Martha - the hostess
Luke 10:38-42, John 11:1-44
Martha has received quite a lot of criticism over the years, for every woman is told not to be like Martha, and consequently they heave upon themselves the burden of guilt and condemnation when they are. Do you look down on yourself because God gave you an action-oriented personality? Do you look at yourself with downcast eyes, murmuring with shame that you are just like “that Martha”? Many women do, and this is unfortunate.
For although Martha is the type of personality that Jesus takes aside, gently chides her to abide in Him first, before “doing” for His Kingdom, she is also highly prized for her gifts. Jesus does not condemn her actions. He merely corrects her attitude. Jesus does not tell her to stop being hospitable. Keep in mind that He has turned to her for a much-needed comfort and respite be-fore the brutal week ahead of Him.
Martha’s service to Jesus is a pure blessing and act of obedience to Him. Jesus himself honors and esteems Martha by placing himself in Martha’s home, one that was the gold standard of Jewish hospitality. This shows just how much Jesus holds her in high regard, and Jesus’ opinion is not to be taken lightly.
Jesus also gently reminds Martha and us that while we may be the head of the household, we must never forget that He is Lord. Martha is a reminder that no matter how much we are in charge, we must also submit to God’s authority with a humble, serving heart.
So Jesus rearranges Martha’s priorities in a loving, straightforward way. Jesus instructs her to put Him first. Does that mean Martha needed to stop being hospitable? Absolutely not. Does that mean she needed to stop cooking food for Jesus’ entourage of 12 disciples that accompanied him? That she was not appreciated? Twelve unannounced guests - does the idea make your palms sweat?
Don’t sell yourself short if you share Martha’s personality. There is nothing wrong with that. You are that “Martha” only in the sense if you are so busy doing things for God and you aren’t setting aside time with God. Jesus sees your gifts better than you do, and He has given you those gifts for a reason. Don’t look at your personality as a detriment; look at it as an asset, because that’s how Jesus sees Martha. And that’s how Jesus sees you.
And this is where Jesus seeks to prioritize your life: Start out your day by soaking in God’s Word. Pray with your Heavenly Father before you dig into God’s work. Abide in Him. Let your heart be touched by His gentle hand. Listen to Him, believe in Him, have faith in Him, trust Him, spend time with Him, worship Him, and love Him with your whole heart, soul and mind. Sit as a child at your Father’s feet, basking in His presence.
Once your priorities are aligned in Jesus, you should never feel guilty about being the “doer”. For you are expected to use the gifts that God has given you to further His Kingdom. To demean these gifts is an insult to God. If God has given you the “doer” mentality, then be who God has asked you to be. Display your gifts for all the world to see, for they are given to you by God for His glory.
Don’t bemoan the fact that you are that capable, efficient hostess at a moment’s notice. It’s perfectly ok to have a clean house, busy hands, and a dinner table that is always prepared for unexpected guests. Jesus certainly appreciated it. Strive to be that Proverbs 31 woman. There is nothing wrong with this.
In fact, there is a reason why Jesus shows up on Martha’s doorstep six days before the fated Passover, and the night before His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Jesus always has a plan and purpose for where He goes, when He goes, and what He does when He gets there. Martha is part of His master plan, and it’s because of who she is that endears her to the Lord and Savior. She is the head of a family that Jesus visits again and again and again.
Martha is well-to-do and highly respected within her community. She lives in a big house . She lived with her sister Mary and her brother Lazarus. They were a Jewish family who were friends and followers of Jesus.
Martha lived in the town of Bethany, which means “house of welcome” or “house of figs.” Beth-any was a small town located at the foot of the Mt. of Olives about 3 kilometers (1.7 miles) east of Jerusalem. The town was a suburb of the capital city and as such proved to be an important place of rest for Jesus just outside the chaotic crowds of Jerusalem. Being only 3 kilometers from the city, it would have been a pleasant 20 or 30 minute stroll.
Jesus thus re-organizes traditional biblical hospitality around himself. Hospitality now includes service to him by doing and listening.
He thereby continued his pattern of changing established traditions. Earlier, he had re-ordered the family around himself, declaring that whoever does God’s will is “my brother, and sister, and mother” (Mark 3:31–35).
However here Jesus' teaching contains this sincere compliment: Jesus wants Martha’s company more than he wants her splendid meal.
It is also important to note that the doubling of Martha’s name (v. 41)—“Martha, Martha…”—presents interesting canonical parallels. Name repetition, a biblical rarity, denotes emphasis and a divine encounter. Consider, for example, God’s call to Abraham not to lay a hand on Isaac (Genesis 22:11), the call to Moses from the burning bush (Exodus 3:4), and Jesus' appearance to Saul on the Damascus road (Acts 9:4).
The text says that she was “distracted by all her preparations.” What was she distracted from? She was distracted from spending time with Jesus. Jesus clearly told her that Mary had made the better choice. Mary decided to simply put aside all the work and the worry and focus on listening to Jesus. Martha was thinking, "Mary is lazy!” But Jesus commended Mary. He clearly did not care about having the perfect dinner, or a room that was spotless. Jesus wanted to have time with them, His people.
