Luke chapter 10 and verse 38. This is the word of God. Now
it came to pass as they went that he entered into a certain
village and a certain woman named Martha received him into her
house. And she had a sister called Mary,
which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha
was cumbered about much serving, and came to him and said, Lord,
dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?
Bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said
unto her, Martha, Martha, Thou art careful and troubled about
many things, but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen
that good part which shall not be taken away from her. Amen, and may the Lord bless
to us this reading from his word. Whenever I read the word certain,
in these Gospel accounts, a certain village, a certain woman, I like
to consider the purposeful intent of the Lord in dealing with his
people. Now the location here, it's called
a certain village. The location may very well have
been Bethany, which was a village two miles from Jerusalem. And
it was here that Mary and Martha, Martha and Mary, had their home
together with Lazarus. But Luke need not be specific. But the Lord was. He went purposefully
to this certain village because it was here that he chose to
stay in order to meet with these two blessed women. And the Lord
travelled far and wide to gather his little flock under the sound
of his voice and to nourish their souls in green pastures and beside
still waters. The Lord was careful as he went
about his business to speak to those certain individuals that
he wished to encounter. Now when we are going about our
business, we perceive randomness and chance in the world around
about us, so that it seems that by chance things happen. If you just look back with me
at verse 31, so we were reading from verse 38, but last week
we spent some time thinking about the Good Samaritan. Look at verse
31 there. It says, and by chance there
came down a certain priest that way. Now that's not normally
a word that you would expect to see in the Bible. By chance. That's not a word that you would
expect to see in the Bible. But yet here it is, because that
is often the way that we perceive things. But nothing is a matter
of chance with God, and nor was it in Christ's ministry either. God's providence in all things
is ordered, directed, and governed according to his purpose. and
for the accomplishment of his will. The Lord's people maintain
trust in our sovereign's ordination and foreordination of all things
and his control over every situation. And that view of things not only
honours God, Not only is it true, but it is comforting and reassuring
for the Lord's people when trials arise and when this confusing
world seems to get the better of us and get us down. Like Martha,
we are prone to be anxious and troubled concerning many things. but it is soothing to our souls
and our minds to be reminded that our Lord's sovereign dominion
and control is over all things. Now Martha is first mentioned
here before Mary and it may be because she is the elder of these
two sisters. We're told that this is her house. So this was Martha's home. It wasn't the home of Lazarus.
He may have had another house altogether, but this was her
house. And that has led some to wonder
if Martha was perhaps a widow. I'm not entirely sure of the
validity of that thought. It might also be that she was
just an industrious, hardworking woman. and as such a person of
some means and wealth. But we learn that she invited
him, so it seems to have been Jesus that was invited specifically
into her home and it is possible that the disciples were lodged
elsewhere. The sisters have a brother, and
he is called Lazarus, although he doesn't appear here in this
account in Luke. We discover a bit more about
him later in John's Gospel, and we discover that Lazarus takes
ill and dies. He lives in the same village,
but as I say, not necessarily here in the same house. but he's
miraculously brought back to life by the Lord Jesus after
having been dead for four days and buried in a tomb. But it's
Martha on that occasion that, or to whom Jesus utters the wonderful
phrase, I am the resurrection and the life. We're going to
be thinking about some of these I am statements in the coming
weeks and that is one that we're going to be touching on. So we
will encounter Martha in the next few weeks as well in our
Sunday studies. But both Martha and Mary were
beloved of the Lord Jesus. They were both loved of God and
they were believers. John tells us in chapter 11,
verse 5, Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. But here in Luke, we see differences
in the sisters' personalities and differences in their priorities
in their interaction with the Lord Jesus. It's Martha's home. She has invited the Lord into
her home and she is exercised in being hospitable. She is careful
for her responsibilities to the point of a fault. She is cumbered
about much serving in order to ensure that her guests are well
catered for and comfortable. Cumbered is an old word. It's
a lovely word, really, when you think about it. Cumbered. It's a word that means hindered
by obstacles or burdened by circumstances. And I don't know what those obstacles
and circumstances were, but whatever it was, the way in which Martha
was burdened by the responsibilities of catering and caring for her
guests were weighing her down. She seems to have been a woman
of a nervous attitude, anxious to be busy in doing and providing
the best for the Master's needs, in many ways commendable. Mary,
on the other hand, is serious and quiet, more concerned not
to miss the opportunity of sitting at Jesus' feet and learning from
him. There's an interesting little
