How Do You Solve a Problem Like Martha? (Luke 10:38-42)

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE MARTHA? (LUKE 10:38-42)

Hong Kong is an extremely busy city. After a year in Hong Kong, I have done my best to keep up. Every working day here, I rush for the 7:24 am Ma Wan ferry, arriving around 16 minutes (7:40 a.m) later at Tsuen Wan West, where I have two minutes to get to the nearby rail station for the 7:42 a.m. ride to Yuen Long, where I have another two minutes to get to the bus station to catch the next bus to work. Still I miss my train or bus at least once a week. By this time, I have learned the ropes, which is to find a seat by the door of the coach that stops nearest to the escalator. When the door opens, I am among the first to trot down the escalator.

Within my first year in Hong Kong, I took a trip to Singapore and a few months later to Beijing, and the contrast couldn’t be any more amusing. In Singapore and Beijing, people are stationary while riding the escalators. In Hong Kong, people stand to the right on an escalator, so that busy passersby can pass them. In Beijing and Singapore, not only do people stand in the middle of a step and not to the right, two people would stand side by side, sharing the same step and allowing passersby no room to pass them. In Hong Kong, you know who the locals are by where they stand on the escalator.

Martha is the Bible’s busy bee and one of the most interesting and beloved characters in the Bible. Most people can identify with her because they consider themselves a Martha instead of a Mary. In her busyness, however, Martha forgot why she invited Jesus into her home in the first place. Martha was so busy that what began as a sweet gesture turned into a sour attitude.

What is keeping us busy? Why are we busy? How do we cope with the busyness of life?

Serve with Hearts That Rejoice in Him
38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him.(Luke 10:38)

It’s been said, “No guest is so welcome in a friend's house that he will not become a nuisance after three days.”

What makes a person a good or perfect host? Here are some Internet tips:
“The perfect host is the one who says, as each guest arrives, “I’m so glad you are finally here!” And when each leaves, “Must you go so soon?” (Ben Patterson)
“The perfect host is the man who does everything he possibly can to make his guests feel at home..... even when he wishes they were (at home).” (W.Bro. Powell, P.M.)
“To be the perfect host is to offer hospitality unconditionally, unreservedly, unendingly.”
Another perspective: “A perfect host is the one who draws out his guests and allows them to monopolize the conversation. When these guests go home they have had the time of their lives.”
“The whole point is that while being a good host is important, the food isn't the draw here, so don't let it stress you out.” (David Tutera)
“The most important aspect of being a good host is being a good listener.” (Jay Leno)

In Hong Kong nobody hosts friends at home. They take guests out for dinner but never home to visit. We did our North American best accommodating a family of four over four days in our tiny 488 sq. ft., 2-bedroom apartment in our first year in Hong Kong.

Martha has been unfairly cast in a wholly negative light. Most readers forget she had all the qualities, requirements and potential to be a host par excellence, a host of highest distinction and without peer. She did something precious for Jesus few can boast of in the Bible, which is to “receive” (v 38 “opened her home” in NIV) Him into her house. The verb “receive” or “receive under” (hupodechomai/”receive under” – i.e. one’s roof) occurs the first of merely four times in the Bible - elsewhere translated twice as “welcomed” and once as “gave lodging” (v 38, Luke 19:6, Acts 17:7, James 2:25) in NIV. Unlike the normal “receive” that occurs 56 times in the Bible, this minority “receive” word is used sparingly and specifically for Zacchaeus who “welcomed” Jesus gladly (Luke 19:6), Jason who “welcomed” Paul and Silas (Acts 17:7) and Rahab, who gave lodging to the spies (James 2:25).

There was nothing more joyous and precious to Martha than receiving and welcoming Jesus into her home, to have Him to be the houseguest, to grace and bless the home. Jesus journeyed to many “villages” (Luke 8:1) in the book of Luke but this is the first instance He was “received” into a family. In fact, the word village is mentioned more times in Luke than any gospels. Martha had the great fortune of being one of only two people in the Bible to “welcome” Jesus into her home. The other is Zacchaeus (Luke 19:6). Zacchaeus, too, gladly “welcomed” Him, but with a difference – but only when he was commanded (Luke 19:5 “come down” is imperative). Martha welcomed Jesus into her home without a hint and Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus into his home upon Jesus’ request.