And this was far more important than whatever Martha was readying. Martha had the opportunity of a lifetime. Perhaps years later she would surely think back to this very day. People may even ask her, “What was it like to have the Savior in your house?” And Martha might answer, “I don’t really know. I was busy trying to get a good dinner”
It was not a wrong thing that she was doing. But it did distract her from something far more valuable
Martha was stewing about the fact that she had to do all the work. She grew more and more flustered. And finally she had it. So she told Jesus, “Tell her [Mary] to help me.” Martha was taken over by her emotions. And she temporarily lost her mind. Jesus is the Son of the God, the Messiah, the Savior of the world. And here she was bossing Him around, commanding Him to command her sister to help.
It was inappropriate to talk to Jesus in this way. But stress and frustration often causes people to speak without thinking.
In fact, many people treat God like this. They view God as their personal servant or wish-granter. And they expect that God should give them what they want and when they want it. In-stead of humbly submitting their petition, they mistakenly demand God to intervene on their be-half. They, like Martha, forget who they are talking to.
Martha’s weakness appears to be that she is “too hospitable.” If you are going to have a weakness, that is probably a good one to have! - David was an adulterer. Moses was a murderer. And Martha was too hospitable. But that does not mean that Martha was ignorant of the basics of the kingdom.
When Lazarus got sick, Martha and Mary informed Jesus with an implied request that Jesus come and heal Lazarus - John 11:17-27
Martha clearly believed in Jesus’ ability to heal. She said, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha also believed in the last resurrection. And she made a powerful profession of faith, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”
Martha is one of the few true followers of Jesus at that time who believed that He was in fact the Messiah. In the end, that is by far the most important thing about Martha. And its especially powerful that she still expressed belief in Jesus even in the wake of her brother’s untimely death. She had some weaknesses. She had some strengths. But she believed in Jesus.
His grace was sufficient to cover over every defect. His grace was sufficient to forgive every sin. And as we see in the passage, Jesus made a powerful statement to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.” And He made it personally to Martha. If she believed in Jesus (as she did), she would have this life.
From Romans 6:23 we know that the wages of sin is death. This death doesn’t only refer to physical death, but it also refers to spiritual death. Spiritual death is separation from God and is punished by an eternity in hell. This is terrible news for humans. By our own efforts we cannot escape this fate. But Jesus promises hope!
We don’t have to be doomed to separation from God and punishment! We don’t have to go through life as a slave of sin! By believing in Jesus we can have a new life, here in this earth and after we die.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things have passed away; behold new things have come.”
Jesus promises a resurrection in our spiritual lives. He will wash away our sins and give us a new, joyful life in Him. But that’s not all! Even though our body will die, that is not the end for us. It is the beginning of a new and wonderful life in the very presence of Jesus. These are some amazing promises.
But once again Jesus proved they are true. Shortly after he said “I am the resurrection and the life” - John 11:25 - he raised a man from the dead.
Don’t allow anything to distract you from being with Jesus – We all face many distractions, things which vie for our attention and pull our focus away from Christ. Let’s face it. The world today has far more distractions than what Martha faced. And most of those distractions are both more alluring and worse than the distraction of serving.
Ad companies spend huge amounts of money to get your eyes. Movie companies make movies just to get your eyes. But it goes far beyond that. Social media is all about eyes. How many likes did the post get? How many people viewed the video clip? Has it gone viral?
Hebrews 12:2 – Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfected of our faith.
Do not major on the minors. Much stress and worry is caused by focusing on things that are either not at all important or completely outside of one’s control. Martha is so famous for worrying that a phrase was invented, “Don’t be a Martha.” It means that you should not worry so much.
Notice that Jesus does not take offense at Martha’s direct words or actions, for they shared that kind of relationship. Their interaction symbolizes the close, intimate relationship that Jesus wants to have with you. You may laugh at Martha’s boldness, shake your head at her audacity, and cringe at her seeming lack of respect to Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t get upset like you think He should. In fact, He responds with loving kindness and empathy in return. Understand that God wants you to approach Him, and desires for you to have that kind of close, intimate relationship with Him.
Martha was even the sister of the first woman disciple of Jesus. Mary, her younger sister, was the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive oil. Martha’s sister broke new ground and opened the door for all women to be counted as followers of Christ. Martha’s sister exhibited the foundational relationship to God, by abiding in Him, soaking in His word and presence, and throwing off worldly business to focus on God and God alone.
Yet poor Martha misreads the situation, and is mortified that her sister is sitting at the feet of the Rabbi, a right reserved only for male students. Martha, quite understandably, is afraid that her guests will be offended by Mary's outrageous breach of protocol. She is the host, and is tremendously embarrassed by her sister’s lack of social etiquette, which would explain her unseemly outburst.
And think about this: if it wasn’t for Martha’s taking care of all the household duties, Mary would not have been free to do just that. Being a doer, and taking care of business effectively freed up others to focus on Jesus without distraction.
