Last week we studied the first of four individuals in Scripture that some may have judged unfavorably. We are studying these because of our own tendencies to judge people on limited information.

This week I want to look at a woman from the New Testament named Martha. Here is what we know. She had a sister named Mary and a brother named Lazarus. The three of them were friends of Jesus, and He visited with them in Martha’s home.

If you ask most people what they remember most about Martha, they will relate the story found in Luke 10. Here we find Jesus being received by Martha into her home. Mary sat at the feet of Jesus listening to His teaching while Martha was busy preparing a meal. Martha must have become frustrated with her sister because she said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me” (Luke 10:40 ESV). The Lord’s answer must surely have disturbed Martha when He said, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (verses 41-42).

Most who teach or preach on this story read verses 41 and 42 as though Jesus was scolding Martha. Even though the intent was to help Martha understand that there was something more important than preparing food, the Lord would surely have spoken kindly to her. His desire was to change her heart, not scold her. Many think Martha was being rebuked for being worldly and disrespectful to Jesus, but I would like to look at what might have been her reason for choosing the physical over the spiritual.

Let’s keep in mind that when Jesus came to the home of Martha, He probably did not come alone. Since at least some of the disciples were always with Him, we can assume that there were several guests to feed. They had been travelling, Jesus had been busy greeting the seventy-two who had been out teaching and performing miracles, and He had been teaching as He moved about from one place to another.

Jesus’ had related the great parable of the Good Samaritan prior to His visit to this village.

Martha welcomed Him into her home, and she would have wanted to make her guests as comfortable as possible. Meal preparation would have been a time consuming process. After all, she didn’t have a glass-top stove for cooking, casseroles in the freezer, and water from the kitchen faucet. She might have had to kill an animal and clean it before the cooking could begin. Even if she had meat prepared, the cooking process would take some time.

While Martha was scurrying around, organizing, cooking, and setting the table, Mary sat quietly at the feet of Jesus. She was soaking up every word of the Savior’s teaching. Martha expected Mary to help her. She may have tried to motion to Mary; but if she did, we have no indication that Mary said anything to Martha. Frustrated, Martha complained to Jesus. It is almost as though she knew it was no use to address Mary directly. It also appears that Martha knew Jesus well enough to offer such a complaint to Him.

There is no doubt that Jesus wanted Martha to understand that the spiritual should be more important than the physical, but let’s not judge Martha as always being concerned with housework and meal preparation. There was another side to Martha.

In John 11, we find Jesus making another trip to this same village. He had been summoned because Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha had died. When Martha heard that Jesus had arrived, she was the one that went out to meet Him while Mary stayed at home to be comforted by the Jews. Martha was the one to assure Jesus that she understood that she believed in a resurrection. Martha was the one to call Mary to come, at the request of Jesus, from the comfort of their friends. Is there anything to be made of Mary staying at home and not going out to greet Jesus? Not necessarily. But it does show that their response to situations was different, certainly not something that shows either of them as more righteous than the other.

The lesson for us seems fairly simple. Attention to the details of anything physical may need to be set aside for the spiritual. Certainly, we would be able to make such a choice if Jesus were coming to our house for a meal; or would we? Would we not be concerned with meal preparation, dust on the furniture, and mopping a dirty floor? Let’s try to understand that Martha’s preparation of the meal did not mean that she didn’t love the Lord and want to listen to His teaching. Maybe she was just concerned about His physical well-being.

Sandra Oliver