As a young seminary graduate, I didn’t feel ready to be the solo pastor of a church. So, I accepted a position as associate pastor of youth. During those three years I was given the opportunity to preach 2-3 times each year. One of those very first sermons I developed and preached became foundational in my life. And even today — 45 years later — it still retains a significant influence in my daily walk with the Lord.

The sermon was about a young woman for whom the scriptures provide only three glimpses into her life. There was one thing about her that arrested my attention— she is at the feet of Jesus every time we see her. We know her as Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus.

We are first introduced to Mary, when Luke tells us that Jesus was with his disciples, and “as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.” This may have been Jesus’ initial contact with siblings Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, but it is clear that Martha had the gift of serving, for in the third and final view we have of this family, we read that even in the home of Simon the leper, “Martha was serving.” This sister of Mary clearly enjoyed the opportunity of serving Jesus, and probably a lot of other people too.

So, when Jesus came into the home of Martha and Mary, at the top of Martha’s list was “make something nice for Jesus to eat.” However, Mary’s agenda was quite different— she just wanted to sit at the feet of Jesus, ask him questions, listen to his wisdom, and drink in the inspiration that came from his lips. Was she aware that this was God in human flesh? We cannot know for sure, but her determination to just listen to Jesus, reminds us of the words of Moses: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.”

While Martha was in the kitchen making preparations, she was also getting irritated with her sister and likely talking to herself: “Why am I alone in here making lunch for Jesus? I’d like to be sitting and listening to Jesus too. If Mary would help me, I could finish preparations sooner, and we could both be listening to Jesus.” Finally, she had had enough, and came to where Jesus and Mary were, and said to Jesus: “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the preparations alone? Then tell her to help me.”

However, Jesus was, frankly, not that interested in eating. At one time when his disciples seem to be focused upon their next meal, Jesus put eating in an eternal perspective for them, saying: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me.” Jesus could’ve suggested to Mary, “Why don’t you give your sister a hand for a few minutes, then we can all sit around the table and talk?” But he didn’t. Instead, he responded to Martha, saying: “Martha, Martha, you are

1 Luke 10:38-42 (Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture references are quoted from the Legacy Standard Bible.)
2 John 12:2
3 Deuteronomy 8:3
4 Luke 10:40
5 John 4:34

worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Only one thing is necessary. While this seems to be the focal point of Jesus’ interaction with Martha, there are a couple of other things to notice. By his repetition of her name, Jesus seemed to be compassionately inferring that Martha was missing an important truth which she needed to be recognizing. Jesus was not chiding her because she wanted to serve him, but was instead drawing attention to the fact that she was worried and upset about several fundamentally nonessential issues.

Mary seemed to be solely interested in capitalizing upon the fact that Jesus was in the house. She saw this as a rare privilege to have some alone-time with Jesus. Who wouldn’t treasure such an opportunity?! Martha, on the other hand, was consumed with making everything just perfect for Jesus. She wanted to provide a memorable experience of hospitality for Jesus in her home.

Jesus wasn’t averse to people demonstrating their deep affection for him, for that was exactly what Mary did the last time we see her mentioned in the gospels— she anointed his feet with expensive oils. But when your love for Jesus becomes obscured by your frustrations that others don’t have the same concern you do, you’ve become distracted by nonessentials. When you’re upset that others are failing to love Jesus just like you do, your love for Jesus has grown cold.

Martha should have just focused upon lovingly serving Jesus, and treasured the opportunity to be the only one loving Jesus just like she was loving for him. This would’ve been a much more joyful experience for Martha, if she would not have concerned herself with what Mary was doing, but was instead singularly focused upon the great honor she was having to be the only one offering service to Jesus.

There are at least two lessons to learn from this incident in the lives of Mary and Martha. If you’ve decided to offer service to the Lord, do it whole-heartedly, with singularity of focus, and without any concern for whatever anyone else may be doing or not doing. If you’ve decided to simply sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him speaking to you, don’t allow yourself to be distracted by anyone or anything. One thing is necessary.

They next time we encounter Mary is at the graveside of her recently-deceased brother. When Jesus had received word that his friend was near death, he intentionally refrained from hurrying to his side. In fact, he hung out where he was for a couple of extra days. When he arrived in Lazarus’ town, he was told that Lazarus had been in the grave for four days. Jesus was first approached by Martha, who said to him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” From the context, I would say that Martha put her emphasis, as I have indicated, on the word “been.”

Shortly after this encounter, Mary came to Jesus and fell at his feet, and repeated the exact same words spoken by her sister: “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died,” but again, judging from the context, I think she would have put the emphasis on “You.” (Try saying that sentence aloud with the different emphases, and I think you’ll discover a significant distinction in their levels of trust in Jesus.) It was when Jesus saw her weeping, along

6 Luke 10:41-42
7 John 11:18-33

with the others by her, that John writes, “Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled.” And, as God’s love does, he wept with those who wept.”

The third and final time we see Mary, she was again at the feet of Jesus, this time anointing his feet with a pure and very costly aromatic oil. She was, of course, criticized for this extravagance by those who loved the things of this world more than they loved Jesus. But she was undeterred in expressing her deep love for Jesus. And Jesus defended her actions, saying “She has done what she could; she anointed My body beforehand for the burial.” Some Bible commentators have suggested that she might’ve been the only one of Jesus’ followers who understand that Jesus was indeed going to die and rise again, just as he told them was going to occur.

I have taken the time to review what we know of this remarkable woman who has been an inspiration to me for over four decades, because there is reason to follow her example of humility and choosing the one thing that is necessary. I think she grasped and embodied the lyrics of the Jonathan Butler song which says to the Savior: “Down at Your feet, oh Lord is the most high place.” When I sit down each morning with my open Bible, I gratefully ask and humbly expect God to speak to me through his word. I expect it not because I think I deserve it, but rather because I am convinced that it is within the nature of God to communicate his love through the revelation of his truth and light to humans who are surrounded by darkness and lies. I regularly say to the Lord that which Moses spoke and Jesus quoted: “Man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.” And I tell the Lord if you do not speak to me, if I do not hear your voice, I am not living; I am merely existing. And I desperately want to live.

8 John 11:33
9 Mark 14:3-9
10 Jonathan Butler, “No Higher Calling.”
11 Deuteronomy 8:3