Hosting Jesus is not the easiest of tasks or for the faint of heart. His disciples (v 38) come with the territory and task. Martha knew Jesus had at least twelve other men with him wherever he traveled, yet she welcomed the group as much as she did Jesus. She had her work cut out for her. She was not serving a person but a squad, not Teacher Jesus but Team Jesus, enough for a soccer team or two basketball teams. The apostles, a dozen grown men, ate like the best of adults. Further, they were also known to be the last to offer to serve anybody, as witnessed by Jesus washing the disciples’ feet (John 13:5), but Martha did not begrudge them, knowing how long they were on the road. Already in the last chapter, when Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem, the people of Samaria did not welcome him passing through, because he was heading for Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51-54). So Martha’s welcome to Jesus and the disciples was quite a change from their previous reception and a relief to the aching feet of the apostles, who were last seen witnessing in every town and place at the beginning of the chapter (Luke 10:1). Also, Martha and her siblings Mary and Lazarus were from Bethany, less than two miles from Jerusalem (John 11:18), the last refuge for Jesus before he was crucified.

Serve with Ears That Listen to Him
39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. (Luke 10:39)

A music teacher once asked her class what is the difference between listening and hearing. At first there was no response. Finally a hand went up at the back of the class and one of the young people offered this wise definition: “Listening is wanting to hear!”

Hearing is nature, listening is nurtured. Hearing is merely the ability but listening is the attitude. True listening is active, alert and attentive. Listening is not activity, but availability.

Mary’s way of receiving Jesus is far different from Martha’s. By the way, sitting by Jesus’ feet is not the best position or the exalted position we think it is. Feet has a connotation of lowliness, inferiority and unpleasantness, as witnessed by many instances of foot washing in the Bible (Luke 7:44, John 12:3, John 13:5) and Jesus’ subjugation of his enemies under his feet (Matt 22:44, Mark 12:36, Luke 20:43). Feet are considered lowly, dirty and smelly. Instead of thinking Mary found the best seat in the house, readers should consider that she did not mind any spot, given that most of the good spots are taken by guests and men.

Like Mulan, Mary was most eager to study and learn despite men’s presence. To understand Mary’s zeal to listen, one has to understand that she could not do the same in the temple, where men only may enter. While children were better seen and not heard in old times, women were confined to the outer court, which was not considered a part of the Temple. Jesus’ visit was too good to be true, too good to miss.

Martha opened her house to Jesus but Mary opened her heart to Jesus. Mary radically sat “at (pros)” (v 39) Jesus’ “feet” – Greek is “towards” not NIV’s “at.” The phrase “towards (one’s) feet” is rarely associated with “sitting” at His feet, but is usually associated with “falling” before Jesus, as in the case of Jairus (Mark 5:22), the Phoenician woman (Mark 7:25), Mary one more time when her brother Lazarus was dead (John 11:32) and the elder John in Revelation (Rev 1:17). “Towards/at the feet” of Jesus connotes obedience, reverence or worship, but not adoration, affection or admiration.

Serve with Eyes That Focus on Him
40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" 41 "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:40-42)

Here is a person’s diagnosis upon visiting “The Lord’s Clinic”:
“I went to The Lord’s Clinic to have my routine check-up and I was confirmed I was ill. Apparently, Jesus was the Medical officer. When Jesus took my blood pressure, He saw I was low in TENDERNESS. When He read my temperature, the thermometer registered 40 Degree of ANXIETY. He ran an electrocardiogram and found that I needed several ‘LOVE bypasses’ since my arteries were blocked with loneliness and could not provide for an empty heart.

I went to Orthopedics, because I could not walk by my brother’s side and I could not hug my friends, since I had fractured myself when tripping with envy. He also found I was SHORTSIGHTED, since I could not see beyond the shortcomings of my brothers and sisters. When I complained about DEAFNESS, the diagnostic was that I had stopped listening to Jesus’ voice talking to me on a daily basis.

For all of that, Jesus gave me a free consultation. Thanks to his mercy, so my pledge is once I leave this clinic, only take the natural remedies He prescribed through His words of truth: Every morning, take a full glass of GRATITUDE. When getting to work, take a spoon of PEACE. Every hour, take one pill of PATIENCE, one cup of BROTHERHOOD and one glass of HUMILITY. When getting home, take one dose of LOVE. When getting to bed, take 2 caplets of clear CONSCIENCE.”