word in here. We're told in verse 39 that Martha
had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet and heard
his word. That little word there, also,
perhaps this was that she sat there also with other disciples
who sat and listened as Jesus spoke and preached. or else it
might imply that she was not unaware of her duties or indeed
completely negligent of attending to the needs of the honoured
guest in her sister's home. She also sat at Jesus' feet as
well as taking responsibility for the catering. Be that as
it may, she was not willing to forgo simply sitting quietly
in order to hear the Lord speaking. Martha's anxiety in the midst
of this situation seems to get the better of her and she complains
to the Lord about what was happening, but actually it's more than a
complaint because there's reproach in her words, a reproach that
extends beyond Mary and on to the Lord himself. There's an
implicit criticism both of Mary and of the Lord and she probes
with her question, Lord does thou not care? What a terrible
thing to say to the Lord, do you not care? Well, dost thou
not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? Bid her
therefore that she help me. It's almost as if she's laying
blame on the part of the Lord that Mary wasn't giving her some
help. Maybe she'd already tried to
press Mary to help without success. And I suspect that this was her
way to chide Mary and demonstrate publicly that her own priorities
should take precedence over Mary's priorities. Martha knew Mary
would at once do whatever the Lord asked. All she needed was
for the Lord Jesus to whisper into Mary's ear, go and help
your sister. But the Saviour was wise to Martha's
scheme, and he names her name twice, Martha, Martha. It's an effective way to lend
weight and solemnity to his words. The words are tender, but they're
firm. There is correction required,
but it isn't what Martha hopes for or indeed expects. Her anxieties were misplaced. It was those anxieties that needed
to be addressed. She was careful and troubled
about many things. She was over careful and unnecessarily
troubled. And it was she, not Mary, who
ought to reflect upon her priorities. Martha was preoccupied with all
the things that needed to be done and sorted in the house
for the meal. But says the Lord, really, Only
one thing is needful. Only one thing is really necessary. And it's not looking after the
meal. One thing is needful and Mary
hath chosen that good part. The thing, or rather, the one
who is needful is Christ, the Lord Jesus himself. It is better
to be diligent in seeking Christ and hearing his gospel and following
his word than anything else. And that is not to disparage
diligence in the responsibilities that fall to us, but the priority,
the preeminence in a believer's life ought to be given to the
things of our Saviour and the things of His grace and our faith. That is what Mary realised, and
that would not be taken from her. Everything else in this
world may be taken from us. Indeed, ultimately, everything
will be taken from us, even life itself. unless we know and have
the one who is life. Robert Hawker, I mention him
from time to time, he says, it's a lovely little phrase, he says,
God our Father has given the church nothing to have and to
hold forever, but his dear son. And this first and best and comprehensive
gift includes every other and it is given never to be recalled. Mary had, by grace, chosen the
Lord's company to be of the highest value. It wasn't her own affections
or her own inclinations that decided this matter, but a desire
placed there by the Lord. Natural desires will not lead
us after the things of God, but in pursuit rather of the things
of self. Mary had chosen the Lord because
the Lord first chose her. She loved the Lord's presence
and company because an appetite had been stirred in her soul
to hear and dwell and meditate upon the things of the Lord.
And that's not to suggest that Mary was bereft of Christ's love
and calling. But I think for the sake of the
church, for the sake of our learning, and for Christ's personal direction
to each of us, she has been left to us as a cautionary example,
not to be preoccupied with earthly things and temporal things, no
matter how important they may seem, if that is at the expense
of putting Christ first in our lives. Martha's life was a succession
of business which found her rushing from task to task. Mary's was
a reverent and reflective serenity. in which she kept an eye upon
her saviour. I don't for a moment imagine
that she was lazy or indolent or unconcerned about her responsibilities,
but she kept her eye fixed on the Lord. She kept her ear attuned
to his voice and she would not let the opportunity pass to be
in his presence. The Lord told Martha that what
Mary had chosen would not be taken from her. And it is very
precious if we can have a settled view of the Saviour and his person
and his work and a continuing peace in resting in him, waiting
upon him and trusting him in the affairs of our life. Ultimately,
our eternal rest in glory will prove that sitting in the presence
of our Lord and Saviour, hearing His words, looking upon Him,
dwelling in awe and wonder at His goodness and love, will indeed
be our everlasting portion and our everlasting delight. I suspect
Many of us feel the balance of our lives tends more towards
Martha than Mary. I certainly do. Nevertheless,
may the Lord give us sufficient self-awareness and suitable motivation
as will bring us back time after time to his feet. that we might
rest there in humble adoration, marvelling at his grace and mercy,
rejoicing in his goodness and love, thanking him for his great
salvation and effectual redemption, by which we are brought nigh
to God. Amen. Amen.