Emmaus we also see that the Lord, after being invited as a Guest, takes the place of Host when He breaks the bread (Lk 24:29-30). He seeks this place in our heart and not that of a Guest. He knows from His own experience what the good part, the good portion is. That is the part that the Father gives Him: doing His will, for that was His food (Jn 4:34).