The word “distracted” (v 40), which is “perispao” in Greek, occurs for the only time in the Bible. It is not your ordinary, normal or everyday Bible word. It is derived from the preposition “peri,” which means “around” and the “spao,” which means “draw out 拔,” as in drawing out a sword (Mark 14:47, Acts 16:27). It means to drag all around and to be pulled and torn in all directions figuratively. Distracted does not mean being pulled in a different direction, but to be pulled in all directions. “Preparations” (diakonia) in verse 40 is a noun, meaning service or attendance. “All” is “much” in Greek. Jesus is not against service but “much service.” Interestingly the writer Luke did not say what preparations she made – it was unimportant and not the issue, so most readers falsely assume the issue was food. Unlike Zacchaeus who was delighted with Jesus’ presence (Luke 19:6), Martha was weighed down with presentation, presents and provisions. Note that food was not mentioned at Zacchaeus’ home either. The phrase “that had to be made” is missing in Greek. The truth is there are not many things that had to be made. Jesus orders our presence not our preparations. The next time, Martha corrected herself and served Jesus in John 12:2 with the same or more people in attendance, not overdoing it – “much serving” is missing in John, but apparently in Luke she was overdoing it.

The verb “came to him” (ephistemi) in verse 40 is more aggressive, abrupt and awkward in Greek. Literally it means “to stand upon.” Other translations include “coming up” (Luke 2:38), “came up” (Luke 20:1), “close on” (Luke 21:34), “stood beside” (Luke 24:4), “came up” (Acts 4:1), “stood there” (Acts 22:20) and “stood near” (Acts 23:11). It meant she stood up, she stood out, and she stood firm.

Martha’s complain is much sharper in Greek (v 40): “Lord, NOT care you…” – emphasis on “NOT” instead of “Lord, don’t you care…” She made the same assertion in Greek as the disciples erroneously did when they complained to Jesus, who was sleeping on a cushion in a sinking boat: “Don’t you care (if we drown?)” (Mark 4:38) Here is where frustrations and negativity set in and we do not think straight. Mary did not leave Martha for the reason her sister stipulated. To Mary, it was about worship, not work; about fellowship, not about food; about manners, not menu.

Martha’s problem was that her eyes were not totally fixed on Jesus. She had one eye on her sister. Her hands were serving Jesus but her heart was scolding Mary. The word “tell” (v 40) is an imperative, the only imperative in this sibling story. The worst mistake Martha made was complaining Jesus instead of confronting Mary. We are not told how the imperative was used - for Jesus to “tell” Mary or Martha “tell” Jesus what to do, but she had the nerve. That goes to show it is easy to overreact when you are overextended. She misunderstood what it meant to serve Jesus. Jesus came for her intake rather than her output, to be enjoyed and not to be entertained. Note that Jesus did not come for Mary alone (v 39).

“Worried” (v 41) and “upset” are two different things. Worry is within and internal but upset is expressed and vocal. Worried is the activity of the mind and upset is the activity of the lips. “Upset” is also translated as noisy (Matt 9:23) and commotion (Mark 5:39). “Many” occurs twice (vv 40 – “all”, 41), it is a contrast to one (v 42). Martha made a big fuss over who benefited from Jesus’ visit, who did the job and who got the credit. The story is not about keeping things in your heart to yourself but to avoid voicing discontent at others’ expense. It is OK to let Jesus know your stress, but just don’t tell Him the solution, which Martha did.

The fact is Martha had a choice, which she did not exercise. One is to ask for help. The Bible did not say Martha asked her sister to help, which the latter refused to do. “One thing” serves to contrast Martha’s distraction – pull from all directions. The “better” part is to listen to His word – to be in attendance rather than be an attendant, to be the audience and not the actor, and to pay attention to Jesus and not draw attention to self. Also, Mary was not against work, which she could make up for after the entourage was gone. Another choice she made was not to answer back. Mary did not counter Martha because she was concentrating on Jesus.

Martha, on the other hand, mixed up the blessing for the burden. She needed but neglected Jesus’ company. Her doing was more important than her being.

Conclusion: Love must precede labor in serving God. Walking with Jesus is more important than working for Jesus. We must first listen to God and learn from Him before we live for Him. Are you growing in the word as you grow in your work? Is God’s word transforming you and teaching you as it should? Do you have a quiet time? A plan to read God’s word or study the Bible? Do you still delight in God’s word, drink eagerly and dine heartily from it?