Martha and Mary
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
1. We have before us the human Christ. When we say the human Christ, we do not mean that He was a continuation of the Adamic race and nature. Adam was the first man: Jesus Christ, the Second. Adam was the head of one race; Jesus Christ is the Head of another race. In Adam all die; in Christ all are made alive. Jesus Christ did not have a human nature in the sense that nature is defined in the dictionary as "belonging or relating to man." Christ's nature was that begotten of the Holy Ghost. It is spoken of in the Bible as the "Divine nature," the nature which we have in our second birth.
2. We have before us the human Christ seeking the refuge of a home. We read in the Word that He had no place to lay His head. The world was His for He had made it; the silver and the gold were His, and yet He had no home. Thus it was that we see Him entering the house of another. We feel that we can properly say that Christ entered the home of Martha and Mary in a homey way. He delighted to sit under their roof. He enjoyed the comforts of the home, its relaxation, and above all He enjoyed His relationship with the three who dwelt there.
I. AN APPRAISAL OF MARTHA'S CHARACTER (Luke 10:38, l.c.)
There are many who give Martha anything but commendation. They see in her nothing that is good, or worthy of praise. If we would read the Scripture we would find that there is much in her which is worthy of praise.
1. Martha owned the home in which she dwelt. It is called "her" house. How she obtained this house, we may not know. She certainly was a woman of means. Mary, her sister, also had money. The spikenard with which she afterward anointed her Lord is abundant proof of this. In the home of Martha, Mary, who evidently was a younger sister, lived. There, also, dwelt Lazarus.
2. Martha received Christ into her house. She delighted to have the Lord with her. The word "received" does not express a mere formality, a coldhearted welcome. It carries with it the thought of cordiality and pleasure.
II. THE SISTER WHO WAS CALLED MARY (Luke 10:39)
We now come to study a most beautiful character
1. Her simplicity and humility are seen in the fact that she quietly took her place at the feet of her Master. She knew nothing of the spirit of pride. She loved to sit down at Jesus' feet. Is not this the place that all of us should take? It was there that the Syrophenician came and fell as she made the request for her daughter. It was there that Jairus fell as he pleaded for his little girl. It was at the feet of Jesus that the rich young ruler prostrated himself. It was there that the demoniac sat, clothed and in his right mind.
2. Her intensity should also be marked. Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard His words. She sat there eager to listen. How wonderful it must have been! The words which fell from the lips of our Lord were sweeter to her than honey. Every word was full of tender consideration and sublime wisdom. We think of the intensity of the disciples, sitting at Jesus' feet on the mountain as He opened His lips and taught them. His words flowed with the rhythm and the freedom of the babbling brook. Remember the expression in Acts, which says, "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said." Every word was like an apple of gold in a picture of silver.
III. THE BUSY HOUSEKEEPER (Luke 10:40)
1. Martha's difficulty was not serving, but much serving. Household service is a necessary part of life. We pity the woman who feels she must not soil her hands with such work. It is just as honorable for a woman to work in the home as it is for a man to work in the shop. We always like to get hold of a hand grimy with toil. We delight to meet a man who shows the effect of daily labor. In the Epistles we read that one who refuses to labor should not eat. The Bible also speaks of the fields of the slothful, how their fences had fallen down, and the weeds had taken the place. There is no excuse for laziness, or lounging in the Word of God. However, Martha was serving excessively.
2. Martha's difficulty was not serving, but being cumbered with service. She fretted over what she did. Serving was burdensome to her. No doubt, this was because she overdid her service. After all, we wonder what it is that our Lord really desires? Work or worship? Toil or prayer? Work or fellowship? That He wants, in moderation, the former in each case, we are sure; however the chief thing must be the latter, always. The latter is "that good part."
IV. THE SAD COMPLAINT (Luke 10:40, m. c)
1. Martha complained against Mary. She said, "My sister hath left me to serve alone." How often it is that we not only neglect sitting at the feet of our Lord, but we hinder others in their worship. We not only stop our own spiritual growth, but we stop that of those whom we love. When we get tired, overwrought by much serving, we are sure to complain and to find fault. We want to be pitied. Had Martha not overdone the entertaining, she had not become so wrought up.
2. Martha complained against the Lord. Martha said, "Lord, dost Thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?" We can almost see our Master on another occasion. He lay asleep in the boat. The disciples were fearful lest a storm which had arisen might wreck the ship. Peter rushed over to the sleeping Saviour, and said, "Carest Thou not that we perish?"
V. THE HUMAN COMMANDING THE DIVINE (Luke 10:40, l.c.)
The last clause of our verse reads, "Bid her therefore that she help me." These were the words of Martha to Christ.
1. The Christian should never give orders to God. Even Mary, the mother of Jesus, on the occasion of the wine being exhausted at Cana of Galilee, made no demand upon the Lord. She merely told the servants, "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it."
2. The Christian should in every prayer say, "Not my will but Thine be done." The basis of healing should be placed upon the prayer of faith. However, the prayer of faith is God-given, and that prayer will never even endeavor to get outside of the will of God.
VI. THE LORD'S AGITATED REBUKE (Luke 10:41)
1. The meaning of the repetition of words. Jesus said, "Martha, Martha." The very fact that He repeated the word, "Martha," showed that He was deeply moved. Take, for instance, the expression, "Simon, Simon, * * Satan hath desired to have you." Take again the expression, "Moses, Moses. * * Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes." Take another, "Abraham, Abraham."
2. What is the good part? As Christ entered the home that day, Martha most cordially welcomed Him. Now, that He was within, what did He want? Did He desire food, more than fellowship? Work, more than words?
The Lord, at this moment, would far rather have us frequently at His side, than to have us toiling away from His presence. Did He not say, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"?
VII. THE ONE THING NEEDFUL (Luke 10:42)
1. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of God." This we have tried to emphasize already, but it needs special emphasis. Instead of seeking food, raiment, and things pertaining to the body, we should seek Him first of all. If we labor for earthly things, we labor for the things which perish. We are to set our affections on the spiritual, not the carnal; on the things above, not upon things beneath.
2. The supreme question. Christ said, "Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."
The Apostle Paul said, "This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before." Paul counted all things but loss that he might win Christ and know Him. He chose the better part the one thing needful.