Women in the Life of Jesus: Martha

Scriptures where she can be found: Luke 10, John 11&12

Setting: Bethany

Her story:

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

-Luke 10:38-42

My thoughts:

There are many things of note in this passage about Martha, and her sister Mary.

First, the home appears to have belonged to Martha. Luke says it was "her house." This most likely would make her feel responsible for all the activities and preparations taking place. She was required to be the hostess.

Her sister was sitting at Jesus' feet. And Jesus was okay with that.

The Bible says that Martha was "distracted." Thayer's Greek Lexicon says the Greek word in this verse for distracted means, "to draw around, to draw away; distract, to be driven about mentally, to be distracted, to be over-occupied, too busy, about a thing, cumbered, to be distracted with cares, to be troubled, distressed."

Martha is bothered by her sister just sitting at Jesus' feet, not doing anything. I would have been too. If I were working hard, and my sister (or friend) was just sitting, it would have bothered me.

So, she goes to Jesus. But notice how she addresses Him. She calls Him "Lord." Not everybody did that, only people who had faith in Him, and were His followers. So, it makes me wonder if at one time, she might have been sitting there with Mary too, and gotten "distracted" by other things.

Jesus says to her,

“Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

As I studied that verse, I wondered if He just addressing her current situation, or maybe many things in her life, which in essence might have driven her to be bound up and distracted by other things. Also, was He telling her the way out of her problems? I believe He was giving her the answer, if she would just do what Mary was doing, and sit at His feet and listen.

She was a woman, and He expected her to sit, in the position of a disciple, and receive what He could teach her.

Jesus said that "one thing is needed." That is true for all of us. He expects us, both men and women, to sit at His feet and receive what He has to teach us. For therein lies the answers to all our "distractions."









To read more posts in this series, go here to Women in the Life of Jesus.