MARTHA DISTRACTED
But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” (10:40–42)
Unfortunately, even genuine believers can lose their focus on what really matters. Unlike her sister, Martha was distracted from hearing the Lord’s teaching, being preoccupied with all her preparations. The verb translated distracted literally means, “to be dragged away.” She allowed her preparations (lit., “much serving”), such as fixing a meal for the guests and making arrangements for where they would sleep, to keep her from the priority of listening to the Lord teach.
There is certainly nothing wrong with showing hospitality; in fact, Scripture commands it. Paul wrote that believers are to be constantly “practicing hospitality” (Rom. 12:13). The writer of Hebrews exhorted, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it” (Heb. 13:2), while Peter commanded, “Be hospitable to one another without complaint” (1 Peter 4:9). Showing hospitality marks both elders (1 Tim. 3:2; Titus 1:8) and godly women (1 Tim. 5:10). But in the process of doing that, Martha got her priorities twisted; she was fussing and fretting, trying to get everything arranged to her satisfaction, maybe to make an impression on Jesus. As a result, she failed to take advantage of a rare and priceless opportunity—to hear in person the Lord of the universe teach and be impressed profoundly by Him.
Her misguided priorities finally caused Martha to lose the joy of serving. She became more and more flustered, agitated, and frustrated, until finally she became angry. The target of her anger was her sister who, instead of helping with the chores, was sitting there listening to Jesus. Finally, in exasperation, Martha came up to Jesus and interrupted Him. Her irritation and anger caused her to lose control and make the unthinking accusation, “Lord, do You not care?” To so rebuke the one who is “compassionate and gracious” (Ex. 34:6; 2 Chron. 30:9; Neh. 9:17, 31; Pss. 103:8; 111:4; 116:5; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2) and cares for His people (1 Peter 5:7; cf. Ps. 34:15; Matt. 6:26–30) is one of the most foolish and graceless statements anyone ever made to Jesus.
Specifically, Martha accused Jesus of not caring that her sister had left her to do all the serving alone. And if He did care, then He should tell her to help bear the burden of serving. After falsely accusing Him of not caring, Martha then presumed to tell the Lord exactly what to do, implying that her will and her plans were more important than His. She had lost her perspective; she was totally out of control; her view of reality was severely skewed. Martha was worried about the bread that feeds the body, while Mary’s focus was on the Bread of Life that feeds the soul (cf. John 6:33, 35, 48, 51).
Demonstrating the gentle, compassionate care that Martha had unthinkingly questioned, the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha. Repeating her name as a sign of intensified emotion (cf. 6:46; 8:24; 13:34), Jesus said to her, “You are worried and bothered about so many things.” Martha was unduly concerned and troubled about temporal things to the point that she had forgotten that only one thing is necessary—listening to the Word of God. Far from rebuking her as Martha had demanded, Jesus commended Mary for understanding that reality. “Mary has chosen the good part (lit., “what is best”), He told Martha, which shall not be taken away from her.”
All too often Christians, like Martha, allow their lives to be regulated by what is not necessary. Faithfulness on the job, in the home, and in the church has a place, but must not be allowed to replace faithfulness to divine truth. “Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord” (Deut. 8:3). Only by making that their highest priority can believers behold the beauty of the Lord, as David did, and know Christ, as was Paul’s supreme passion. To that end they must “commend [themselves] to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build [them] up and to give [them] the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32; cf. Col. 3:16; Eph. 6:17; 1 Tim. 4:6; 1 Peter 2:2; 1 John 2:14).
Thus, in this account, the necessity of being a student of the Divine Teacher is established, and the lessons from His lips will unfold through the subsequent chapters.
MacArthur, J. (2011). Luke 6–10 (pp. 365–366). Moody Publishers.
41, 42. Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, You are worried and upset about many things; but only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen that good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.
The expression Martha, Martha reveals marked disapproval, to be sure, but also tender affection and grave concern, for, as the Searcher of hearts knows, Martha was inwardly worried and outwardly upset. This was very clear from the way she looked, spoke, and acted. “About many things,” as if to say, “Such an elaborate meal was not at all necessary. Besides, there are things which in excellence and importance far surpass eating.”
“Only one thing,” says Jesus, “is really necessary.” Some have interpreted this saying to mean, “Only one dish would have been needed.” But what immediately follows certainly favors the other and widely-held interpretation, namely, “The one thing necessary is the portion Mary has chosen, that is, listening to my words.” Can there, in fact, be anything greater in value than wholehearted devotion to and adoration of the Lord Jesus Christ, the revelation of God Triune? That, and not something else—this or that dish of food, for example—is the portion that will never be removed from Mary, and, for that matter, from anyone who copies her example. See Ps. 89:28; John 10:28; Rom. 8:38, 39.
The question is asked at times, “But was not Jesus a bit unfair to Martha? After all, did she not have a case?” The following must be borne in mind:
a. Except for the finishing touches, the meal should have been ready when Jesus and his group arrived. We have every reason to believe that he had taken care that this hostess knew about his coming. Was he not always sending men ahead to announce his arrival? See Isa. 40:3–5; Mal. 3:1; Luke 9:52; 10:1; 22:8.
b. This also means that upon his arrival one of the sisters should have … shall we say “entertained”?… the honored guest. Rather, “should have been ready to sit at his feet in order to listen to his words.” Not to do so would, even under ordinary conditions, have been impolite, contrary to good form, but in this case would have been most irreverent. Therefore Mary did exactly the right thing.
c. 10:40 “has left me,” etc., probably implies that at an earlier moment Mary too had done her part in the preparation of the meal.
Martha learned her lesson. She knew that Jesus’ words of reprimand had been spoken in love, for “Jesus was holding in loving esteem Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:5).
We are not surprised, therefore, that two of the most marvelous professions of faith found in Scripture were going to issue from the heart and lips of Martha:
“Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother would not have died. And even now I know that whatever thou wilt ask of God, God will give thee” (John 11:21, 22).
“Yes, Lord, I have believed that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, the One coming into the world” (John 11:27).
The story, therefore, has a glorious ending. God was glorified, and this is always what matters most.
Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (Vol. 11, pp. 599–600). Baker Book House.
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